MSU is at the bottom of the barrel in terms of revenue in the SEC – 10th (out of 11 because Vandy is a private school). Ole Miss is 12th, but they claim to figure their revenue differently, which would put them even with State. But MSU is near the middle of the pack in terms of profit – at $7,393,026.

In terms of growth, Mississippi State is leading the pack. Since 2006, State has a 129% increase in revenue. Arkansas is 2nd at 85%. Of course, much was made about how Stricklin didn’t include any contributions in the 2010 stats, but there were $16 million worth in 2011′s. So that 129% is definitely inflated. BUT, we can look at expenditures and see that MSU is 1st in the SEC since 2006 there as well. At 99.9%, State has basically doubled what it spends on athletics; Alabama is 2nd at 73.2%.

Brandon Marcello came up with an interesting piece this week about how much each sport makes, and spends. Here is what I took away..

Revenue:

Football – $22,575,985 ($7.8 mil in tickets, $14.4 mil in TV, .3 mil in misc.)
Men’s Basketball – $6,914,565 ($1.6 mil in tickets, $5 mil in TV, .3 mil in misc.)
Baseball – $1,471,242
Women’s Basketball – $115,982
All other sports – $221,769

Expenditures:

Football – $11,766,024
Men’s Basketball – $4,095,623
Baseball – $2,219,652
Women’s Basketball – $1,868,856
All other sports – $6,135,626

Profit margin: 

Football: + $10,809,961
Men’s Basketball: + $2,818,942
Baseball: – $748,410
Women’s Basketball: – $1,752,874
All other sports: – $5,913,857

Football rules the roost – you bet.

Interesting to note, scholarships only account for $6,175,694 – or 12% of the total expenses.

Mississippi State seems to be doing very well on the financial end (along with a lot of other schools). The growth is really the encouraging thing, as Scott Stricklin has been able to continue Greg Bryne’s legacy of maximizing MSU’s resources and striving to reach our potential; instead of just staying on budget which was the goal of past administrators.

What a great finish for the Dawgs! After the first half of the SEC season, MSU was 5-10, but in the second half they went 11-4. What a turn around. The amazing thing is that they hit less than .200 during that run…but the E.R.A. was well under 2.0.

Final SEC Standings:

WEST

LSU, 19-10
Mississippi State, 16-14
Arkansas, 16-14
Ole Miss, 14-16
Auburn, 13-17
Alabama, 9-21

EAST

South Carolina, 18-11
Kentucky, 18-12
Florida, 18-12
Vanderbilt, 16-14
Georgia, 14-15
Tennessee, 8-22

SEC Tourney 1st round match-ups (Tuesday):

(1) LSU & (2) South Carolina – 1st round bye

(4) Kentucky vs. (9) Ole Miss – 9:30 am on Sportsouth

(6) Arkansas vs. (7) Mississippi State (Cohen said Stratton will not start) – After above game on Sportsouth

(3) Florida vs. (10) Auburn – 4:30 on CSS

(5) Vanderbilt vs. (8) Georgia – After above game on CSS

The rest of the tourney continues on Wednesday and finishes up on Sunday. Here’s how the double elimination schedule will play out. The two highest seeds that win on Tuesday don’t have to play again until Thursday, so if State and Ole Miss win, the Dawgs can skip Wednesday and pitch Stratton on full rest in their 2nd game.

While I’ve got this chance, let me just say this about the SEC baseball tournament. Why not make it single elimination? It has expanded into a 10 team – 6 day tourney that starts on a Tuesday. The teams don’t want pitch their #1 on the first game because they won’t have full rest. If you try to battle back through the loser’s bracket there’s just more games where someone could get injured.

The SEC Tourney doesn’t even matter. Pretty much every team will be playing in a Regional (maybe not Auburn) so why do we have to play so many games in Hoover? I think it would be better to just have the 7 vs. 10 and 8 vs. 9 play on Thursday, and then four games on Friday, two on Saturday and a championship game on Sunday…and everyone goes on their merry way to the Regionals.

@mandwnation

Kendall Gravemen only went 3 2/3, giving up 2 runs before giving way to Nick Routt. Daryl Norris gave State a 4-2 lead with a 3-run homer in the 4th, and then the bad calls started.

Up 4-3, Wes Rea came up with the bases loaded and 2 out. He hit a ground ball the shortstop who bobbled it and threw to 2nd to get the force. The runner was called out, but he was clearly safe.

That should have made it 5-3 with Norris coming up and the bases loaded. Instead it was the end of the inning.

In the top of the 6th, Luis Pollorena had some words with the home plate umpire after some questionable ball and strike calls.

And then the Kentucky batter sticks his leg out to get hit by the pitch when it looked to be a borderline strike call. Mitch Slauter about lost it on this play.

