Mizzou Athletic Director Laird Veatch and coaches look ahead to 2026-27

ST. CHARLES, Mo. (KMIZ)

With the spring sports slate nearing the finish line, Mizzou Athletics is beginning to look ahead to the upcoming 2026-27 athletic calendar.

On Wednesday, Tiger Athletic Director Laird Veatch, as well as some of his coaches hosted a fan event known as the 'Zou to You' tour in St. Charles, Missouri to begin building some excitement. Before the festivities began, Veatch, football coach Eli Drinkwitz, men's basketball coach Dennis Gates, women's basketball coach Kellie Harper and others took some time to talk to media about all the big changes coming in the 2026-27 slate.

Of course, one of the biggest changes coming in the next athletic year will be the $250 million renovations to the North End Zone at Faurot Field, a project which Veatch said is expected to be finished on time for MU's first game on Thursday, Sept. 3.

"It's going really well. You know, I just told somebody else here that I've had the chance to be around a lot of big projects in my career...I've never been around one where I'd never truly had a moment that was this big, where I felt like this thing may not happen or we're not selling things the way we need to," Veatch said. "It's just been really smooth."

The north end zone will be done for the 2026 campaign, but one thing that could stretch into the season is the search for a corporate sponsor to buy the naming rights to Memorial Stadium, which Mizzou Athletics announced in February.

Once a corporate sponsor is found, that will mean that the 'Memorial' could be removed from the name of the stadium, in place of its corporate buyer. Of course, Memorial Stadium was opened in the 1920s to honor the Mizzou veterans who died in World War I. Veatch said his department is still working to honor their sacrifice.

"We are being very intentional about how we truly do recognize and appreciate, veterans at that stadium. So, one of the things that we discovered as we went through this and really thought about it is, you know, there is a piece that, we recognize the value of that opportunity for a potential sponsor will be greater without that. But, there's also a piece that, we know really have a true recognition at that stadium beyond the name. So, we're doing we're partnering with some organizations that are going to really come along and do some special things. We aren't there yet to where we're ready to announce that. But, I think our people will be pleased with how our efforts there and what we're doing," he said.

Coach Drinkwitz also took time to speak to local media, on Wednesday night. Much like Veatch, he had a lot of excitement for the new-look north end zone, but also for the roster that he's bringing in the 2026 season. It will look quite a bit different with a new face behind center, as Mizzou named Ole Miss transfer Austin Simmons as the starting quarterback, following spring camp.

In previous years, Drinkwitz has waited until fall camp to name a starter, but decided to take a different route for the new season.

"Well, I think one of the things that I've went back and looked at where last year didn't go the way we wanted it to was the error of not naming a starting quarterback soon enough and allowing leadership to take hold within our team. I think, you know, inevitably, I think Austin [Simmons] has the game experience, he was better in managing the team in two-minute drills and in the game situations, which I think has been a real positive," Drinkwitz said. "So, you know, to allow him to develop relationships with our wide receivers, timing with the wide receivers and tight ends and allow him to really establish himself as a leader, I thought was more beneficial than waiting to be 100 percent for sure."

There's still quite a bit of time before the basketball season tips off again, but Coach Gates and Coach Harper both fielded plenty of questions on their upcoming campaigns.

Of course, Mizzou men's basketball is bringing in a historic recruiting class, including five-star phenom Jason Crowe Jr. But, Gates has also made three additions from the transfer portal in former Kansas forward Bryson Tiller, former Providence forward Jamier Jones and former Tennessee forward Jaylen Carey. He took time to go through all of their strengths, on Wednesday night.

"I'm excited about our transfers. Obviously, Jamier Jones from Providence [is] very athletic, he gives us depth, he gives us flashy, he gives us strength in the perimeter as a great defender, but also in the open court, a good downhill guy. I'm excited to work with him," Gates said. "Jaylen Carey is another physical young man, that I believe is very, very talented. A guy that has led our conference in an offensive rebounding percentages and the same defensive rebounding. It gives us physicality down low. But also I'm excited about his skill set, his passing, his ability to stretch the floor. Bryson Tiller the same way. I think when we look at the things that we lost last year and we lost, you know, great players both to graduation eligibility and transfer portal. Bryson Tiller and all our student-athletes give us that physicality, that athleticism, the versatility and if we had to replace Mark Mitchell, which I know is a big, big ask and a big task, there's none other than a person like Bryson Tiller who I believe can do that, from a versatility standpoint. So, I'm excited to do not only what we did with Mark Mitchell, I want to do that with with Bryson Tiller and our other [recruits]."

Coach Gates did add that he and his staff are not done adding from the transfer portal, quite yet.

On the women's side, Harper has also made a couple of flashy additions from the transfer portal in former Michigan guard McKenzie Mathurin and former Indiana guard and St. Louis native Nevaeh Caffey. That duo will compliment a group of five incoming freshmen that will add even more athleticism to the Tiger roster.

"We're super excited about those two [transfer] players. They have great experience at the Power-4 level. They were highly rated recruits in high school and they fit us. They're competitive, they want to be a Tiger. So, we couldn't be happier," she said.

Much like Gates, Coach Harper isn't done making additions out of the transfer portal, quite yet, as she enjoys her first full offseason as the leader of the Tigers.

Now that the dust has settled on her first season, Harper has gotten to reflect on the year, as a whole. Although ending up in the WNIT was no the team's ultimate goal, she said there was still a lot accomplished in just one year with the program she inherited.

"[The WNIT is] not the NCAA Tournament. We, obviously, we want to be there, but to get to a postseason and to win a game there, that was a big deal. It was a big step. So, I think we took huge strides forward in establishing our culture and expectations and, you know, we're able to get quite a few wins for this program," Harper said