Columbia prepares for Mizzou football’s first home game | Mid-Missouri News

COLUMBIA – As the Tigers prepare to start the 2024 season, the city is preparing to welcome nearly 60,000 fans.

Coming off a top-10 performance last season, the Mizzou football team hosts Murray State on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Megan McConachie, spokeswoman for the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, says all areas of the fan experience will be improved this season.

“We give out a lot of information, whether it’s about parking, tailgating, shuttles, finding hotel rooms,” McConachie said. “A lot of people know how to get to a football game, but we want to make sure they can have a great experience in Columbia beyond that.”

Marching Mizzou is also hard at work on its first halftime show of the 2024 season, which will be paired with 300 choreographed drones from Sky Elements.

Band director Amy Knopps worked with Sky Elements to coordinate the band’s playing with the drone lights.

“We hope the fans respond very positively and enjoy the show,” Knopps said, “not only at Faurot Field, but also in the sky.”

Drum Major Brady Sohn is responsible for keeping the band in time during the performance and says timing will be even more important this week.

“We have to be very strict with our tempo to make sure that the drones are exactly matching our performance on the field,” Sohn said.

Tune in to KOMU 8’s Mizzou Xtra Kickoff Special on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. to get all the latest Mizzou football news ahead of the season opener.