Ok, I've been depressed for almost 24 hrs, and I have to just vent...

**IMissJack** · 11-29-2015, 06:32 PM

MSU needs to expand its boundaries. Yes, we are the people's university, but MSU seems to be focused solely within the boundaries of Mississippi for its marketing efforts, including athletic recruiting. We are attempting to compete with some of the best universities in the country, by focusing on a population base that has been diminishing for 25 years. Yes, I know MSU has grown, and is the biggest it has ever been, however, in my opinion we are very weak at projecting a national brand. Now, I do not like the fact that OM is a State Public university that takes MS money, then basically has a student body predominantly from other states, but at least they can market. If we are going to compete for top academic and athletic resources in the future, the base for that recruiting has to expand. MS cannot support 3 major football teams, and OM has gone out of MS to find their needs. There are not enough OL prospects in MS to really support one at the top levels in the SEC. But as I said, this is a university issue, not just football. In past years, I have been involved with our alumni association here in TX, as well as on the national level. I have been to college recruiting (academic) fairs, college nights, etc. Colleges from all over the country have the same issue. They all want to grow, and they have to go to where the qualified students are to get them. OM has been killing us on both fronts, out of state academic recruits and athletic recruits. We need to stop accepting that we can only recruit from certain states in a few locations, and realize that we are a major research university with facilities as good as anyone, and a heck of a lot to offer. In my opinion, the football recruiting issues are a symptom of the entire brand. We need to start marketing and realizing that not everywhere in the US is like Mississippi. Sorry for the rambling.