Although 56–54–9 for MU is the often stated series result, there is an ongoing dispute about whether the 1960 game should have been counted as a win for Kansas, making the series a tie at 55–55–9. The Big 8 retroactively forfeited the win to Missouri due to Kansas player Bert Coan being voted ineligible following the 1960 season. The record books of the University of Kansas, and the NCAA, state the record as a win for Kansas, fueling the controversy. Several other publications have referenced the series record more to the favor of Kansas due to the NCAA official record books record of the game as well as Kansas actually winning the game on the field.[7][16][17]
Going into the 1960 game, Missouri (9–0, #1 nationally ranked) was known for their very stingy defense that, until giving up 19 points to Oklahoma the week before the Border War match-up, had not allowed a team to reach double digits all season. They boasted three shutouts. Their offense relied heavily on a wide sweep to the right with speedsters Norris Stevenson and Mel West in the backfield. It was run out of a combination of the T-formation and the old Single Wing.[18] The term “student body right” is often used to describe the USC sweep play in the mid to late 1960s, but that phrase was created to describe Missouri’s wide sweep.[19] Kansas (6–2, ranked #11, with their 2 losses coming to #1 Syracuse, 14-7, and at #1 Iowa, 21-7) was making history that day by becoming the first team to face three #1 teams in the same season. Kansas had a pretty good defense of their own, surrendering a mere 9.1 points per game with two shutouts that season. Kansas was also loaded in the backfield. Even without Coan, Kansas' backfield consisted of three future NFL draft picks: two-time All-American John Hadl at QB had led the Big 8 in all-purpose yardage as a RB in the 1959 season; halfback Curtis McClinton (three-time All-Big 8), and Doyle Schick at fullback.[20]
On November 19, 1960, in front of a then record crowd of 43,000 in Columbia, Kansas won the game against Missouri by a score of 23–7. The defenses lived up to their billing, leading to a scoreless tie at the half. Kansas had threatened twice in the first half, but had turned the ball over on downs after Missouri’s defense made a formidable goal line stand. Later, after advancing to Missouri's 12, Missouri’s defense again tightened, sacking Hadl for a huge loss, and Kansas missed the ensuing FG. Missouri never threatened on offense in the first half. The Kansas defense was keying hard on the sweep. In fact, it wasn’t until midway through the 3rd quarter that Missouri was even able to achieve a first down. Even then, Missouri didn't achieve their 2nd first down until the fourth quarter. Kansas scored first in the second half with a field goal. Then, after a Missouri fumble deep in Tiger territory, Hadl hit Coan on a TD pass. Near the end of the 3rd, Kansas went on the games only sustained drive by either team, 69 yards on 13 plays. It was capped with a 2-yard TD run by Coan. Missouri finally got on the board with 5:24 remaining in the game, making the score 17–7. The final Kansas touchdown came after KU picked off a desperation Missouri pass, and then passed for a score with less than a minute left.[18] Coan clearly played a role in the Kansas victory with 2 touchdowns and 67 yards on 9 carries, but many believe it was the Kansas defense that was the deciding factor. Dan Devine stated "the better team won",[20] but also cited Coan as a key factor in the game.
Kansas was awarded the Big 8 championship following the game. However, on December 8, 1960, the Big 8 retroactively forfeited the game and the Big 8 Championship to Missouri due to the Big 8 voting Bert Coan ineligible, on a 5–3 vote.
The background to this ruling was as follows. Coan had transferred to KU in the fall of 1959 from TCU after a reported disagreement with the TCU trainer-track coach.[21] At TCU's urging, the NCAA investigated the matter and it was revealed Coan had taken a plane trip to an all-star game in the summer of 1959, paid for by KU donor and AFL co-founder Bud Adams. On October 26, 1960, KU was placed on 1 year NCAA probation because the NCAA declared that KU alumni indulged in illegal recruiting practices consisting of "excessive entertainment" in the recruitment of Coan. Adams denied he took Coan to the game as a recruit. Initially, Coan also denied any impropriety in his transfer to KU, but later in a 2007 interview he admitted he had indeed been illegally recruited by Adams.[22] No KU officials were ever found to be directly involved in the ordeal.[21][22] While Coan was not ruled ineligible by the NCAA, the NCAA finding triggered questions of Coan's eligibility in light of conference rules. One conference rule banned off-campus recruiting trips; another rule specified that any athlete recruited in violation of the ban would be ineligible.[18] After KU was placed on NCAA probation, KU received a phone call from the University of Nebraska, their next conference opponent, questioning Coan's eligibility. It is alleged Nebraska had earlier received a letter from Missouri's Don Faurot concerning Coan. KU sought to obtain a ruling from the conference at that time, but was instead told the matter would be taken up at the post-season conference meeting. KU took the position that the NCAA had mistakenly concluded Coan was a prospective student-athlete at the time of the trip with Adams, and thus there had been no infraction of conference rules. Coan did not play in KU's game against Nebraska however, due to injury.[20]
At the post-season conference meeting in December, allegedly at the behest of MU's Don Faurot,[20] but in accordance with the conference's response to KU's inquiry in November, the Big 8 faculty committee took up the issue of Bert Coan. Based upon the NCAA's ruling that a representative of KU's athletic interests, Bud Adams, had transported Coan from his home in Texas to Chicago to view a football all-star game,[23] the conference's ruling committee ruled, by a vote of 5–3, that KU had violated a conference ban on off-campus recruiting. By conference rule, any student-athlete that was recruited in violation of this ban was automatically ineligible. The committee accordingly took up the matter of the period in which Coan would be ineligible. The committee initially defeated two separate motions to declare Coan ineligible for the entire 1961 season, before finally declaring him ineligible for a period of one year starting from the date of the NCAA finding by a vote of 6-2. The Big 8 then ordered KU to forfeit the two games in which Coan had played following the NCAA finding (versus Colorado and Missouri). By virtue of the forfeits, the conference championship was awarded to Missouri.
Despite the Big 8's official ruling on the matter, the reactions from many on all sides were not in agreement with the Big 8 committee in the end. When asked at the Look All-America gathering in New York City Missouri All-American, Danny LaRose said, "It'll always be a 9-1 season as far as I'm concerned. And I think the other players will feel that way, too."[24] However, LaRose also expressed his admiration of the Big Eight “for standing up for what was right – enforcing its own rules.” Also at the gathering, Colorado All-American guard Joe Romig echoed similar feelings when he said, "I don't care what the NCAA or the Big Eight does. We lost the game at Kansas. Nothing will change that."[24] Meanwhile, Kansas All-American quarterback John Hadl expressed more concern about his teammate when asked at the All-America gathering and had this to say, "He's a good guy. I hope it doesn't hit him too hard."[24] Missouri head coach Dan Devine expressed his apparent disappointment in the process adopted by the Big 8 when he said, "This is the worst thing that could happen in inter-collegiate athletics. I mean the fact that they were playing a boy not knowing he was ineligible. That should have been determined before he played."[24] For his part then executive secretary of the Big 8, Reaves Peters, said the case was the "toughest case to come before us in history."[20]
