| 1996 | Oct | Nov | Dec | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Jan | Feb | March | April | May | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 1998 | Jan | Feb | March | April | May | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 1999 | Jan | Feb | March |
04/30/99 - Did you know MSU sold 13,326 tickets to the SEC Football Championship game in just 5 days? 22,000,000 sports fans saw MSU on television. In even less time than that, MSU sold 13,458 tickets to the Cotton Bowl. For that game, 6,500,000 sports fans saw MSU on television. Now, let's see those same folks, plus about 17,000 more, buy season football tickets this coming season. Have you purchased yours? 30,000 is the goal. Do your part!
04/30/99 - Former MSU tight end John Jennings was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals.
04/30/99 - In the "I bet you didn't know this" category:
MSU soccer signee Katie York is a very close friend of Ole Miss reserve quarterback David Morris.
04/29/99 - Tupelo has a few seniors to be that should be highly recruited next season. George Purnell (RB, 6-0, 186-lbs 4.4), Jonathan Bell (DB/WR, 6-0, 180-lbs, 4.47), Deandre Eiland (DB/WR, 6-0, 181-lbs, 4.26) and John Michael Marlin (PK, 5-10, 155-lbs).
04/28/99 - Shades Valley HS (Birmingham, AL.) has a wide receiver who has a chance to be one of the best in the south. His name is Michael McGrew. Michael, a senior-to-be, is 6-3, 185-lbs with 4.5 speed in the forty and a 32" vertical leap. Although his athletic ability is outstanding, that is not what sets Michael apart from the rest. A 3.8 GPA and 27 ACT does that. He is also a member of the National Honor Society. I do believe MSU might do well to check out this youngster.
04/27/99 - South Panola HS has a couple of seniors-to-be that should be highly recruited this coming season; Chris Young (QB, 6-0, 190, 4.4) and Michael Johnson (RB, 5-10, 180, 4.5).
04/27/99 - If anybody in the Jackson, Miss. or surrounding area is looking for a good, young coach, Ed Jones is your man. Ed has coached on the college level as a student assistant football coach and athletic trainer at Hinds CC and Mississippi State, and on the high school level as a volunteer coach at Morton (MS) HS. He is certified to teach in Mississippi at the K-12 level in Physical Education. Ed has been associated with winners all his athletic career from high school through college. If you would like to contact Ed, you can telephone him at 601-825-8649 or write him at 32102 Majesty Lane, Brandon, MS. 39042.
04/26/99 - A couple of Pascagoula HS senior-to-be football players who apparently will be highly recruited are Charlie Myles (DL, 6-1, 230, 4.75) and Julian Evans (RB/SS, 6-1, 215, 4.6).
04/26/99 - Latest MSU event:
04/23/99 - Just wanted to mention a couple of events that are coming up during the next two weeks. If you live anywhere in these areas, make plans on enjoying great fellowship with other Bulldog fans and our coaches.
Date: April 29th.
What: MSU Bulldog Club Meeting.
Where: Truitt's Restaurant located at the Corinth, MS. Executive Inn (Intersection of Hwys 72 and 45).
Time: Dinner, 6 p.m.; Program, 7 p.m.
Guest Speakers: Coaches Joe Lee Dunn and Sparky Woods.
Cost: $10 per person.
Contacts: Bill Williams 284-4823 (work), 286-9408 (home), or Jim Wheeler 286-3351 (work).
Date: May 6th.
What: MSU Bulldog Club 10-County Meeting.
Where: Tupelo Coliseum, West Entrance.
Time: Crawfish Boil & Silent Auction, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.; Program 7:30 - 9:00.
Guest Speakers: Coaches Joe Lee Dunn, Sparky Woods, David Wilson, Craig Stump and Rick Stansbury.
Cost: $15 per person.
Contacts: (By county) Alcorn - Bill Williams 287-1433; Pontotoc - Rich McCraw 489-2415; Chickasaw - Mike Colbert 456-3756; Prentiss - Manfred Saylors 728-9595; Itawamba - Drew Homan 862-2125; Tippah - Jody Steverson 837-7815; Lee - Mike Armour 680-1464; Tishomingo - Donnie Brown 423-5931; Monroe - (Amory) Sam Griffin 256-8208 and (Aberdeen) Roger Mitchell 369-7075; Union - Bobby Coltharp 534-4303.
