Thursdays With Greg Byrne - 4/9/09
bulldog-club@athletics.msstate.edu
FANFAIR IN FULL SWING FOR SUPER BULLDOG WEEKEND
FanFair, which is a fan favorite during football season on campus, will be held on the west lawn of the Junction, just south of the stadium, during Super Bulldog Weekend Presented by Regions Bank. The FanFair area will be open from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. and from 4 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 18. FanFair will be closed between those sessions so fans may attend our baseball game that day against Kentucky, and after 5:30 so that everyone can enter the football stadium for the spring game.
FanFair will again feature many of the same events fans have become accustomed to during the regular football season ? inflatable games for children, face-painting under the big tent, and pictures with Bully.
The football team will be in attendance during the early session, signing autographs and being available for photographs. Regions Bank, the presenting sponsor for the weekend, will have a tent with fan interactive games and give-aways.
Make your plans now to enjoy FanFair at SBW.
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NEW FOOTBALL UNIFORM UNVEILING NEXT WEEK
As you may already know, Coach Dan Mullen’s football Bulldogs will have a new look next fall. As part of our new apparel agreement reached this past winter, our football team will wear adidas uniforms for the first time in school history.
The uniforms, which will feature maroon helmets and new university marks and logos, will be on display for the first time next Wednesday, April 15, at 1 p.m. Adidas representatives, along with Coach Mullen and myself, and selected football players, will introduce the new look at a public unveiling at the Barnes and Noble Campus Bookstore. The event will take place at the front of the store, along Stone Boulevard.
Fans are invited to attend the event, and the bookstore will be offering discounts of 10 percent on all adidas items (including the official Super Bulldog Weekend tee shirt) throughout the day. The new replica jerseys will be available at retailers beginning in mid-July.
The uniform unveiling will be just the first of several events on the Mississippi State campus next week, leading up to Super Bulldog Weekend and the Maroon-White game on Saturday, April 18. A full schedule of the weekend’s events can be found on our Super Bulldog Weekend headquarters web site.
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MOVIE REMINDER REGARDING NEXT THURSDAY
We have mentioned in this column previously about the movie night at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field this coming Thursday night, April 16, at 6:30 p.m. We will show “A Game Of Change,” and “Remember The Titans,” and Coach Mullen will address the crowd between movies.
“A Game Of Change,” is a documentary about the 1963 NCAA men’s basketball tournament game between Mississippi State and Loyola (Chicago). It is the story of the Bulldog basketball team’s struggle to leave Starkville during a racially sensitive time in our history, against Mississippi legislative pressure, in order to participate in the game against Loyola, which featured four African-American starters.
The movie “Remember The Titans” will also be shown on the big screen at the football stadium. In the interest of full disclosure, the movie is rated PG (Parental Guidance) by the Motion Picture Association of America due to “thematic elements and some language.” It is a good movie with a deep message.
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COMPLIANCE: BOOSTER CONTACT WITH PROSPECTS
NCAA Bylaw 13.01.5 states that a booster of an institution’s athletics program is “prohibited from making in-person, on- or off-campus recruiting contacts, or written or telephonic communications with a prospect or the prospect’s relatives or legal guardians.”
The group of individuals defined as “boosters” certainly includes those who have made financial contributions to the athletics department or a Mississippi State University booster organization (Bulldog Club, Dugout Club, etc.). However, it also includes but is not limited to the following:
? Season ticket holders;
? Anyone who has assisted in the recruiting process, which would include anyone who chose to write a letter, make a phone call, or contact a prospect or their parents or legal guardians;
? Anyone who has provided a summer job to an enrolled student-athlete; and
? Anyone who has otherwise promoted the institution’s athletics program.
Often people indicate that they think it is permissible for them to write, call or contact a prospect because they are not a booster of Mississippi State University. However, the second bullet listed above indicates that, as soon as that action is taken, the person becomes a booster. It is also important to note that e-mails and chat rooms are considered correspondence.
Therefore, it is not permissible for any supporter of Mississippi State University to e-mail or participate in a chat room session with a recruit, a recruit’s parents or legal guardians.
These prohibitions do not go away when a recruit signs a National Letter of Intent. A recruit remains a recruit until he or she arrives on campus and starts the first day of classes.
If you have any questions related to athletic compliance issues please email Bracky Brett, Associate Athletic Director for Compliance, at bbrett@atheltics.msstate.edu or call 662-325-0245. For information or questions about athletic compliance, please visit our compliance homepage. The site includes information for boosters, alumni, fans, prospects and current student-athletes, as well as a compliance "Question of the Month" at the beginning of each month.
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WE THANK YOU, TOO
Recently, we received the following letter from Craig Aarhus, Assistant Director of MSU Bands. We wanted to share it with all of you:
“On behalf of the basketball pep band, I want to thank you and the athletic department for your support of our program, especially on the recent SEC and NCAA trips. Post-season travel is an exciting time for our kids because it gives them the opportunity to be closer to the teams and enjoy the things they share in common with their fellow students. Having the chance to stay in the hotel with the teams allows that, and we recognize that staying there is something that many of our colleagues in the conference do not get to do. For that, we are appreciative.
Also, our students appreciate the fact that you and your staff come and visit with them, and thank them for what they do. I cannot tell you how much it means to them when that is done. These students truly love MSU and MSU basketball and don’t expect anything in return for their efforts. However, when they receive a kind word from you or others, it really does make their day and helps them understand that what they do is valued.
Now it is time to turn our attention to football once again, starting with the spring game. We have a good number of students from the fall marching band that have agreed to support the team. It ought to be fun!
Once again, thank you again for your support of our band.”
We wanted to let you know that head football coach Dan Mullen took a break from his spring practice schedule last week to go over to the band hall to meet with members of the Famous Maroon Band. He echoed our sentiments about how much the band means to us as an athletic department, and the support they can give us. As you can imagine, Coach Mullen was just as enthusiastic addressing the band as he is with our football team.
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CHAD THOMAS NAMED EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
As we continue to recognize those employees who go above and beyond what is expected of them, we have selected Chad Thomas as our Employee of the Month for March. Chad came to MSU in 2004 as a graduate assistant in the Training room. In 2007 he became a full-time employee when he was named the Athletic Promotions Coordinator. He oversees the day to day operations of the Athletic Marketing department. He is very instrumental in the development of marketing concepts to increase awareness and attendance for Olympic sports. He and the graduate assistants in his office work hard to make sure the community is aware of all athletic events on campus. They get out into the community and build relationships that bond the two entities together.
Chad received his undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education (Kinesiology), and a graduate degree from MSU in 2006 in Business.
Chad is a go-getter. This Kentuckian now understands what it means to be a Bulldog. He works hard, but he loves what we does. His job has no end, because when one sport ends another begins.
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SOFTBALL PLAYERS BRAMLETT AND BAILEY HONORED
Junior catcher Chelsea Bramlett has once again been named one of the 25 finalists for the USA Collegiate Player of the Year, an award given annually to the top Division I softball player. The 10 finalists will be announced May 6 and the final three will be named May 20. She was a finalist for the same award a year ago and is only the second Bulldog player to be so recognized. Chelsea is a two-time, first-team all-America player.
Senior infielder Sammie Jo Bailey has been selected by ESPN for a summer internship in Bristol, Conn. The internship program was developed by the network as part of the new television agreement the SEC has with the all-sports network.
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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.
Go Dawgs!
Greg Byrne
byrne@athletics.msstate.edu