Thursdays With Greg Byrne - 2/25/10
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NEW SEC BOWL TIE-IN VISITS MISSISSIPPI STATE
As many of you know, the Southeastern Conference entered into a new post-season bowl agreement with the Gator Bowl, a partnership that begins following this coming football season. We were excited to host Rick Catlett and Steve Tremel from the Jacksonville, Fla., based bowl on our campus yesterday.
Rick and Steve had the opportunity to tour campus, meet our athletic administrative staff, and visit with Coach Mullen and myself over dinner. The two then took in our basketball game last night against Alabama before heading out on their tour of the league's other members. They had already visited several Big Ten schools, the other side of the new Gator Bowl match-up. Previously, the Gator Bowl paired teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big East Conference.
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CONGRATULATIONS TO JARVIS AND BARRY
We hope you were in the Hump last night. First and foremost, you saw our men's basketball team defeat Alabama to go a game up in the race for the SEC's Western Division championship. But you also saw history.
With eight blocked shots last night against the Crimson Tide, Jarvis Varnado established a new national record for career blocks. Jarvis now has an astounding 536 blocked shots in his Mississippi State career. What a tremendous accomplishment!
Click here to purchase a photo of Jarvis' record-breaking block. Also, "King of Swat" t-shirts may be purchased through mstatestore.com or in the following retail locations: J.S. Iupe's (Jackson), Sports Center, The Lodge and Campus Bookmart (all in Starkville).
But Jarvis' performance was not the only record-breaking one on the night. When Barry Stewart made a three-point shot in the second half, he erased the school's all-time record for made baskets behind the arc. His 259 three-pointers are one more than former Bulldog great Daryl Wilson made during his Bulldog career.
It was truly a night to remember.
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A DEFINING PRINCIPLE: REPRESENT MSU IN 1ST CLASS WAY
If you were not at the game last night, I took the opportunity to address the crowd during pre-game from center court about one of our five defining principles as an athletic department. It is a priority for us to always be first class in how we represent Mississippi State University. Last night, I asked those in attendance to do the same. As an institution and fan base, we always want to be perceived with integrity and honor.
With that in mind, we wanted to share with you how Coach Cohen has encouraged his baseball players to represent themselves in a first class manner. For 12 straight Fridays in the fall, and twice during the spring semester, each Diamond Dawg writes a note of thanks to someone who has impacted their life. Often each player writes a note to the same individual - it might be a custodial worker, a facilities and operations individual, or their academic counselor. Some times, it is someone who has influenced their life personally. It is just a little way that our student-athletes give back by acknowledging those around them.
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MISSISSIPPI STATE HOME SPORTS SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Thursday...Women's Tennis vs. Tulane, 2 pm
Friday...Men's Tennis vs. Memphis, 2 pm; Baseball vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 4 pm
Saturday...Women's Tennis vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, 1 pm; Baseball vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 1 pm
Sunday...Women's Tennis vs. Southern Miss, 1 pm; Baseball vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 1:30 pm
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IT'S MAROON FRIDAY
This maroon story comes to us from Andy Kirwan, head golf professional at the Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica:
"I am also proud to let you know that I have carried on your 'Wear Maroon Fridays' in my little beach community in Costa Rica. It is through these efforts that I have befriended two other Mississippi State University alumni living amongst the few thousand in this area. We represented the Bulldogs proudly last night at my beach bar with a 'watch the Bulldogs night'."
Are you in the maroon?
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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 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.
Go Dawgs!
Greg Byrne
byrne@athletics.msstate.edu
Follow me on Twitter (@Greg_Byrne)