2010 BancorpSouth Road Dawgs Tour Blog
Welcome to the 2010 BancorpSouth Road Dawgs Tour Blog! During our travels around the Southeast this week, our staff will be updating this page regularly with thoughts from this year's tour.
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- 2010 BancorpSouth Road Dawgs Tour Information/Schedule
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Day 1
Sunday, Apr. 25
(2:00 p.m.) - Road Dawgs Bus departs Starkville for Tunica for Kent Hull's annual fundraiser for Blair Batson Children's Hospital. The legendary Mississippi State and Buffalo Bill's center hosts an auction and golf tournament each year and we are fortunate to attend and support this great cause. Coach Mullen is among the many special guests who have autographed items available in the auction. Jim Kelly, Cornelius Bennett, Steve Tasker and Bulldog greats John Bond and Johnnie Cooks are a few celebrity golfers for the event.
Day 2
Monday, Apr. 26
(9:20 a.m.) - The BancorpSouth Road Dawgs Bus departs Tunica for our first stop in Batesville. First event will be a luncheon at the Panola Country Club. Currently the bus is carrying Coach Mullen, Volleyball Coach Jenny Hazelwood and Athletic Department staffers Scott Stricklin, Joe Galbraith, Mike Richey, Michelle McBride and Bart Gregory. Dr. Jimmy Abraham, Michael Richardson and Janet Downey will be joining us in Batesville along with members of Bulldog Sports Properties. The bus comes courtesy of Senators Coaches out of Killen, Alabama. As far as travel, the bus is the way to go...satellite television, wireless internet and a lot of space. Looking forward to a big crowd in Batesville and then it's on to DeSoto County for dinner.
(2:00 p.m.) - Stop one was a great success. We had a great crowd of Panola Dawgs in Batesville and the bus just left the Panola Country Club for Olive Branch for a stop at a BancorpSouth branch visit. Our friends from the Alumni Association caught up with us and Dr. Abraham is now on the bus as is the Golden Egg Trophy. Both will stay with us for the rest of the week. We had excellent fried chicken for lunch and Coach Mullen spoke about the football team and the progress made during spring practice. Looking forward to a big crowd tonight in Southaven. Last January on Coach Mullen's introductory tour, one of our biggest crowds ever was in DeSoto County.
(4:15 p.m.) - We just had a great visit with the good folks at BancorpSouth on Goodman Road in Olive Branch. BancorpSouth is our first ever sponsor of the Road Dawgs Tour and they are doing such a great job already. They had a representative in Batesville for lunch and hosted a nice reception for us here in Olive Branch. Our event tonight is at the Getwell Road United Methodist Church in Southaven. The bus seems to be picking up food along the way. After lunch, we ended up with some extra chicken legs and after leaving BancorpSouth, we have some outstanding sugar cookies that are iced with the MSU logo. Who knows what the next few days will bring as far as cuisine but clearly our fans know that we often judge stops like an episode of Iron Chef.
(10:20 p.m.) - Day 1 is in the books and we are very pleased. Great crowds at all of our stops today and we kick off tomorrow with a breakfast in downtown Memphis. We had a great time with all the Bulldogs on the road today and even spent some time with some folks on the bus and watched a DVD of the Egg Bowl with the Golden Egg trophy on board. Hope to see you in the next few days as we hit 10 more stops by Friday at lunch. GO DAWGS!
Day 3
Tuesday, Apr. 28
(7:06 a.m.) - The bus is rolling now as we head to breakfast in downtown Memphis. Today is Coach Mullen's birthday and he gets on the bus and is immediately handed a phone to do a radio interview with WJOX in Birmingham. Today we cover a lot of ground with breakfast here, lunch in Kosciusko and dinner in Jackson with a BancorpSouth visit in Ridgeland this afternoon. We spend the night in Starkville tonight then hit the road again tomorrow morning.
(8:58 a.m.) - Just leaving Memphis after a strong breakfast crowd. This is the first time we have ever done a breakfast on the Road Dawgs Tour and it turned out great. This morning we had Steve Ehrhart, Harold Graeter and Patrick Byrne from the AutoZone Liberty Bowl join us for breakfast. The Liberty Bowl is always great to Mississippi State and we appreciate their attendance this morning. Ron Higgins from the Memphis Commercial Appeal also joined us and spent some time with Coach Mullen. Now, it's on to Kosciusko and lunch at Wanda's.
