KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel said he would like to resume playing rival Kansas, with the games held early in the season at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
The rivalry ended after Missouri moved from the Big 12 Conference to the Southeastern Conference in 2012. Missouri officials have generally favored resuming the rivalry in football and basketball, while Kansas officials have shown little interest.
During a meeting Tuesday at The Kansas City Star (http://bit.ly/1dYWej3 ), Pinkel said reviving the rivalry would help the schools' financially and be good for fans.
"I don't make all those decisions, but, for me, the ideal thing would be to play Kansas the first week or two of the season every year (at Arrowhead)," Pinkel said.
The Tigers and Jayhawks played at Arrowhead Stadium from 2007 to 2011 in games that drew large crowds.
"For the life of me, I don't know why would you not do it," Pinkel said. "How long are we going to be mad at each other? I'm sure everybody's got the way they feel about that, and I really don't want to get into that. But there's a lot of common sense, is there not, to this. Let's move on and get the rivalry back for our fans."
During meetings Monday in St. Louis, Pinkel was asked about the Tigers' other border rival, Illinois, a series which also has been discontinued in recent years.
"Illinois did come up a little bit," Pinkel said. "That's not near the rivalry (as Kansas), but that's a big game for us there."