It’s official. Men’s basketball has become the most addictive substance in Starkville. People just can’t get enough of it.
In his sixth year, head coach Rick Stansbury and the Bulldogs have built a program that no one wants to miss. The only remaining tickets for the rest of the season are the 3,000 allotted to students each game.
For Saturday’s game against Mississippi, those evaporated by 9:15 Monday morning as students stood in damp 40-degree temperatures to get tickets.
The same Mississippi State players that have impressed the nation say they are impressed by their fans’ devotion.
“That says something about the loyalty of our fans,” Winsome Frazier said. “We want to protect our home court for our fans.”
Even newer Bulldogs recognize the attention they get from other students.
“I think our team is fortunate to have students embrace us the way they have,” transfer Shane Power said. “Guys on the team realize (how bad students want tickets)–a couple have class at the Sanderson Center Monday mornings and they see the lines and spread the message.”
Power said that similar loyalty existed at his former school.
“When I was at Iowa State, students used to wait in negative temperatures,” Power said. “It was 15 below for the Kansas game and they were out there for five or six hours.”
Senior Timmy Bowers remembered a distant time when the demand was not as high.
“In my first couple of years, we didn’t see a lot of people before the game,” Bowers said. “Now, people line up before the games and we see them come in early. That shows the kind of program we’ve built.”
Stansbury said that building better crowds was one of his primary goals after he took the head coaching spot.
“When I came here, I wanted to get the students involved–give them something they could identify with,” Stansbury said. “We had never done anything special for the students.”
In his first three seasons the Dawgs averaged 4,666 fans for home games and the people that did come rarely roared.
This led Stansbury to create Rick’s Rowdies in 2001. Since the spirit group formed with about 50 students, larger crowds have shattered the eardrums of opposing teams. Almost 500 students are in the Rowdies and the average attendance the last three seasons is up to 6,579, including a coliseum record 10,645 in a Feb. 23, 2002 game against the Rebels.
“Coming to the games now adds meaning to the student experience,” Stansbury said. “We’ve broken attendance records the last three years and we’re looking to break another one Saturday.”
Stansbury credits the electricity surge in The Hump with helping the team to a 35-4 record the last three seasons.
“No question, it’s one of the best atmospheres in the SEC,” Stansbury said. “It gives us a tremendous advantage.”
Stansbury hopes a tradition will grow with the program as he and players and fans continue to build Mississippi State into a household name.
He and Rowdies co-presidents Caleb Butts and Mandi Alexander want everyone at The Hump to wear white to stand out from the Maroon seat background. This first began at the 67-66 last-second loss against Kentucky. Stansbury and the Rowdies called for another “White Out” against Tennessee. The Bulldogs beat the Volunteers 82-60 on Jan. 28, and Stansbury is looking for similar results Saturday.
“I want to see a sea of white,” Stansbury said.