Five Mississippi State University legends will gather together on campus for a special event entitled Live Maroon and White Forever on Wednesday. The event will take place in Bettersworth Auditorium in Lee Hall at 7 p.m. and is open to the public as seats are available.
A panel discussion led by Roy Ruby, who served as interim president before President Mark Keenum and is best known as the MSU storyteller, will feature distinguished alumni Richard Holmes, Francis Coleman, Bailey Howell and Boo Ferriss. The guests will speak on their experiences at MSU to inform and entertain students with the history of the university.
Live Maroon and White Forever was planned by four MSU graduate students in partnership with the Alumni Association, Student Association and Campus Activities Board. Drew Fowler, graduate student in counseling education who helped plan this event, said it is an opportunity for students to learn more about MSU.
“This whole thing is about students. Our idea is that by giving students a reason to be proud of MSU’s past, they can be prideful in the present and the future,” he said. “Studies have shown that students who are proud of their institution are more likely to succeed and to graduate.”
Avent Clark, graduate student in counseling education, also helped plan the event. She said she hopes the event will inspire students with a passion she and other MSU alumni have for the university. 
“We want alumni visible to tell their stories, so students feel a connection with Mississippi State in a different way,” she said. “The alumni are the ones who have made MSU what it is today, so we really wanted to do something to give students a side of MSU they do not get to see every day.”
Clark said the five speakers include two athletes, a female, an African American and an educator, so every type of student can find a connection. The speakers will talk about critical moments in MSU history that were special to their own lives.
Holmes became the first black student at MSU in 1965 when he was 21. He will speak on his experiences of integration. Coleman, currently the dean of MSU libraries, attended MSU when the student population was mostly males. She will talk about how the environment for females has changed since she was a student and might even share a love story. Ferriss and Howell will speak about their careers in athletics. Ferriss played baseball for MSU, the Boston Red Sox and coached at Delta State University. Howell is a former basketball player who still holds records in the NBA and has the only jersey ever retired at MSU.
Fowler said Ruby lived in Old Main dormitory during his time as an undergraduate and will tell stories about the antics that happened there. He said men in the dorms would light balls of paper on fire just so they could get the hoses out and then float their mattresses down the hall.
Clark said there is a giveaway for one student to win a seat to dinner with the speakers before the event. It will be held in Old Main lounge in Colvard Student Union at 5:15 p.m. To be eligible, follow the Twitter account @livemaroon for instructions on how to win. The winner will be announced Tuesday night.
Jimmy Abraham, executive director of the Alumni Association, said this is going to be a historic event.
“We encourage students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends to make plans to be with us as we learn about the history and traditions of our great university,” he said.