After less than a half a year on the job, Jimmy Bass, Mississippi State University’s senior associate director of athletics for development and marketing, resigned Friday.
Bass was hired last summer to oversee all athletic fundraising and marketing activities at Mississippi State-a newly-created position within State’s athletic department.
Bass did not return a phone message left for him late Monday, but a transcript of an interview with him is posted on Genespage.com. In the interview, Bass said the decision to resign was “strictly for personal and family reasons,” but rumors have circulated around campus and among Bulldog Club and Alumni Association members about conflicts with Bass and leaders of the MSU athletic department.
“I would say the resistance to change in the athletic department was greater than he thought,” said Fred Nichols, a Bulldog Club member since the inception of the organization. “I heard about (the resignation) Thursday afternoon. I was immediately upset. I had some anger toward the people in leadership of the athletic department.”
Nichols, a 1973 graduate of Mississippi State, said he had a good relationship with Bass. He had met with him several times to discuss ways to increase levels of giving. Nichols also said he would like to see the Bulldog Club “taken out of the athletic department.”
“I would like to see the athletic director and the Bulldog Club president working together. I just think we need a fresh start in the athletic department,” said Nichols, who lives in Brandon. “I haven’t talked to everyone (in the Bulldog Club), but in various meetings I was at, all (Bass’) ideas were taken in like a breath of fresh air.”
Carl Nichols, the president of the MSU Alumni Association, shared some of the same feelings as Fred Nichols.
“I think that change is always challenging,” said Carl Nichols when asked about conflicts between Bass and higher leaders in the athletic department, especially director of athletics Larry Templeton. “I think that during the time Mr. Bass served at Mississippi State he was very visual and very active in the efforts he was trying to get done. His decision to resign was one that we solely regret.”
Phone messages left with Templeton were not returned Monday night, but MSU President Charles Lee commented on the resignation of a man who he said is widely respected.
“I did everything I could to dissuade him from resigning,” Lee said Monday. “The fact is I wished that he had not decided to leave.”
Fred Nichols said he would be surprised if Bass didn’t have a position to fall back on. He said he had heard that Bass may accept a job at East Carolina University.
Bass, who came from North Carolina State where he served as associate executive director for the Wolfpack Club, was indeed changing things. He was in the process of implementing a major plan to reseat the Humphrey Coliseum and Davis-Wade Stadium. The plans were in their final steps.
“It was very close to being finalized,” Bass told Genespage.com of his newly-created plans. “Just another couple of i’s dotted and t’s crossed. But again, the university leadership will have to make the call on that. I still have confidence that they will do what is right for the university.”
Fred Nichols said the new seating charts for The Hump and the stadium were to be released in late February, but that has come to a halt. President Lee said a final decision about the plans will be made by the end of this week, and a replacement for Bass has yet to be discussed.
“He had a very progressive view of how to make things better,” Lee said. “He was widely praised.”
Bass also told Genespage.com that he and his wife will move back to North Carolina where they will “talk about (their options) as a family and pray about it.”