This will piss off a black bear or two...

[Reason2succeed]

http://m.espn.go.com/wireless/relatedvideos?id=11746121&backText=NCAAF%20Home%20-%20ESPN&back=http%3A%2F%2Fm.espn.go.com%2Fncf%2F

[Jack Lambert]

has that guy ever been to Starkville? Why is MSU a harder school to win at?

[QuadrupleOption]

has that guy ever been to Starkville? Why is MSU a harder school to win at?

For some reason the audio on that link won't play for me (I don't have that issue with anything else), but I'll take a stab at answering this question.

Historically it has been harder to win here.

Smallest stadium, not as much alumni support, smallest budget in the SEC. That began to change when Jackie Sherrill arrived in 1991 and Mullen has certainly gotten us higher than we've ever been.

But the SEC money has done more to even the playing field for us than anything else. I don't think the gap exists any more, and we've certainly caught up to TSUN (I would say based on the last 20 years we've passed them) but in the 60's and 70's it wasn't close. They dominated us on the field until Sherrill arrived.

[ShotgunDawg]

When are people going to realize it's hard to win every where?

Which SEC school wins with a bad coach? Florida? Tennessee? LSU (Dinardo)?, Alabama (Shula)?

Could any SEC school win with Croom or Felker?

Point is, it's hard to win anywhere when you have a poor coach and much easier when you have a good coach. Funny how MSU continues to win when they have a good coach.

[BulldogDX55]

The only thing I got from that video is that I really want to give that guy a swirlie, and I'm a nerd myself so that is saying something.

[MetEdDawg]

Historically it has been hard to win here and we do have factors that contribute to that. Low state population, low alumni count, low enrollment, average salaries in the state, etc. All of these things relative to the other schools in the SEC puts us at a disadvantage.

We also didn't capitalize in times of conference growth. In the early 2000s when the SEC really started making a push towards greatness by building bigger and better and nicer, we didn't do much at all. We should have been increasing enrollment, generating more cash, pushing alumni for bigger donations, and putting out plans to build the MSU brand. We didn't do that and it put us in a hole that Mullen started digging us out of in 2009.

As has been mentioned, now that all this SEC money is floating around, it's not really helping the top out much. They already had a ton of money and a ton of resources. You can only build your stadium so big and make things so nice. The playing field has evened out considerably because of that and it's why we should be able to maintain success long term. We aren't noticably behind other schools in a lot of areas that we were 5-10 years ago like stadium, facilities, student enrollment, alumni giving, and a bunch of other areas. The playing field is more even and we are taking advantage of that now.

[HSVDawg]

When are people going to realize it's hard to win every where?

Which SEC school wins with a bad coach? Florida? Tennessee? LSU (Dinardo)?, Alabama (Shula)?

Could any SEC school win with Croom or Felker?

Point is, it's hard to win anywhere when you have a poor coach and much easier when you have a good coach. Funny how MSU continues to win when they have a good coach.

I agree with this in principle, but its hard to argue that Bama, LSU, UGA, etc. had a big leg up on us in terms of resources until just recently. To Jack Lambert's point, the big question is why has MSU been viewed by the media as a place thats hard to win while the same thing is never said about Ole Miss. The two schools have more or less been on equal footing in terms of overall success, facilities, recruiting base, alumni support, and enrollment for the past quarter century. Its almost like people say, "Ole Miss was a powerhouse in the 60's, so its way easier to win there in 2014 than it is in Starkville." It's seriously flawed logic.

[ShotgunDawg]

I agree with this in principle, but its hard to argue that Bama, LSU, UGA, etc. had a big leg up on us in terms of resources until just recently. To Jack Lambert's point, the big question is why has MSU been viewed by the media as a place thats hard to win while the same thing is never said about Ole Miss. The two schools have more or less been on equal footing in terms of overall success, facilities, recruiting base, alumni support, and enrollment for the past quarter century. Its almost like people say, "Ole Miss was a powerhouse in the 60's, so its way easier to win there in 2014 than it is in Starkville." It's seriously flawed logic.

I completely agree.

