Thursday Bulldog Update - 5/13/10
If you or someone you know is not receiving this and would like to, please e-mail us at:
bulldog-club@athletics.msstate.edu
TOMORROW IS DEADLINE (MAROON) FRIDAY!
As we have mentioned in this column for the last month, the deadline for exercising your Bulldog Club priority in the purchase of 2010 football season tickets is tomorrow, May 14.
This does not mean that you can't order season tickets - even if you are a Bulldog Club member - after that date. However, following the May 14 deadline, we will process all of the season ticket orders we have on hand and seat the individuals who have responded. We will also return those 2009 football season ticket holders who did not have a Bulldog Club priority status to the same seats as a year ago, if they respond by tomorrow.
After those orders have been filled, Bulldog Club members may still utilize their donor priority and exercise their membership privileges in seat location, but only if seating inventory remains in that priority area. And please remember an item we addressed a few times last fall. Pursuant to Southeastern Conference regulations, everyone must have a ticket to enter a competition facility this year. In the past, we have had some flexibility in admitting babies without a ticket. This will no longer be the case. We appreciate your understanding as we adhere to the league policy.
Our weekly season ticket report from the Bryan Building ticket office continues to show growth as we move toward the priority deadline. We sold nearly 3,700 season tickets last week and are now running just over 2,300 season tickets ahead of where we were last year at this time, a 13 percent improvement from '09.
One thing to bear in mind as we move forward, however, is that since we sold a school-record 40,901 season tickets last year, we had more season tickets that fell within the "renewal" category, so those numbers should be up. On the positive side, we have sold 1,556 season tickets to either new customers or renewal customers who are adding seats to their previous order.
Click here to order your season tickets!
* * *
MORE GOOD FOOTBALL NEWS
As most of you know, we again set a Mississippi State record and state of Mississippi record this spring when 34,127 fans attended the Super Bulldog Weekend Maroon-White Game. What you may not know is that our two-year jump from an announced 10,000 in 2008 to this spring's figure represents the largest growth in the county over that time period. And our 62 percent of stadium capacity for the spring game is sixth-best in the nation, trailing only Alabama, Nebraska, Auburn, Ohio State and Florida State.
All of that is a credit to you, the Bulldog fan!
* * *
A PRESENT-DAY DAVID AND GOLIATH GIFT
I remain humbled and blessed to be sitting here in the Bryan Athletic Administration Building today as your athletic director. Please know that we will do everything in our power to make Mississippi State as successful as it can be.
I hope that you were able to be with us downstairs in this building last week - or possibly you followed the proceedings on Maroon to the Max - when I accepted that challenge. It was certainly a special time in my life.
During my remarks, I mentioned that we live in a world of giants, and I recounted the story of David and Goliath. As I described the challenge that David faced, The Bible made reference to David's charge toward Goliath in the moments leading up to the final act of the story. I tried to emphasize that often the "little guy" has to be the aggressor to put his foe on the defensive. I made the analogy that we compete with giants in the world of college athletics and we must take the same tack that David did.
Of course, everyone knows the rest of the story - David whips out his sling shot and fells the giant with a stone.
When I came to my office Monday morning, a box rested on my desk top. It was a gift from David Murray, who covers Mississippi State for the local Scout.com web site affiliate. Much to my surprise, inside that box was a sling shot. I think David's (Murray) underlying plan was to equip us for the giants that lay ahead.
* * *
THIS WILL BE YOUR FINAL THURSDAY UPDATE...
...because beginning next week, we will move this update to Wednesday. Since so many of the items we discuss in this column happen on the weekend, we want to be able to provide another 24 hours in advance of weekend competition to make sure information is arriving to our donors and ticket buyers in a timely fashion. We hope this change serves you better.
* * *
MISSISSIPPI STATE HOME SPORTS SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Friday - Baseball vs. Vanderbilt, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday - Baseball vs. Vanderbilt, 2 p.m.
Sunday - Baseball vs. Vanderbilt, 1:30 p.m.
* * *
TOMORROW IS MAROON FRIDAY...
Are you in the maroon!
* * *
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!
Scott Stricklin