Tagged: southeastern conference

The University of Missouri's first year in the Southeastern Conference continues to pay dividends away from the field.

School officials on Tuesday announced an $8.3 million gift from Don and Audrey Walsworth of Marceline. The donation follows a $30 million gift from the Kansas City Sports Trust in June and a $6.4 million anonymous contribution in December.

The Walsworth gift will go toward previously announced Memorial Stadium improvements. The school plans to add 6,000 seats to the stadium, which now holds 71,004 fans.

Missouri fans planning to attend the school's homecoming parade next weekend might want to bring some coffee.

The Southeastern Conference set an 11 a.m. kickoff for Missouri's Oct. 27 homecoming game against Kentucky. That means a 7 a.m. start for the annual downtown parade. The match of two teams winless in conference play will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

Missouri (3-4, 0-4 SEC) has a bye this week after a 42-10 loss to No. 1 Alabama. Kentucky (1-6, 0-4) hosts No. 13 Georgia on Saturday.

Some Columbia homeowners are taking advantage of packed hotels this year by renting out their properties on home game football weekends. MU’s transition to the SEC has inspired a number of homeowners to open their homes for a weekend to visiting fans.

Dan Reidt, local property owner, decided to join the bandwagon after hearing about the money other renters were hoping to earn.

The University of Missouri football team will host its first Southeastern Conference game on Saturday night, but Delta Airlines is preparing for the occasion as well.

Delta has added an extra, one-time direct flight from Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson International Airport to Columbia Regional Airport on Saturday, ahead of Missouri’s matchup with the University of Georgia. An extra, nonstop flight returning to Atlanta has also been scheduled for Sunday morning.

The flights are in addition to the regular, daily flights between the airports that began in June.