It’s a great opportunity and challenge for our football team to play such a fine school as Missouri. They are a new SEC school with a rich football tradition going back to the Big 12. It will also be exciting for our team to play at Arrowhead Stadium in a region of the country where we haven't been in a while. – BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe
When the news broke last summer that the Southeastern Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference decided that BYU will not count as a Power 5 opponent, it appeared the Cougars wouldn’t be playing teams from those leagues in the future.
But on Thursday, BYU and Missouri — a new member of the SEC — announced that they have agreed to a two-game series beginning with a neutral site meeting on Nov. 14, 2015, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, home of the Kansas City Chiefs.
The second game is scheduled to be played at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Nov. 7, 2020.
“It’s a great opportunity and challenge for our football team to play such a fine school as Missouri,” said BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe. “They are a new SEC school with a rich football tradition going back to the Big 12. It will also be exciting for our team to play at Arrowhead Stadium in a region of the country where we haven't been in awhile.”
Missouri officials say they have a lot of respect for BYU's program.
"In our mind, they’re a P5 opponent," said executive associate athletic director Bryan Maggard. "It will absolutely present a challenge to our program. We recognize that."
BYU and Missouri have met once, in the 1983 Holiday Bowl, with the Cougars, led by quarterback Steve Young, pulling out a dramatic 21-17 victory.
Chiefs president Mark Donovan said that he began meeting with Holmoe two years ago. He added that Chiefs coach Andy Reid, a former Cougar offensive lineman who played with Holmoe at BYU, played a role in the discussions.
“We’ve been focused on bringing FBS football back to Arrowhead Stadium for some time and have investigated a number of ways to accomplish that,” Donovan said. “We want to thank both Missouri and BYU for making this possible. We know that this will be a unique opportunity for the players, coaches and fans of both institutions to experience the iconic Arrowhead atmosphere.”
“We are very pleased to have this opportunity to bring Mizzou to Kansas City. Having a presence there is very important to us, and this game underscores our commitment to doing just that, as we indicated when we moved to the Southeastern Conference,” University of Missouri Director of Athletics Mike Alden said. “This is an exciting, high-profile game for our fans, and we’re looking forward to working with the Kansas City Chiefs and the KC Sports Commission. We know from past experiences that they will do an outstanding job of making this a special event for Tiger fans.”
Before Thursday, BYU was scheduled to play UNLV next year on Nov. 14 in Las Vegas. Reports out of Las Vegas indicate that the game will be moved to 2016 or 2017.
With the addition of Missouri, the Cougars’ 2015 schedule just got even tougher. BYU opens the season at Nebraska, hosts Boise State, visits UCLA, then travels to Michigan. Other opponents include Connecticut, East Carolina, Cincinnati, San Jose State and Utah State.