Wednesday Bulldog Update - 5/18/11
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BIG BASEBALL WEEKEND AHEAD FOR DIAMOND DAWGS
This is a big weekend of games for our baseball team. We currently stand in a four-way tie for first place in the SEC’s Western Division, and conference tournament seeding and NCAA Tournament invitations lie in the balance.
Coach Cohen’s baseball team concludes its Southeastern Conference regular season at home this Thursday, Friday and Saturday, against LSU. Game times are 6 p.m. Thursday, 6:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday. We hope you will help fill Dudy Noble Field.
The baseball program has won nine divisional championships through the years, but has not won a regular season title of any kind since the league adopted its current divisional format in 1992.
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MOST SUCCESSFUL ROAD DAWGS TOUR CONCLUDES
Coach Mullen, several staffers from both the athletic department and alumni association, and I closed out the most successful Road Dawgs Tour in recent memory last week. Large and enthusiastic crowds greeted us at every stop along the way, from Memphis to the Gulf Coast, and from the Golden Triangle to the Delta. It was a productive time reaching out to Mississippi State fans and friends across the state.
After writing last week’s column, our group had a full Thursday. It started with a breakfast meeting in Columbus, included a stop at tornado-stricken Smithville where we met with city officials and school children, a lunch meeting in Tupelo, and concluded with an evening get-together in Memphis.
We appreciate BancorpSouth’s corporate involvement in the tour. It was a great week on the road meeting Bulldog fans and telling our story. We hope all of you who attended along the road enjoyed it as much!
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IHL APPROVAL SOUGHT FOR FOOTBALL STADIUM PROJECT
On the agenda for consideration by the Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning tomorrow is the expansion and renovation of Davis Wade Stadium project. Part of that project is the request to appoint LPK Architects of Meridian as the design professionals in charge.
The project has been pre-planned through the Bulldog Club, and LPK was hired by our fund-raising organization as the design professional for pre-planning documents.
While we still lack a timeline on when construction might begin, getting this IHL approval is another important step in the process. Obviously, the renovation and expansion of the football stadium is fueled by you, the Mississippi State fan base. We will sell every available season ticket for the second-straight season this year, and likely will build on our streak of consecutive sellouts. The north end zone addition will add approximately 7,000 seats and include premium area opportunities and other fan amenities. Improvements to the west concourse of the existing stadium and entry ways will add to the game-day experience and bring the historic stadium up to date. Structural provisions will allow for future stadium expansion, as well.
Pending approval from the IHL Board, we are proposing to fund the process through $80,000,000 in EBC Bonds. Those bonds will be repaid through revenue generated by football ticket sales and Bulldog Club donations.
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SCHMIDT TO UNDERGO BY-PASS SURGERY TOMORROW
As most of you know by now, Director of Track and Field Al Schmidt went into cardiac arrest at the SEC Track and Field Championships at the University of Georgia in Athens last Friday.
Al will undergo by-pass surgery for the second time tomorrow in Athens. He previously had that procedure performed in 1998 in Baton Rouge.
We are certainly pleased with the efforts made by the UGA medical team, as well as the doctors at Athens Regional Medical Center. There is little question they saved Al’s life. To that point, we received the following email from Stan Narewski, who served as meet referee last week in Athens. Stan wrote:
“I had the opportunity to work at the SEC Track and Field Championships as the Meet Referee this weekend in Athens, Georgia. I am certain that you have all the details on Al Schmidt's heart attack and the stellar job performed by the Georgia Athletic Trainer and Team Doctor. I felt it proper that I let you know about (MSU head track coach) Steve Dudley's part in all of this.
When Al collapsed, Steve immediately knew what was happening and did not panic. He shouted in a very commanding voice that basically stopped the meet from continuing. The last heat of the Decathlon 400 was just seconds from starting and had it begun, I am sure it would have added minutes to the equation and Al's resuscitation. Steve made it clear that this was a 911 emergency and to get a trainer and doctor to Al. I am confident in saying that had he hesitated and not taken charge of the situation at that very moment, the outcome would have likely been quite different. As he was doing all of this, he put a nitroglycerin tablet in Al's mouth. As the Athletic Trainer and Doctor began their work he gave instruction to assistant coaches regarding the team and checked on Al's son who was being looked after, comforted and kept away from Al and the Trainers by Coach Holloway of Florida and Harvey Glance of Alabama.
I believe that Steve Dudley's quick, decisive, take charge action saved Al's life. I told Steve later in the meet that if I am in an emergency situation I want him calling the shots. He displayed great presence of mind and indeed made Mississippi State proud.”
One personal side note, Al was a first-year head coach at Mississippi State 23 years ago when I was a freshman, and I travelled with his squad to the SEC Track and Field meet in Gainesville as a student in athletic media relations. I can attest first-hand that Al is one tough Bulldog. Keep Al and his family in your thoughts and prayers as he faces tomorrow’s procedure.
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MILLER’S CONTRACT NOT RENEWED
We announced today that the contract of softball head coach Jay Miller would not be renewed. It is set to expire June 30.
We appreciate everything Jay has done for our softball program through his nine years as our head coach, and we wish the best in the future. These are always difficult decisions, however, we believe it was time for new leadership to guide our program in a different direction.
We will immediately begin a search for a new coach to lead our young ladies in the always-competitive Southeastern Conference.
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SUMMER BREAK COMING FOR WEEKLY COLUMN
We will share with you next week some information in this column, but will discontinue the weekly frequency during the summer months as our spring semester sports come to a close. Obviously, if news develops, we will communicate with you at the appropriate time, but the regular weekly pattern will break until August.
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IT’S A MAROON FRIDAY THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER
Although we may take a break from the regular email of this column, we never take a break from wearing our school colors on 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!
Scott Stricklin