STARKVILLE – One week after setting a new school attendance record in its season opener against in-state rival Southern Mississippi, Mississippi State watched its five-year sellout streak come to an end in Saturday’s 47-34 win over UAB.
The crowd, announced at 57,304, was the fifth-largest in school history, but it snapped a sellout streak that ranged 31 games, dating back to head coach Dan Mullen’s first season in 2009.
When asked if the ending of the streak was cause for concern, MSU Director of Athletics Scott Stricklin was adamant that it was not.
“Absolutely not,” said Stricklin. “It was the fifth largest crowd in MSU history. Our fan support is at record highs, and thanks to expansion, we have room to allow it to grow.”
The game, which kicked off at 1 p.m. to accommodate the television broadcast of the Fox Sports Network, was played in brutal heat. The in-game temperature reached as high as 93 degrees, and the heat index topped out at 104.
Still Stricklin believed the weather had nothing to do with the sellout streak coming to a close.
“None,” said Stricklin. “USM sold 5,000 tickets last week. UAB brought less than 1,000, so it’s not surprising that this game didn’t sell out.”
With this weekend’s game at South Alabama, a sellout where Mullen expects “Lots and lots of Bulldogs,” MSU’s early-season run on non-conference opponents will end, setting the stage for the next three games at Davis Wade Stadium – Oct. 4 against Texas A&M, Oct. 11 vs. Auburn, Nov. 1 against Arkansas – to begin a new sellout streak.
“The streak showed that our fanbase was serious about doing their part to support MSU football,” said Stricklin.
The sellout streak, unprecedented in school history, began in Oct. on 2009 against Florida. It also included a 2009 game against Alabama that set the school’s attendance record at 58,103, a mark that stood until the Bulldogs unveiled a $75 million stadium expansion against Southern Miss that raised capacity to 61,330.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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