Cohen's Corner - 6/28/17 - Mississippi State

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As the month of June comes to a close, it brings about the end of the 2016-17 athletic year at Mississippi State. The last 12 months certainly go down as one of the most successful years in the great history of Bulldogs athletics with honors, awards and recognition following the wins, upsets and trophies our teams racked up from August to June.

The last year, in addition to its many highlights on fields, courts and tracks, also served as the beginning of a new era for much of our athletic department. Four new head coaches have joined the family, starting the process of building their programs and putting their own mark on their team's collective histories. We began construction on the new Dudy Noble in the final days of the year. And in the fall, I got a new job, receiving the humbling and thrilling opportunity to become your new Director of Athletics.

Like so many of you, I am deeply proud of my alma mater, and I am equally pleased to see the accomplishments of our student-athletes and the promise our programs have shown for continued success in both the near and distant future.

Under second-year head coach David McFatrich, our volleyball team continued to lay a foundation for an entertaining future.

Our soccer team welcomed Tom Anagnost as its new head coach this summer, ushering in a new era under a man with a proven track record of success at the highest level.

Led by head coach Houston Franks, our cross country teams continued their streak of postseason success, highlighted by the best finish in program history for our ladies and All-American senior Rhianwedd Price.

Speaking of streaks, our football team continued an incredible one, making its seventh-straight bowl game, all of them under Dan Mullen. By making the postseason yet again, taking back the Golden Egg and having yet another young quarterback set records, our football program has proven its staying power and set itself up for more big years to come.

And perhaps the best season in the history of MSU sports came as Coach of the Year Vic Schaefer led the ladies basketball team on an absolutely incredible run from start to finish, shocking the world with one of the biggest upsets in the history of basketball at any level, filling all of us with pride as we got to watch our Bulldogs play for a National Championship.

Meanwhile, Coach Ben Howland is quickly laying a foundation for our men's basketball team as he continues to bring in stellar young talent to build a full and healthy roster, highlighted by one of the league's top players and a highly-ranked freshman class now entering their sophomore campaigns with a season of experience under their belts.

As the seasons changed and spring approached, our men's and women's track teams enjoyed some of their best seasons ever in both indoor and outdoor competition, highlighted by the highest final ranking ever by the women as Steve Dudley yet again displayed why he's one of the best head coaches in the country.

Our women's golf team continued to make headlines across the world of golf under head coach Ginger Brown-Lemm, a program which has seen unprecedented success over the last several years.

Meanwhile, our men's golf team began a new era just this month as Clay Homan retired and we welcomed Dusty Smith as the new head coach of our Bulldogs, one of the best assistants in the country in his seven seasons at Vanderbilt.

We saw continued success with our softball program as the ladies reached their fourth NCAA Regional in five years, all of them under head coach Vann Stuedeman, who has one of the best signing classes in the country on its way to campus to build on the already impressive list of accomplishments in her time at MSU.

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On the diamond, we were thrilled to welcome Andy Cannizaro as the new head coach of our storied baseball program as he immediately injected his energy and enthusiasm into the team, entering the final weekend of the regular season with an SEC title in play and taking our Bulldogs all the way to a Super Regional in his first season at the helm.

Perhaps no programs have offered more promise for sustained and future success than our tennis teams. Head coach Daryl Greenan took our women's team to their third-straight NCAA Tournament, garnering two All-America honors and a special APR recognition from the NCAA (top 10 percent nationally) in the process, capping yet another impressive season by tying the highest final ranking in school history at No. 20.

A man we are thrilled to have leading the program, Matt Roberts took our men's tennis team to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in his three years at MSU, making it seven-straight postseason appearances for the program while the Bulldogs earned accolades and honors for outstanding performances both as a team and among individuals as sophomore Nuno Borges became our first-ever national semifinalist in the NCAA Singles Championship. State's men made a spectacular run to the SEC Tournament finals and ended the year ranked No. 18 in the country.

And most importantly, we saw the continued education of our student-athletes, most recently cheering them on as 36 of our Bulldogs graduated at the end of a spring semester which also saw 66 of our young men and women named to the SEC academic honor roll. We continued to be one of the best in the SEC across the board in the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate, and it was thanks to our football team's stellar APR that we were able to watch our Bulldogs secure one more win in St. Petersburg over Christmas break.

It is here that I must thank all of you for making these things possible. Without your support through the Bulldog Club, your passion in stadiums and arenas and your dedication to all things Mississippi State, these successes and achievements could never happen. Because of you, we are able to enjoy so many victories, and thanks to you, it's very clear that we have a great deal more to cheer for as the athletic calendar turns to a new year.

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!

John Cohen
Director of Athletics

Mississippi State University Athletics

Cohen's Corner - 6/28/17

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