Mississippi State University’s mascot is the bulldog, and one of the common symbols the university has of the beloved English Bulldog are the many statues surrounding campus. The first bulldog took over in 1935, and after being struck by a bus in 1939, the students held a funeral which was covered by Life Magazine. Bully I was buried at the 50-yard line of Scott Field. Many other Bullys have been hit by busses or kidnapped by Ole Miss students due to the fact they used to roam freely on campus, until being moved into the care of the vet school.
The current Bully’s name is Jak, named after former voice of the Bulldogs Jack Cristil. He is the 21st live mascot the university has had since the Ptolemies brothers (first unofficial mascot) and Bully I in 1935.
Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field is the name for the football stadium which holds 61,337 fans at max capacity. The name, Davis Wade, comes from Floyd Davis Wade Sr., a long-time supporter of MSU football who donated a lot of money to the renovation of the stadium. The stadium has one of the biggest jumbotrons in the country, ranking in at seventh; and is the second oldest FBS stadium in college football, one year behind Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd stadium.
The field has seen a lot of history. It has been through two world wars in its 104-year history. Named after Olympian Don Magruder Scott, who was a football star at the university from 1915-1916, Scott Field has a natural Bermuda grass surface and has been voted by the sports turf management association as the best college football field in 2015.
The center of game days is the Junction, located at the spot where train tracks used to run behind the stadium as it went through the Depot.
Later when rail travel became obsolete with the wide spread use of cars, the place was nicknamed Malfunction Junction for the many roads which crossed there.
On any home football fall Saturday, fans cook food, drink refreshing cold beverages and hang out until three hours before game time when the Dawg Walk begins.
The Dawg Walk is when the players walk through the junction on the way to the stadium before their game, as thousands of fans welcome them to the stadium.
Bells are ringing in the air as the tradition of using cowbells to cheer on MSU lives on. The tradition stems from a cow wandering onto the field in the middle of an Egg Bowl game. MSU came back to win the game, and students started bringing the cow to games until they realized it was easier to just bring the bell.
In the 1960’s, professors Earl W. Terrel and Ralph L. Reeves started welding on bike handles to the cowbells, so students could ring them with proper aggression.
Although banned from the stadium in 1974 until 2010, the cowbells have made a comeback and are a must-have. However, you have to receive your first cowbell as a gift, if you buy it you will bring bad luck upon yourself.
Also, please ring responsibly at football games. Meaning: when the center is over the ball, stop ringing and just yell. MSU’s following of this rule has allowed the fans to continue ringing them at football games.
You can also add the game day stickers of Beat TSUN, Beat LSU or Beat Bama to your cowbell to commemorate the game the cowbell was rung at.
When Dan Mullen came to MSU, he brought with him the tradition of in-between the third and fourth quarters, the song “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey is played. Fans use their phone’s flashlight, sing along and attempt to ring to the rhythm of the song with their cowbells. This is one of the most iconic images from game days in Starkville. It is a very magical moment to take part in.