04/23/99 - Brookhaven HS has a couple of seniors-to-be who will be highly recruited, running backs Aaron Yarbrough, 6-0, 240, 4.6, and Pat Brown (also plays defense), 6-0, 223, 4.7. Look for MSU to recruit both players.
04/23/99 - The word is MSU is interested in A. J. Hughes, a 6-3, 250-lb middle linebacker from Pineville High School in Pineville, LA.
04/23/99 - I failed to mention yesterday that Prentiss signed with Indianapolis and Cooper with Minnesota. Other Bulldogs who signed free agent contracts were Craig Moore who signed with San Diego and Anthony Kapp who signed with San Francisco. The word is one other Bulldog is talking with a club but nothing has been finalized as of yet. If he does sign, I will post it here.
04/22/99 - One other MSU player that was drafted in the NFL Draft was fullback Dennis McKinley. Dennis was drafted by Arizona in the 6th round.
Other MSU players that have signed free agent contracts are wide receivers Kevin Prentiss and Kevin Cooper.
04/22/99 - The word is MSU, as well as Florida and Tennessee are very interested in Ackerman's Brian Shumaker.
Brian is not the only great athlete on the Ackerman team. There is also a 10th grader that has great potential. His name is Glenn Mason and he is expected to be the starting left tackle for Ackerman next season. BTW, Glenn is 6-3, 250+ with quick feet, great hand/eye coordination and a natural athlete according to my source.
04/20/99 - The Winston County crusade will be May 2-7 at 7 P.M. and not this week.
04/19/99 - I thought you guys would enjoy reading more nice things I have recently been emailed about a few of MSU's athletes:
Sunday morning, at First Baptist Church, Starkville, Jill Ferguson, senior Volleyball player, and Barrin Simpson, MSU Linebacker received the G.T. Thames Christian Leadership Awards for this year. Both recipients shared very effective testimonies to the 800 people present. This is the second year for this award, named for the late G.T. Thames, a former high school coach, who influenced many players in our state.
Last month, Bryan Hazelwood spoke to the First Baptist Church Annual Boys Club.
The Southern Baptist Churches of Winston County are having a crusade this week that is open to the public. Each night is designated as a special night. Tuesday night is Bulldog Night. Members from the MSU football team will be present at the Crusade and give a testimony. The crusade will be held at the Louisville Coliseum in the city of Louisville beginning at 7 p.m. each night.
If you have a story to tell about one or more of our athletes (doesn't just have to be a religious event), please email it to me. I always enjoy letting others know about the quality of the individuals we have in our sports programs at MSU.
04/17/99 - MSU had three players drafted in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft. J.J. Johnson was drafted by Miami, Reggie Kelly by Atlanta and Randy Thomas by the New York Jets. Kelly was the 1st tight end selected, Johnson the 3rd running back and Thomas the 10th offensive lineman. I have been told the NFL considers Coach Jackie Sherrill a great judge and developer of talent. I guess this proves it once again. Click here for additional NFL Draft details.
04/15/99 - Did you know that MSU football players Reggie Kelly, Kevin Sijansky and Matt McRae went to French Camp Academy this past Sunday evening to share with over 200 young people what God is doing in their lives? It doesn't get reported often enough, but we really do have some great kids on our sports teams. If you know of a special event any of our players (any sport) attended or spoke at, email the info to me.
04/13/99 - I found out today that Coaches Sparky Woods and Craig Stump will attend the Lowndes County Shrimp Boil this Friday night which is being held at Lake Norris Country Club in Columbus, MS. Check out the Events Section for additional details.
04/13/99 - William and Michele Ergle, Angela Hawthorne and Donna Spiers of Picayune, Mississippi are trying to form a Pearl River County Bulldog Club. Anyone interested can contact William Ergle at:
William Ergle
51 Ridge Drive
Picayune, MS. 39466
601-799-4782
wlergle@datasync.com
04/12/99 - There are several upcoming events going on the next couple of weeks. Check out the Events Section by clicking here. Show your new State Is It Attitude by attending one of these events.
