By Calvin Silvers On Monday, Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum announced he would be leaving the Bearcat program and locating back to his home state of Iowa, where he’ll take over the Drake Bulldogs. McCollum, 42, will begin his journey at the Division I level in the Missouri Valley Conference. His
Continue Reading
By Calvin Silvers The sun is shining, the weather isn’t freezing cold, and the days are becoming longer, which means spring is here. It also means it’s a special time of the year where college football spring practices will kick off, and that rings true for the Missouri Western Griffons. However, one athlete won’t be
Continue Reading
By Calvin Silvers Downtown St. Joseph has been busy this week, as the 2024 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championships continue in the Civic Arena, as the Elite Eight was wrapped up on Monday, and the Final Four was played on Wednesday. We’re now down to two remaining teams in the two-seeded Texas Woman’s University
Continue Reading
By Calvin Silvers The 2024 NCAA Division II Women’s Elite Eight continues this week, with teams all across the United States coming to St. Joseph to battle for the most prestigious title in Division II basketball, a national championship. The tournament tipped off with the Elite Eight on Monday, and the biggest headline came from
Continue Reading
By Calvin Silvers On Monday, Missouri Western State University announced the departure of women’s head basketball coach Candi Whitaker, as she’ll become the main woman in charge of the University of North Alabama women’s basketball program, an NCAA Division I institution in Florence, Alabama. The end of the Whitaker era in St. Joseph will begin
Continue Reading
By Jacob Meikel The recent struggles continue for Missouri Western baseball after a series loss to Newman on Saturday. The 11-1 loss to Newman on Saturday made it 2-8 for Western in its last 10 games, a slump the Griffons haven’t seen all season long. Games one and two of the series Friday and Saturday
Continue Reading
By Jacob Meikel The trip to Bethany, Oklahoma was short lived for Missouri Western women’s basketball, as it fell in the first round of the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament on Friday. The No. 2 seed in Western got its shot in the Big Dance after missing out in 2023. Even though the Griffs
Continue Reading
By Calvin Silvers Missouri Western athletics has been a pioneer in the MIAA when it comes to athletes, teams and coaches, and it’s once again paved a road of opportunity for student athletes in the conference. Griffon Lacrosse is the first of its kind, but with the sport gaining popularity in not only the Midwest
Continue Reading
By Calvin Silvers On Sunday, Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball was awarded an automatic bid into the 2024 NCAA Division II Tournament. The Bearcats, at 27-4 overall, earned the No. 2 seed in the Central Region. Since Minnesota State University gained the top seed in the region, Northwest will travel to Mankato, Minnesota, for the
Continue Reading
By Jacob Meikel Former Missouri Western Griffon and current NFL safety Jonathan Owens is staying in the NFC North by agreeing to a two-year deal with the Chicago Bears. Owens spent last season as a member of the Green Bay Packers. Owens’s snap count with Green Bay gradually increased over the course of the first
Continue Reading
By Jacob Meikel Missouri Western women’s basketball returns to the Big Dance as the No. 2 seed in the Central Region and will play Minnesota State this Friday in Bethany, Oklahoma. The Griffs learned of their seeding on Sunday night and erupted in cheers inside the Hall of Fame Room at Western during the NCAA
Continue Reading
By Calvin Silvers It was semifinals’ play on Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri, for the MIAA Basketball Tournament, with eight teams fighting to land a spot in the championship game on Sunday afternoon. The first team to take the floor was the overall one seed on the women’s side, the Missouri Western Griffons. For the
Continue Reading
By Jacob Meikel Missouri Western men’s basketball’s run in the MIAA Tournament came to an end in the quarterfinal round at the hands of its upstate rival on Thursday. The third meeting of the season between the two rival programs concludes the season series with the largest margin of victory for Northwest over Western since
Continue Reading
By Calvin Silvers The MIAA Tournament quarterfinals began on Thursday, with the first contest of the day featuring the overall one seed, the Missouri Western Griffons and the ninth-seeded Emporia State Hornets. The first half both teams traded blows, but Western was able to create separation in the second half to pave way for a
Continue Reading
By Jacob Meikel Missouri Western men’s basketball lives to fight another day after defeating Missouri Southern 62-56 in the first round of the MIAA Tournament on Wednesday. The second matchup between the Griffons and Lions turned out to be more lopsided than the first contest when only one point decided a winner in early Dec.
