Wednesday Bulldog Update - 11/2/16
November 02, 2016
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Good afternoon, everyone. As Mississippi State makes its transition to a new athletic director, I want to quickly introduce myself, Scott Wetherbee. As President Keenum continues the search for the next leader of Bulldog athletics, I am both humbled and thrilled by the opportunity to serve as the interim athletic director. All of us at MSU have trust in Dr. Keenum's vision and we are looking forward to meeting the person he selects to take us to the next level and into the future.
In the meantime, I'll share with you the same thing I've told our coaches, players and administrators as I've met with them over the last week. We have a great thing going here at MSU, where an incredible staff from top-to-bottom is backed by the best fans in the country. We're headed in the right direction in so many ways, and my hope as the interim A.D. is to keep the train on the tracks and facilitate the needs of all who make our programs possible.
My main goal and the department's core mission remain the same: to serve and support our student-athletes at all times. I'm looking forward to working with all of them, as well as all of you, through the transition.
So now, let's focus on what we're all here for: the Bulldogs!
MILITARY APPRECIATION, BLACKOUT PLANNED FOR SATURDAY
As you've likely seen if you're following us on any form of social media, Saturday's game against Texas A&M (kickoff at 11 a.m. on the SEC Network) is our annual military appreciation game, where we will be honoring our veterans of both the past and the present. I'd encourage you to arrive early and stay through the game for a number of special moments, including an a cappella National Anthem led by former basketball Bulldog Tyson Cunningham with a flyover at the end.
In addition to all the festivities, Adidas has designed a sharp military tribute uniform for the occasion, and to match the jerseys, we're asking fans to wear black for a black out of Davis Wade Stadium.
BASKETBALL RETURNS TO THE HUMP
Hoops season is officially back this week as our men's and women's teams host their exhibition games over the next two nights. It's hard to find a time when there has been more excitement for our two programs with Coach Howland debuting the best signing class in school history and Coach Schaefer starting his fifth year after the best season in program history re-wrote the record books last spring.
Our women host Arkansas-Fort Smith on Thursday at 6 p.m. in The Hump, while our men welcome Delta State on Friday at 7 p.m. Admission to both games is free, and if you haven't yet purchased season tickets, I'd recommend visiting www.hailstate.com/tickets to secure yours.
WRAPPING UP THIS WEEK'S EMAIL IN MAROON AND WHITE…
- A big congratulations goes to Coach Houston Franks and our women's cross country team for finishing 4th at the SEC Championships over the weekend, their third-straight year to finish in the Top-5.
- While you're in town this weekend, make plans to join us at Newell-Grissom for two days of volleyball action. Coach Fatch has put an impressive and exciting product on the floor in a short period of time and you can watch the team in action on Friday at 7 p.m. against South Carolina and on Sunday at noon against Florida.
- You've got a little time make to make your plans, but we announced today a future home-and-home football series with Minnesota in 2026 and 2027.
- And as we finish, we've been excited to watch the progress on the biggest video board in college baseball as framework for the structure started going up this week. We're looking forward to seeing the finished product this season as work toward the New Dude continues.
We appreciate what you do for Mississippi State Athletics and want to encourage you to get others involved. There are three things you can do to help the athletic department at Mississippi State reach its desired goals –
1. Buy Season Tickets
2. Financially Support the Bulldog Club
3. Get Others To Do The Same
Thanks for taking the time to read this Update.
Hail State!
Scott Wetherbee
Interim Director of Athletics
