In Thursday night’s SEC opener the Mississippi State Bulldogs scored two touchdowns, coughed up six costly turnovers and committed nine penalties. None of the nine penalties were related to the newly enhanced excessive artificial noise violation penalty that silences clanging cowbells. For the most part, MSU fans adhered to warnings and requests to leave the bells outside of the stadium. A Wednesday e-mail from MSU Interim President Charles Lee warned all students that ringing cowbells could adversely affect the team and encouraged students to show support in “enthusiastic but positive ways.”
The email helped-as most obeyed. Some students and alumni successfully smuggled the bells into the game, but the clanging of the cowbells was actually concealed from the natural noise produced from the vocal cords of adamant State fans, trying to compensate for the absence of the beloved Bully bells, a school tradition for over seven decades.
Several signs were displayed in tribute to the cowbells, and the student sections were as vocal as ever. Cowbells could not be distinctly perceived from my vantage point in section P until most MSU students and alumni had departed Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field for greener and happier pastures.
Southeastern Conference officials are now permitted to warn for the first excessive artificial noise violation, then penalize MSU 5 yards for the second offense, and 15 yards for every subsequent infraction.
Referee Tom Ritter did not hear significant cause to mandate a warning in Thursday’s 42-14 loss to SEC divisional foe Auburn.
SEC coordinator of officials Bobby Gaston was on hand in the Scott Field press box to monitor the situation.
“It’s been a non-factor. There’s been one guy ringing one here, another guy ringing one there. By the terms of the rule, it’s not significant,” Gaston said.
MSU Athletic Director Larry Templeton was pleased with adherence to the rule.
“I think we did a good job of informing our people. I appreciate the way they handled it (Thursday),” Templeton said.
Cowbells will be permitted in State’s next home game, an Oct. 12 Homecoming contest with the Troy State University Trojans.
The next time that the cowbell ban will be in effect will be a Nov. 2 contest with the University of Kentucky Wildcats.

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Grant Holzhauer