STARKVILLE — Lone Star Sports Entertainment may have had other motives than watching fans of the Mississippi State University football team when it officially announced the Texas Kickoff Classic.
While Lone Star’s representative Brad True used MSU’s Super Bulldog Weekend promotion and halftime of the football team’s spring game to promote his organization’s season-opening matchup between MSU and Oklahoma State University on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013, he said the game in August could be a test run for the future.
“We’re re-negotiating our bowl tie-in as well,” True said. “I know we’re talking to all the conferences, and it’s kind of a very weird situation with the way they do that, but geographically it would make so much sense to have the SEC.”
Lone Star Entertainment, Reliant Stadium, and ESPN work together to play host to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas. In its eighth year, the bowl game has featured a team from the Big 12 Conference and a team from the Big Ten Conference, but a change to include the Southeastern Conference could be in the works, even though the game has averaged more than 63,000 fans in the last six years.
“ESPN manages the bowl game, so they do a lot of the heavy lifting,” True said. “We have one more year with the Big 12 and Big Ten, but it could just as easily be SEC.”
When the new contract of the Bowl Championship Series playoff exists, the SEC’s contracts will end in 2014. Conference officials are expected to renew the games on New Year’s Day, but several changes are possible.
“In the bowl family, there’s only 35 of them, so everybody talks to each other, and we know what schools have great reputation and who doesn’t,” True said. “What sold it for us on Mississippi State is they came to Houston in 2009 and took over the UH stadium with maroon and white.”
True said his organization hopes to have a time set for the Texas Kickoff Classic in June.
“Fox Sports has the first right of refusal of the game, and they still have to make that decision whether they want it,” True said. “Once that’s done, we’ll be able to set a game time. We really think it’ll be in the 4-6 p.m. range.”
MSU Director of Athletics Scott Stricklin was approached months before the announcement by ESPN personnel through Lone Star Sports Entertainment about the possibility of playing a season-opening neutral-site game similar to ones at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta and Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“This is a great opportunity for our team to open the 2013 season in an NFL stadium,” Stricklin said. “It provides our fans a unique destination for the season opener. We have a great fan base in Texas, as well, who will be excited to see the Bulldogs play in their home state.”
Holmes plays offense and defense in Maroon-White spring game
Christian Holmes was the only player Saturday to line up on both sides of the ball. The idea was based on a text message from his former position coach the morning before the game.
Saying he was tired of coaching against his former linebacker, MSU defensive coordinator Geoff Collins sent Holmes a text saying ‘”Turtle, I’m excited to be on the same team as you.’
“He knew exactly what that meant because his immediate text was ‘That must mean I’m playing some linebacker,’ ” Collins said.
Holmes, who is moving from linebacker to tight end, had one catch for 17 yards. He also played middle linebacker for the second-string defense in the second half and made all the calls.
“It’s not something you forget that quickly if you knew what you doing,” Holmes said. “It’s really like riding a bike and it’s easy because I know what the tight end and backs are thinking, too.”
With injuries to freshman linebacker Richie Brown and sophomore linebacker/safety Zach Jackson, Holmes’ time on defense was seen as a temporary action because of MSU’s limited experience at the position. Collins said that doesn’t mean the position group is limited in talent.
“(Linebacker) is probably as deep of a group we have on this team,” Collins said. “Halfway through spring ball I thought we had eight linebackers that could contribute in the SEC, which is huge.”
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