(10:25 a.m.) - The bus ride to Kosciusko give us a chance to catch up on email and do some office work which is one of the best parts of the bus. The other great part of the bus is the satellite television and we just found Fletch on Encore which has us all on the same page as far as channel selection for the time being. Coach Mullen tells us he has seen this movie "5,000 times".
(2:15 p.m.) - Kosciusko was a great success and as usual, Wanda's provided outstanding food. The highlight of today's lunch was the drawing for an autographed football which was won by a guest who was a Southern Miss alum. The partisan crowd declared him to be unfit to receive the prize and another name was drawn. Everyone was a good sport and another football was taken out of the bus to be signed and given to the original winner. We have a good time at these stops and everyone is in such good spirits, especially after hearing from Coach Mullen. We are back on the bus and on the way to a BancorpSouth branch in Ridgeland. Looking forward to tonight's stop in Jackson at The South.
(5:15 p.m.) - We have arrived at The South in Jackson for the event this evening. We really had a fantastic time at the Ridgeland branch of BancorpSouth. They had a lot of fans there and Coach Mullen signed a lot of autographs and posed for a lot of pictures. The Central Mississippi Alumni Chapter has done a great job preparing for this event and we are expecting a very good crown tonight. If you're in the Jackson area you need come out and see us. Coach Mullen's message on varying levels of commitment is fantastic.
(7:49 p.m.) - Bus just started rolling out of Jackson after tonight's event at The South. Highlight of tonight's event was the entire crowd singing Happy Birthday to Coach Mullen then repeating for the television cameras. So, day 2 is complete with 4 stops in the book and now we trek back to Starkville for a night in our own beds. Early start tomorrow as we are in Tupelo for a 7:30 a.m. breakfast. Thanks to all the Bulldogs who have come out to support the BancorpSouth Road Dawgs Tour so far. We look forward to seeing many more over the next few days.
Day 4
Wednesday, Apr. 28
(6:25 a.m.) - Loaded the bus at 6:15 this morning and we are rolling to Tupelo. We have our second breakfast this morning and then a BancorpSouth visit. Nice to sleep in our own beds last night and we are all refreshed and ready to go. We are so fortunate to have so many strong alumni chapters helping with these events and Lee County is no exception. We have a big day today that takes us from Tupelo to Huntsville to Birmingham before checking into a hotel in Meridian. Looking forward to seeing all the Bulldogs out there today.
(8:45 a.m.) - Tremendous crowd in Tupelo for breakfast. Now we are headed to a BancorpSouth branch for a quick visit.
(9:35 a.m.) - Bus is pulling out of Tupelo after a fun bank visit at BancorpSouth. Now it's off to Huntsville where we always have big crowds. Looking forward to rolling into the Rocket City and seeing all the Dawgs. As usual, the bus picks up more refreshments. When the bus unloads in your town you may be seeing some of the cast for the next season of Biggest Loser.
(2:41 p.m.) - We are heading to Birmingham where Coach Mullen will go on the air with Paul Finebaum sometime in the 4:00 p.m. hour before we head to our evening event at Highland Park Golf Club. Huntsville was awesome! We always have a big crowd there and today was no exception. We picked up a visitor on the way to Huntsville as fellow Bulldog George Pillow jumped on the bus in Florence, AL. Mr. Pillow and Senators Coaches supply our BancorpSouth Road Dawgs Tour bus for us. It was great to have him aboard for a while and hear about his company that supplies motor coaches for major recording artists and corporate travel. Our driver on this trip has traveled with some of rock and country music's biggest names including, ZZ Top, Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen, Alan Jackson, George Strait and Kris Kristofferson as well as Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. We are having a great time and look forward to seeing more great Bulldogs tonight.
