Gorillas and Bearcats to meet in Kansas City in 2025 and 2026

June 9th, 2025 2:00pm

June 9, 2025

By D2Football.com staff

MIAA rivals Pittsburg State and Northwest Missouri State have announced plans to move their annual meeting to Kansas City in 2025 and 2026. To accommodate the move, Pitts State will give up a home game date in 2025 with the Bearcats losing a home game in 2026.  The series is no stranger in Kansas City, with the teams meeting on 13 previous occassions at  Arrowhead Stadium, home to the Kansas City Chiefs. Attendance at each of those events far exceeded on-campus capacity, regularly drawing between 15,000 and 20,000 fans. The initial meeting at Arrowhead in 2002 saw a series high of 26,695 fans in attendance. The Bearcats hold a 10-3 advantage in games played in Kansas City, including eight of the last nine between 2006 and 2019.

The renewal of the neutral site series will take place at Children's Mercy Park, home to Kansas City's Major League Soccer franchise, Sporting KC. Division II fans may remember that Children's Mercy Park hosted the national championship from 2014-2017. Two of the four championship games played in the stadium were won by Northwest Missouri State. The relationship ended abruptly in 2018 when the venue and its tennants opted to replace the natural grass surface in a time frame that was not acceptable to NCAA Division II. The championship moved to McKinney, Texas where it has remained since. 

Ticket information will be announced at a later date.