Jim Sterk talks about the Border War revival
On Wednesday morning, Mizzou Director of Athletics Jim Sterk sat down with PowerMizzou.com publisher Gabe DeArmond. The main topic of conversation was the recent announcement of a six-game basketball series against Kansas. Listen to the conversation above or read a full transcription below.
Nobody had any real idea outside of probably a handful of people knew this was coming. As in-depth as you can, how did this all come about?
"When Jeff (Long) got the job 14 months ago, and we had such a great experience, positive experience with the relief game, the hurricane relief game. Actually I've got a signed thank you note from the living presidents at the time, so it was pretty cool. Jimmy Carter, Reagan, it was really neat, but that was so positive, but you saw the passion and the drive. I didn't want to let it go and then I felt with Jeff getting hired there, I had a relationship with him, I called him and said, 'Hey, congratulations, at the right time, would love to talk to you.' So then from there it was just reaching out every once in a while and saying 'Hey, can we do this?' Then we started to talk football, could we do something at Arrowhead and started to look at dates and things with basketball and all our sports. Track and field, for instance, there's a track meet there this coming year and I sent a note, 'Hey, this would be good to do.' It was just kind of communication. Then Friday, we're in Nashville and he said, 'Can you meet Monday?' I said, 'Well, yes, we can do that.' So then we started to lay out for basketball, we had been talking enough, so hey, start at the Sprint and end at the Sprint, four games in between and then making it even both from a fan standpoint as far as number of home games and then television. We have, obviously, league partners so they want a shot at it as well, so having an even shot there, so it needed to be an even number. It worked out with the Sprint Center, we met at the Sprint Center on Monday and then were able to knock it out. Then the other thing that was really great, Chancellor Cartwright and their Chancellor were at AAU meetings together in D.C. and I'm texting him saying 'Hey, I'm meeting with them tomorrow' and he goes, 'Oh, we're at a social together and I'll talk to him.' I think that was all positive as well. At a higher level and all in between, I think everyone felt it was a good time."
I'm not asking you to decipher the inner workings of Kansas' athletic department, but the stance here for seven years has always been when they want to play, we'll play. So is it fair to say from your experience that a new AD and Jeff Long was probably the driving force behind what changed there?
"I don't know about driving. I think what he wanted to do, and he said it, is monitor the situation. 'Where are we? And is it time to bring this back?' I think collectively they must have felt it was the time to do that. Maybe it was the new AD, maybe new Chancellor or whatever, but they felt it was the right time."
I know you're talking about football and fans have some interest in other sports, but how symbolic or important is it that the first part of this is men's basketball? Because I've made the contention if you look at this rivalry, this is a men's basketball rivalry far above what it might be in anything else.
"Yeah, you're more of a historian there than me. But felt that was maybe an important place to start. With games, football, it's five years out or whatever, the first we can probably get to it, but we need to get it on the schedule. I think it was, like I said, maybe an important place to start."
Did you get the impression that maybe any relationship or mutual respect between Cuonzo Martin and Bill Self played a role?
"I think it does. I think that all helps. I think they both respect each other. They also saw the passion at the game and maybe, you know, for a non-conference game, it obviously is a great non-conference game that you can have every year that you can build your schedule around. They play a game at the Sprint Center every year, they take a non-conference game there so this can be that one."
Has the reaction from your fans been universally positive? Close to universallly positive?
"Yeah. Yeah, I think universally positive. I haven't monitored the social media, all of that, or the chat lines. But the folks that I've talked to and I had heard that from the start as far as getting here. I think they have that same opinion that it would be good for us to play them."
Couple of logistical questions. I've had people ask if these games could be worked into the Big 12/SEC Challenge or if it will be separate.
"We're trying to keep that separate. I don't know. I haven't talked to the SEC that way or the Big 12. I know that's what our intent was. Or, it could be worked out that way. I guess I want to retract that. We want to make sure that they don't schedule two. That's the thing. We all agreed on that, that hey, if it's part of the Big 12 challenge that this is the game, there's not going to be another one. One game a year."
But theoretically, you could play Kansas and then another Big 12 team in that event?
"Correct. Yes."
Then also, I know that the Sprint Center game is deemed a KU home game and the last one is your home game. You may not know this yet, but how will tickets work? How many tickets will Missouri fans be able to get?
"Generally, I think the intent was because they play there every year for them to start there because their ticket base is expecting a game there. Then they will get to fulfill their season ticket base and then what's left is ours to sell. We haven't gone over, the folks at the Sprint Center sent us manifests and how are we going to do that, how many exact tickets it is, but it will be our season ticket holders that have first shot at it. What it does also is give us a chance to build up our season ticket base so that we can buy 11,000 tickets there."
But there has to be some minimum number you'll get for that first game, right? This is me saying this, not you, I know Kansas fans don't care about playing this game, but theoretically if they did sell every ticket available in the Sprint Center, you still get some?
"Oh yes. They have a maximum. There's a maximum number there."
I know you were on the radio last night and talked about football. Where are you at in the discussion of other sports?
"We're having those discussions. We talked about it as we were doing this deal with basketball, we obviously talked about that. So we wanted it to be a broader sports. Olympic sports, they can start talking to their partners or their competitors at Kansas and okay, what could work for us? Those games are scheduled on more of a yearly basis as well so we wanted to get kind of the framework of this and then be able to do that as well. Then football's kind of, as I said, we had already started talking about that and what can work. That could be, I don't want to put a time frame on it, but probably before the end of the year we'll have something on it."
Can you address the logistics? I know you have non-conference games that are scheduled 11 years from now and I know a lot of coaches might not want to play two Power Five games in a year. Would you have to buy games out or how would that work?
"We may have to move games. You're spot on and you've looked at our schedule and where it would work. You've analyzed this. But those are the things that we've got to work out as far as maybe moving a game here or there so that we can do that. But not out of the realm of possibility maybe where there's two Power Fives in a year."
Last thing on this, more of a personal thing. It is weird to me as somebody who grew up in Kansas City that there are people here who really have no frame of reference for what a Missouri/Kansas basketball game is like. You worked a lot of time out on the West coast. What's your understanding of this rivalry and do you have an expectation for what it will be like maybe based on that exhibition game?
"That gave me a good taste because it was one of the best atmospheres I've been at. That's why I haven't let up on this as far as trying to get something done because sports need those kind of rivalries. And done in the right way. There needs to be sportsmanship about it and I thought it was done correctly. I look forward to those kind of games and I know our coaches and players do too. Cuonzo's comments about it, those are big games every year that you look forward to and it's like a championship game in the regular season is what it will be."
Last thing, outside of this because we have to ask every time we see you, do you have any update on anything with the NCAA situation?
"I do not. No. No."