May 24, 2005

Columbia, Mo. - For the last seven years, during the final program of my weekly radio show - "The Mike Alden Show," I have recapped what I believe to be the 10 top stories in Tiger athletics from each sports season. Yet another year is almost behind us, and once again, I'd like to take a look at the biggest issues we either faced or celebrated during the 2004-05 campaign.

If you asked one hundred people for their top-10 stories, you'd probably receive one hundred different answers. With that in mind, here are my top-10 stories for the year, given in reverse order:

10. The addition of a 12th game in Division 1-A football beginning in 2006.

This could mean an additional $2 million to $4 million dollars for schools that host an extra home game. At Mizzou, we will look at our neutral-site options, with regional rivals such as Illinois. The two previous 12th game matchups with the Illini in 2002 and 2003 in St. Louis proved to be big hits with our fans and also produced significant revenue for both of our universities.

9. Academic Progress Report (A.P.R.)

My March 2005 column was dedicated to the APR, which is the centerpiece of the NCAA's new academic reform package. This initiative is designed to improve the academic success and graduation rates of all student-athletes. The NCAA News defined APR as: "(1) The APR is the real-time snapshot of every team's academic performance at a given time; (2) an APR score of 925 is what teams must meet to avoid contemporaneous penalties; and (3) teams below 925 will not be able to replace one-year the grant-in-aid of players who left as academic casualties during the previous academic year."

8. Missouri Gymnastics

The Tigers finished 14th in the country, and Alisha Robinson earned All-America honors in the vault. Our average attendance finished ranked 15th in the country, and the annual Cat Classic finished 8th in the country in single-meet attendance.

7. Mizzou Men's and Women's Golf

The two programs combined to win five tournament titles this spring. The men finished third in the Big 12, their highest finish at the conference tournament in 17 years, and received an NCAA Regional bid, despite being picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 by the league coaches. Mark Leroux's squad played lights out in the regional, as they finished sixth overall, and advanced to the NCAA Finals for the first time since the mid-1980s. They will play in Baltimore, Md., from June 1-4. The women, under the direction of Stephanie (Cooper) Priesmeyer, once again took another big step this season, as they advanced to the NCAA Finals for the first time in school history. The Tiger women finished 16th at the nationals, cementing their place as one of the top-20 programs in the country. With both teams reaching the NCAA Finals, Mizzou became one of only 14 schools to accomplish such a feat this year.

6. Missouri baseball and softball

Both teams have enjoyed outstanding seasons, with both programs having been ranked for the majority of their seasons in the nation's top-25. The baseball team has a win over top ranked Texas to it's credit, and recently wrapped up the regular season by taking two of three games at 9th-ranked Baylor, denying the Bears a shot at an outright Big 12 title. Coach Tim Jamieson's team finished fourth in the Big 12, after being picked eighth in the pre-season poll, and are on track to receive an NCAA Regional bid for the third straight season. The softball team swept 4th ranked Texas A&M late in the season, and reached the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament. Ty Singleton's group was awarded with hosting an NCAA Regional, and they played valiantly before being defeated by 6th-ranked Stanford. They ended the season with a sterling 44-15 record. With only two seniors among its regular nine, the future is looking quite bright for our softball program.

5. Mizzou Wrestling

Our team finished ranked 11th in the country, our highest final ranking in 20 years. For the second straight year, Ben Askren finished as a national runner-up. He should be a favorite to win Mizzou's first-ever wrestling national championship as a junior in 2006.

4. Missouri Volleyball

Our team made its fifth-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and hosted first and second round matches for the first time in school history. The Tigers defeated Arkansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to advance to the second round for the second time in the history of the program. Lindsey Hunter became the second All American ever in Mizzou volleyball history, as she was named AVCA All-American Second Team. This summer she will train with the U.S. National Team

3. Missouri Basketball, the NCAA investigation and a disappointing season

A two-year investigation into our basketball program, followed by a 16-17 season is not the type of news we like to make. But the fact is that the NCAA Committee on Infractions announced sanctions against our program in November. Our team finished with a losing record, but won 10 of last 16 games, and picked up wins over highly-ranked Gonzaga, Oklahoma and Kansas. Disappointing as the year was, it is my expectation that our team will return to the NCAA tournament next season.

2. Mizzou Football, a failure to meet high expectations

Coming off a trip to the 2003 Independence Bowl, the Tigers opened the season ranked in the nation's top 25. The inability to hold leads against Troy, Oklahoma State, and Kansas State resulted in three tough losses. But, Gary Pinkel's team snapped a five-game losing streak in the final game of the season, beating Iowa State in overtime, while preventing the Cyclones from winning the Big 12's North Division title. A bright spot was the support of Mizzou fans. Our average attendance at Memorial Stadium of over 59, 000 fans per game, marked the largest season attendance at MU since 1981. I have complete confidence that Gary Pinkel and his staff will have our team back in a bowl game next season.

1. Mizzou Arena, the opening of the building and other challenges

Dedicated on October 1, 2004 with a wonderful "Black Tie" event featuring the music of the legendary Tony Bennett, there is no question that Mizzou Arena is the finest on-campus arena in America. It is a showcase for our campus, our community and our state. Not only is it a terrific home for our basketball teams, but it has turned into a "target destination" for music promoters around the country, as three of this year's top-10 touring acts have stopped by Mizzou Arena: Kenny Chesney, Cher and Sting. Unfortunately, a bit of adversity hit us when the Laurie family came under fire on a national news program in November. The arena, which was originally named Paige Sports Arena, was renamed by the Board of Curators, after the Laurie family graciously gave the school permission to do so. Again, this is not the type of news we like to make, but it was something that I feel our staff dealt with in a very professional manner.

I hope you enjoyed reviewing the top moments in Mizzou Athletics for the season. As always, I'd like to thank-you for taking the time to read this column. If you have any questions about these topics, or anything else pertaining to Mizzou Athletics or college athletics in general, feel free to e-mail me at aldenm@missouri.edu.