The Mississippi State University Student Association announced on Monday the launch of the Bulldog Coalition, a version of the Bulldog Club for MSU students who support Bulldog athletics.
Students who sign up will earn points for attending MSU athletic events and, in addition, Bulldog Coalition members can earn rewards for their support of MSU athletics.
The idea for the Bulldog Coalition was hatched nearly five years ago by John Thompson, who is now in graduate school at MSU.
Thompson said he looked at similar programs around the country, such as Tennessee and Clemson, and began thinking about how he could put together a similar club for MSU.
“I think it’s something Mississippi State has needed for a long time,” Thompson said.
After Coalition members graduate from MSU, they are able to transfer all earned points into Bulldog Club membership. Points in the Bulldog Club are earned by donations to the Athletic Department, so members can start off with points without having to actually donate money.
Athletic Director Scott Stricklin said it is important for both the university and the alumni themselves to keep all Bulldogs involved.
“What we see is that people graduate, and then they disappear until they resurface sometime in their thirties,” Stricklin said. “Certainly, when students graduate, they are trying to pay off student loans, and typically they aren’t making as much money, relatively speaking.”
Stricklin said the Bulldog Coalition will be an effective way to keep those people involved with the university and the Athletic Department.
Thompson said he is happy to see his dream come to fruition, and he noted a number of people within the Student Associaton and Athletic Department who helped make it happen. He admitted that working with three different Athletic Directors was occasionally problematic, particularly when he first tried to get it going.
“I tried to talk to [former A.D.] Larry Templeton, but he didn’t want much to do with me because he was on his way out, which is understandable,” Thompson said. “I’m not knocking him at all.”
However, he said Greg Byrne was very supportive of the idea throughout his time at MSU.
When Byrne left and Stricklin replaced him as Athletic Director, Thompson said Stricklin called him and told him he wanted to go full-steam with the Bulldog Coalition. But here is the kicker: the “Bulldog Coalition” almost never happened.
“It was originally called MTOC, for Maroon The Only Color,” Thompson said. “We changed the name because of Croom. When he left, we didn’t want to have that stigma.”