‘We needed to evolve:’ What led Jim Sterk to change Mizzou’s retired number policy

Missouri retired Derrick Chievous’ No. 3 jersey during halftime of its loss to Kentucky on Tuesday, making the New York native the seventh men’s basketball player to receive the honor.

It was also the second number retirement in as many months that stemmed from a new policy from athletic director Jim Sterk.

The athletic department recently retired Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer’s No. 31 Mizzou jersey in January and plans to retire former basketball star John Brown’s No. 50 during the Tigers’ March 9 game against Ole Miss.

Missouri’s number policy has seen a number of makeovers and controversy over the years, so it was no surprise Sterk looked at it when he was hired in the summer of 2016.

The Tigers have retired more numbers in football than Southeastern Conference brethren Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Florida and Alabama. Despite all their success, Florida and Alabama have never retired a player’s number.

After Missouri retired former running back Brock Olivo’s No. 27 in 2003, the policy was changed after a number of fans thought other players were more deserving.

At the time of Olivo’s induction, MU’s policy made a football player eligible if he had won one of five national awards. Olivo won the Mosi Tatupu Award, given to the nation’s top special teams player, but it wasn’t one of the five. Former Missouri athletic director Joe Castiglione and coach Larry Smith approved the honor anyway.

Missouri then changed its policy, which made it difficult for a player to receive the honor. It required a student-athlete to meet five requirements:

• Earn a degree from MU
• Be of “unquestioned good character, reputation and integrity”
• Represent the school by displaying the highest degree of sportsmanship
• Participate as a member of an MU sports team five years before retirement
• Win the Heisman Trophy or be chosen national player of the year in baseball, basketball, volleyball, soccer or softball

“We wanted to catch up a little bit,” Sterk said. “We needed to evolve.”

The old policy addressed fans’ concerns but also became unrealistic. In the one-and-done era of college basketball, a player who wins the Naismith Player of the Year award likely won’t be on campus three or four years to finish a degree as the NBA continues to prioritize younger prospects.

Under the old policy, Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young winner and six-time MLB All Star, wouldn’t have been eligible despite being an all-conference pitcher at Missouri.

Sterk had Nick Joos, MU’s deputy athletics director and head of communications, and a group conduct a one-year study to look into changing the policy. Joos looked at other Power Five and SEC schools’ policies for retired numbers.

“I think we had a great understanding for why it was the way it was,” Joos said of MU’s approach. “Maybe broadening it a little bit would maybe recognize some people that were deserving of that honor and were left behind (because of the old policy).”

Joos found that MU’s new policy, which requires a student-athlete to meet at least four of 10 requirements for induction, is broader than some other Power Five schools. But he points out some schools don’t believe in the practice.

Nebraska has retired 25 numbers of former football players but have continued to issue 23 of the numbers to current players. The only permanently retired numbers in Lincoln are for Tom Novak (No. 60) and Bob Brown (No. 64).

“Each institution is a little bit unique,” Sterk said. “We wanted to be more consistent so we can utilize and recognize some more consistent policies from our letterwinners.”

Missouri’s new policy requirements include a student-athlete to be at least 10 years removed from their college career and a member of the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame.

Joos said the Hall of Fame requirement gives another committee the chance to screen a player’s resume and prevent the honor from losing its distinction.

“We don’t want to water down the accomplishments for those that have had it,” Joos said.

Missouri’s other requirements for induction are:

• Multiple all-conference honors
• Major conference award, such as offensive or defensive player of the year
• All-America honors (first-, second-, or third-team)
• Win a nationally recognized award (Heisman Trophy, Naismith Player of the Year, Golden Spikes Award)
• Hold a career record in a significant category, conference or national
• Olympic medalist while an athlete at MU
• Five years of NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA service with distinguished achievement (MVP, Cy Young, Silver Slugger, etc.)
• Induction into college or pro sports hall of fame for their respective sport

During Chievous’ ceremony, MU women’s basketball star Sophie Cunningham presented Chievous with a signed No. 3 jersey, which Chievous said he will hang outside his daughter’s room.

Maybe it was fitting Cunningham, who wears the same number as Chievous, was involved in his ceremony, as numerous fans have advocated for MU retiring her number when her college career comes to a close this spring.

Sterk has no doubt Cunningham’s No. 3 will one day hang in the Mizzou Arena rafters but said she — like everyone else — will have to go through the new process.

“I would love to be here (for Cunningham’s retirement) because she’s just a great contributor to the program and has meant so much to the program,” Sterk said.

This story was originally published February 20, 2019 at 4:01 PM.