The Mississippi State Bulldogs football program represents Mississippi State University in the sport of American football. The Bulldogs compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as well as the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They also have won one SEC championship in 1941 and a division championship in 1998. The Bulldogs have 27 postseason bowl appearances. The program has produced 38 All-Americans (three consensus), 171 All-SEC selections, and 124 NFL players (11 first-round draft picks). The Bulldogs’ home stadium, Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field, is the second oldest in the NCAA Division I FBS.
History
Early history (1895–1966)
Mississippi State (then known as the Mississippi A&M Aggies) first fielded a football team in 1895. The team was coached by W. M. Matthews. During his one-season tenure, Matthews posted an overall record of zero wins and two losses (0–2). He is also credited with the selection of what became the official school colors, maroon and white, prior to the Aggies first game ever played at Union University. - Access date: February 19, 2012
Daniel S. Martin left rival Ole Miss and served as the Aggies' head football coach from 1903–1906. His final record in Starkville was 10–11–3. W. D. Chadwick led the Aggies from 1909–1913. His final record was 29–12–2. During his five-season tenure, Mississippi A&M appeared in and won its first bowl game, the 1911 Bacardi Bowl in Havana, Cuba. Fullback Dutch Reule was selected All-Southern. The 1911 team was also referred to as 'The Bull Dogs'. Earl C. Hayes replaced Chadwick and led Mississippi A&M to 15–8–2 record from 1914–1916. Hunter Kimball received the most votes of any All-Southern halfback in 1914. The Mississippi Legislature renamed Mississippi A&M as "Mississippi State College" in 1925 and the mascot was changed from Aggies to Maroons in 1932. Ralph Sasse enjoyed success as Mississippi State's head football coach. After leading Mississippi State to a 20–10–2 record in three years and an appearance in the 1937 Orange Bowl, a loss, Sasse stunned the students and players by resigning from his head coach's duties, following a doctor's orders after a sudden nervous breakdown. Allyn McKeen left Memphis to become head football coach at Mississippi State, where he compiled a 65–19–3 record in ten seasons. In 1940, he was named Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year after leading Mississippi State to its only undefeated season in school history and its second Orange Bowl appearance, a victory. The following year, 1941, his Maroons squad captured the first and only Southeastern Conference championship in program history. McKeen retired from coaching in 1948 after being fired by Athletic Director Dudy Noble because of a 4–4–1 season. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1991. Mississippi State did not field a football team in 1943. Arthur Morton left VMI to become MSU's head football coach after McKeen's retirement. Morton's Maroons posted struggling records of 0–8–1, 4–5 and 4–5 for a cumulative record of 8–18–1 before Morton's firing. Murray Warmath came to Mississippi State from his post as line coach at Army and posted records of 5–4 and 5–2–3 for a cumulative two-season record of 10–6–3. Having coached only two seasons in Starkville, Warmath resigned after the 1953 season to take the job of University of Minnesota head coach. Darrell Royal came to Mississippi State from the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos and put up back-to-back 6–4 records in his two seasons as the Maroons head football coach. Royal resigned after the 1955 season to accept the head football coach position at Washington.
Wade Walker was promoted from line coach to head coach following Royal's departure. Walker compiled a 22–32–2 record over his 6-season tenure.Charles "Bud" Wilkinson (PDF), College Football Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. VII, No. II, August 1994.Wade Walker Records by Year , College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved June 17, 2009. In 1958 the Legislature renamed the university as Mississippi State University. The Mississippi State Maroons posted a lackluster 2–7–1 record in 1959. The following year, Walker's Maroons improved to 5–5, but students, fans and alumni demanded his ouster. University president Dean W. Colvard relented and fired Walker as football coach, but kept him on as athletic director, a post he kept until 1966.Michael B. Ballard, Maroon and White: Mississippi State University, 1878–2003, p. 144, University Press of Mississippi, 2008, . Mississippi State changed its mascot from Maroons to Bulldogs in 1960. However, "Bulldogs" had been used unofficially since at least 1905, and the nickname had long been interchangeable with "Maroons." Paul Davis was promoted from assistant coach to head coach following Walker's firing. His teams went 20–38–2 overall and 9–22–2 in the Southeastern Conference in Davis' five seasons. The Bulldogs had a 7–2–2 record in 1963, earning its first postseason bowl game since 1939.Strange, Mike. "Davis, former SEC coach, dies at 87", Knoxville News Sentinel, March 31, 2009. Accessed April 6, 2009. The team finished the season with a 16–12 victory over North Carolina State in front of 8,309 fans at the 1963 Liberty Bowl played in a bitter cold Philadelphia.via Associated Press. "Ex-Bulldogs coach Davis dies at 87", ESPN, April 1, 2009. Accessed April 1, 2009. Mississippi State was able to convert two botched North Carolina State punts into touchdowns, and a 13–0 lead at the first quarter.White, Gordon S.. Jr. "N. Carolina State Bows; Miss. State's Early Attack Tops N.C. State in Liberty Bowl, 16–12 Ball Barely Reaches Long March Starts", The New York Times, December 22, 1963. Accessed April 6, 2009. United Press International named Davis the SEC Coach of the Year for the 1963 season. After a lackluster 2–8 record in 1966, MSU terminated Davis, as well as athletic director Wade Walker.Via Associated Press. "Football, Athletic Heads Out at Mississippi State", The New York Times, December 11, 1966. Accessed April 6, 2009.
