The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame will induct former University of Central Missouri quarterback Eric Czerniewski, former St. Louis Football Cardinals running back Terry Metcalf, Branson sports radio broadcaster Scott McCaulley, Missouri Southern’s 1972 NAIA National Championship Team, as well Midway High School coach Larry Burchett and the Midway High School Football Program.

They all highlight the annual Football Luncheon presented by the Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Bottling Company, set for 11 a.m. on Tuesday, October 20 at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds’ E-Plex East Wing.

Eric Czerniewski – Montgomery County High School/University of Central Missouri

Czerniewski led Montgomery County to the 2005 Class 2 state championship and a state runner-up finish. He ended his career as the state’s all-time leader in pass attempts (1,236), completions (775), yards (11,557) and touchdowns (140).

At Central Missouri, he won the 2010 Harlon Hill, considered the Heisman Trophy in NCAA Division II, and is the only player from Missouri to ever win that award. That season, he set D-II records with 5,207 yards passing, a nation-leading 46 TD passes and total offense (5,203).

Terry Metcalf – St. Louis Football Cardinals

Metcalf a running back of the St. Louis Football Cardinals from 1973 to 1977 and was among the most versatile players during the coach Don “Air” Coryell era. In his National Football League career, which also included the 1980 season for Washington, he was a rusher, receiver and kick and punt returner who combined for 9,978 yards. Along the way, Metcalf earned three Pro Bowl selections, team Rookie of the Year honors in 1973 and, in 1974, was the United Press International’s (UPI) runner-up for NFL MVP and the team’s MVP.

Click here to read about the rest of the class.

Jennies Basketball’s Morgan Fleming is moving on in the NCAA Woman of the Year Award process. In the latest round, each conference announced their nominees for who will move forward with Fleming as the MIAA representative. The original list started out with a record 605 school nominees across all three NCAA Divisions. That number has now been cut to 161 after conference nominations. The Woman of the Year Selection Committee will next choose the top-30 honorees, 10 coming from each division in September. In Division II there are a total of 39 conference nominees.

Fleming is the fifth Jennie since 2012 to be the MIAA nominee, and the first from Jennies Basketball. Lindsay Lettow was the league’s nominee in 2012, Kayla Shain in 2013, Erin Alewine in 2014 and Heavin Warner in 2016. Fleming will seek to be the first in that group to advance to the top-30.

Fleming graduated this spring with a 3.8 GPA in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. She was a CoSIDA Academic All-American this season and a three-time MIAA Scholar Athlete. She was highly involved in the Warrensburg community working with local elementary schools, Warrensburg Community Clothes and Project Community Connect. She also volunteers at Warrensburg Park and Rec youth basketball practices and a Certified Nursing Assistant at the Missouri Veterans Home and at Western Missouri Medical Center.

For all she did on the court, Fleming was the MIAA Winter Sports Female Student-Athlete of the Year and won the Sports Radio 810 ESPY Award as the Small School Female College Athlete of the Year. She finished her UCM with 1,550 career points, ninth all-time and is the only Jennie since 2000 with more than 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 250 career assists. She was a WBCA All-American after her senior year and led the Jennies to two MIAA regular season, one MIAA Tournament, one NCAA Regional and one National Championship.

Missouri State

After receiving a waiver from the NCAA to move their 2020 football season opener, Missouri State University and the University of Oklahoma announced Saturday they will now play on Saturday, Aug. 29, a week earlier than the originally-scheduled contest, when the programs square off at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

The NCAA approved the request to move the game to allow the schools more schedule flexibility in addressing potential issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will mark the first-ever gridiron meeting between the two programs, and a start time for the game has yet to be determined.

“We really appreciate the NCAA’s waiver approval to move our game with Oklahoma up to ‘week zero,’ said Missouri State Director of Athletics Kyle Moats. “The request was made purely for the safety and health of the student-athletes and will allow both teams two weeks to recover before their next games and adjust as necessary to the ever-changing landscape of the pandemic.

“We very much appreciate OU, specifically AD Joe Castiglione, and their efforts and communication throughout this process. I look forward to Aug 29 and the kickoff of the college football season for us in Norman.”

According to Oklahoma officials, broadcast information and other details related to potential stadium capacity limitations, revised game-day procedures and new safety protocols will be announced in the coming weeks.

The 2020 season opener will mark the debut for the Bears new head coach Bobby Petrino, who inherits a program with 31 returning lettermen and 12 returning starters. Petrino is 119-56 in 14 previous seasons as a collegiate head coach.

The Oklahoma game will mark Missouri State’s third straight football season opener in the month of August. The Bears also opened the 2019 campaign on Aug. 29 with last season’s debut at Northern Arizona.

Northwest Missouri State

The Northwest Missouri State University football team is ranked No. 5 in Lindy’s Sports College Football National 2020 Preview issue.

Bearcat senior offensive lineman Tanner Owen (Kearney, Missouri) is listed as a first-team all-America pick by Lindy’s. The Bearcats are slated to open the 2020 season Oct. 3 at home against Pittsburg State.

Two additional in-state programs make the top 25 as Central Missouri is ranked 14th and Lindenwood is 17th.  The full poll:

Lindy’s Division II Preseason Top 25
1. West Florida
2. Lenoir-Rhyne
3. Valdosta State
4. Minnesota State
5. Northwest Missouri State
6. Ferris State
7. Notre Dame (Ohio)
8. Texas A&M-Commerce
9. Harding
10. Colorado School of Mines
11. Slippery Rock
12. Indianapolis
13. Colorado State-Pueblo
14. Central Missouri
15. Ouachita Baptist
16. Wingate
17. Lindenwood
18. Bowie State
19. Shepherd
20. Indiana (Pa.)
21. Tiffin
22. Sioux Falls
23. Carson-Newman
24. Augustana
25. Grand Valley State

WashU announced Wednesday that all fall sports, including football, are canceled for the 2020 season.  The university issued the following release.

