The Border War is Back: Mizzou-Kansas Rivalry Through the Lens of The Past

To get a glimpse into how much these two teams hated each other, look no further than former Kansas head coach Mark Mangino. He coached with the Jayhawks from 2002 and ending in 2009.

According to Mark Godich, a former reporter for The Athletic and Sports Illustrated, reporter Mark Godich, Mangino knew the importance of this game and could feel how much Missouri’s fanbase disliked the Jayhawks.

"[Mangino] told me that he'd never been around a rivalry where the word ‘hate’ was used so much, and he said he sensed it the first time he walked into Faurot field," Godich said. "He could just feel the hatred and the animosity."

Because of the time in between the last meeting and now, Missouri’s current coaches and players have reeducated themselves, starting with head coach Eli Drinkwitz, bringing in guest speakers to speak with the team throughout the build-up to the Week 2 game.

“The point is to make sure that our fan base and our players understand that we know the significance historically, we understand the importance,” Drinkwitz said on Tuesday. “We're not overlooking or undervaluing this game.”

If both teams want this game to be restored to its glory days, it’s on both universities to make it happen. They will play next year, but won’t visit each other again until 2031 and 2032. That will mark a five-year gap.

"You have to play every year," Shatel said. "You have to see each other. It has to mean something. There have to be bragging rights."

The teams do manage to play in men’s basketball frequently, with the current agreement ending in 2026. This has helped stir up some hatred between the two schools. But, before the Tigers’ upset victory over then-No. 1 Kansas in Columbia in December, Missouri had lost four straight. The Tigers have only won two of the last 10 matchups. 

That being said, it should be a priority for teams like Missouri and Kansas, along with other teams that have lost rivalry matchups due to recent conference realignment, to do their best to bring the game back. Not only for the ratings and attention it brings in, but mainly for the fans. 

"It's important for fans and it's important for the business of college sports that schools try to find a way to work around the conditions of the day, which includes conference realignment and [the] transfer portal," Kerkhoff said.

That passion arguably reached a peak on Nov. 24, 2007, when the two teams met in Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Coincidentally, both teams were in the middle of one of their best seasons in program history. 

The Tigers entered this battle with a 10-1 record, ranked at No. 2 in the country. The Jayhawks entered it with a perfect 10-0 record and ranked at No. 3. The winner would go on to the Big 12 Championship, which the Tigers did in 36-28 fashion.

"That night was just surreal. The atmosphere and the fact that the Border War had the nation's attention that it never had before."Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star

This was a nationally viewed game by many that started off with a College Gameday appearance. That only helped, bringing along more national viewership. 

"For one night, Kansas [and] Missouri had the undivided attention of not just the college football world, but the sports world," Kerkhoff said. "It ended up being the highest-rated regular season game that year in college football."

In Saturday’s matchup, there won’t be nearly as much at stake as there was in 2007. But the reignition of the rivalry will make it a meaningful and memorable matchup, even in the long line of its history.

"It's good for the game, it's good for the fans," Shatel said. "There'll be so much attention on this game and then Columbia that I would hope the people on the SEC Network would show it and really pay attention to it."

Due to the rivalry’s hiatus, the conference’s only perception of what the hatred between the Tigers and Jayhawks looks like comes from basketball. 

This game could be the one that makes the conference realize how important this game is to college football. It could also be the one that opens up the door to more rivalries returning to the sport. 

"People in [the] SEC don't really know about this. They don't really understand Missouri's history with Kansas," Shatel said. "I hope that they will see that you can do this. You can revive old rivalries."

In a time of constant chaos and conference realignment in college athletics, non-conference rivalries like the Border War between Missouri and Kansas coming back together is a positive sign. 

Without rivalries and passionate fans, college sports miss out on traditions and history.

"The traditions that college football offers, I think, there's no sport like it," Godich said. "I've always said there's nothing better than being on a college campus on a fall Saturday, and I'm glad this rivalry's renewed.”