04/11/99 - MSU had their Super Bulldog Weekend scrimmage yesterday.
Some of the highlights:
BTW, according to reliable sources, several high school players, who will be attending MSU next season, were either seen at the Saturday football scrimmage or in attendance at the baseball game Friday night. They were 6-8 OL Zak West, RB Dontae Walker, 6-6, 310, OL Donald Tucker and 6-4, 310, DL Jason Edwards..
A very reliable source also told me that Donald can probably bench around the 350-lb range, while Jason can bench 380-lbs. Both, according to my source, can squat in the 500-lb range. I was also told that Donald bested his state best 57' 6" shot put throw with a 58' 5" throw in a recent meet in Alabama.
I can't wait to see all of these young men in an MSU uniform next football season.
04/11/99 - More prayers have been answered. See email below:
"I want to tell you that our prayers were answered also. Jesse McAllister was released from the hospital yesterday. This is truly a miracle since many didn't even know whether Jessie was going to make it or not. I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and concerns."
04/11/99 - If you haven't purchased your football season tickets, read this and then ask yourself why.
I have never seen so many positive things happening at MSU as are occurring now. We have just gone to the SEC Football Championship (6 SEC schools have never been), our baseball team has been to 2 consecutive CWS (a 3rd may be near), our basketball team is only 3 years away from the 1996 Final Four (they've just won 20 games in a season, a record for a 1st year coach), we have signed the top players in Mississippi in football (Dontae Walker), basketball ( Jonathan Bender and LaToya Thomas) and baseball (Matt Butler). We are expanding the football and baseball stadiums. And have just expanded the basketball coliseum. We've just had the greatest recruiting year in MSU football history. I am positive; some say too positive. But, by gosh, look at what I just wrote. I have never seen anything like this in the history of MSU. Have you?
04/10/99 - You prayers were answered. See email below:
"Gene, I thought I would let you know that my friend and fellow Dog fan, Perry Thomas is going home from the hospital tomorrow. In the past, my husband has not been able to go to many MSU games, but Perry and I went to quite a few. He is such a dear and devoted friend. We are so lucky he is still with us. He will not be able to put any pressure on his right leg until at least August. We'll probably be rolling a wheelchair into Scott Field for that first game. Please thank all MSU faithful for their thoughts and prayers. We are all lucky to have Perry still around."
04/10/99 - Things said by Joe Lee Dunn at the Bulldog Club Board of Directors business meeting yesterday:
I just want to offer a personal opinion about Joe Lee. I really like the guy. There appears to be nothing fake about him. He says it like it is. BTW, he didn't have socks on. To some, that matters. To Bulldog fans, it doesn't.
Coach Sherrill comments:
This is the beginning of a new age in MSU sports. We can become one of the powers in the SEC, but we all have to do our part. The MSU Athletic Department, MSU coaches and players have done their part. Now it is time for the fans to do their part: Buy season tickets. Even if you can't come to the games, buy season tickets. You say you are loyal to MSU sports, then buy season tickets.
A new age with a new attitude: State Is It...A New Attitude! Are you ready to be a part of it?
04/09/99 - I had the pleasure of attending yesterday's practice. The Bulldogs did a lot of reps offensively. Quarterbacks Matt Wyatt and Wayne Madkin continue to throw the ball very, very well.
While standing on the sidelines I overheard a few things:
04/08/99 - More draft predictions by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This time the draft order for tight ends. MSU's Reggie Kelly was projected to be the second TE picked in the NFL Draft, behind Jim Kleinsasse of North Dakota.
04/07/99 - The Dallas Morning News is running an article each day on who they feel the top draft picks will be at each position. Today the position was tight end. The Dallas paper ranked our own Reggie Kelley as the No. 1 tight end in the NFL Draft.
In yesterday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution, there was a listing of the predicted order of running backs for the upcoming draft. J.J. Johnson was No. 5.
04/06/99 - In an two-car automobile accident Saturday night, Freddy Thomas, a junior in high school, and Leslie Webb, a friend of his, were killed. Another person in the same vehicle, Jesse McCallister, also a junior in high school, was thrown from the truck and is in critical condition at Jeff Anderson's Hospital in Meridian, MS. Freddy and Jesse both played high school baseball. Please pray for the victims' families and Jesse.
