COLUMBIA, Mo. — The anniversary slipped his mind, a forgivable oversight for a coach still in the throes of the college football season and four days away from hosting the No. 12 team in the country. But a reminder that one year ago he was the object of Missouri’s full-court press stirred a fleeting moment of reflection for Eli Drinkwitz.
“Boy, it's been a year now,” he said. “It's been a wild ride.”
That ride started one year ago Monday, when a five-man contingent flew to North Carolina to meet with Drinkwitz after he coached Appalachian State in the Sun Belt Championship game: Mizzou athletics director Jim Sterk, then-chancellor Alex Cartwright, UM system president Mun Choi, Board of Curator Jeff Layman and deputy athletics director Nick Joos.