Members of the Mississippi State University faculty and staff use official and unofficial slogans to unite students, alumni and fans across the nation.
Scott Stricklin, MSU athletic director, said State began using “This is Our State” as an athletic marketing slogan to bring attention to the university about six months ago.
“The point of any campaign is brand awareness. We want to use this brand and our connection to Mississippi to do it in a clever way,” he said.
Chad Thomas, assistant athletic director and head of athletic marketing, said the campaign’s goal is not only to boost ticket sales and game attendance but also to get fans excited about the programs at MSU,
“We want to get them excited about Mississippi State and excited about what’s coming out next from the university or the athletic department,” he said.
Thomas said MSU Athletics wants the marketing campaign to reach beyond alumni and current students.
“A lot of fans are what we call ‘sidewalk fans’ that don’t have an affiliation with any program in the state,” Thomas said. “Those sidewalk fans are looking for a team to root for and a team to be a part of. We want those fans to feel like they are a part of something special.”
Stricklin said he wants “This is Our State” to make an impression on anyone who sees an advertisement or watches a video from the campaign.
“You want something that is effective beyond the initial image or exposure that people see from it. By that I mean you want something that’s memorable, something that stays with people,” he said.
Thomas said the “Our State” campaign is expected to run for several years if it continues to be successful.
Whit Waide, a political science instructor at MSU, gave the Bulldogs an unofficial slogan to use when he began a Twitter campaign encouraging fans to “grind for their State.”
Waide’s catch phrase has become so popular that local rapper, NfaRed, recorded a song titled, “Grindin’ for My State,” and performed it at Maroon Madness on Oct. 24.
“Grindin’ for my State” has become a battle cry for MSU fans nationwide, he said. Fans can find the phrase on this year’s MSU United Way bracelets alongside the official school slogan, “This is Our State.”
Thomas said the athletic department has not picked up “grindin’ for my State” as an official slogan, but he thinks students have claimed it as part of the fan culture.
“‘Grindin’ for my State’ is more of a pseudo campaign. It’s just one of those things where the student body has taken a hold of it,” he said. “They see it as a motto of what we do on a day-to-day basis.”
Waide said he promised himself he would promote the phrase among fans after hearing Anthony Dixon, former running back for MSU, use it in an interview. He said Dixon described the sentiment he thinks many MSU fans feel.
“It just seemed like a perfect catch phrase for State folks. We all get beat down. But we never stop fighting, and we never will,” Waide said.
It is easy for students to “grind” for MSU and for Mississippi, he said. “Grindin” includes working hard, being kind and respectful, being honorable, being thankful, going to class and loving MSU and the state of Mississippi.
He said he thinks “grindin'” goes beyond ethnic and racial backgrounds to unite the Bulldog Nation.
“Mississippi State is not white people. It’s not black people. It’s maroon people,” Waide said.
He said he thinks “grindin'” is one of the ways he feels he is giving back to the MSU community and he hopes he leaves this legacy for future students.
“I feel like I have finally contributed something to the place I love the most,” Waide said. “Even though my 15 minutes will eventually tick away, I hope that ‘Grindin’ for our State’ never will.”