Mississippi High School Football Championships leaving Jackson!(Memorial Stadium)

[JAG89]

Mississippi State and Ole Miss already get to cherry pick the instate talent. Alabama, Auburn and LSU may step in from time to time to get a player or two, but, for the most part, MSU and OM get who they want from Mississippi. They don't need to move the high school championship games to help them get players. The difference this change will make on their in-state football recruiting will be negligible.

Now they can spend more time and "MONEY" on out-of-state kids with the championship game in their back yard. They still have a ways to go in catching the big boys in the SEC. Seven of the SEC schools were in the top 10 in nationwide recruiting in 2014. Ole Miss and Miss State were nowhere near that pack.

http://insider.espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/classrankings?class=2014&date=null

 

[SUJagFan]

There are main factors that cause this move, however, three of the main factors include the following.

1.) JSU is killing the competition in the recruitment field in the metro area and around the state. We have an excellent marketing team that have electronic messages in major areas of the state.
2.) JSU is a major competitor to ole miss, state & usm and fortunately it is a HBCU that can compete with the big boys in relationships to facilities, degree offerings and external partners. (USM is no competition to JSU anymore)
3.) During the championship games in the last 2 years, JSU's admission/marketing team was at those games recruiting the high school students who were there supporting their team. We reached out to all 12 schools and received many students of all races who attended those games at the VET, however, those good ole boys didn't like seeing what JSU have to offer;therefore they don't want nobody to know the goodness of JSU and other HBCUs. They also hated to pay JSU for renting the stadium (MHSAA)
Remember, when well-known HBCUs like JSU, Tenn. St, Bama St. SU, Grambling, Howard & Hampton do well, opposition from white folk arise and they do things to counter that success. In other words they like us when we are down and out and see us a threat when we are achieving. Ole piss and ms state don't care for usm, however, they included them in this takeover to ensure they (usm) don't complain. What is sad is that I don't think we as HBCUs will ever team up to support each other. Many of you on this board hate JSU for being successful but JSU has survived since 1877 and we must remember when the state tried to close valley down so many times, I along with several hundred JSU folks marched, voiced our opinions and our time to support valley. We have to stop fighting against each other and support the stronger HBCU's because a stronger JSU, SU and Grambling equals a stronger valley, pine bluff, etc.

One hit on an HBCU by the opposition is a hit on all HBCU's.

The bolded is about the only accurate thing you said in that entire post. Many do hate JSU, but not because JSU is "successful" (successful at doing what?)

Killing the competition? That's laughable. JSU has not stopped and is not stopping MSU or OM from getting who they want in the Jackson metro area. That's JSU delusion speaking.

A major competitor to MSU, OM and USM? Again, laughable. More JSU delusion.

And no one is fighting against JSU on this issue. It's seems like all of us, even those from other schools, want to see Jackson and JSU be part of the equation. Hoping that JSU can somehow be a part of the rotation and get some of those benefits of hosting the state championship games. It would be great if JSU could get a new stadium and do this on campus (or close to campus) like the other schools and let people see that JSU (and other HBCUs) are not the scary places that some make them out to be.

 

[JAG89]

When I played for Jim Hill in 02 our first playoff game was at west point close to starkville, miss state allowed us to stop through and do a walk through practice in their indoor practice facility before the game. The only reason was because they where recruiting a player on our team, not because they felt the need to just help out a team from Jackson!

I'm sure that stop was a no cost item for Miss State, since your team was travelling through there anyways.

 

[CapitolStreetJSU]

Yeah they didn't need any help on the light and water bill.

 

[In_The_662]

These high school kids are not complaining about memorial stadium, they love the bigger stadium and the bigger city atmosphere. With the new Jumbotron and LED screens around the stadium that gives the stadium a new stadium feel I don't see what the kids would be missing. They are there to play a championship game its not like they are focused on anything else. Now why do we have to make adjustments to get into a rotation just because somebody moved the goal post. Its not like these high schools have corporate sponsors who want an updated skyboxes with suites. This is not about the high schools but about the colleges having another tool to recruit with, and JSU gets a consolation prize of hosting the Alabama/Mississippi high school all star basketball game. SMH Dr. Meyers and the AD needs to hold a public news conference and invite all the media and ask why JSU is not in the rotation, put the on the spot and make them answer.

Yep. Most play the game and then go home. As I said earlier, Jackson is still Jackson and the metro area still squats on Oxford and Starkville. They (UM and MSU) already get all the breaks and money from the state.

I would love to see yall president hold a presser and get them to provide an answer.

