Welcome back, sports fans. When we last saw each other, the Diamond Dawgs were still on the field, Mississippi State did not have an athletic director, we thought Dee Bost would be on the basketball team and Dan Mullen’s team had just wrapped up spring practices.
Maybe you stayed in Starkville this summer, maybe you went home, to Disney World or elsewhere. Maybe you kept up with MSU sports during the hot, muggy months, or perhaps you did not. Either way, we are here to tell you what you may or may not have missed.
Most know, but in case you didn’t hear, Scott Stricklin is the new Athletic Director around these parts, and he certainly had an eventful summer. A lifelong Bulldog himself, it is fitting that his first big task was to protect one of the oldest traditions Bulldog fans have: the cowbell.
Coming into the summer meeting of Southeastern Conference Athletic Directors, it appeared there were many within the conference who were prepared to outlaw the instruments of clang for good, and not the wink-and-nod treatment given previously. However, Stricklin and MSU President Mark Keenum fought hard for their Dawgs and eventually earned the right for the fair fans to bring their cowbells to every game at Davis Wade Stadium. Just make sure to ring them at the right time, they say.
Later in the summer, July to be precise, Mullen and a few of his players attended SEC Media Days, a gathering of over 1,000 local and national media members, to talk about the upcoming season.
Shortly thereafter, the first week of August to be precise, the Dawgs began fall camp, and as Mullen and company hash out the starting lineup, we find ourselves mere days from kickoff – Sept. 4.
Now that you are all caught up, stay with The Reflector as we guide you through what promises to be an exciting year of Bulldog sports.