Mizzou Football considers flipping bench sides, which could result in seating shuffle

Looking for a competitive advantage, MU Athletics confirmed it may switch the sides on each team’s bench resides.

If that happens, seating at Memorial Stadium may also get shuffled.

A source told ABC 17 News that athletics department staff, including head football coach Barry Odom, met with several student groups to discuss the idea of switching the sides each team sits on during games. Currently, the Mizzou Tigers sit on the east side of the stadium with the student section directly behind them. The visitors sit on the west side.

MU Athletics spokesman Nick Joos said no decision has been made on the issue yet. The department is considering the bench move “in an effort to provide the best competitive home field advantage,” Joos said, but the move would also require them to break up the student section on the east side of the stadium.

“Should the department elect to flip the benches, Mizzou would also be required to adjust its student seating areas between the 30-yard lines to comply with SEC rules requiring that the seating in the first 25 rows inside the 30-yard lines behind the visitors bench be non-student seating,” Joos told ABC 17 News in an email.

One idea sent to ABC 17 News by a source within the meetings shows the student section broken into two different areas on the east side of the stadium. Each would be near the end zones, with visiting fans given seats for several rows behind the visiting team’s bench.

Tiger’s Lair, the student-led spirit group for football games, disapproved of that particular plan.

“We fear that if these plans floating around are true, there will be a dramatic disinterest in Mizzou Football,” the group tweeted Tuesday. “Not only does Tiger’s Lair have to combat lower enrollment with incoming freshmen, but also a reduced desire in season ticket from current students due to the performance of the team.”

Joos said it would have another meeting with students before the semester ended and before it made any final decisions on the idea.

(Editor’s note: An earlier version of the story said Tiger’s Lair tweeted a statement on Wednesday. The group tweeted its statement on Tuesday.)