STARKVILLE — The University of Alabama at Birmingham will allow fans to bring cowbells into Legion Field.
Mississippi State Assistant Director of Athletics for Marketing Chad Thomas used his Twitter account to announce Bulldogs fans will be allowed to bring their cowbells to Birmingham, Ala., when MSU faces UAB at 11 a.m. Saturday afternoon (SportSouth).
“Spoke w/ my counterpart @BradSmith_UAB & he tells me cowbells are allowed in Legion Field on Saturday, asks us to Ring Responsibly,” Thomas tweeted Thursday morning.
Smith, who Thomas referenced in his tweet, is the assistant athletic director of marketing for UAB.
Citing the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium’s ban on artificial noisemakers, the University of Memphis banned artificial noisemakers from its season-opening game against MSU on Sept. 1, and had security check bags before fans were allowed into the stadium. MSU won the game 59-14.
According to the agreement reached in back-to-back Southeastern Conference spring meetings, MSU fans are allowed to use the cowbells in stoppages of play (timeouts, changes of possession, or a touchdown) but not in league road games.
MSU Director of Athletics Scott Stricklin confirmed his department paid the $30,000 fine for violating the policy in the first two SEC home games last season (vs. Auburn and Georgia).
When previously asked about cowbell behavior after the home opener vs. LSU, Stricklin told The Dispatch he hadn’t heard from the SEC office about violations in MSU’s 19-6 loss.
UAB expected to start sophomore Perry at QB
With projected UAB starting quarterback Bryan Ellis expected to miss his second consecutive game, UAB coach Neil Callaway will go to last week’s starter again.
Callaway said Thursday after practice that sophomore Jonathan Perry, who started last week in a 24-23 loss to Troy, will make his second career start Saturday. Junior Joe Bento, who didn’t get any snaps against Troy, will be the backup.
Ellis suffered a concussion Sept. 24 in a 28-23 loss to East Carolina. He didn’t pass all of his concussion tests and wasn’t active last weekend.
Against Troy, Perry was 19 of 39 for 196 yards and an interception.
“I kept feeling more comfortable, but, at the same time, I feel I could have played better, made some better throws and better reads, also,” Perry said.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.