Is a Flagship University Emerging in Mississippi?

The U.S.S. Bulldog

The Mississippi schools have always had a hard time competing in the SEC. The State of Mississippi has a small population of around 2,967,297, and two major SEC Universities. Other States of similar size like Arkansas, with a population of 2,915,918, have only one major SEC school. Even some states that are considerably larger like Louisiana at 4,533,372 have only one major SEC school or "Flagship" university. Having one SEC school that is the dominate athletic school in the state is a great advantage. LSU is able to dominate the in state recruiting battle as it's only competition comes from the likes of Tulane of Conference USA, Louisiana Tech of the WAC, and Louisiana Monroe of the Sun Belt.  Even in a state as large as Florida with a population of 18,801,310 there is only one SEC school. Sure Florida State and Miami are big football schools as well, but they just can't compete with an SEC T.V. audience. So the Mississippi schools have always been at a disadvantage because they compete for instate money, attendance, fans, coverage, and recruits ...but, all that may be changing. 



If you had to pick a stronger sports school between Ole Miss and MSU for years you would have picked Ole Miss.  Ole Miss had the image of the money school, and they seemed to get the better of MSU most years.  Ole Miss has fallen on hard times athletically though.  The downward spiral really began when Ole Miss Athletic Director Pete Boone fired Head Coach David Cutcliffe even though  he had a 44–29 record, five straight winning seasons, and guided the team to its first 10 win season in over 30 years.   Boone then went on to hire Ed Orgeron and Houston Nutt, two of the worst head coaching hires in history.  Orgeron was a dismally pathetic head coach and Houston Nutt is ... well ... Houston Nutt.  


Meanwhile Mississippi State hired Dan Mullen away from the Florida Gators.   Mullen was the offensive guru behind Urban Meyer's National Championship Florida Gators.  Mullen was a well known recruiter as well and it was a hire that energized the Mississippi State fan-base.  There were lofty expectations for Mullen in Starkville and Mullen has not disappointed   

Dan Mullen teaches a UM Bear (played by Justin
Timberlake) a lesson.

While Pete Boone and Houston Nutt were trying to convince Jeremiah Masoli to come to Ole Miss for his graduate  work in Forestry Management Parks and Recreation Management*,  ( I wonder if Masoli is still at Ole Miss working on that degree now he is no longer football eligible?)  Mullen and company were putting together an impressive football team.  This years Mississippi State Bulldogs went 9-4.  The Bulldogs beat the Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs as well as beating Ole Miss for the second year in a row.   Mississippi State finished the year off by dominating Michigan in the Gator Bowl.  Meanwhile Ole Miss went 5-7 embarrassingly losing to Jacksonville State and Vanderbilt.  


To truly be a dominate school in a state you have to be the best overall sports team in that state.  Ole Miss basketball lost both of their games against Mississippi State this year. On a positive note Ole Miss did manage to beat Mississippi State in baseball this year ... once ... out of the 4 times they played them.  


Its not just on the field that Mississippi State dominance is becoming apparent. Ole Miss has not released their spring game attendance numbers this year , however, most of the estimates range between 4 to 5 thousand.  Can't blame them for not releasing the numbers, that is just embarrassing.   Mississippi State drew a spring game crowd of around 34,127 fans, more than LSU, Tennessee, or South Carolina. The Mississippi sports radio scene has picked up on the change as well. Mississippi State radio shows are busy discussing next years football season while Ole Miss shows are concentrating on sports like Golf and Swimming.  The State fan-base is excited and motivated for another big year, while the Ole Miss faithful seem to have lost interest   You hear a lot of talk about "it's not about the game but about the party in the grove" from Ole Miss fans.  This is a terrible attitude that won't lead them anywhere good.  When your fans leave at half time and have a general apathy towards the games it is a very bad sign.  According to our predictions this year looks to be another great year for Mississippi State sports and another bleak one for Ole Miss


If Ole Miss isn't careful it may find itself in a Vanderbilt position.  Vanderbilt is an SEC school in Tennessee, but the Tennessee Volunteers are clearly the flagship school of that state.  Well, that is the way it used to be anyway.  Tennessee may still rule in football but Vandy is making great strides in baseball and basketball.  So maybe it would be an improvement for Ole Miss to be in a Vanderbilt situation?  Vandy is, by the way, one of Ole Miss' rival schools.  How ridiculous is it to have Vandy as a rival? 


The only way OIe Miss is ever going to fight this is to stop talking about the cold chicken fingers, whiskey, and chandeliers in the grove and get angry.  The big money donors have to cut off the funds and demand that the man responsible for most of Ole Miss' troubles, Pete Boone, be shown the door.  The chances of this happening seem slim though, more chance that they build  a statue of Boone this year.  The other option would be to pray that Dan Mullen leaves Mississippi State.  Pray hard Rebels. 


In the end the question isn't when Mississippi State will become the dominate "Flagship" athletic university of Mississippi, they already are.


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*Thanks to the douche anonymous guy who commented that I was wrong about Masoli's major.  It is Parks and Recreations Management NOT Forestry Management.  So thanks for clearing that up, because that sounds like a much dumber major than Forestry Management.