Coaches stump for new facilities all the time. It's part of the job description. But rarely do you see a coach go about it as bluntly as Missouri's Gary Pinkel.
The Tigers completed a $48.5 million renovation to Faurot Field's east side before the season began, and Pinkel began campaigning for a new south end zone project on his weekly radio show Monday night
"The next thing we have to do -- and we have to do it fast, OK? We have to do it in the next few years -- we have to build a facility down there in the south that wraps around there," Pinkel said, as transcribed by the Columbia Tribune. "And it’ll have football offices, weight room, new locker room. Our offices are nice but, compared to everybody else in the league, they’re just average. We don’t want to be average at anything. We need to build that down there at the south end, and we don’t need to wait six to eight years to get it done.
"We want to win at a high level, we want to compete at a high level. We want to try and be the best we can be. Facility-wise, that’s what we have to get done. That’s the next project in my rallying squad. Things we need to get done."
Athletics director Mike Alden has stated he doesn't want to commit to a new project until fans consistently fill Faurot Field as is - something fans have not done yet this season. Mizzou has averaged 62,464 for games against South Dakota State, Central Florida and Indiana. The school drew 67,124 - Faurot Field's capacity under construction - three times in 2013, and have yet to fill the new capacity of 71,168. That could happen Saturday versus Georgia. "We should sell everything out, to be honest with you," Pinkel said. "It should not be a big deal that it’s sold out, in my opinion."
Pinkel does a little bit of fear mongering here, cautioning that if Mizzou continues to allow its facilities to be average, that simply won't be good enough to compete in the SEC.
"We’ve got to keep building," Pinkel said. "In this league, they’ll run right by you. They’ll be by you. Who wants to be average at anything? Nobody out there does. Mizzou fans don’t want to be average. Let’s make a commitment and get it done."