Get the popcorn ready.
Mississippi State”s Student Association and the school”s athletic department are planning a movie night April 16 on the new video board at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field.
Following the documentary “A Game of Change,” the movie “Remember The Titans” will be shown to help usher in Super Bulldog Weekend.
MSU Athletic Director Greg Byrne said this is a great opportunity to put the new jumbotron and video board to use.
“We have this beautiful new board and we want to use it more than seven times a year,” Byrne said. “This gave us an opportunity to do something for the students and thank them for their increase they gave us on football season tickets sales.”
“Remember The Titans” is based upon the true story of a high school in Virginia that faced consolidation and integration to emerge with a championship football team.
“A Game of Change” depicts how Mississippi State”s basketball team slipped out of Starkville in 1963 to play in an integrated NCAA Basketball Tournament against Loyola of Chicago.
MSU Student Association President Blake Jeter said the event has generated excitement.
“Everybody has been pumped up about kicking off Super Bulldog Weekend with a movie on the jumbotron,” Jeter said. “We”re thinking it could be a really big thing.”
Jeter expects to release additional details and times soon. The movies will be shown rain or shine.
The Student Association plans to contact area high schools, middle schools, churches, and businesses to promote the night at the movies.
“We want everyone to know that this will be something the entire family can attend,” Jeter said.
Scribner”s school record
MSU distance runner Robert Scribner enjoys running races in California, but even he was surprised by his accomplishment in Palo Alto, Calif., last Friday.
Scribner broke a 23-year-old school record by running the 10,000 meters in 29 minutes, 7.06 seconds at the Stanford Invitational.
After times of 30.04 and 29.59 the past two years, Scribner believed he could reach the school record time.
“I”ve had my eye on (the record) for a while,” Scribner said. “I really didn”t expect to break it by 40 seconds. I thought I could go under the record, but I wasn”t sure by how much.”
The new school record also earned Scribner a regional qualifying mark.
MSU track coach Al Schmidt said Scribner is “racing at his best” and he knows that”s what it takes when it comes to the big races.
“You really have to raise it to a higher level,” Scribner said.
Scribner and his teammates are in Austin, Texas, preparing for another high-profile event at the Texas Relays.
One of the events that excites Scribner is the 4×1,500-meter relay.
“This is the first time I”ve ever run in a relay in college,” Scribner said. “It”s going to be nice to enter that.”
In compliance
MSU assistant athletic director for compliance Bracky Brett and assistant compliance coordinator Steve Smith understand the public has many questions concerning NCAA rules and regulations.
In keeping people informed, they have documented some of the most asked questions and provided answers.
There will be a question of the week highlighted in each MSU sports notebook. Here is the first.
Q: How long is a prospective student-athlete considered to be a prospect?
A: A prospective student-athlete remains a prospect even after committing to or signing a National Letter of Intent with Mississippi State or any institution, and both the institution and the prospect continue to be governed by NCAA recruiting legislation regarding prospects until the prospects report for regular squad practice or the prospect attends his or her first day of classes in any regular semester.
Site change
When the MSU baseball team travels Tuesday to play the University of Alabama at Birmingham, it will play at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala.
Regions Park is one of three minor league parks the Bulldogs visit this season. The other two are Trustmark Park in Pearl and Autozone Park in Memphis.
MSU hopes to return to Regions Park in May for the Southeastern Conference tournament.
Campus action
The highlight of this weekend”s sports calendar at MSU is the second Southeastern Conference baseball series at Dudy Noble Field. The Auburn Tigers will be in town for games at 6:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday, and 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
There will be home tennis matches for the men against Vanderbilt at 2 p.m. Friday and Kentucky at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The women”s tennis team travels for matches at Vanderbilt and Kentucky on Friday and Saturday respectively, while the track squad continues running at the Texas Relays through Saturday.
The softball team will plays a doubleheader at Florida at noon Saturday and a single game at noon Sunday.
The women”s golf team will play in the Lady Rebel Intercollegiate in Oxford on Friday through Sunday.
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