 

[In_The_662]

I currently reside in Jackson, why do we have to make ourselves marketable to the MHSAA??? There is a movie theater currently under construction in the city limits of Jackson close to the stadium, along with a hotel and shopping. You have the outlets of Mississippi in pearl ten minutes from the stadium, the states biggest hospital right across the street from the stadium so the area is not blighted or have infrastructure problems. Jackson with its many problems is still 10 times better than ole miss, state or usm. Central location still benefits all no matter what anybody says. This should be about the parents and the athletes not ole piss, state or usm's recruiting. Crime is not a issue. Yes I agree they are trying their best to kill Jackson but the city has too many positives going on, a 4 star Westin going up in Downtown Jackson, a civil rights museum under construction and its still the capitol city. They can try as they may but they cant put wheels under the capitol and move it to oxford so.

Jackson is still Jackson no matter how much they hate it lol


A metro area of well over a half mil > 50K (Hattiesburg), 23k (Starkville) or 20k (Oxford) for all the reasons you listed above.

 

[JAG89]

Yeah they didn't need any help on the light and water bill.

Playing the championship games at Ole Miss and Miss State makes it easier and cheaper for those schools to recruit in-state talent. Also, recruiters from those schools wouldn't have to make as many travel trips throughout Mississippi to witness top in-state players, which means those same recruiters can spend more time and "MONEY" in other States. On top of that, I'm sure MHSAA would probably foot most of the bill for the championship games played in Ole Miss and Miss State stadiums. When it comes to time and money, every little bit helps.

 

[Basebone1898]

How do you know the numbers will rise? These players have no ties to anything named Ole Miss or Miss. State. The Mississippi high school association director probably got kickbacks for trying to make this deal. I'd be surprised if this thing goes through.
You'd have teams and fans having to drive six and seven hours for one game.
Starkville and Oxford are not centralized locations and most of the players and parents are Black.
This decision WILL be challenged no matter what.

I really see the state doing so much more to promote this event at Piss and State. That's why I see the attendance numbers going up.

It makes no sense for them not to add Memorial in the rotation.

 

[LS Syndicate]

They might be getting a lot of Mississippi's top kids , .

Stopped reading right there. I'm sure that they don't mind having these kids on campus, but 1.) they are already landing these kids and 2.) most of these kids have been on their campus some time over the course of their HS career (Junior days, summer camps, etc.). Their national rankings are by no means an indicator of their ability to recruit in-state.

I do agree that the MS SEC teams have had a tough time landing big fish in other states in The South.....and that's vital because MS does not have much to offer from a numbers perspective. The quality is there, but MS is not heavily populated. But Freeze got it done last season, so we'll see.

 

[LS Syndicate]

I would love to see yall president hold a presser and get them to provide an answer.

Nah, The Prez has bigger fish to fry. No need to ruffle feathers with the MHSAA at this point.

Jackson is still Jackson no matter how much they hate it lol


A metro area of well over a half mil > 50K (Hattiesburg), 23k (Starkville) or 20k (Oxford) for all the reasons you listed above.

More like a quarter mil, but I get the point. LOL. Jackson always has leverage with the Downtown area.

 

[SUJagFan]

Playing the championship games at Ole Miss and Miss State makes it easier and cheaper for those schools to recruit in-state talent. Also, recruiters from those schools wouldn't have to make as many travel trips throughout Mississippi to witness top in-state players, which means those same recruiters can spend more time and "MONEY" in other States. On top of that, I'm sure MHSAA would probably foot most of the bill for the championship games played in Ole Miss and Miss State stadiums. When it comes to time and money, every little bit helps.

I seriously doubt MSU and OM will change anything about their in-state recruiting. They will still go on the road to visit the schools. Still have their camps. Still have their official and unofficial visits. Hosting the state championship games on their campuses every three years is not going to change the way the recruit in-state or out-of-state. Having the kids on campus once every three years is a bonus, but they will still be recruiting the same as they always have. This is not a cost-cutting measure for them.

 

[JAG89]

Stopped reading right there. I'm sure that they don't mind having these kids on campus, but 1.) they are already landing these kids and 2.) most of these kids have been on their campus some time over the course of their HS career (Junior days, summer camps, etc.). Their national rankings are by no means an indicator of their ability to recruit in-state.

I do agree that the MS SEC teams have had a tough time landing big fish in other states in The South.....and that's vital because MS does not have much to offer from a numbers perspective. The quality is there, but MS is not heavily populated. But Freeze got it done last season, so we'll see.

