In spite of Mississippi’s warm temperatures and lack of year-round ice rinks, three Mississippi State students have created MSU’s first ice hockey team.
In September 2007, Patrick Swartz, Alex Palmer and Michael Miller heard about the ice hockey club team started at the University of Alabama and wanted to do the same for MSU, Swartz said.
MSU was one of three SEC schools who still lacked a team, Leo Lynch, the team’s faculty advisor, said.
“Now Ole Miss and Auburn are the only two who don’t have a team,” Swartz said.
So far, the Bulldogs are slated to face LSU, Alabama, Arkansas and Vanderbilt.
“Thanks to our coach, we’re gonna be tough,” Swartz said. “Alabama is going to be the team to beat. We’re going to show up to play. Our coach is going to make sure we’re where we need to be to play.”
Bulldog coach Mike Mayhew works every other weekend at the Lee County Sherriff’s department, so he will spend every other weekend with the team, he said.
“I wasn’t at all sure what to expect about the caliber [of talent],” Mayhew said. “I don’t have to teach anyone how to skate.”
Mayhew, a former professional ice hockey player, said he was retired from hockey until he got the call for help from the founding players.
“They’re a real good group of guys who not only want to play, they’re wanting to get out and win,” Mayhew said.
Miller said Tupelo is the closest ice rink, but they only have the ice down every once in awhile. Birmingham and Decatur are the two other closest ice rinks to MSU, he said.
“We’re going to be working out [in Starkville] and practicing in Decatur. Driving sucks, but this is the type of sport that if you want to play bad enough, you’ll do just about anything to do it,” he said.
Swartz said the team has gotten some financial backing from the school.
“The University even cut us our first appropriations check in the spring, and we weren’t even playing yet,” he said. “I think that shows they have faith in us and we’re not going to let them down,” he said.
Palmer said in the interest meeting on Aug. 19 that each player will be responsible for $750 in dues. This will cover jerseys, socks, practice ice, transportation and other expenses of the team.
Swartz said Nick Tasich, director of recreational and club sports, was helpful in support for starting the team.
“When they first came to me I thought they were nuts, but now that I’ve seen their motivation I have to take my words back. It’s astonishing,” Tasich said.
He said there is an allotment of funds for club teams to have.
“It depends on the year and the budget,” Tasich said. “Last year each team got about $800 a semester.”
The team has been motivated to get extra funds by fundraising, he said.
“They’re probably one of the fastest groups to get something going,” Tasich said.
Swartz, Palmer and Miller had to go through several steps to see this team become a reality for MSU.
“We had to go through student organizations to be seen as a student organization, obviously,” Swartz said. “We had to go through club sports. They made sure we got through real fast. Due to the fact that this is such a unique thing, everyone made it real easy.”
He said the team acquired the faculty adviser on a whim when he saw an ice hockey jersey that belonged to Lynch.
“These guys are incredible. I’ve been working with them a little over a year getting [the team] together,” Lynch said.
The team found some possible players through fliers and talking to people, Swartz said, but mostly through Facebook searches for hockey interests.
“We’ve been using [Facebook] for what it’s supposed to be used for, social networking,” he said.
Other members, like Tim Barclay, were long time hockey players who just ran into one of the founding members.
“I actually met Patrick up in Tupelo last November during open skate,” Barclay said. “I saw him wearing a hockey shirt and asked him about it and he told me he started up a team.”
Barclay said he’s been playing ice hockey since he was 3 years old, and is excited to get the chance to play and help make the team more popular around MSU.
“MSU is stepping into something they’ve never done before and it’s all because of these
kids,” Lynch said.