Eli Drinkwitz stresses the importance of Border War with Kansas: 'People died in this rivalry'

The 2025 season is rapidly approaching. With that, the renewal of the Border War between the Missouri Tigers and Kansas Jayhawks is just a couple of months away. For Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz, it’s his first time coaching in the game, but he does know how important it’s going to be.

At SEC Media Days, Drinkwitz laughed that he wouldn’t have any jokes about Kansas. Instead, he’d emphasize what this game means to the programs and communities involved.

“No [jabs],” Eli Drinkwitz said. “None. They’ll come… Yeah, I’ve taken jabs at Kansas. I’ll say this. Their coach got up at [Big 12] Media Days, and said, ‘I wasn’t sure about the rivalry between Kansas and Missouri.’ I was from Day 1. I knew it from Day 1 that was a very important game. I mean, this thing goes back to the Civil War. People died in this rivalry. It’s intense and we don’t like each other.”

In the past, Eli Drinkwitz has taken the time to joke with Kansas before. That included showing up at a basketball game, where he held a sign accusing the Jayhawks of five Level-I violations. So, it would have made some sense that he’d want to joke at SEC Media Days. Instead, with the game coming back, he was serious, though.

The two first met in 1891. However, natives of the region had been in a sort of rivalry for decades, even going back before the start of the Civil War. It’s even attributed to the times of Bleeding Kansas, when it was debated if Kansas would be a slave or free state, with violence often erupting. There was then extremely violent fighting in the region during the Civil War itself, including the Lawrence Massacre. Given that, it’s no surprise that the rivalry became known as the Border War and both teams derived their nicknames from that violent era. Add in years together in the same conference, and it is among the best rivalries in college sports.

“I think rivalries are a great thing for college athletics and college football, particularly, especially regional rivalries. This one goes back a long ways. The origins, our football name, the Tigers, was based off the militia that was formed to protect Columbia from Kansas and [people] from the Kansas area. So, this is something that goes back a long way. It’s very deep and it’s something that our team is very keenly aware of. We understand the implications, the importance to our state,” Drinkwitz said. “And look forward to playing that game, especially having it at home.”

Conference realignment was the initial reason for the end of the Border War. Missouri left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012. The two haven’t played since then. Because of that, the Tigers hold a three-game winning streak and a slight lead in the series at 57-54-9 overall.

Eli Drinkwitz will look to build on that winning streak in Week 2. There, the Tigers will host the Jayhawks on Faurot Field on September 6th.