So are you saying this move wouldn't help Ole Miss and Miss State recruit in-state kids on how they allocate their resources? I'm sure they spend some time and money on recruiting top in-state kids. What school wouldn't want to spend less time and money on recruiting kids while still achieving the same results, which would free up resources to go after out-of-state kids? I wouldn't be surprise if this wasn't one of Freeze's plans from the start.

 

[SUJagFan]

Nah, The Prez has bigger fish to fry. No need to ruffle feathers with the MHSAA at this point.



More like a quarter mil, but I get the point. LOL. Jackson always has leverage with the Downtown area.

Bigger fish to fry? Wow. :lol:

I think we already agree that this is not about getting the few SEC quality athletes to MSU or OM. They are already doing that. But, what about those kids that just want to go to college and not play football? What about these little brothers, little sisters and cousins that attend these games and will get a chance to see MSU, OM and USM up close when they otherwise may not have? Having these games on campus might be more about recruiting regular students than the 10 - 20 football players that are talented enough to play SEC football. I think "The Prez" might want to have a broader perspective on this and see the benefit to JSU as a whole and not just JSU football.

As far as Jackson being better than other parts of the state goes, it's not even worth arguing about that. Some of you see Jackson as a desirable place. Others could never go there in their lives and be perfectly happy.

 

[JAG89]

I seriously doubt MSU and OM will change anything about their in-state recruiting. They will still go on the road to visit the schools. Still have their camps. Still have their official and unofficial visits. Hosting the state championship games on their campuses every three years is not going to change the way the recruit in-state or out-of-state. Having the kids on campus once every three years is a bonus, but they will still be recruiting the same as they always have. This is not a cost-cutting measure for them.

How not??? Recruiters and COACHES get to stay home and watch several games played by Mississippi top high school football players. They just might get to see that one, two, or three players that usually get overlooked by them. Like I previously stated, every little bit helps.

You do realize Ole Miss and Miss State are competing against other SEC schools, which means they need all the help they can get.

 

[SUJagFan]

How not??? Recruiters and COACHES get to stay home and watch several games played by Mississippi top high school football players. They just might get to see that one, two, or three players that usually get overlooked by them. Like I previously stated, every little bit helps.

You do realize Ole Miss and Miss State are competing against other SEC schools, which means they need all the help they can get.

Here's the flaw with your argument: Many of the in-state kids MSU and OM are recruiting may not necessarily play in the championship game. Many of these kids don't even play on winning teams. The coaches still have to go out and beat the bush to find these kids. Like Chris Jones at MSU, for example. He ended up being the number 2 player in the nation in last year's class. Nobody but MSU coaches knew about him until the very last minute because he's from some country hick town in backwoods Mississippi.

Not to mention that these teams will only get the benefit of having these games on campus once every three years. They definitely aren't saving any money during the years the games are held on another campus. And the years the games are held on their campus will amount to nothing more than an extra unofficial visit. That's all.

You also have to remember that these teams may have only one or two players that MSU or OM are recruiting. Even in the championship games. This is not like Texas high school football where you have high school teams with 10 or 12 D1 quality players.

This is not saving them any money. It's only adding goodwill.

 

[ghostwriter]

It's about creating a revenue stream for these schools to help fund the next big facility

When you can project state title revenue into your budget plus help the local economy with hotels, food, etc. it's a return on investment. Texas A&M did not have the cash lying around to find their stadium, the city kicked in with a sales tax and demanded the stadium built in phases so they don't lose home game revenue

S Miss is a throw in to save face but since no stadium in the largest market in the state offers a dome or amenities that unique they can pull it off easily

 

[J C]

The AHSAA moved the state of Alabama high school championship games from B'ham to Auburn and Alabama several years ago. MS looks to be following AL example. Supposedly, all cities and universities were allowed to bid on the process.

 

[JAG89]

It's about creating a revenue stream for these schools to help fund the next big facility

:tup:

Which helps in all aspects, such as recruitment (in-state and out-of-state). Ole Miss and Miss State are competing with other SEC schools. Every little bit helps to promote their programs.

 

[JAG89]

The AHSAA moved the state of Alabama high school championship games from B'ham to Auburn and Alabama several years ago. MS looks to be following AL example. Supposedly, all cities and universities were allowed to bid on the process.

Since Mississippi and Alabama don't have an NFL franchise in their States, the next best thing would be a SEC football facility. What other school in Alabama would out bid Auburn and Alabama for the high school football championship?

 

[ScreamTeam1]

Since Mississippi and Alabama don't have an NFL franchise in their States, the next best thing would be a SEC football facility. What other school in Alabama would out bid Auburn and Alabama for the high school football championship?

Great valid point

 

[JayRob]

There are main factors that cause this move, however, three of the main factors include the following.