Continue Reading
By Jacob Meikel It’s been a rough five and a half weeks for Missouri Western men’s basketball, but the Griffons are looking to put those woes behind them entering the MIAA Tournament. From Jan. 24 to the end of the regular season on March 2, it’s been quite the skid for the Western men as
Continue Reading
By Jacob Meikel With a little help, No. 21 Missouri Western women’s basketball claimed its first MIAA regular season title since 2016 on Saturday. Step one in securing at least a share of the conference crown was taking care of business against Northwest Missouri State, a team Western had already defeated in mid-January. The Griffon
Continue Reading
By Jacob Meikel Missouri Western women’s basketball swept the season series against Rogers State, winning 57-43 against the Hillcats on Saturday to round out the home schedule. Saturday made for a good send off for Western seniors Connie Clarke and Jordan Cunningham. Clarke notched another double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Cunningham finished second
Continue Reading
By Calvin Silvers It was a special afternoon for Northwest Missouri State Basketball, as the Bearcats recognized the achievements of their seniors on Senior Night ahead of the contests between the Northeastern State RiverHawks. The Northwest women tipped off first, and senior Jayna Green celebrated her night with a double-double to help propel the Bearcats
Continue Reading
By Riley Funk One Central High School senior will be staying in St. Joseph for his college football career after signing his letter of intent for Missouri Western State University on Wednesday afternoon. The soon-to-be Griffon, Lance Peters, said he looks forward to his future on the campus of Missouri Western. Playing for head coach
Continue Reading
By Riley Funk St. Joseph is set to host two NCAA Division II golf championships in 2025 and 2026. Missouri Western State University made the announcement on its website Thursday morning. Hosting the tournament was made possible through Missouri Western’s partnership with the St. Joseph Sports Commission. The competition will commence at the St. Joseph
Continue Reading
By Calvin Silvers It was the first Saturday spent in Bearcat Arena since Dec. 30, 2023, for the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats, and a crowd of over a 1,000 fans were in attendance to see some MIAA action against the Newman Jets. The women (13-4, 7-4 MIAA) took the court first, and were able to
Continue Reading
By Calvin Silvers This previous weekend, MWSU Fieldhouse inside the Looney Complex was rocking as the Northwest Missouri state Bearcats came into town, and both the Missouri Western Griffon men and women came away with victories. Besides beating the Bearcats for the first time since 2013, there was more celebration to be had on Tuesday
Continue Reading
By Jacob Meikel Missouri Western men’s basketball got a hold of a lead and never let it slip, ending a 24-game losing streak to Northwest Missouri State on Saturday by winning 76-70. Fouls became a problem for the Griffons early and late. Juniors Taye Fields, Justin Bubak and Zion Swader each picked up two fouls
Continue Reading
By Calvin Silvers The Missouri Western women’s basketball team was on a three game win streak before it was gifted a short break before returning to the court on Saturday. After a two and a half week break from the MIAA, the Griffons will find themselves back in conference play this Thursday and Saturday on
Continue Reading
By Cody Thorn St. Joseph News-Press The branches of the Mel Tjeerdsma coaching tree stretch far and wide. Former assistant coaches serving as head coaches include Central Missouri’s Jim Svoboda, Missouri Southern’s Bart Tatum, Angelo State’s Will Wagner and Northern Colorado’s Earnest Collins Jr. This season, Tjeerdsma went head-to-head against former assistant coaches Svoboda and
Continue Reading
By Bryce Mereness St. Joseph News-Press The Missouri Western women came back early from Christmas break with an opportunity to shake off the rust before conference play starts back up on Sunday. After trailing for nearly four minutes in the first half, the Griffons never looked back en route to a 65-57 victory over Newman
Continue Reading