$10 million donated to Mizzou Athletics for new football facility

An anonymous donor has given $10 million to University of Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics.

The announcement came Thursday morning, two days before the Tigers’ football home opener.

The gift will be used for the building of football facilities, which are being developed by athletics officials and campus facilities.

Director of Athletics Jim Sterk said the new facility will be at the stadium’s south end zone. A new weight room, locker room, medical training facility, and coaches’ offices are expected. Sterk also said “premium seating” could be available for sale as well. Sterk took the athletic director position last month after spending six years at San Diego State University.

Sterk hopes the gift will encourage others to help Mizzou achieve its goals of building high-quality football facilities, putting the university in the “upper echelon of the Southeastern Conference.”

“Making this facility become a reality is critical to our commitment in providing one of the best student-athlete experiences in the country,” Sterk said.

He went on to say the facilities have “the ability to attract the best and the brightest, to attract and retain coaches, to build the momentum of the program as far as support externally. So all those things are intertwined and are needed to help that student-athlete experience.”

Sterk estimated the cost of the project at around $75 million, but that price could go up or down as planning continues. Specific details and the scope of the campaign and the project will be announced at a later date.

Head football coach Barry Odom also said the project can’t be done alone, and the school needs support from its fans.

“I’m excited to get to work with our administration and our architects to develop plans that will showcase Mizzou in a first-class manner,” Odom said.

Sterk said he’s been working with Odom on his vision for the new facility.

“We talked about what had been planned before. I asked him and wanted input from him from the start. What did he like and what did he see? What would help him the most? And that’s how we got to where we’re at.”

Mizzou season ticket sales are down this year, with about 40,000 sold compared to 45,000 last year. The 5-7 paired with last year’s protests on campus have brought the national image of Mizzou down in some people’s eyes.

Sterk said one of the biggest concerns from boosters and donors was how he was going to rebuild the brand of Mizzou.

“I heard that when I looked at the job, that this place is not what it is perceived to be in this last year. I think it is a place of inclusion and diversity and growth and a great place to go to school … And I want to help build that brand back and we can be a part of the building back of the brand and the expectations of people and what they think of the University of Missouri.”