In the bottom of the 6th, Tyler Fullerton was up with a 3-2 count and runners on 1st and 2nd. He gets a called strike 3 on a pitch that was way low and inside.

Next up is Hunter Renfroe, State’s hottest hitter, who launches a ball that looks to be a home run but he is robbed by UK’s left fielder Bryan Adams on a great play.

If Fullerton would’ve walked like he should have that would have at least been a sac fly and MSU would’ve gone up 5-3.

As it turns out, none of this mattered because the Dawgs won anyway. Unfortunately we’ve had to do battle with the umps the last few weeks. Great job to overcome it all and beat a really good team in Kentucky – and take the series. Oh, and Johnathon Holder gets another save – his 5th – and still has a 0.00 E.R.A.

@dirty_panda

In years that Auburn wins, State has gone on to have 3 winning seasons, 20 losing seasons, and the one 6-6 record last year. In years that MSU wins they are a perfect 9 out of 9 in having a winning season.

So, that’s a 13% chance of having a winning season if we beat Auburn (but 83% chance of having a losing season). And there’s a 100% chance of having a winning season if we beat Auburn. My conclusion: beating Auburn is the key of having a winning season.

The game used to be played in October but it’s moved its way up to the first SEC game of the year for most of the last decade. And things haven’t been good as State has only won 1 of the last 11 matchups.

Think about how some of the recent games with the Tigers have shaped the outcome of the season. In 1999, the Matt Wyatt-led comeback for the ages got Mississippi State to 6-0 on their way to as high as #8 in the country. In 2001, a missed FG at Auburn sent the Bulldogs on a spiral to a 3-8 record. 2007′s game was a turning point – winning in Auburn 19-14 led to State’s first bowl game since 2000. With high expectations in 2008, a horrific 3-2 game led to a dismal 4-8 season for MSU. Last year, the Auburn game was a bitter pill to swallow as the Dawgs were expected to win and after coming up inches short they limped to a 6-6 record.

2012′s game will be no different. Both schools have high expectations as the Tigers come to Starkville on September 8th.

The Diamond Dawgs play Kentucky tonight. Friday night’s game will be televised by Sportsouth.

MSU 1st baseman, Wes Rea’s shoulder hurts.

Earlier in the week Chris Stratton won the Ferriss Trophy for the best college baseball player in Mississippi.

It looks like the ACC will go to a 9-game schedule…so the SEC is the only one sticking with 8.

What if State had played all their “home” games in Starkville?

@dirty_panda

I am so cultured, have I told you that lately? Last night I ate at a Mediterranean restaurant.

Dawg: Oh, really? I’ve never had Mediterranean food.

Bear: Yeah, you rednecks just drink Busch Light and watch NASCAR at State. I hate you.

Dawg: /rolls eyes

I work at the same office as you. We literally have the same job.

Bear: But I am cultured, you are a redneck.

Dawg: Whatever, we’ve beaten you 3 straight Egg Bowls…and we’ve dominated you in virtually every sport.

Bear: So, our football program sucks…do you think you’re some kind of genius pointing that out? I bet you think this is YOUR office. /crosses arms, points right foot at 90 degree angle

Dawg: No, not really. But I am proud that my school has dominated your school in every sport.

Bear: It doesn’t matter, we have hotter girls.

Dawg: Hmmm. /points to picture of Bear’s wife on his desk

Dude, she looks like Miss Piggy.

Bear: But everyone knows Ole Miss has hotter girls than State, it doesn’t matter who I married. /wipes sweat from brow.

We’ve won more games than you, the Grove is awesome, and we have hot girls. When I was in school, I used to hang out with all the hottest girls at our great bar scene.

Dawg: /goes back to work.

/doesn’t show Bear picture of his wife.

/remembers that MSU has passed Ole Miss, there are bigger fish to fry.

South Panola is in the heart of Ole Miss Country. Batesville, where the school is located, is only 26 miles away from campus of Ole Miss. Given the proximity the majority of people in the area are pro-Ole Miss. South Panola even has the same team colors – blue, red and white – as Ole Miss. Given all of this there is undoubtedly a lot of pressure on talented football recruits at South Panola to choose Ole Miss as their college of choice, but is it really their choice?

On Monday Paul Jones of Bulldawgs247 posted a interview with South Panola’s Deon Mix about what schools he was looking at. In the story Deon mentions his close connection to former South Panola player Kendrick Market and how he respected Market for his college decision.

Kendrick just tells me to make the right choice for me and he knows I’m not somebody that will fold under pressure. And Kendrick is actually one of the few around here that did what he wanted to do. He went to the college he wanted to go to and didn’t go to the college he had to go to. I like that about him.

This is proof of the pressure that is forced onto recruits in this area to attend Ole Miss even though they don’t want to.

