The Missouri Western Griffons are the sports teams of

Missouri Western State University Missouri Western State University is a public university in Saint Joseph, Missouri. As of 2019, it enrolled 5,413 students. History Missouri Western State University was founded in 1915 as a two-year institution called St. Joseph Junior College ...

located in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...

. They participate in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

's Division II and in the

Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level, headquartered ...

(MIAA).

Sports sponsored

Football

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

at Missouri is played at

Spratt Stadium Spratt Memorial Stadium, also known as Craig Field at Spratt Stadium, is a 7,500 seat stadium in St. Joseph, Missouri, United States, on the campus of Missouri Western State University. In 2010, it became the summer training camp for the Kansas C ...

. The current head football coach is Matt Williamson, who has held the position since 2017. He replaced Jerry Partridge, who was head coach from 1997–2016. Partridge became Missouri Western's all-time wins leader on September 30, 2006 as the Griffons defeated

Truman State University Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a public university in Kirksville, Missouri. It had 4,225 enrolled students in the fall of 2021 pursuing degrees in 52 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs. The university is named for U.S. Presiden ...

. His current total of 149 career victories ranks third on the MIAA all-time list.

Kansas City Chiefs summer training camp

The school has been the summer training camp for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

since 2010. The $15.7 million facility was paid for by $10 million from the Chiefs (from state tax credits) and $1.2 million from student fees at Missouri Western, with the rest coming from the City of St. Joseph, Buchanan County and private donations.Chiefs camp carries heftier price tag St. Joseph News-Press – January 16, 2009
It was designed by St. Joseph architect firm Ellison-Auxier architects, Inc., which designed the school's Spratt Hall and clock tower. A climate-controlled, 120-yard

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

regulation grass indoor field, with a locker room, weight room, training room, classrooms and office space was completed in the summer of 2010. This facility is referred to as the "Griffon Indoor Sports Complex."

Notable alumni

* Roger Allen III,

offensive lineman *

Chris Ball Christopher Farley Ball (born May 7, 1963) is an American football coach and former player. He assumed the position as the head football coach at Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football, Northern Arizona University in December 2018. Head coaching ...

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...

head football coach * David Bass, NFL defensive lineman * Michael Hill, NFL running back *

Travis Partridge Travis Partridge (born September 22, 1990) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Missouri Western State University and attended Savannah High School in Savannah, Missouri. He has also been a member of the Minne ...

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

quarterback *

Paul Rhoads Paul Robert Rhoads (born February 2, 1967) is an American college football coach. He is currently an analyst at Ohio State. A long-time major conference assistant coach and head coach, he is best-known for his seven-year tenure as head coach at ...

, college football coach * Gijon Robinson, NFL tight end *

Larry Taylor Samuel Lawrence Taylor (June 26, 1942 – August 19, 2019) was an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of Canned Heat from 1967. Before joining Canned Heat he had been a session bassist for The Monkees and Jerry Lee Le ...

, Olympic basketball player * Greg Zuerlein, NFL kicker *

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

, NFL defensive back * Leonard Wester, NFL offensive lineman *

Sam Webb Samuel Webb (born June 4, 1945) is an American activist and political leader, who served as the Chairman of the Communist Party USA from 2000 to 2014, succeeding the party's longest running leader Gus Hall. Webb did not accept nomination to b ...

, NFL Defensive Back

References

External links

* {{Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association navbox