(9:08 p.m.) - First and foremost, we appreciate the masterful service of Bulldog Club Executive Director Mike Richey for providing the previous updates. Mike will be sorely missed for the remainder of the trip and for his efforts we will give him free access to the blog for the rest of the week. Thanks Mike. Just finished a great event in Birmingham. The alumni group over here always does a great job. They hosted a golf tournament this afternoon while we were with Coach Mullen at the Paul Finebaum Show (something tells me the tournament was a sham if Marketing Guru Chad Thomas was on the winning team). The room was packed and Coach Mullen provided what may have been his best speech yet. Of course he had a great room to work with. After very motivating diatribe by me (Bart Gregory) the room was at a fevered pitch. As with all of the previous stops, the food was exceptional (Italian) and according to Joe Galbraith, all 3 types of cakes were very good (he ate 2 pieces of each). So now we're on the road again as we're somewhere on I20/59 headed Meridian way. We'll have another early wakeup tomorrow with a 7:30 breakfast at the Riley Center in Meridian, then it's on to Hattiesburg for lunch before ending the day tomorrow night in Biloxi. So before we say goodnight we must leave you with this thought for the day. Never allow Compliance Director Bracky Brett to be on your golf team during a scramble. He has the worst swing known to man. Thanks....Have a great day...and Go Dawgs!
Day 5
Thursday, Apr. 29
(7:18 a.m.) - On our way to the Riley Center in Meridian this morning for a breakfast. We only have 5 on the bus this morning (Coach Mullen, Dr. Abraham, Janet Downey, Joe Galbraith and myself. Straton Karatassos, Michelle McBride, and Jenny Hazelwood are driving from Starkville this morning to catch up with us. Janet just spoke with Josh Thompson with the local alumni association and they're anticipating a great crowd. Meridian has long been known for it's support of Mississippi State and we're looking forward to seeing everyone.
(10:05 a.m.) - Stop number nine of the BancorpSouth Road Dawgs Tour was a lively crowd at the perfect venue. The MSU Riley Center is without doubt a gem and a great extension of Mississippi State The partnership between MSU and the city of Meridian continues to grow and we were proud to have Mayor Cheri Berry offer the welcome. Coach once again emphasized our appreciation for the fan support during the 2009 season. A season that saw Mississippi State lead the nation in Increased Average Attendence. Season ticket sales are very strong for 2010 as we're 7% ahead of where we were this time during last year's record season. So make sure if you haven't gotten your season tickets you better go ahead and get them. Our goal is to sell out of season tickets and right now that's a goal that's certainly achievable. We also need to send a thank you to our "computer guy" John Cade for setting up our blog. John is one of those guys that always has a bubbly personality and I don't think he's ever had a bad day in the office. So here's to you John. Coach Jenny Hazelwood has once again joined us on the tour. Her husband Brian, who made a big kick in 1998 to send us to the SEC Championship game, was also in Meridian. So onto the next stop. We're on I-59 between Meridian and Laurel right now and we look forward to another tremendous crowd at Southern Oaks in Hattiesburg.
(2:19 p.m.) - Driving around Wiggins after our lunch in Hattiesburg. Like the Riley Center this morning, Southern Oaks in Hattiesburg is a great location. John Shappley did a nice job of organizing the event and we had well over 100 in the Hub City. We've gotten to where we rank the stops based on the food and James Cade and his catering group make this stop one of the best. I think we can all make each others' speeches right now even though Coach Mullen continues to throw in a couple wrinkles at every stop. Now it's back on the bus as the weak are napping (Joe, Michelle, Jenny). Coach continues his movie marathon along with dissecting video of the Spring Game. Dr. Abraham and Janet Downey are discussing logistics of the upcoming events. While walking through the bus a moment ago I came across a dry-erase board that Jenny Hazelwood brought this morning. It spells out where the next meeting is, the attire, and the goal of the upcoming speech. I think I'm gonna take it tomorrow and show Coach a couple wishbone plays that worked wonders for me as a quarterback at Nanih Waiya High School (Go Warriors). So now it's on to Biloxi where we have a BancorpSouth visit at 3:00 before the dinner tonight at Biloxi Yacht Club. For now as Joe Galbraith continues to sleep with his sunshades on and his mouth wide open, I think it's perfect time for a prank. Results at 10.....
