For the first time since 2011, the Kansas football team will play the Missouri Tigers on the gridiron in Columbia on Sept. 6. Fans on both sides have missed out on this rivalry since Missouri left the Big 12 for the SEC nearly 15 years ago.
When the two schools quit playing after 2011, they had the second-longest rivalry in FBS history. They had played 120 games, and 93 years in a row. Despite the long respite, the Border War is still the eighth-longest running rivalry in FBS history.
The Athletic ranked the Kansas-Missouri Border War rivalry the 19th-best in the country. While that is fair now, considering how it has just recently been renewed after a decade hiatus, when these schools were in the same conference, playing each other in every sport, every year, it would have ranked much higher.
Before kickoff, college football rivalries bring families, friends and colleagues closer together. The outcome instantly divides those same people.
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 7, 2025
But which ones rise above the rest in the nation? pic.twitter.com/Y76gDXpzrm
History of the Border War rivalry
Over the decades, the rivalry has been close on the football field. According to the Tigers, the series record is 57-54-9, while the Jayhawks claim it is 56-55-9. That one disputed win is based on a post-season Big Eight ruling (not an NCAA ruling) that found a KU student-athlete who played in the game to be ineligible, and that KU had to forfeit the win. The NCAA didn’t find any wrongdoing, so Kansas doesn’t recognize the forfeit, hence the differing records.
Of course, the rivalry is 170 years old, and it is deeply rooted in something bigger than sports. It dates back to the 1850s, when Kansas was debating whether to enter the Union as a free or slave state. Horrible atrocities were committed by both sides, including William Quantrill burning downtown Lawrence twice.
Those ancient bad feelings have carried over to the two universities through the decades, and not just in football and men's basketball, but in all other sports as well. Fans on both sides have come up with creative ways to taunt the other school's players, many of which are not in line with good sportsmanship.
But that is what rivalries are all about. Few were more bitter than this one. Through the years, it was recognized nationally as a great college rivalry, but it was never fully appreciated. It was underrated; nationally, people didn’t realize the deep-seated hatred between the two schools.
The two schools are scheduled to play each other in football this year and next, then again in 2031 and 2032. Hopefully, the schools can agree to play each other every year after that in football. In basketball, the schools have played against each other in each of the last four seasons, with another matchup scheduled for this season.
This rivalry should be an annual event in all sports. It is challenging for current students to comprehend the complex history and animosity between the two schools due to the long hiatus between matchups. If the schools stop playing each other, this incredible rivalry will fade away, and that is a sad thing. It is bitter rivalries like this that add the extra passion to college sports. It is what separates college sports from the pros. Everything should be done to keep the fires of these rivalries well stoked.