Kansas backup quarterback/receiver Kerry Meier is still going strong, entering his 25th season of college football. In 2010, Meier filed and won a bizarre and one-of-a-kind lawsuit that granted him never-ending amateur eligibility from the NCAA with the qualification that he was only allowed to play a single game each year. The loophole was closed the next year, and due to an injunction filed by the NCAA, Meier was the only player able to take advantage.
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In 2010, the first year of his expanded eligibility, Meier chose to play against Missouri and caught the game-winning touchdown catch with 33 second left on the clock. He’s caught the game-winning touchdown in every Kansas-Missouri game since. In 2025, Missouri came close to winning, but Meier got loose, catching a pass with only two seconds left on the clock to win it again for the Jayhawks.
When asked if he might someday retire from the college ranks, Meier stated "the year that Missouri stops me is the year I retire. You’d think it’d have happened by now. I mean, it’s not like they don’t know it’s coming, it’s been happening every year for the past 20 years and they still can’t stop me. At some point it has to end. My knees are killing me. "
Missouri has tried different tactics over the years, from triple-guarding Meier to not bothering to cover him at all. So far, no luck. The failures over the years have taken their toll on a Tigers program that hasn’t had a winning season since 2021. Many Missouri fans blame Meier for the fall.
"Nobody wants to play for Missouri, nobody. We’ve become the laughingstock of the conference" said Gerry Moore, who’s attended nearly every Missouri game since 1970.
Despite Meier’s heroics, the old man of college football has yet to a conference championship, as Kansas has lost every year to Nebraska since 2008.
"It’d be nice to win a Big 14 title, just once." said Meier, sitting back in his rocking chair. "But I don’t know. Just seems like Nebraska has had our number every year, just like we have Missouri’s. Funny how that’s all worked out. I keep thinking I should play against Nebraska, but I don’t want to jinx a streak."
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