(8:46 p.m.) - Another day in the book. After we arrived in Biloxi we took part in our final BancorpSouth visit of the week at 3:00. To be honest, we didn't know what to expect of the bank visits going into the week but they were some of the most enjoyable visits we had. A group of about 40 asked Coach Mullen questions and we covered just about any topic imaginable. Speaking of BancorpSouth, they've been a tremendous partner throughout this week and they've added another dimension to our caravan as we try to be more aggressive with our marketing efforts. Tonight's event at the Biloxi Yacht Club was a very unique experience. The newly built club offered the most picturesque setting of the week. A crowd of over 250 was there and fun was definitely had by all. The only hiccup of the night was my failure to recognize Jenny Hazelwood, Joe Galbraith, and Michelle McBride. But I had a perfectly good reason. Jenny was busy eating her third plate of bread pudding, Joe was in the restroom fixing his hair, and Michelle was drawing up basketball plays for a group of people. With only one day left in the tour it allows us to look back a little bit. On Monday we were fully anticipating growing tired of each other before the end of the week but as the week's gone on, we've really had a lot more fun and hopefully you can tell that by reading the blog. In reality, it's truly a way we all work as an athletic department every day. We're a very close-knit group. We just had to vote Mike Richey off the trip yesterday to make everything better...just kidding. So as I've said, just one more day. Can't wait to see the fine people in McComb for lunch tomorrow and then we can call it a wrap for the 2010 Road Dawgs Tour.
Day 6
Friday, Apr. 30
(9:25 a.m.) - Coach Jenny Hazelwood's dry-erase board reads "McComb and Home". That's the slogan as we begin our final day on the bus. This morning began with our first late departure due to a member of the gang oversleeping. I won't tell you who it was. All I'll say is it wasn't Coach Mullen, me (Bart Gregory), Dr. Abraham, Janet Downey, Jenny Hazelwood, or Michelle McBride. That narrows it down between Joe Galbraith and our busdriver Dave. We'd like to thank Dave for getting up early this morning and having the bus ready to roll. Hopefully now you know who made us late. So on to McComb where Coach Mullen will talk one more time about the important role Bulldog fans play in our success.
(1:22 p.m.) - Large crowd in McComb capped off a great week on the BancorpSouth Road Dawgs Tour. Randy Watts is one of the best guys you'll meet and he came through with a tremendous event. The 12th and final tour stop marked the end of a new concept this year. In years past, we've drawn out the caravan over a 3-week period. This year we loaded up a bus on Sunday (thanks to George Pillow of Senators Coaches) and weaved our way until this point.....2 miles south of Brookhaven. This was the first year we've experimented with breakfast meetings and all three (Memphis, Tupelo, Meridian) were well attended. The bus tour does present a few negatives. With condensing everything into one week we can only have four evening events and that's what everyone wants. We'll meet on Monday and determine the positives of the trip (and there were plenty) and we'll discuss the things we can improve on for next year (the most glaring is getting an alarm clock for Joe Galbraith). But our first reviews of the week think it was a resounding success. A great thank you also goes to Coach Mullen. When we first started with our preparation back in January Coach said when you're planning the week just tell me where to go and I'll go. Not many Division I coaches will do that. I think back to Sunday afternoon when he was loading his bag on the bus he also put his golf clubs on the bottom of the bus. He said "if we get a few open minutes I may go to the range and hit some golf balls." Well, the golf clubs haven't moved. We've been slammed all week with stops. And all have been a success.
(4:27 p.m.) - The Road Dawg Express just rolled back into Starkville and the 2010 BancorpSouth Road Dawgs Tour is in the book. A trip that started in Tunica on Sunday for Kent Hull's charity event took us to Batesville and Southaven on Monday...up to Memphis to begin a Tuesday that had a lunch stop at Wanda's in Kosciusko (Great Fried Chicken!), to a bank visit in Ridgeland, and we finished up with a dinner at The South. Then it was a quick drive up Highway 25 for a night in Starkville. On Wednesday we started in Tupelo, then over to Huntsville for lunch, and then a quick visit with Paul Finebaum before a dinner at Highland Park Golf Course in Birmingham. We left Birmingham for a drive to Meridian for a few hours of sleep before beginning yesterday with a breakfast at the Riley Center. Great lunch in Hattiesburg and then a bank visit and dinner in Biloxi last night. This morning we took out for McComb (after having to bang on Joe Galbraith's door to wake him) for lunch. Now finally in the comfort of the Bryan Building we can finally exhale a little bit. Our thanks to everyone who made this caravan a success and we look forward to doing it again next year. The trip logged some 1727 miles which is the equivalent of driving from Starkville to Las Vegas (One Vegas to the other). While some of the group traded on and off the trip (Scott Stricklin, Mike Richey, Michelle McBride, Michael Richardson, Janet Downey, Jenny Hazelwood), only a proud few were the true road warriors. Coach Mullen, Jimmy Abraham, Joe Galbraith, and myself (Bart Gregory) made all 1727 miles. And we enjoyed every single one of them. Go Dawgs!