Mizzou Makes Leap to SEC Official

The Missouri Tigers busted out their party hats to announce that the storied Big 12 school will officially be making the big move to the Southeastern Conference starting July 1, 2012. Accompanying the announcement, students witnessed quite the production with the marching band and dance crew in attendance for the celebration.

Before confetti was sent cascading through the air over the large crowd at the University of Missouri Student Center, MU Chancellor Brady Deaton made sure to establish that the "historic" jump for the "frontier" university to one of the most "promising, illustrious athletic conferences in the country" was an extremely proud moment. Instantly embracing the change, fans and students altered traditional chants of "MIZ-ZOU" to "MIZ-SEC," but is this really something fans should be happy about? We understand that the emergence of Texas' Longhorn Network, issues with unequal revenue sharing, recruiting appeal, and a growing instability within the Big 12 make this the right move for the university, but stepping into an elite conference could mean rough waters ahead for Mizzou sports. Additionally, though Mizzou Athletics Director Mike Alden hopes to continue the rivalry, a long-standing border battle with Kansas could be finished. When the news broke, Kansas was the first to take a shot, claiming that Mizzou had finally forfeited. The Jayhawks might own the basketball court, but their football team has lost seven in a row and is letting up an average of 45.4 points per game, so we're not sure they should be talking. Mizzou's new opponents in the SEC East will include South Carolina, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Florida, Tennessee, and Kentucky. It might just be us, but it seems like the universitiy's pompous display might be a blanket to cover the difficult athletic seasons ahead. If you'd like, you can rewatch the entire announcement here. [via Columbia Missourian]