The Mississippi State Student Association and the athletic department are sponsoring a movie night at Davis Wade Stadium Thursday.
The night is an open event for both students and the members of community, and the admission is free.
Student Association Executive Assistant Rhett Hobart said the night will kick off with the showing of a documentary titled “A Game of Change.”
“The documentary is about the 1963 Mississippi State men’s basketball team’s trip to the integrated NCAA Tournament,” Hobart said. “They were forced to actually sneak out of Starkville at midnight after the current Mississippi Governor, Ross Barnett, told the team they were not allowed to go to the tournament.”
Hobart said following the documentary, Head football coach Dan Mullen will speak about Saturday’s Maroon and White preseason scrimmage game as well as the upcoming football season.
“Prior to Coach Mullen speaking, we will be showing a promo video highlighting many of the fond memories of past football teams here at Mississippi State, as well as a look into the future,” Hobart said.
Immediately after Dan Mullen’s speech, there will be a special showing of the movie “Remember the Titans,” a film based on the true story of a Virginia high school football team facing integration.
Athletic promotions coordinator Chad Thomas said he is very thankful for all the help that occurred while making this event possible.
“Blake Jeter and his staff have been extremely helpful in the process, and the athletic department wishes to thank the Student Association and the students for their support of Mississippi State Athletics,” Thomas said. “SA has taken it upon themselves to promote the event to the community through a press release, contacting the local school district and printing up flyers to place around the community.”
Thomas also said a lot of time, effort and money benefited this event.
“What we did do was budget for the cost of running the board, the cost of security, the cost of turning on the lights at the field, opening the concession stands and the staffing for the event,” he said. “All of those costs combined we figure to be about $2,200.”
SA President Blake Jeter said this event is a way to bring the entire community together.
“I think this is a great chance for students at Mississippi State to come and experience a part of MSU football that has never been experienced before,” he said. “We want to engage schools, families and everybody that is part of the Golden Triangle area to know they are a part of Mississippi State.”
Jeter also said he thinks the event is a great way to kick off Super Bulldog Weekend and encourage people to watch the spring football game as well as participate in the weekend activities.
SA Administrative Liaison Thomas Sellers said he too hopes this event brings more involvement to Super Bulldog Weekend.
“This is going to be a great night that will allow students, faculty and Starkville families to come together to show support for the upcoming football season and enjoy a free movie,” he said. “We hope that the support and turn out for Movie Night will be a precursor to the turn out for the Maroon and White game on Saturday. As we look forward to Super Bulldog Weekend, we are excited about kicking off the events with movie night, and we hope everyone comes to show support for Coach Mullen and our football team.”