Wednesday Bulldog Update - 4/6/16
April 06, 2016
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Before we discuss all the great things Bulldog players and coaches are doing on campus this week, let's begin this week's update with a topic that I get asked about quite often … facilities.
First, a look at our recent past. Since 2010, MSU Athletics has completed nearly $140 million in facility projects, ranging from the Mize Pavilion to the Seal Complex, from Davis Wade Stadium to Nusz Park to the Mike Sanders Track & Field Complex and the MSU Golf Center at Old Waverly. And just this week, contractors began work on a new $1.8M soccer clubhouse behind the east goal of the MSU soccer field.
All of these projects were funded by supportive and generous Bulldog Club members, allowing our students and coaches to benefit from tremendous facility improvements in a relatively short period of time. We should all take pride in the beauty and functionality of these facilities.
However, instead of sitting around patting ourselves on the back, now is the time to look ahead and begin planning the next significant chapter of Bulldog Athletics. It's conceivable that the next 10 years could see MSU invest an additional $150 million into athletic facilities, specifically impacting the sports of baseball, basketball, football and tennis.
The design team is far enough along in planning the new Dudy Noble Field/Polk-DeMent Stadium to have a more accurate cost estimate. Initially, IHL approved a $40 million stadium project budget. However, we now expect that cost to be higher, so this month we will make a request of IHL to increase the budget to $55 million. Once that approval is gained, and fundraising targets are met, plans will be put in motion to begin constructing the new ballpark in June 2017. Our goal is to have enough construction in place by Spring 2018 to allow the baseball team to be able to play at the current site throughout the process.
We are also currently selecting architects to begin pre-planning renovations to both Humphrey Coliseum and Davis Wade Stadium. It's my opinion that the seating bowl at the Hump provides some of the best vantage points to watch basketball in the SEC. However, new restrooms, concessions, concourses, exteriors and possibly premium seating would greatly enhance what has become a historic facility.
Near-term priorities at Davis Wade include renovating the east concourse to match the recently completed work on the west and north, along with updating the east side's Floyd Wade Club Level and an updated press box on the west. And, a bit further down the road, as demand for Bulldog football continues to grow, we want to have a plan for how the south end of the stadium could one day mirror the north end.
Of course, other projects will also need attention. We have a location identified adjacent to the A.J. Pitts Tennis Center to construct an indoor tennis facility with six courts, which is one of the few remaining Olympic sport priorities still on the drawing board. And there are opportunities to further update the Palmeiro Center and Newell-Grissom (home of Bulldog volleyball) in the future.
Just like the work up to this point has been due to private giving, these future projects will also rely on the generosity of the Bulldog Family. We've all done some remarkable things by working together, and the future remains incredibly bright for this special place we love so much.
BIG WEEKENDS AHEAD
As I write to you today, we are about a week away from Super Bulldog Weekend 2016, and here on campus we can already feel the energy building. With so many of our teams doing so well, and as usual with so many of them playing at home for SBW, next weekend has the makings of one of the bigger and better ones Mississippi State has seen in some time.
If you haven't yet made plans to come to Starkville, I'd encourage you to do so if you're able. You'll be able to join tens of thousands of Bulldogs as we cheer on our Top-10 baseball team, watch the beginnings of Coach Mullen's 2016 football team and use our energies to hopefully carry all of our teams to victory.
With such excitement and large crowds expected, I do encourage you to arrive at each event early when possible and come with an expectation to enjoy yourself as we cheer on the Bulldogs all weekend.
Visit our SBW headquarters at www.HailState.com/SBW for full details.
THANK YOU BULLDOG FANS!
Typically, I use this section to praise our coaches and student-athletes (and I'll do that in just a moment), but first I wanted to say how proud I am of our fans for the absolutely incredible atmosphere you provided for Bulldog Baseball as they won the series against Ole Miss at Dudy Noble Field last weekend. It was the largest non-Super Bulldog Weekend crowd in school history, over 10,000 in attendance for each game with a weekend total of 31,831.
A 6-3 SEC start (with series wins in all three conference weekends thus far) has propelled MSU to the Top 10 of every major poll (top five in two of them). Dakota Hudson continues to impress, winning national and conference Pitcher of the Week awards again this week.
We wish our Bulldogs good luck on the road this weekend against No. 1 Florida and can't wait to welcome them back home for a Super series against Texas A&M next weekend.
SENIOR DAY FOR WOMEN'S TENNIS, MEN AT HOME SUNDAY
Those who have been tracking their progress know how much success our women's tennis team has had the last few years and how much the program has grown in that time. While many are deserving of credit for their rise (currently No. 25 in the country!), we will have the opportunity this weekend to thank one person in particular who has been one of the original catalysts for their rise.
When our ladies host Ole Miss at 3 p.m. on Friday, it will be Senior Day for our lone senior, Georgiana Patrasc, currently the nation's No. 33-ranked singles player who has been one of our brightest stars the last four years. Just this weekend she was responsible for the match-clinching victory against No. 23 Kentucky, taking down a highly-ranked player in the process. I hope you will all join us in saying goodbye to 'G' and congratulating her on a wonderful career.
As our women finish the regular season, our 24th-ranked men still have a few matches left, including a home tilt against Alabama on Sunday afternoon at 1. Make plans to come out and support both our teams this weekend.
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. Â
Hail State!
Scott Stricklin
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