What kind of flight service does GTR have? Just a couple flights per day to Atlanta?
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Nice username.
As for most convenient airport.... if you can make the dollars and time work for you then Meridian. You'll have to connect via Dallas or Chicago but won't be on some 8 seat prop plane like those that service Tupelo. You'll be the only flight so no issues with check ins or security. First class service.
Plenty of brand new hotels. Eat at Weidmann's (oldest restaurant in the state). Other than that not much else but you'll have a convenient 80 mile drive up Highway 45 to Starkville where you'll want to be anyway.
Tupelo isn't a real option. I live near there and I won't fly out of there now. I have many times in the past but their current service isn't viable. Tupelo folks shot themselves in the foot. Back when they had decent service they wouldn't use it because Northwest had a hub in Memphis. You could fly without connections to most spots in the US from Memphis. Now that Memphis passenger wise is just a large regional airport and you are going to a hub from there too, Tupelo has small crop dusters servicing the place. GTR has nice regional jets. One other place to consider is Huntsville.
For the love of God..fly to GTR airport! It's literally 14 miles from campus and served by Delta Connection via ATL. It is the only sensible option in this thread. I can't believe Nashville and Memphis were mentioned in here...holy shit!
If you wind up in Columbus, they have several new hotels. We stay at the Hyatt House, which is a little off the beaten path (maybe a mile), but there are three or four others that are fairly large on Hwy 82, the highway that goes to Starkville. Not sure about now since they've sorta overbuilt for a small town, but in the past those hotels have had a two-night minimum in the $200/night range. The Hyatt is just as nice and never had the minimum, and might be a little cheaper. The older hotels/motels in town ... not so nice ....
Another plus for that route ... Salt Lake City is a Delta hug. Atlanta IS Delta. So there are many flights per day to choose from. That's probably the easiest route ... SLC to Atlanta, then to GTR. I suppose they have rental cars there. Still might want to stay in Columbus because Starkville and West Point are most likely full. Could check on last minute cancellations though.