Since 2002, eleven players from South Panola have signed with Ole Miss. (Scholarship players)

2002
Chris Herring – went Juco, then to Southern Arkansas.

2004
Reterio Brown – redshirted, never played a game
Peria Jerry – 1st round pick to the Falcons
JaMarca Sanford – 7th round pick to the Vikings

2005
John Jerry – 3rd round pick to Miami
Travis Sanford – Didn’t qualify

2007
Chris Strong – One year, quit the team
LeRoy Diggs – Went to Juco

2008
Darius Barksdale- Left Ole Miss after first spring. Then to Jacksonville State

2010
Nicholas Parker – redshirted in 2010, didn’t play in 2011.

Nick Parker hasn’t had the chance to perform yet, but considering the Ole Miss staff’s recruiting pitches to high school RB’s it doesn’t appear as if they plan to use him much in the near future. The recent move of Tobias Singleton, a wide receiver, to RB also sheds some light on the OM’s staffs expectations for the current RBs on roster.

2011
Nickolas Brassell – Played as true freshman but in academic trouble.

According to a recent ESPN blogpost Freeze talked about Academic concerns. In the story both Nick Brassell and Jeff Scott are mentioned for being in academic trouble. When asked if Freeze thought they would make it, he responded:

I feel better because I see improvement, but if you’re asking me do I feel confident at this point to say that they’re going to make it, no, I don’t feel confident to say that.=

Freeze goes on to praise Jeff Scott’s efforts but doesn’t say much about Brassel That may be the least of Freeze’s concerns because in the same article the writer also talks about how hard it was to get players to buy into his system.

“It was tough to get players on board at first, and he still thinks less than 80 percent of the team has bought in, but it’s certainly higher than when he first arrived?.”

Ole Miss is in shambles right now and the recruits know it. Even players on the team are still not buying into the hope and change Freeze is preaching. The sad part is these high school students are still being pressured into playing for a losing team when they rather be somewhere else. It will continue on until more more players like Kendrick Market stand up for themselves.

The Bulldogs don’t get a break as Kentucky is up next. Breaking down the SEC standings Todd and Coach look at teams that are tied with State and how they may fair this weekend.

There is no doubt that this has been a good year for John Cohen and his bulldogs but he still has his haters. The guys look at some of the reasons why and go over the latest recruiting news.

This past weekend MSU held Florida, one of the most potent offensive teams in the SEC, to 13 total hits. They shut the Gators out on Saturday for a 2-0 win. While the Dawgs’ offense was only able to muster 4 runs the entire series and lost 2 games to 1…it’s clear that MSU has a chance in the Regionals because of a solid pitching staff.

We all know about Chris Stratton. He actually took his first loss of the year vs. Florida to go to 9-1, but he is one of the best pitchers in the nation. State’s #2 starter, Kendall Graveman, has put together some great games so far this year: a complete games against LSU and Tennessee, plus the gem he threw on Saturday vs. Florida. Graveman doesn’t have the W-L record (4-3) of Stratton, but his E.R.A. is comparable – 2.69 to Strat’s 2.22.

From there it drops off a little, but not much. Luis Pollorena is 3-0 with a 1.32 E.R.A. (not sure why he isn’t the official Sunday starter – maybe Todd4State knows the answer to that). Ross Mitchell is 1-0 with a 1.32 E.R.A. All-American closer Caleb Reed has a 2.98 E.R.A., Evan Mitchell is under 4, and Nick Routt – who seems like he has struggled more than anyone – is only at 4.12. Then the guy coming on the most is Johnathon Holder, who has a flawless 0.00 E.R.A. with 4 saves.

All of this with only minimal contributions from Ben Bracewell and Taylor Stark, who have been hampered by injuries most of the year.

I am willing to bet that MSU has a deeper staff than almost anyone they will go up against in the Regionals – or Super Regionals. The offense will be in question, but MSU knows they have a chance to win each game because of the great pitching. I’m looking forward to the postseason, I think the Diamond Dawgs have a team that could make a run.

SEC Tourney seeding in parenthesis.

WEST

LSU, 17-10 (2)
Ole Miss, 14-13 (5)
Mississippi State, 13-14 (9)
Arkansas, 13-14 (8)
Auburn, 12-15 (10)
Alabama, 7-20 (N/A)

EAST

Kentucky, 18-9 (1)
South Carolina, 17-9* (3)
Florida, 16-11 (4)
Georgia*, 13-13 (6)
Vanderbilt, 13-14 (7)
Tennessee, 8-19 (N/A)

*Game 3 of UGA/USC was cancelled and will not be made up.

Next up for State: Central Arkansas on Tuesday and then #7 Kentucky comes to Starkville next weekend.