Chad Thomas, MSU’s assistant athletics director for marketing, said reaction from MSU fans has mostly been positive, though he would not comment on feedback he may or may not be receiving from Ole Miss fans, who appear to be irritated by the latest campaign.
“I know one thing for sure and that is that Mississippi State fans are excited and proud to be a part of what is happening here right now,” Thomas said in an email to The Clarion-Ledger.
State began a massive billboard campaign with MSU football coach Dan Mullen welcoming visitors to “Our State” at this time last year. The slogan caught fire with MSU and Ole Miss fans online, and the Bulldogs used the motto in several radio, television and print advertisements. Then-Rebels coach Houston Nutt even felt compelled to answer questions about the aggressive marketing campaign at SEC Media Days in the summer.
“I do notice some people on message boards and comment threads on blogs having different opinions about the boards, but mostly all positive from Mississippi State fans,” he said. “As for fans of another school in our state, I have not had any direct contact so I do not know their thoughts either positive or negative.”
Thomas said MSU has no plans to add additional billboards in Oxford after Feb. 1. MSU and Ole Miss are actively recruiting Lafayette High School quarterback Jeremy Liggins.
The billboards were originally supposed to be taken down conveniently on Feb. 1, just as signing day rolled around, but earlier this week, reports surfaced that MSU had already begun the process of taking down the billboards.
The Oxford Eagle reported earlier this week that the reason for the move was NCAA-related. The rule in question was reportedly bylaw 13.4.3, which says recruiting advertisements cannot be “designed to solicit the enrollment of a prospective student-athlete.”
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