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Oliver Luck talks about Mizzou's role in WVU's conference fate

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"The SEC was a little bit different. Missouri took a long time to decide what it wanted to do and I think they were on the fence for six, seven, maybe eight months. Some thought Missouri was waiting for an offer from the Big 10 or may stay in the Big 12," said Luck. "Had they stayed or had they become a member of the Big 10, we may have had an opportunity – and I emphasize the word maybe – to be in the SEC. The thing is nobody really knew what would have happened. What we do know is that Missouri’s move closed that door."

Former WVU Oliver Luck talked about Mizzou's and WVU's roles in conference realignment to the folks at Connect Bridgeport. Nothing completely new here, but the "took maybe eight months to decide" thing is a bit of a new take, something we hadn't heard before.

Mauk dedicates 2015 season to his dad

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"My dad, he has a big influence on everything I do and who I am. This is going to be one for him, for sure. I don't even want to talk about it to anybody. I just want to go out there and play. I don't need to tell you what I'm going to do. Just watch me. I'm going to do it.

ESPN's Greg Ostendorf talked to Mauk about his father's cancer battle. Tough, hopeful read. Thoughts with the Mauk family.

FACT: Missouri most disrespected program in college football

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Congrats! The most disrespected program in college football is: Missouri: It wasn't all that difficult to figure out who my No. 1 team would be. It was always going to be Missouri. Whether in the Big 12, or now in the SEC, this is just a team that plenty of people just assume is due for a relapse of sorts. It's just, aside from a hiccup here and there, it doesn't happen. Friday Five: The most disrespected programs in college football - CBSSports.com

Missouri JUCO DL has interest from Mizzou, visit planned

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"...I am beyond honored that the best defensive line coach in the country, Coach Kul, said he loves my talent and how I play. Just them acknowledging me and my skills is such an honor. I love Mizzou having grown up in Columbia and would love to play there, but will see. I am keeping my options open. I will be visiting there at the end of the month or the first week in June. We'll see what happens and if they offer," said Houston.

DL Could Land At Mizzou For 2015 - Missouri - Scout

A 6'1" and 300 lbs, Houston would appear to be a defensive tackle in the mold of recently graduated Lucas Vincent. Another athletic lineman to add to the rotation or play as an end in potential 3-4 alignments has to appeal to Barry Odom.

Hidden in the interview with Houston is a comment about the coaches informing him that one of their defensive lineman would be leaving, opening up a scholarship for his commitment. DE Marcus Loud recently led the team but I'm inclined to think the coaches were speaking of departed DT Evan Winston.

This continues a recent trend of Mizzou looking at JUCO defensive lineman, such as Handsome Tanielu

According to Houston, he has a visit scheduled toward the end of the month/beginning of June so we'll be looking to see if he commits.

Give Marcus Murphy time to develop in New Orleans

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Expecting Murphy to be the kind of dynamic presence in his first season that Sproles became in New Orleans is probably unrealistic. Sproles himself took three seasons in San Diego to become a real factor. He didn’t produce more than 200 yards from scrimmage until his fourth year with the Chargers.

Saints looking for Marcus Murphy to contribute as return man, third-down back | Saints | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Mike Alden's legacy

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Mike Alden's legacy

Perhaps the greatest testament to his time at the helm of the Missouri Athletic Department, and his prior stops at Arizona State, New Mexico, and Texas State before that, is his list of former employees. Among them are thirteen men and women who now serve as Division I Athletic Directors themselves. At last tally are two in the Power 5, four Group of 5, five FCS, and two non-football ADs. This explosion of success has been referred to as the "Alden AD Tree" by some, but many of his former pupils have their own name for the group.

Alden's Army: The Lasting Legacy of Mike Alden And His Army Of ADs - CollegeAD

Rock M is looking for a Columbia editor

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Rock M Nation is looking for a new contributor to serve as a "Columbia Editor". This individual would attend local events, write about restaurants or happenings around town, assist in other sports coverage, and generally help cover the culture and town behind Missouri athletics. Experience with Instagram and other social media accounts strongly preferred. Candidates must be local to Columbia. To apply, please send a writing sample to college@sbnation.com

Want to write for Rock M? Live in or near Columbia? Good on the Internet? Check it out.

Here's the rationale behind this (unpaid, for now) position: SBN sites are at their best when they communicate the fan experience. With colleges, that means a large percentage of the people interested in the team have either grown up near the college town, spent a lot of time there, or spent very formative years there before leaving. We're looking for someone who can help to communicate both the Missouri experience and the Columbia experience to those who don't get to spend as much time here as they want.

A good candidate will have a few different skills -- photography, writing ... the ability to communicate in one format or another, basically. Interested?

Gary Pinkel gets a contract extension

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Gary Pinkel gets a contract extension through 2021, becomes 6th highest paid coach in SEC.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri System Board of Curators has approved an amended contract for Head Football Coach Gary Pinkel that will keep him on the Mizzou sideline through Dec. 31, 2021. Already the winningest coach in Mizzou history with 113 wins in 14 seasons, Pinkel will see an increase in his guaranteed salary to $4,020,000 per year, up from the previous $3,200,000 figure.

Pinkel is the 25th-winningest coach in NCAA FCS history (4th among active coaches), with his 186 career victories in 24 seasons overall. His Tigers have won five conference divisional titles since 2007, which is tied for most in the nation during that stretch, and Mizzou’s 76 wins in that timeframe is tied for 5th-most nationally among Power 5 leagues.

Mizzou is coming off of back-to-back Southeastern Conference Eastern Division titles, with a combined 14-2 record within the league in 2013 and 2014. His team was picked to finish fourth in the SEC East this past season, but exceeded expectations once again, on the way to an 11-3 overall record, which included the East title, as well as the Citrus Bowl championship. Pinkel was named SEC Coach of the Year for his efforts by his league counterparts.

MUTigers.com

ESPN: Time has come for Mizzou to get its due

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"Florida’s struggled over the years, but everybody talks about Florida. Texas has struggled over the years, but everybody talks about Texas," he said. "But what about Missouri, which has built a phenomenal program? It’s the designer jean thing. Missouri’s just Levi’s, man. It's blue-collar. Pink has built a great football program that should have national notoriety.

The time has come for the Missouri Tigers to get their due - College Football Nation Blog - ESPN

NCAA's elimination of hardship waivers

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NCAA's elimination of hardship waivers: Under a new NCAA amendment ratified this week, the latter apparently won’t be possible. The NCAA eliminated immediate eligibility hardship waivers for Football Bowl Subdivision transfers. The rule change is effective immediately, so it doesn’t matter that Harding — whose father Corie is battling cancer for a second time — has been taking classes at Tulsa for two months before the amendment was ratified.

NCAA's elimination of hardship waivers devastating news for Khari Harding's family | News OK