With the news coming this week that the Southeastern Conference will be fining Mississippi State for violating the cowbell compromise, Athletic Director Scott Stricklin and head coach Dan Mullen addressed the students to stress the impact the next two games will have on the future of the cowbell inside Davis Wade Stadium.
“You have two more games to do this the right way,” Stricklin told the crowd of several hundred students in the Newell-Grissom building. “When Mark Keenum and myself go down to Destin next year [for the annual SEC meetings], we can be able to say we got better as we went along, and by the end of the year, we had 55,000 people who knew when to ring.”
The impending fines, which will be assessed at the end of the season, indicate that the “cowbell compromise” reached last summer in Destin has not gone as planned this fall. Continued violations of the cowbell rules this year would likely mean the long-standing symbol of the university would be outlawed from inside the stadium.
While “Ring Responsibly” is still seen on signs and on the video board on gamedays, “Save the Bell” has become a popular catch-phrase among MSU students and fans. For those fans, the realization that saving the bell comes down to the next two home games is starting to sink in.
Joining Stricklin and Mullen in addressing the students was political science instructor Whit Waide, who said he considers the cowbell the symbol of MSU he is most tied to. His message was clear: the cowbell has been a symbol for too long to lose it over not being able to follow the guidelines given by the SEC for one season.
“You owe it to the generations before you, 125 years of cowbell, to not be ignorant about this,” Waide said. “You cannot be indignant and say, ‘Screw the SEC, I’m gonna ring my bell.’ They will take it away if you insist on that.”
A recent Associated Press story ranked the 12 best traditions in all of college football, and the cowbell came in eighth on the list.
Stricklin noted there is one main distinction between the cowbell and the other long-lasting traditions on the list, such as the dotting of the ‘i’ at Ohio State and the Boomer Schooner at Oklahoma.
“To my knowledge, it is the only one on that list that the league it is in is trying to outlaw,” Stricklin said.
Stricklin, an MSU graduate, is also a part of the cowbell tradition. He told the students he still has a cowbell on his desk he bought as a freshman.
Mullen, mentioning that he has been a part of or seen many of college football’s great traditions (the “Play Like A Champion Today” sign at Notre Dame, the dotting of the ‘i’), argued the stadium is louder when the fans are yelling.
“When we are on the field, cheer,” Mullen said. “That way we can keep our tradition and keep the stadium loud. On the field, it’s louder when everyone gets on their feet and yells.”
Of course, Mullen would take a shot at Ole Miss before finishing his fiery speech to the students.
“I don’t want to have a vote to see what the next symbol of our university will be. We have a symbol already,” Mullen said.
The most passionate points from Mullen came in regard to fans leaving early during games. In a close game against UAB last Saturday, there were many empty seats in the stadium during the final quarter of play.
“Here’s how you can help us win football games: You can stay for four quarters and watch us beat Georgia’s rear end in the fourth quarter, or you can come late and leave early and maybe we’ll hold on to beat UAB.”
Waide, who was asked to speak after championing the cause to save the cowbell on his Twitter page, gave a brief history lesson on why the cowbell is so important to the university. When the already established University of Mississippi turned away groups of people looking to start schools of agriculture, engineering and science, the groups decided to start their own university, using land given to them by the Mississippi government.
That land was a bean field in Starkville. There were, literally, cows on the campus before the first building was even built, making the cowbell a symbol of the agricultural roots of our school.
“You have to understand this is not some silly piece of metal you are ringing at a damn football game,” Waide said. “It is a symbol of the university that represents the heart and soul of what we are.”
Over 130 years later, the cowbell is at a crossroad in the history of Mississippi State University. If the rules set forth by the SEC are obeyed, then the cowbell will continue on as the most visible symbol of the university in the school’s most public setting.
If not, the familiar clanging of the bell may no longer be heard in Davis Wade Stadium on Saturdays.