Due to the continuing COVID-19 global pandemic, Washington University in St. Louis will not participate in varsity athletic competitions this Fall season.

This includes men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, volleyball, football, women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis and sports that compete with non-traditional competition seasons – baseball and softball.

“These are incredibly challenging and unprecedented times for higher education and intercollegiate athletics. While the decision to cancel Fall competitive schedules was not made easily, we remain committed to keeping the safety and well-being of our student-athletes and campus community front of mind,” said Director of Athletics Anthony J. Azama. “We will transition the focus of our planning initiatives to explore possible activity experience for Fall student-athletes once they return to campus.”

Decisions on Winter sports have not been made and will be evaluated by University leadership later in the Fall.

The MIAA will delay the start of all intercollegiate athletic practices until the week of August 31, with the start of competition delayed until the week of September 28. Restrictions and limitations on student-athlete and coach activities prior to the August 31 start of MIAA practices will be announced soon.

“This plan allows our student-athletes to get back on campus and get acclimated with the student body before we begin practices and competition,” said MIAA Commissioner Mike Racy. “We remain hopeful that the MIAA student-athletes will be able to practice and compete this fall, but we need to be patient and make sure that we are doing that in a healthy and safe environment for our student-athletes, coaches, and administrators.”

The plan will allow member universities to continue to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic, and to make decisions about athletics and other campus activities based on conditions in that community and with guidance from local and state health officials.

The MIAA Conference is made up of 14 teams, five of which are located in Missouri: Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri Southern in Joplin, Missouri Western in St. Joseph and Northwest Missouri in Maryville. The rest of the conference is made up of schools in Kansas and Oklahoma.

The other Division II conference, the Great Lakes Valley, which features nine schools from Missouri is taking a thorough review process of NCAA-recommended guidelines and intends to make a final decision regarding competition in the near future.

The Northwest Missouri State University Bearcat football team has been tabbed No. 9 in the 2020 College Football America Yearbook Division II preseason top 30. Northwest returns 16 starters and 59 letterwinners from a season ago. The Bearcats are coming off a 12-2 mark, which saw the program reach the quarterfinals of the 2019 NCAA Division II playoffs.

Northwest has put together an MIAA-record 25 straight winning seasons dating back to the 1995 season. Northwest has competed in the NCAA Div. II playoffs 24 times overall, including an NCAA-record 16 consecutive appearances. Northwest has captured six NCAA Div. II national championships – the most national titles by any Division II program. Northwest won national championships in 1998, 1999, 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2016. The Bearcat have played in the NCAA Div. II national championship game 10 times in the last 22 years. Northwest played for the crown in 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2016.

Central Missouri Mules Football came in ranked 13th in the nation in their top-30 poll. The Mules went 11-2 last year advancing to the Division II Playoffs. They won their 13th MIAA Championship in team history and the first since 2003. For the fourth time in school history, the Mules won 10 or more games in a single-season. They hosted the first round of the NCAA Playoffs, a 37-27 win over Indianapolis.

Mizzou athletics received confirmation late last week from the NCAA that baseball and softball are eligible for postseason next year. Both programs were leveled with sanctions by the NCAA early in 2019 that included a postseason ban for 2020, but there was some concern that the ban would remain in place since this year’s season was canceled. Mizzou baseball last made an NCAA regional in 2012. Softball made Regionals in 2019 for the 13th straight season.

On Jan. 31, 2019, the NCAA originally announced the sanctions against MU, which included a postseason ban for the Mizzou football, baseball and softball teams. The football team was unable to play in a bowl game after the 2019 season due to the ban. This all came after an investigation into a former tutor who completed classwork for 12 student-athletes.

???? Some GREAT news to brighten your Monday morning ⤵

Mizzou Athletics received confirmation late last week from the NCAA that @MizzouBaseball & @MizzouSoftball are eligible for 2021 postseason tournaments. The bans have been served.#MIZ l #ShowMe ????

— Mizzou Athletics (@MizzouAthletics) July 6, 2020

New Mizzou football coach Eli Drinkwitz took a major step in rebuilding the program’s image with in-state recruits when the Tigers earned the commitment of four-star St. Louis Lutheran North defensive end Travion Ford.

Ford is ranked as the number-two player in the state of Missouri and the eighth-ranked weak-side defensive end in the country. The 6-foot-2, 222-pounder also had offers from Alabama, LSU, Michigan and Ohio State.

I Made My College Decision‼️@CoachReed314 pic.twitter.com/fpB0rRnoP1

— Travion Ford ® (@Tre_Got_Skills) April 30, 2020

Drinkwitz is trying to lead another resurgence on in-state recruiting just as Gary Pinkel had done. The Ford commitment gives Coach Drink’s effort a huge shot in the arm. Just this week, I hosted a podcast where I talked about football’s recruiting being a work in progress. Look, it’s great to nail down a bunch of three-star in-state guys but beating out the likes of schools lik Indiana and Louisville isn’t going to get the job done in the SEC.

When we hear Mizzou is beating out Alabama and LSU for homegrown talent, if Drinkwitz can keep piling those up, it will turn the Tigers into an SEC contender.