A Look Inside A Football Road Trip
September 29, 2021 | Football, Joel Coleman
It’s no simple task to get MSU to and from away games.
STARKVILLE – Go ahead and take yourself to Saturday evening. You flip on your television just in time to see kickoff of Mississippi State's game at Texas A&M.
For the next three or four hours, you're locked in. You're ringing your cowbell. Late in the game, you're perhaps biting your nails.
Meanwhile Mississippi State Assistant Athletic Director for Football Operations David Wilczewski might be a bit nervous himself over something that has nothing to do with the contest's result. He'll be tracking an inbound ferry flight to College Station, scheduled to arrive at the airport to take the Bulldogs home almost immediately after the game. While MSU and A&M play, Wilczewski will be checking on the plane.
"Just to make sure it's there," Wilczewski said.
It's only one small part of a herculean, tedious effort that happens whenever Mississippi State has a road trip. Here's just a quick look at what all it takes to get the Bulldogs to and back home from away games.
Getting Things In Order
It's 10 a.m. on Monday, six days before MSU heads to College Station. Wilczewski sits behind the desk in his office at Mississippi State's Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex, staring at his computer screen as a virtual call with Texas A&M officials begins.
Also in the room with Wilczewski is State's Coordinator of Football Operations, Juliana Prezelski. Wilczewski and Prezelski are prepared to make sure they are logistically on the same page with the Texas A&M administrators. It's quickly evident this should be a smooth call. Mississippi State has already been on top of things.
"If everybody was this well organized, we wouldn't even have to do these calls," one A&M official noted.
Every game week – home or away – Mississippi State has one of these such calls. They're typically held on Monday or Tuesday morning and allow each school to give the other important details about the weekend to come.
In this case of course, it's MSU that's the visitor. So it's on Wilczewski to ensure the Bulldogs are in step with their soon-to-be hosts over in the Lone Star State. Wilczewski gets set to answer a few Aggie questions.
Will the MSU team stop by Kyle Field on Friday?
"They will not," Wilczewski said. "Just our managers and trainers…They're planning on coming over between 10:30 and 11 on Friday morning."
The equipment, managers and trainers all will beat the team flight to College Station. More on that in just a minute. The State equipment truck will arrive at the stadium on Friday morning. It'll then stay at the venue overnight and be there for Saturday's game.
Oh, what about the field setup, A&M wants to know.
"The one thing we request from our end is we only need two benches," Wilczewski said. "Our benches at home are 15 feet long. I'm not sure if you have the same length, but we put one on either side of the 50 [yard line], so we don't use three benches."
It's an easy request for A&M to accommodate.
The call continues as the two schools hammer out more specifics. Everything from which end of the field the Bulldogs will warm up on, to specific arrival times, to the pregame and postgame meals are discussed. Virtually no stone is left unturned.
Rewind
This phone call was far, far from the first planning that was done for Mississippi State's trip. In fact, Wilczewski typically starts getting ready for MSU's road treks (at least the Southeastern Conference ones) two years ahead of time.
"I usually start at the conclusion of our previous trip," Wilczewski said. "So at Texas A&M two years ago, everything went well at the hotel. There were no issues. So in those situations, if everything is OK, I'll start the process for the next trip coming two years from then. I like to have things in place by January or February of the year before, not the year of. So about 18 months ahead."
As for the charter flight that carries a vast majority of the MSU contingent to College Station and other SEC towns, that's not set quite as far out.
"That contract is large enough it requires [Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning System] approval," Wilczewski said. "I will send out requests on that in late December or early January. When we get it back from [the airline], we'll have all of our trips for the upcoming year we need a plane for. I'll request the size of the plane and number of seats I'd like for the trip. We don't have times at that point, but we lock in the days. Then they kind of put [planes] on 24-hour holds at that point. It goes through the university process, then it goes to IHL where they'll sign it from a board standpoint, then it comes back. That all takes several months to get that in place."
Once set, State continues its preparations to make flying out as easy as possible. In August, MSU compiled and sent information on every person in the athletic department that could possibly be on a flight at any point. That allows the Bulldogs to qualify for an easier, faster screening process when it comes time to jump on a plane.
The Flight
It bears noting, not everyone in Maroon and White rides the team charter. Managers, trainers and the equipment hit the road as soon as practice ends on Thursday evening. They'll travel by land overnight and arrive – in this case – in College Station early Friday morning. The rest of MSU's group will touch down in Texas later.
The charter is first set to arrive at Golden Triangle Regional Airport just outside of Starkville on Friday. It should be there in plenty of time to pick up the Bulldogs for an afternoon flight.
