Sept. 3, 2025
As Sept. 6 approaches and Mizzou gets ready to take on its longtime rival in the Border Showdown, here are a few reminders of why it’s always great to be a Tiger.
True Tigers already know them by heart -- but hey, bragging rights are part of the fun. Here are six things we have that they don’t.
1. A mascot that is a real animal
Number of Tigers in the wild: ~5,500. Number of Jayhawks: 0. Literally none. Some might say this makes them one of one, or something? But really, it just means they're a mythical bird. Can it even fly? We may never know. (But probably not).
2. A College of Veterinary Medicine
At Mizzou, you can learn to take care of birds — and not just fictional ones. One-of-a-kind programs such as the Raptor Rehabilitation Program give students hands-on opportunities to learn how to care for creatures of all shapes and sizes – just the real ones.
3. Six Historic Columns
Certain other schools have a notable lack of ionic and iconic columns. The Mizzou campus has a remarkable number of columns – six, which also happens to be the same number of football wins the school to the west had from 2010 to 2012. And 2015-2018. And 2014-2017. (We think you get the point.)
4. A 10-megawatt research reactor
The University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) has conducted groundbreaking research for nearly 60 years. In 2024, more than 500,000 patients were treated by the radioisotopes produced at MURR. At 10 megawatts, MURR is not only larger than the other school’s 0-megawatt reactor, but it is also the highest-power university research reactor in the United States.
5. A Mule Team
One might ask, why would a university have a Mule Team? To that we say, “Why wouldn’t a university have a mule team!?” Riding around in style and learning to take care of historic animals? Just another thing you can do at Mizzou through the Missouri Method that you can’t do at that other school.
6. Turfgrass Science Program
The Mizzou Turf Diagnostic Lab is part of the MU Plant Diagnostic Clinic and MU Extension. This program provides areas throughout the state of Missouri with support identifying and managing turf problems. Although the school to the west does not have a turfgrass science program, they have made valuable contributions and samples to the Mizzou program, such as the one pictured below.
