By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph and Missouri Western State University will be the home for MSHSAA state football championship games over the next few years.
The MSHSAA Board of Directors this month voted to approve St. Joseph as the host city for the Missouri 8-man championship game in 2024. Spratt Stadium will then host the state title games for all classes from 2025-28.
Columbia will host Classes 1-6 in 2024.
“We appreciate the work the cities put into this bid process, and we have taken this process very seriously,” MSHSAA Executive Director Dr. Jennifer Rukstad said in a statement.
“We have an obligation to our membership to find not only the best facilities to host our championships, but also the best support from the host site to serve our schools’ needs. We are very excited about the next five years for the Show-Me Bowl!”
“We have been extremely fortunate to host a wide variety of high-profile events over the last several months and cannot wait to welcome our state’s best high school football teams to an outstanding venue here in St. Joseph and Buchanan County,” said Brett Esely, Director of the St. Joseph Sports Commission.
“In conjunction with our partner Missouri Western State University, we look forward to delivering an outstanding championship experience for all involved!”
Along with Griffon football and soccer, Spratt Stadium is also the home of the Kansas City Chiefs summer training camp and has been since 2010.
St. Joseph hosted the Missouri 8-man championship at Spratt from 1998-2007.
“We feel Spratt Stadium is one of the premier college venues in the state and for our university to be on display for the best of the best high school football teams across Missouri over these next few years is a win-win for everyone involved,” said MWSU athletic director Andy Carter.
We’ll have more on this story later. Check back for updates.
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