Floyd Davis Wade Sr., supporter of Mississippi State athletics and other programs, died Saturday, Sept. 7, 2002, in Meridian. Wade was reared in Newton County, and some say he knew the state as well as a timber man. He was the co-founder of and director for AFLAC.
Wade is most noted for his gifts to MSU. The football stadium expansion was initiated largely due to Wade’s financial contributions. Wade, who was a longtime supporter of Bulldog athletics, made a financial commitment to aid MSU in beginning the expansion in 1999.
The expansion included 50 luxury skyboxes and 1,700 premium chairback seats. A total of 7,600 seats were added to Davis Wade Stadium, raising the stadium’s capacity to 52,000. The total cost of the project exceeded $30 million dollars.
“He was a longtime supporter of MSU athletics and would do anything to help us (MSU) out,” Wesley Reed, associate athletic director, said. “His generous gift enabled MSU to move another step in the Southeastern Conference.
“I can remember when Mr. Wade called us from Georgia telling us about recruits who were interested in MSU.”
MSU football players and coaching staff will pay tribute to Wade for the 2002 football season by placing a sticker on the back of every player’s helmet. The black and white sticker will read ‘DW’ for Davis Wade.
“This is our way of saying thank you (Wade) for all that you have done,” Jackie Sherrill, MSU head football coach, said.
“There is no question that we lost an outstanding member of our MSU athletic family,” Sherrill said. “He was always very positive and very generous to our program.”
“Like Wade, his family are avid supporters of MSU,” Straton Karatassos, director of the Bulldog Club, said. “They will continue to support MSU in every way.
“This loss not only affects MSU, it affects the entire state of Mississippi.”
Wade is survived by four children and their families.