His response did not quell frustration among demonstrators, both black and white, who were camped out in tents on the Mel Carnahan Quadrangle at the center of the campus. Storm Ervin, a senior, said Mr. Wolfe’s refusal to resign showed that he was out of touch.

“We’ve had departments supporting us. We’ve had faculty supporting us,” she said. “People who he leads are standing in solidarity with us.”

Ms. Ervin pointed out that Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin brought food to the campsite and spoke with students Sunday afternoon. Mr. Loftin was an early target of the demonstrations before criticism shifted to Mr. Wolfe.

A prolonged strike could have costly consequences for the players, some of whom depend on athletic scholarships, and the university, which draws revenue from ticket sales and the sale of television distribution rights. If Missouri forfeits Saturday’s game against Brigham Young University in Kansas City, Mo., it would be required to pay $1 million to B.Y.U., according to a copy of the contract between the schools published by The Kansas City Star in January.

Sixty of the 124 players on the Missouri football roster are black, although it is not clear whether all of them are participating in the strike, according to The Columbia Missourian, a newspaper published by faculty members and students.

The players’ boycott follows a decision by a black graduate student, Jonathan Butler, to go on a hunger strike over what he said in a letter to the Board of Curators were “a slew of racist, sexist, homophobic, etc., incidents that have dynamically disrupted the learning experience” of minority groups at Missouri.