A beloved figure in Mississippi State Bulldogs athletics is sadly no longer with us. On January 23, former live Mississippi State mascot "Jak" (Bully XXI), passed away according to his caretaker, Lisa Pritchard.
Jak spent eight years as the mascot for the university from April of 2015 until his retirement in April of 2023. Jak came from a long line of Mississippi State mascots. His grandfather, "Tonka" (Bully XIX), and father, "Champ" (Bully XX), each served terms as the school's mascot from the early 2000s through the early 2010s.
Jak's namesake is also of Mississippi State legend. He was named in honor of the great Jack Cristil, the longtime radio voice of the Bulldogs who passed away shortly before Jak's birth in fall of 2014. Jak's formal name is "Cristil's Golden Price".
In 2023, Jak passed over the reigns to Mississippi State's current live mascot, Bully XXII, "Dak".
Jak was the mascot for some of the greatest moments in Mississippi State Bulldogs history
Jak's run as the mascot for Mississippi State will be hard to be topped. On the gridiron, he roamed the sidelines for a Bulldog football program that totaled 58 wins, including four Egg Bowl victories, and made a bowl game in all eight of his seasons.
He saw Mississippi State women's basketball put together three-straight 30-win seasons in which they won two SEC regular season titles, one SEC tournament title, snapped UConn's 111-game winning streak, and played in two national title games.
And of course on the diamond, Jak saw a Bulldog baseball program that won a SEC title, made three trips to the College World Series, and won the school's first ever national championship in 2021. Needless to say, Jak will always be associated with some of the greatest moments in Mississippi State history.