Missouri Tigers football coach Eli Drinkwitz receives a two-year contract extension

Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz has received a two-year contract extension, the school announced on Saturday morning before the Tigers’ home game against Kentucky.

Drinkwitz, in his third season at Mizzou, was working on his original contract through the 2025 season. The new agreement, approved by the university’s Board of Curators, runs through 2027.

“My family and I want to thank the Board of Curators, President (Mun) Choi, and AD Reed-Francois for their faith in me as a coach and leader,” Drinkwitz said in a news release announcing the extension. “You can’t do this alone, and our players, coaches and staff have worked their tails off and stuck with the process as we’ve built this program.

“We feel strongly about our trajectory and are proud to represent our state’s flagship institution.”

Missouri carried a 4-4 overall record into Saturday’s game and Drinkwitz is 15-16 in two-plus seasons in Columbia. Mizzou hired Drinkwitz from Appalachian State after the 2019 season. That was Drinkwitz’s first year as a head coach and the Mountaineers finished 12-1.

The Tigers have been bowl eligible in Drinkwitz’s first two seasons. Missouri didn’t participate in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tigers lost to Army in last year’s Armed Forces Bowl.

Warren Powers is the only other coach in program history to lead Missouri to bowl seasons in his first two years, and only Powers won more games in his first two seasons — 15 in 1978 and 1979 — than Drinkwitz (11).

“Our football team is on the right trajectory, and we are seeing results in recruiting and on the field,” Missouri athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois said. “Coach Drinkwitz is a dynamic leader who brings people together and we believe in our football staff’s combined commitment to excellence in the classroom and in the community. We are looking forward to him continuing to lead our program into the future.”

Drinkwitz was the second member of Missouri’s coaching staff to receive an extension this week. Defensive coordinator Blake Baker, in his first year with the Tigers, was extended through 2025.