1.) JSU is killing the competition in the recruitment field in the metro area and around the state. We have an excellent marketing team that have electronic messages in major areas of the state.
2.) JSU is a major competitor to ole miss, state & usm and fortunately it is a HBCU that can compete with the big boys in relationships to facilities, degree offerings and external partners. (USM is no competition to JSU anymore)
3.) During the championship games in the last 2 years, JSU's admission/marketing team was at those games recruiting the high school students who were there supporting their team. We reached out to all 12 schools and received many students of all races who attended those games at the VET, however, those good ole boys didn't like seeing what JSU have to offer;therefore they don't want nobody to know the goodness of JSU and other HBCUs. They also hated to pay JSU for renting the stadium (MHSAA)
Remember, when well-known HBCUs like JSU, Tenn. St, Bama St. SU, Grambling, Howard & Hampton do well, opposition from white folk arise and they do things to counter that success. In other words they like us when we are down and out and see us a threat when we are achieving. Ole piss and ms state don't care for usm, however, they included them in this takeover to ensure they (usm) don't complain. What is sad is that I don't think we as HBCUs will ever team up to support each other. Many of you on this board hate JSU for being successful but JSU has survived since 1877 and we must remember when the state tried to close valley down so many times, I along with several hundred JSU folks marched, voiced our opinions and our time to support valley. We have to stop fighting against each other and support the stronger HBCU's because a stronger JSU, SU and Grambling equals a stronger valley, pine bluff, etc.

One hit on an HBCU by the opposition is a hit on all HBCU's.

Good post. For people to claim that this has nothing to do with race is shortsighted and illogical. You have three predominantly White schools with their hand in the pot but not one predominantly Black school at all. Who in his right mind can say this isn't about race.
Put JSU, Alcorn or Valley or all of us in the mix as well.

 

[JayRob]

No it will not. Watch. There are not enough local programs good in football that have Black fans that will protest. Those black folks in North Ms now will have a shorter drive to Oxford and Starkville. They don't give a Fugg about Jackson. Neither do the black folks in South Ms. Once USM gets in the rotation they will be happy. The better football programs in central Ms all have white fans who are tied to the Big 3 schools and rather see their schools play on those white campuses instead of coming to Jackson.

This is about white folks in the rest of the state not wanting to come to Jackson the city. Not a JSU thing at all. They just want that money pumped into their areas and of course get those kids on the big 3 campuses.

Not accurate by a longshot. This has to do with good ole boy politics more than anything. I'm shocked that you of all people would see it any other way. Them good ole boys couldn't wait until JSU got control of the stadium to make an excuse to move the games.
Nobody complained about the games until JSU got control of the stadium.

 

[JayRob]

Bingo. This has nothing to do with JSU. JR, being from Jackson, understands what is happening in the city and sees the big picture. The rest of you are just flapping your gums. LOL. When the MHSAA makes this decision final, it won't be about JSU. The Metro area and The State of MS have been going out of their way to make sure that Jackson fails for YEARS now. They moved minor league baseball from Jackson. There's not even a noteworthy movie theater here. New malls and housing developments are being built outside of city limits. There is even a plan to expand on expressway that will take you from the Jackson Int'l Airport (which is not actually in Jackson), and loop around the entire city....you can get off of a plane and not even know Jackson exists. If there's anything that The City of Jackson residents (Black and/or White) should be protesting, it's the overall economic development that is not happening in the city. But even before that, there are a lot of things the city needs to work on internally, like blight and infrastructure. That must be in order if you want to make the city marketable.

Yeah, right. You give these good ole boys the benefit of the doubt and they'll keep taking from you. This has much to do with race, not necessarily JSU.
Heck, they have the private school playoffs with predominantly White teams being played at White schools, but now you have teams with 70 percent to 80 percent Black children playing at all White schools? Not ONE Black school is in the mix? Please.

 

[JAG89]

Great valid point

Also, if Mississippi high school football championship is on nationwide T.V., Ole Miss and Miss State would get all the highlights for the use of their facilities. That's a nice way to ramp up your recruiting visibility beyond your State.

 

[JayRob]

Nah, The Prez has bigger fish to fry. No need to ruffle feathers with the MHSAA at this point.



More like a quarter mil, but I get the point. LOL. Jackson always has leverage with the Downtown area.

No need to ruffle feathers? Are you kidding me? So just lay down and roll over while mostly Black folks in Mississippi athletics are footing the bills for MHSAA? This effects more people than some of us realize.
High school football teams are 80 percent Black and most don't reside in and around Oxford and Starkville. To shut out Black schools from hosting is a slap in the face to the children, their parents, coaches and fans.