Charles Shira era (1967–1972) Charles Shira, who had been defensive coordinator at the University of Texas under former Bulldogs head coach Darrell Royal, was appointed both head football coach and athletic director at Mississippi State in January 1967.via United Press International. "Shira Gets Two Posts At Mississippi State", The New York Times, January 12, 1967. Accessed April 6, 2009. His first two teams went 2–8 (1967) and 0–8–2 (1968), followed by 3–7 in 1969; that December he coached the Gray squad in the Blue–Gray Classic.32nd Blue-Gray Tilt Set in Montgomery, Sarasota Journal, December 26, 1969.
Mississippi State posted a 6–5 campaign in 1970, highlighted by an upset of No. 10 Ole Miss; Shira was subsequently named the SEC Coach of the Year.Michael B. Ballard, Maroon and White: Mississippi State University, 1878–2003, p. 201, University Press of Mississippi, 2008, . Shira also oversaw the program’s racial integration when defensive back Frank Dowsing joined the team in 1969.
After 2–9 (1971) and 4–7 (1972) seasons, Shira stepped down as head coach to concentrate on his athletic director role; his six-year coaching record at MSU was 16–45–2 (5–32–2 SEC).Burial to be in Starkville; Shira Funeral Services Today, Florence Times-Tri Cities Daily, January 3, 1976.
Bob Tyler era (1973–1978) Bob Tyler was promoted from offensive coordinator (1972) to head coach following Charles Shira’s resignation, later also serving concurrently as Mississippi State’s athletic director from 1976 to 1979.
In his second season, Tyler guided Mississippi State to a 9–3 record and a Sun Bowl victory over North Carolina; that year included conference wins over Georgia and LSU, and a top‑20 finish in the final polls.
The Bulldogs finished 6–4–1 in 1975 and 9–2 in 1976 (No. 20 AP), followed by 5–6 in 1977 and 6–5 in 1978; NCAA probation related to alleged improper benefits led to the forfeiture of multiple wins from the 1975–1977 seasons in post‑facto NCAA action.
Tyler’s Mississippi State tenure included four winning seasons and two nine‑win campaigns; after the 1978 season, he departed the head coaching post while having also held the director of athletics role during part of his tenure.
Emory Bellard era (1979–1985) Emory Bellard, who had resigned as head coach of Texas A&M during the 1978 season after only six games, was hired to serve as head football coach at Mississippi State beginning with the next (1979) season. He was head coach from 1979 until 1985. He was considered to have had one of the most innovative offensive minds in football and is credited for inventing the wishbone formation. Bellard spent seven seasons as head coach at MSU. His best years as the Bulldogs head coach were in 1980 and 1981, when his team finished 9–3 and 8–4, respectively. Also, Bellard was the coach when Mississippi State defeated number 1, undefeated Alabama 6–3 in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1980. However, the Bulldogs significantly regressed after 1981. In the next five seasons, he only won a total of five games in SEC play. Before the 1985 season, Bellard boldly predicted that the Bulldogs would rebound and win their first SEC title since 1941. They not only failed to do so, but went winless in SEC play. Bellard was fired after the season. He would, however, return in 1988 to coach at the high school level in Texas.
Rockey Felker era (1986–1990) Rockey Felker returned to his alma mater, which was coming off four consecutive losing seasons, from his post as wide receivers coach at Alabama. At 33, Felker was the youngest coach in the country and the first Mississippi State coach in 30 years to start his career as MSU head football coach with a winning record (6–5). However, the Bulldogs never recovered from four consecutive blowout losses at the end of the 1986 season, during which they scored a total of nine points, including a 24–3 loss to Ole Miss. Felker suffered through four losing seasons (4–7, 1–10, 5–6, 5–6) between 1987 and 1990, and only won a total of five games in SEC play. He was only 1–4 vs. Ole Miss. He resigned under pressure at the end of the 1990 season, but would be brought back by his successor, Jackie Sherrill, as running backs coach for two seasons and in a non-coaching position in the football program, where he serves to this day.
Jackie Sherrill era (1991–2003)