04/06/99 - According to a source of mine, MSU football signee Dontae Walker was at the MSU Saturday night baseball game.
04/06/99 - Check out the MSU Ticket Exchange Page if you are looking for a ticket.
04/05/99 - Found this in Sunday's Clarion-Ledger: As part of Super Bulldog Weekend, there will be a MSU football banquet this Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Humphrey Coliseum. The banquet is opened to the public. Contact David Boles at 325-2808 (add the 601 prefix if you are calling outside of Starkville) for tickets.
04/05/99 - Thought you all would like to know that MSU, in the two scrimmages that I have seen, has thrown quite a bit to the tight ends and running backs. No joke, they really have. Can you see the look in the eyes of opposing teams cornerbacks when they see a Terrence McCaskey or Justin Griffith coming at them with a full head of steam?
By the way, guess who I saw at last Wednesday's MSU scrimmage? None other than Amory HS head football coach Bobby Hall and his son Will. Sorry to say I did not introduce myself. Nice to see them there. I noticed a few MSU's coaches came by and said hello to them. They seemed to be very pleased that Coach Hall and Will were at the scrimmage.
04/04/99 - The word from practice is MSU's 1st unit offensive line is going to be pretty good this coming season based on the first couple of weeks of practice. A couple of other offensive linemen, Carl Hutchins and Kyle Wallace, both freshmen, have also looked good. The defensive line has so much depth, it can go three depth with top quality talent. Look forward to seeing you at the scrimmage next weekend. Remember, make your plans to be at Super Bulldog Weekend next weekend.
04/04/99 - Advertisement: Check out Tuxes, Too if you live in the Jackson, MS. area and you are looking to rent formal wear. Click here to go to their website.
04/03/99 - Thought you guys would enjoy this column from ESPN's John Clayton. Click here to go to the link.
04/02/99 - How the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) comes up with their football graduation rates:
The non-defunct College Football Association (CFA) was the organization that began the grad rate survey that the AFCA now uses. Chuck Neinas, former executive director of the CFA and now president of Neinas Sports Services in Boulder, Colorado, continues to calculate the grad rate for the AFCA. My info came from Carol, his secretary, who I talked to January 6th.
First, the two basic differences in the NCAA and the AFCA rates:
Now to the nuts and bolts of the AFCA graduation rate calculation. We will use the academic year 1992-1993 as an example:
Basically, what number 2 covers is college students who decide they want to play football, walkon and are awarded a football grant-in-aid.
Number 3 covers transfers such as juco players and players from other 4-year colleges who transfer to your school.
Number 4 is the complicated category since it allows a school to exclude students from the graduation rate. The key phrase is "students in good academic standing who transfer to another institution". That is the only type student that can be excluded. All others cannot be excluded. When I say all others I mean the following categories:
That is how the AFCA comes up with their graduation rate. As Paul Harvey would say, now you know the rest of the story.
(My opinion is the AFCA graduation rate is much closer to a true graduation rate since it allows transfers to be included and the NCAA doesn't. I mean, how can you exclude an entire category of students (transfers) and say it is a true graduation rate? One other thing I think is fair about the AFCA graduation rate is allowing students in good academic standing, who transfer to another school, to be excluded from the graduation rate. It seems to me the AFCA understands if a school is doing its job academically, but a student decides to transfer anyway, the fair thing to do is to allow the school to exclude this student from its graduation rate. As you note above, that is the only category that is allowed exclusion.)
04/02/99 - Bulldog fan Perry Thomas, a Tupelo city councilman, was hit by a train Wednesday afternoon about 5:40. He was very fortunate in that he only had a few broken bones and a laceration or two. There was a picture of his car in the Daily Journal Thursday and an article about how it was a miracle he survived. He is in stable condition at North Mississippi Medical Center. His friends and family solicit the thoughts and prayers of the MSU Bulldog family.
04/01/99 - Word is there were over 100 Bulldog fans at the Neshoba County MSU Alumni Association Chapter Meeting Tuesday night. Great turnout Neshoba County Bulldog fans.
04/01/99 - Scrimmage Notes: