How the former athletic directors at KU, Mizzou brought back the Border War series

The athletic directors responsible for negotiating the contracts that reinstated the Border War basketball and football series between Kansas and Missouri are no longer employed at the rival schools.

KU’s Jeff Long and Missouri’s Jim Sterk, who announced a six-game, six-year series in men’s basketball on Oct. 21, 2019 and unveiled a four-game football series on May 2, 2020, not so long ago left their jobs.

Long stepped down on March 10 and Sterk on July 26.

Their exits, of course, had nothing to do with their bringing back the Border War, which was on hiatus the past nine years coinciding with Missouri’s decision to leave the Big 12 Conference for the SEC.

As the Jayhawks and Tigers gear for Saturday’s 2:15 p.m. resumption of the rivalry at Allen Fieldhouse, it might be informative to revisit a June 15, 2020 online forum with the two former ADs conducted by former USA Today writer Steve Wieberg of the Kansas City Public Library.

The interview examined communications between the schools that resulted in the men’s basketball series that runs the next six years with two games played at KU, two at MU and two in T-Mobile Center as well as four football games played on the two campus sites during the 2025, 2026, 2031 and 2032 seasons.

Former KU AD Long stressed to Wieberg during the forum that, “Kansas fans and alumni made this decision and Kansas coaches made the decision.”

Long also praised KU Chancellor Douglas Girod for being “on board.”

The key to resuming the series from KU’s side — MU seemed receptive to scheduling KU ever since departing for the SEC — however, was getting the OK from KU men’s basketball coach Bill Self, who had been vocal for years about not being in any hurry to schedule the Tigers following their decision to bolt the conference.

Self for years took the position it was not in KU’s best interests to play Missouri once a year in men’s basketball.

Then came a charity exhibition basketball game, called “Showdown for Relief,” set up primarily by Self and MU’s Cuonzo Martin in October 2017 to support victims of natural disasters in the United States, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands.

The two schools raised $2 million while selling out the Sprint Center (now T-Mobile Center). KU won the exhibition, 93-87, in an entertaining, hard-fought game played on Oct. 22, 2017.

“We got to that point Coach Self recalled the charity game, the passion that was there, the rivalry that was there,” Long told Wieberg. “At the first meeting (between Self and Long discussing possible return of the Border War) he talked about that. I think it kind of grew with him. He got comfortable with it. I think he saw a rivalry dying and saw a chance to reignite it before it totally went away. Bill’s being on board and being excited about restarting the rivalry was very important to us at KU. Other (KU) coaches also have that interest,” Long added.

Long noted that when Missouri left the conference, Self was, “very much involved in the decisions of the Big 12 (concerning realignment). Certainly it (MU leaving) was personal for him. Like many things we just started a conversation and Bill engaged in the conversation. I didn’t push it but kept asking the questions. I think Bill is a very thoughtful man. He is a very thoughtful coach. He continues to think about things. Ninety nine percent of the time he arrives at a great place. Even if you disagree with him you realize he is at a place he thought it through to the nth degree,” Long stated to Wieberg in the forum.

Self explained to The Star on the day the hoop series was renewed that he did indeed soften his stance and give his blessing, first joking that, “I had the seven-year itch.”

“I can’t speak to it positively with Missouri. I can speak it’s a combination of myself and Jeff (Long, KU athletic director) and also input from other coaches in our department. Not one person made this decision. We are all on the same page with this,” Self stated emphatically.

“It is a subject talked about during our head coaches meetings (at KU) and certainly one in which my stance has probably been softened some since playing the exhibition game and seeing the interest in how an event like that can sell out in 41 minutes with all the money going to a great cause. Seeing how much it meant to so many people in a game that didn’t matter who won. … it was so competitive that day with players who never experienced that (rivalry).”

“Also the scheduling opportunity,” Self told The Star. “If we are going to play six guarantee games a year, that leaves you limited opportunities to schedule other games where many of them are scheduled for you. An exempt tournament would be three (games), the Champions Classic four, the SEC/Big 12 Challenge five (as well as Big East/Big 12 Battle) then you have one home and away scheduled. We had an opening.”

Self added that, “this is something I felt we’d do eventually. This is the best opportunity to do it. We’d been kicking it around for months. It got finalized and the athletic directors met and talked it out and came to an agreement this is best for both universities,” Self noted.

While Self had no interest in playing Missouri for several seasons — and it seemed a majority of KU fans backed him on this — Missouri fans were also not 100% in favor of playing the Jayhawks again, Sterk noted at the library forum.

“I had the same questions. There were some for, some against,” Sterk said. “Some people didn’t want it. We saw the passion around the charity game. That game came about for hurricane relief. We raised over $2 million for hurricane relief. It was special. I was, ‘Wow this is a charity game, doesn’t mean anything (as far as who wins), but all the people were excited to be there at the Sprint Center (sellout crowd).’ They (MU fans) are excited about it coming back.”

Sterk shared a story about how Missouri fans took notice when KU and MU agreed to play again.

“When we announced it … John Anderson of ESPN, an alum of Missouri text me. The text said, ‘You and Jeff (Long) deserve the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing this back.’ It was funny but it was because Jeff and I had known each other a long time. I could reach out and say, ‘Jeff I know you are just hired (by KU on July 5, 2018; Sterk was hired by MU Aug. 9, 2016). Congratulations and by the way your daughter is coming here. She’s a good Mizzou alum. When the time is right, let’s talk about it (playing again).’

“It didn’t happen right away. We started to talk football first. Basketball came about and we ended up getting that done sooner than the football games,” Sterk stated.

Sterk had said he and Long discussed the resumption of the Border War for over a year before things got serious.

“Cuonzo (Martin, MU basketball coach) was interested in doing it,” Sterk said. “He has a lot of respect for Kansas basketball as far as their success. He loves being able to play that rival game as a preface to SEC play.

“I credit our chancellors as well,” Sterk added. “They were at AAU meetings in Washington, D.C. They were meeting and shaking hands and being involved in the decision was very important. It sends the right message. What we are trying to do is we want it to be a great rivalry game. We want passionate fans and also be in a great atmosphere and a great atmosphere of sportsmanship as well.”

Of course, none of this would be happening without the blessing of KU basketball coach Self.

Self reminded The Star that despite being adamant about not playing MU since the Tigers left the league, “I never said we’d never do it. There’s been some time that’s passed. Missouri made the decision that was in the best interest of their school at the time. We made the decision in our best interest at the time. I see it (resumption of series) as a positive.”

“I do know this,” Self told The Star, “my players that have experienced the rivalry and coaches that experienced the rivalry missed the rivalry. I always missed the game. I never admitted that. I missed the game. I know our players will look forward to it. I’m sure Missouri players and coaches felt the same way. Our current players of course haven’t been part of the rivalry. It won’t take long for all parties to be sold on the intensity and the importance of playing well against our bordering university.

“I am excited about it. I think it’s just good for us. We did it because it’s good for Kansas. I do believe both schools will benefit.”

Self said the series is good for the athletes.

“Look at the interest level,” he said. “These are games players look forward to playing. I think it’s good. One thing is players and coaches like to play in games that matter. To me this is one of the premier games.”

Some believe the KU-Missouri basketball and football games could be classics in the future.

“This is the best quote I can give you. I think this applies to everything, everything in life: Time heals all wounds. I believe that,” said former KU director of basketball operations Barry Hinson, now a senior analyst at Oklahoma State.

“We are looking at that right here right now in the state of Oklahoma with Big 12 realignment. Time heals all wounds. When you realize you have something special it just takes time to reflect, step back and realize time heals all wounds

“It’ll be great. From a fan perspective; it’ll be absolutely one of the great college basketball games of the season. There’s Duke-North Carolina, there’s no reason you can’t have KU-Mizzou,” Hinson added.

Will the games be exciting for years to come?

“I think so just because of the rivalry and the I think it’ll always be a rivalry no matter what. It just depends how good the teams will be,” said KU assistant coach Kurtis Townsend. “If we are a top ten team and they are a top ten team I think anytime you put two rivals together and they both have two of the top ten teams in the country I think will create a great atmosphere and fun boast-type game like those were.”

Noted KU senior guard Ochai Agbaji: “I think it’s special. For Kansas as a program and Mizzou as a program,. bringing that rivalry back has a lot of tradition and history behind it. It means a lot to a lot of people from both universities. It’s going to be fun playing in it. It’s going to be exciting. Growing up I remember that being a big deal. Mizzou and KU playing basketball was really big,” the Oak Park High graduate added.

The Tigers feel the same way about the rivalry being renewed.

“I think it’s awesome,’ former Tiger Kim English told Lila Bromberg of The Star. “I think it’s a game that should be played every year, just like Louisville/Kentucky, just like Wisconsin/Marquette, just like any other good (out of) conference rivalry. It’s great for the fans. It’s great for the kids. They both do a lot of recruiting in St. Louis and Kansas City. It’s awesome. It’s awesome in Columbia. It’s going to be awesome in Lawrence. It’ll be awesome in Kansas City. …”

Noted former Tiger Matt Pressey: “If you watch GameDay, I talked about it. I said I would hope that when emotions are out of it, things are calmed down, that we can revisit and want to play again, because I know from my standpoint, I would love for us to continue to play. And I think there was, it’s just like any time when you have these realignment, just disappointment and upset and you feel jaded a little bit, and I think that was the way Kansas looked at it at that point in time.”

The only negative, former Tiger Marcus Denmon said, is the series was supposed to begin last season at T-Mobile Center, but the lineup of games was switched because of the pandemic.

“I’m a little sad that COVID caused the first game to be at KU (this season). It’s tough to win at KU, not a lot of people do it. So I would have liked to start off in Kansas City like the contract stated: start off in Kansas City, then go to KU, then go to Mizzou, then go to KU, go back to Kansas City, whatever the format was,” Denmon said. “But I definitely will be excited to see that game and see the rivalry. And I just hope that the players there understand it, because here we are 10 years later almost talking about Marcus Denmon and the 2012 rivalry games and it’s 2021. So you know, when you’re a kid in college, you don’t understand it all the time how important certain stuff is to university, to alumni, to fans, and I’m just glad that I do now.”

KU-MU basketball series

Game One (2021-22 season): at Allen Fieldhouse

Game Two (2022-23): at Mizzou Arena

Game Three (2023-24): at Allen Fieldhouse

Game Four (2024-25): at Mizzou Arena.

Game Five: (2025-26): at T-Mobile Center

Game Six (2026-27): at T-Mobile Center.

KU-MU football series

Sept 6, 2025: at Missouri

Sept 12, 2026 at Kansas

Sept 6, 2031: at Missouri

Sept 11, 2032: at Kansas

This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 5:00 AM.

Gary Bedore

The Kansas City Star

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Gary Bedore covers KU basketball for The Kansas City Star. He has written about the Jayhawks since 1978 — during the Ted Owens, Larry Brown, Roy Williams and Bill Self eras. He has won the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year award and KPA writing awards.