Just making a point that, while some other schools do have more resources, MSU's main problem has been itself and the hiring of poor coaches and ADs. With good coaches, MSU has proven it can compete, just like every other SEC school except Vandy

[Goat Holder]

To Jack Lambert's point, the big question is why has MSU been viewed by the media as a place thats hard to win while the same thing is never said about Ole Miss. The two schools have more or less been on equal footing in terms of overall success, facilities, recruiting base, alumni support, and enrollment for the past quarter century. Its almost like people say, "Ole Miss was a powerhouse in the 60's, so its way easier to win there in 2014 than it is in Starkville." It's seriously flawed logic.

It's because they've always had a little bit more than us. Stadium has always been bigger, better facilities, bigger fanbase, alumni support, etc. Plus they won big in their heyday and have the iconic coach. We've caught them now, and maybe even have a little more, but the perception is still there. And we all know they are masters at manipulating perception.

[Goat Holder]

As has been mentioned, now that all this SEC money is floating around, it's not really helping the top out much. They already had a ton of money and a ton of resources. You can only build your stadium so big and make things so nice. The playing field has evened out considerably because of that and it's why we should be able to maintain success long term. We aren't noticably behind other schools in a lot of areas that we were 5-10 years ago like stadium, facilities, student enrollment, alumni giving, and a bunch of other areas. The playing field is more even and we are taking advantage of that now.

Even with all that, we still have to be strategic. We can't count on SEC money forever, so we have to innovate and build a different brand. That's why I love our stadium. We also need to find ways to get around these:


Historically it has been hard to win here and we do have factors that contribute to that. Low state population, low alumni count, low enrollment, average salaries in the state, etc. All of these things relative to the other schools in the SEC puts us at a disadvantage.

These are things we have to change to compete long term, or we have to pull from other areas. I've long been an advocate of heavily recruiting AL and TN in terms of students as well as athletes. I'm not sure what the numbers are, but if we can afford to cut down on the in-state tuition, we should do it. Get the students that want to major in ag/polytechnic that would otherwise go to Tennessee Tech or Auburn. Alabama and Ole Miss really isn't an option for them, plus our geography helps in this regard. We have to think outside the box. Also helps build bigger alumni bases outside the state, which are necessary, especially in Memphis to Birmingham to Mobile and between. Of course when you get down to Mobile geography doesn't help us as much as up north. Maybe this is where the MSU-Meridian campus and our new affiliation with Perkinston comes into play.

As far as keeping people instate after graduation and growing MS population, your guess is as good as mine. Need to talk to economic developers I suppose.

Speaking of B'ham, are you coming to Jefferson's tomorrow for the game?

[MetEdDawg]

Even with all that, we still have to be strategic. We can't count on SEC money forever, so we have to innovate and build a different brand. That's why I love our stadium. We also need to find ways to get around these:



These are things we have to change to compete long term, or we have to pull from other areas. I've long been an advocate of heavily recruiting AL and TN in terms of students as well as athletes. I'm not sure what the numbers are, but if we can afford to cut down on the in-state tuition, we should do it. Get the students that want to major in ag/polytechnic that would otherwise go to Tennessee Tech or Auburn. Alabama and Ole Miss really isn't an option for them, plus our geography helps in this regard. We have to think outside the box. Also helps build bigger alumni bases outside the state, which are necessary, especially in Memphis to Birmingham to Mobile and between. Of course when you get down to Mobile geography doesn't help us as much as up north. Maybe this is where the MSU-Meridian campus and our new affiliation with Perkinston comes into play.

As far as keeping people instate after graduation and growing MS population, your guess is as good as mine. Need to talk to economic developers I suppose.

Speaking of B'ham, are you coming to Jefferson's tomorrow for the game?

I'm hoping to. I've got my 10 week old all day by myself while the wife is at work so it might be tough. Thinking of coming by for a little bit though because I need to be around some Bulldawg fans. Haven't made it to a game in two years and haven't really been near any fans in that long either. It's killing me so I'm probably going to try and get my mother to watch my kid so I can come by and have a good time.

[blacklistedbully]

I'm sure a lot of it is their campus is routinely listed as one of the most beautiful in the nation. We also know their female students are expected to "dress up" & "do their part" for recruits.

They are also known as a party school, which is attractive to many red-blooded young jocks.

[Jack Lambert]

I'm sure a lot of it is their campus is routinely listed as one of the most beautiful in the nation. We also know their female students are expected to "dress up" & "do their part" for recruits.

They are also known as a party school, which is attractive to many red-blooded young jocks.

And they buy furniture for mama, give free legal advice to recruits and out right buy them.