Former MSU quarterback and MSU Alumni Executive Director John Correro is the second inductee of the Hall of Fame Class of 2017.
2017 MSU Sports Hall of Fame Class: John Correro Honored
November 01, 2017 | Football, HailStateBEAT
By: Bob Carskadon, HailStateBEAT
Note: Every day this week, we will recognize a member of the 2017 Mississippi State Sports Hall of Fame Class. The class will be formally inducted at a gala Friday night at the Palmeiro Center's Bryce Griffis Boardroom and recognized during the MSU-UMass game Saturday in Davis Wade Stadium. Festivities get underway at 5:30 p.m. Friday and will include a cocktail reception, private autograph signing, seated dinner and awards ceremony. Tickets are available for purchase at msumclub.org for $100 per person. Proceeds benefit the MSU M-Club Alumni Association.
In the pantheon of Mississippi State legends, the Bulldog greats come in many forms. There are heroes of courts and fields. There are leaders of great vision. There are record-holders, world-beaters and show-stoppers.
But for all the items on his lengthy, decades-long MSU résumé, John Correro is, above all else, known for one main thing: being John Correro.
Any who know the longtime administrator, sideline reporter and former State football player – and the list of people who know Correro is exceedingly long – know what it means. Hearing his name is enough alone to make most people smile, and for those who know him, it brings to mind the memory a smile and a handshake or hug whenever they last crossed paths.
Tyson Lee, the former MSU quarterback who is now president of the M-Club, had that experience during his time as a student, knowing one thing for sure, if nothing else.
The sentiment is not one that comes from an appearance of laziness, of course. In fact, it's exactly the opposite. Because Correro has done and still does so much, even in retirement, it's hard to nail him down to just one thing.
One generation of Bulldogs knows Correro as the MSU quarterback from 1959-61, back in an era quite different for QBs.
40 years worth of Bulldogs know Correro for the labor he dedicated the greatest amount of his time to as he proudly worked with the MSU Alumni Association for nearly all of his professional life, retiring in 2005 as the executive director.
And of course, football fans of all ages and backgrounds know Correro for his decades alongside Jack Cristil, Jim Ellis and Matt Wyatt as the longtime sideline reporter for MSU football's radio broadcast.
It's for all of those reasons that Correro is being inducted into the MSU Sports Hall of Fame this week, though those who know him are welcome to pick their favorite.
That, too, underlines the appropriateness of Correro's honor this week. In a way, he has himself to thank for being inducted, even though he had no involvement with the panel of 10 former MSU athletes who chose the five Bulldogs being honored. But the fact that the committee even exists, that the M-Club is thriving, can be traced back and credited to Correro himself.
Lee says that even now, with Correrro officially retired from all of the many roles he's served in, the two will still talk in person every week. Correro makes a point to stop by and make sure things are going well, see if there's anything Lee needs, and offer any advice or troubleshooting ideas the current president could use.
Hardly a morning goes by that Correro isn't on campus drinking coffee with MSU colleagues past and present, enjoying retirement as a lifelong Bulldog should – surrounded by Maroon and White. His official duties have all been completed, and for the first time this year, he's been able to attend football games not as a player of reporter, but as a fan, sitting in the stands rather than standing on the sideline.
However, retired or not, his presence at MSU can still be felt and will be for years to come. Give others all the titles they want, but only one person can Be John Correro.
Note: Every day this week, we will recognize a member of the 2017 Mississippi State Sports Hall of Fame Class. The class will be formally inducted at a gala Friday night at the Palmeiro Center's Bryce Griffis Boardroom and recognized during the MSU-UMass game Saturday in Davis Wade Stadium. Festivities get underway at 5:30 p.m. Friday and will include a cocktail reception, private autograph signing, seated dinner and awards ceremony. Tickets are available for purchase at msumclub.org for $100 per person. Proceeds benefit the MSU M-Club Alumni Association.
In the pantheon of Mississippi State legends, the Bulldog greats come in many forms. There are heroes of courts and fields. There are leaders of great vision. There are record-holders, world-beaters and show-stoppers.
But for all the items on his lengthy, decades-long MSU résumé, John Correro is, above all else, known for one main thing: being John Correro.
Any who know the longtime administrator, sideline reporter and former State football player – and the list of people who know Correro is exceedingly long – know what it means. Hearing his name is enough alone to make most people smile, and for those who know him, it brings to mind the memory a smile and a handshake or hug whenever they last crossed paths.
Tyson Lee, the former MSU quarterback who is now president of the M-Club, had that experience during his time as a student, knowing one thing for sure, if nothing else.
"I always knew John," Lee said, "but never really knew what he did."
The sentiment is not one that comes from an appearance of laziness, of course. In fact, it's exactly the opposite. Because Correro has done and still does so much, even in retirement, it's hard to nail him down to just one thing.
One generation of Bulldogs knows Correro as the MSU quarterback from 1959-61, back in an era quite different for QBs.
40 years worth of Bulldogs know Correro for the labor he dedicated the greatest amount of his time to as he proudly worked with the MSU Alumni Association for nearly all of his professional life, retiring in 2005 as the executive director.
And of course, football fans of all ages and backgrounds know Correro for his decades alongside Jack Cristil, Jim Ellis and Matt Wyatt as the longtime sideline reporter for MSU football's radio broadcast.
It's for all of those reasons that Correro is being inducted into the MSU Sports Hall of Fame this week, though those who know him are welcome to pick their favorite.
"John has meant so much to not just our athletic department but to the University, the Alumni Association and the M-Club," MSU athletic director John Cohen said. "We will always be in debt of his service to the M-Club and to Mississippi State."
That, too, underlines the appropriateness of Correro's honor this week. In a way, he has himself to thank for being inducted, even though he had no involvement with the panel of 10 former MSU athletes who chose the five Bulldogs being honored. But the fact that the committee even exists, that the M-Club is thriving, can be traced back and credited to Correro himself.
Lee says that even now, with Correrro officially retired from all of the many roles he's served in, the two will still talk in person every week. Correro makes a point to stop by and make sure things are going well, see if there's anything Lee needs, and offer any advice or troubleshooting ideas the current president could use.
"He's been kind of the backbone of the M-Club, really, since the early 70s," Lee said. "He did what needed to be done. John will stop by once or twice a week and we'll just talk. The M-Club wouldn't be what it is without John. It takes all the people who are members for it to thrive, but the behind the scenes work that he did is what kept the M-Club strong."
Hardly a morning goes by that Correro isn't on campus drinking coffee with MSU colleagues past and present, enjoying retirement as a lifelong Bulldog should – surrounded by Maroon and White. His official duties have all been completed, and for the first time this year, he's been able to attend football games not as a player of reporter, but as a fan, sitting in the stands rather than standing on the sideline.
However, retired or not, his presence at MSU can still be felt and will be for years to come. Give others all the titles they want, but only one person can Be John Correro.
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