It happens every spring – Super Bulldog Weekend. This year’s Super Bulldog Weekend takes place Friday, Saturday and Sunday and will attract Mississippi State University alumni, incoming students and fans. The Maroon/White spring football game and Cage the Elephant concert will take place throughout the weekend.
Michael Hogan, Student Association president, said the event weekend is MSU’s biggest opportunity to promote the campus and university as a whole.
“We are showing so many diverse sides of campus all in one weekend,” Hogan said. “We highlight some great sporting events, welcome back alumni to join in on festivities and put on some pretty incredible concerts.”
Many different events, athletic and recreational, are planned to take place during the weekend.
MSU athletic teams will be in action throughout the weekend.
Starting Wednesday, MSU will host the SEC women’s tennis tournament at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. Admission is free, and the tournament ends Sunday.
The Maroon/White spring football game will be held in Davis Wade Stadium Saturday at 1 p.m. Admission is free to the game as well.
Despite construction on Davis Wade Stadium, the football team will still entertain devoted alumni and fans.
Bobby Tomlinson, associate athletic director for game operations and facilities, said this year’s game will be different due to the major construction.
“The east side of the stands will be for fans,” Tomlinson said. “It’s a little different.”
Because the stadium is under major construction, parking for the spring game will be different than on fall football game days. All parking and traffic news has been posted on hailstate.com.
The MSU baseball team will also host Auburn with a three game series starting Thursday with large crowds.
“The baseball games always have great crowds with an excess of 10,000 people at the Saturday game,” Tomlinson said.
Other events, including a pig-cooking contest, will take place during Super Bulldog Weekend.
Thomas Bourgeois, Dean of Students, said Super Bulldog Weekend is the spring equivalent of fall homecoming.
“I love the feel of it,” Bourgeois said. “It’s a great event.”
Cage the Elephant will perform a free concert at the amphitheater on Saturday as part of the Old Main Music Festival. Ty Brown will also be performing at the admission free concert.
Hogan said SA is working to make the weekend run smoothly.
“The Student Association is assisting Music Maker Productions with planning and implementing the Super Bulldog Weekend concert series at the amphitheater.  We are also publicizing and working hard to promote all athletic events happening throughout the weekend,” Hogan said.
The arrival of many visiting alumni and fans affects Starkville as well. Bourgeois said the city does a good job of helping out with Super Bulldog Weekend.
“Starkville welcomes alumni with open arms, and we can’t do this without Starkville,” Bourgeois said.
The city of Starkville also helps fund Super Bulldog Weekend.
Hogan said the city gives two percent of tax funding and other various sponsorships to the event’s budget.
“It truly is a team effort to fund events on a scale like this,” Hogan said.
The many different events, including events hosted by several MSU departments, during Super Bulldog Weekend offer a wide range of entertainment for MSU students, alumni, fans and visitors.
“I believe each year grows from year to year.  There has been a bar set by previous years’ Super Bulldog events, and we will always continue to put forth effort in raising that bar,” Hogan said.
Even with portions of campus under major construction, Super Bulldog Weekend will display MSU’s many facets of life while welcoming back fans and alumni. Tomlinson said he enjoys the difference in the spring environment compared to fall.
“I like seeing fans come back and support the university,” Tomlinson said. “It’s a more relaxed atmosphere than fall with all the tens at the football game focusing on a win or loss.”