Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State head football coach Sylvester Croom will be among those taking part in the university's second "Road Dawgs Tour," a visit later this month to 15 cities in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Texas.
Croom will be at each stop. He will be joined by representatives from the athletic department, alumni association, Bulldog Club, and admissions and scholarships office.
In-state destinations include Batesville, Brookhaven, Clarksdale, Columbus, Greenville, Hattiesburg, Jackson, Meridian, Olive Branch, and Tupelo.
Out-of-state stops include Birmingham and Mobile, Ala.; Atlanta, Ga.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Houston, Texas.
(Specific dates and time at http://www.alumni.msstate.edu/s/811/index.aspx?sid=811&gid=1&pgid=420.)
In addition to the MSU Alumni Association and Bulldog Club, the tour is being co-sponsored by the land-grant institution and its participating alumni chapters.
The schedule will include lunch and evening visits with prospective students, community business leaders, and graduates and friends of the university.
"The purpose of 'Road Dawgs' is to take MSU to various locales around the region," said Jimmy Abraham, associate vice president for development and alumni. "The goal is to have members of the university community meet and greet as many people as possible, and this type of tour helps us do just that."
Athletic director-designate Greg Byrne said the athletic department "is thrilled to be a partner with the alumni association to get out to all these local communities.
"We are excited about the opportunity to let our fans and alumni know how important they are to Mississippi State," Byrne added.
Abraham said alumni, friends, prospective students, and others living in or near any of the tour cities "are encouraged to make plans to get together and celebrate Mississippi State University in your hometown."
Persons planning to attend may register in advance through a local alumni chapter representative. The in-state contact list includes:
BATESVILLE--Richard Russo, 662-414-0003, coachrusso@cableone.net.
BROOKHAVEN--Gary Blair, 601-757-3345, gary.blair@farmcreditbank.com.
CLARKSDALE--William Abraham, 800-827-4848, william.abraham@wachoviasec.com.
COLUMBUS--Teleah Carter, 662-386-2900 , teleah@westrealtycompany.com.
GREENVILLE--Andy Dixon, 662-820-3325, adixon@gbtonline.com.
HATTIESBURG--Greg Bufkin, 601-434-0369, revzooftig@hotmail.com.
JACKSON--Fred Nichols, 601-594-5018, omc25@bellsouth.net.
MERIDIAN--Josh Thompson, 662-312-6968, jthompson@foundation.msstate.edu.
OLIVE BRANCH--Randy Allen or Michael Parker, 662-893-6172, randy.allen@bxs.com.
For more information, visit www.alumni.msstate.edu or contact the Alumni Association at 662-325-3444 or the Bulldog Club at 325-3074.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.