Thursday Bulldog Update - 4/8/10
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SBW PRESENTED BY REGION BANK NEARS, SHIRTS ON SALE
Super Bulldog Weekend Presented by Regions Bank is rapidly approaching; in fact, the spring homecoming is just over one week away. As always, it is a great time for everyone to make plans to be back on the campus to enjoy Bulldog sports, see everything going on within the campus, and visit with old friends. For the past 24 years, it really has been a special time at Mississippi State University.
Events will actually begin one week from today, as the MSU Student Association will once again host a movie night at Davis Wade Stadium. "Sherlock Holmes" has been selected by the student organization. Movie time is still to be determined. Seating will be in the west grandstand and the north end zone and no ticket purchase is required.
Pig-cooking contestants begin to roll in Friday morning in the same location as a year ago (behind McArthur Hall). And baseball begins a three-game series with Tennessee Friday night.
In addition to the Saturday baseball game, the annual Maroon and White spring football game, which signifies the conclusion of spring practice, will take place at Davis Wade at 5 p.m. Another record crowd is expected. In between, there will be a women's tennis match against Ole Miss at 11 a.m., a soccer alumni match on our soccer field, FanFair will take place in the Junction, and a volleyball alumni match at Newell-Grissom will keep everyone busy.
Baseball will conclude its series with Tennessee on Sunday afternoon.
To commemorate the weekend, a special Super Bulldog Weekend t-shirt will again be offered this year. The 2010 SBW adidas shirt, complete with new design for this year, is currently available at the Campus Bookmart, Barnes and Noble, The Lodge, at Sports Center (all in Starkville) and will also be available on-line soon at www.mstatestore.com.
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PLEDGE DEADLINE REACHED, TICKET SALES OPEN WELL
With the deadline reached for utilizing your Bulldog Club status and point totals in the priority for football season tickets, we are beginning to get early reports on how those numbers compare to a year ago. And at this very early time in the sales campaign, we're encouraged by what we have seen.
At this point, we have nearly 6,000 accounts on-line with pledges already posted, a jump of about 70 percent over last year's pledges. This is not totally surprising. After the excitement generated by last year's team and the game atmosphere in general, we expected to see fans respond earlier than normal in establishing their priority levels.
What is particularly impressive is that we currently have 536 pledges on-line from individuals that did not have a 2009 pledge. Additionally, nearly 1,500 individuals increased their pledge amount from one year ago.
We have a long way to go in the sales period, but we are off to a great start, thanks to you, the Bulldog fan and supporter.
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ESPN STUDIO HOST MARK MAY WILL BE ON CAMPUS
Former college football great, National Football League star, and current ESPN college football studio host Mark May will be on the campus next week to speak at the Lamar Conerly Honors Lecture.
"Tales from the Gridiron: An Evening with Mark May" begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Taylor Auditorium of McCool Hall on Thursday, April 15. The event is free to the public, with the auditorium's 300 seats available on a first-come basis. We are co-sponsoring the event with the university's Shackouls Honors College.
A former University of Pittsburgh standout offensive tackle, he won the Outland Trophy following his senior year, an award given annually to the nation's top offensive lineman. He played for former Mississippi State head football coach Jackie Sherrill during his time at Pitt.
May went on to a 13-year professional football career, most of which was spent with the Washington Redskins. He joined ESPN as an analyst and commentator in 2001.
While on the campus, May will also meet with broadcast journalism and sport administration classes.
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BANCORPSOUTH ROAD DAWGS TOUR DATES SET
Working in conjunction with the university's alumni association, we have announced the schedule for the 2010 BancorpSouth Road Dawgs Tour. Coach Mullen and various department staffers will embark on a 12-stop, five-day tour through Mississippi, and portions of Alabama and Tennessee.
This year's tour will begin with lunch in Batesville on Monday, April 26, and will conclude with a late morning meeting on Friday, the 30th, in McComb.
A schedule follows, and for more information, please visit mstateathletics.com or contact the Bulldog Club at 662-325-3074.
4/26 12:00 pm Panola Country Club, Batesville ($15/person)
4/26 6:00 pm Getwell Road UMC, Southaven ($15/person, Kids 12-under free)
4/27 7:30 am Church of Holy Communion, Memphis ($10/person)
4/27 12:00 pm Wanda's Catering, Kosciusko ($25/adult, $15/students)
4/27 6:00 pm The South, Jackson ($10/person)
4/28 7:30 am First UMC, Tupelo ($5/person)
4/28 12:00 pm The Station No. 2, Huntsville, Ala. ($15/person, Kids 12-under $8)
4/28 6:00 pm Highland Park GC, Birmingham ($30/person, $130/golfer)
4/29 7:30 am MSU Riley Center, Meridian ($5/person)
4/29 12:00 pm Southern Oaks, Hattiesburg ($15/person)
4/29 6:00 pm Biloxi Yacht Club, Biloxi ($15/person)
4/30 11:00 am Days Inn, McComb ($15/person)
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RELIEF FUND ESTABLISHED TO AID DISASTER VICTIMS
A relief fund is now in place on campus to provide members of the university family affected or displaced by disaster, including those touched by Tuesday's apartment fire in Starkville.
Joint efforts to raise monies for the MSU Relief Fund are a collaboration of the Division of Student Affairs, Dean of Students Office, the MSU Foundation, the Student Association, and our department.
Individuals or organizations may make gifts at any time via the foundation's secure on-line link, https://ssl2.msstate.edu/msufoundation/makeagift/.
We will also assist in the fund-raising efforts prior to tomorrow's baseball game against Arkansas at Dudy Noble Field. SA officers and the school's Orientation Leaders will be outside the gates to the stadium accepting contributions for this worthwhile cause.
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2010 NEWSOM AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
We are pleased to announce the following Newsom Award winners for the 2009-10 school year. The award has been presented annually since 1990 by former MSU professor and faculty athletic representative Walt Newsom in memory of his parents, Carroll and Francis Newsom, and is given to the top academic student-athlete in each sport. An overall winner is named for both men and women.
Women's sport Newsom Award winners are: Mary Kathryn Govero (basketball), Renee Masterson (cross country), Leigh Phillips (golf), Leanna Baldner (soccer), Radka Ferancova (tennis), Wendy Copeland (track), Kayla Woodward (volleyball), and overall women's winner Jessica Bailey (softball).
Winners on the men's side are: Russ Sneed (baseball), Riley Benock (basketball), Sean Brauchle (football), Brooks Bankhead (golf), Tanner Stump (tennis), Joshua Tucker (track) and men's overall winner Mitch Weegman (cross country).
These outstanding student-athletes should be congratulated for their work not only on the playing fields and courts, but in the class room as well.
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MISSISSIPPI STATE HOME SPORTS SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Friday...Men's Tennis vs. Alabama, 3 p.m.; Baseball vs. Arkansas, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday...Baseball vs. Arkansas, 2 p.m.
Sunday...Men's Tennis vs. Auburn, 1 p.m.; Baseball vs. Arkansas, 1:30 p.m.
Come out, support your Bulldogs, and get your Dog Tag scanned.
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TOMORROW IS MAROON FRIDAY...
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 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.
Go Dawgs!