When the State party gets to GTR, all folks will have to do is climb on the plane. That's because the screening process will be done right on campus, at the football complex. Remember those easier security measures mentioned previously?
The front doors of the Seal building will remain open when staff and players enter around midday. There'll be basically a tunnel from the entrance of the building to the buses that will take MSU to the airport. Everyone will go through security and straight to the buses.
One security screener will then ride every bus on the short trip over to GTR, with a Mississippi Highway Patrol officer traveling in front of and behind the buses. The chain of security is never broken, so the buses will pull right up to the charter plane, the MSU group will board and from there, it's time to take off.
Everything Ready
When the Bulldogs land in College Station, everything will pretty much be set for them at the team hotel. That's in large part thanks to Prezelski.
Prezelski is actually the first Bulldog that'll arrive this week. She'll get to College Station on Thursday. Prezelski will meet with hotel staff and make sure everything is ready for the arrival of the Bulldogs. She ensures very specific instructions are followed from the Banquet Event Order put in by MSU.
"It includes pretty much everything from exact menu items to where to put the ketchup on the tables," Wilczewski said of the BEO.
There'll be another meeting between Prezelski and hotel staff on Friday.
"We'll have one final walk through and make sure everyone understands our itinerary, when the team's coming, what we expect and all that," Prezelski said.
Prezelski's presence also helps prepare for the early-Friday-morning arrival of the managers and trainers, as well as any last-minute adjustments that are communicated to her from Wilczewski. If there are any travel squad changes or hotel room alterations, Prezelski can be State's representative on site to ensure that all gets taken care of at the hotel.
Prezelski doesn't just make sure the Bulldogs are taken care of. She looks out for player's families too. Earlier in the week, Prezelski communicates with families regarding any specifics they need to know if they're planning to make the trip – from parking at the stadium to other details.
By the back half of the week, Prezelski is at the team hotel laying the groundwork so that when MSU arrives, the team can quickly get settled.
Arrival And Down To Business
For this trip, State is set to get to its team hotel around 4 p.m. Friday. The Bulldogs are scheduled for walk-throughs shortly after. These are set to take place in the hotel parking lot.
After that, there'll be dinner and a team trip to a local theater to catch a movie. Upon return to the hotel later, there'll be one last team meeting, ahead of a snack time and at 11:00 p.m., the Bulldogs are to be in the bed.
Saturday morning includes a few more walk-throughs. Then in the early afternoon, it'll be time for the pregame meal at the hotel.
While the Bulldogs eat, Texas A&M police and K-9s will check out MSU's bags so the Bulldogs can quickly get into the stadium later. Then just over two hours before game time, Mississippi State heads to Kyle Field. MSU's managers, trainers and video staff will already be at the stadium waiting. They will have been there since just before lunch time.
At the venue, it's business as usual at that point. The Bulldogs will zero in on the Aggies, looking to spoil the evening for the home crowd.
As for Wilczewski, he'll soon be eagerly plane tracking. After all, whether it's win, lose or draw, the Bulldogs are going to need their ride home.
"Typically, you want the plane to land sometime in the third quarter," Wilczewski said. "Then, they'll turn the plane and get it ready to take off and the crew can watch the fourth quarter in the crew lounge. Then they're ready for you when you get back."
If all goes well, the plane will indeed be waiting to take the Bulldogs to Starkville immediately after the conclusion of the game. Players will shower and grab a bite to eat courtesy of the planned postgame meal before leaving the stadium. Then it's on to the airport, save for the equipment and managers and trainers who'll again take the long way home.
At the airport, State's traveling group will go through security on the tarmac this time, just outside the plane. The Bulldogs will then load up and sometime around midnight, be in the air back towards GTR.
Home, Sweet Home
It'll be the wee hours of Sunday morning when State gets back to campus, likely somewhere around 2 a.m. barring delays. And no matter what the final score was on Saturday night, Mississippi State's return to its home will be a victory for teamwork and another well-planned trip.
It's a group effort that includes not only Wilczewski and Prezelski, but also Director of Football Equipment Operations David Case, Associate Athletic Director for Communications Brandon Langlois, Head Athletic Trainer Thomas Callans, Director of Football Technology Chris Zuccaro, Director of Spirit and Fan Engagement Chris Opheim, Director of Sports Nutrition Pamela Bartz, bus driver Everett Kennard and others.
"We're really fortunate here," Wilczewski said. "We have some fantastic people leading those different support units. We have a really, really strong support staff."
And of course, it won't be long after getting back home that Wilczewski will begin the process to return to College Station in 2023.