About Mississippi State Bulldogs
Football program at Mississippi State was established in 1895 with basketball program joining in 1906. Initially known as Mississippi A&M (with Aggies for a mascot), Mississippi State Bulldogs belong to Southeastern Conference, Western division, NCAA Division I (FBS for football).
The university colours are maroon and white, their mascot is English Bulldog which has a costumed version to go along a live bulldog, each new bulldog is titled Bully and the nickname dates back to 1905 despite the college not being officially named the Bulldogs until 1961.
The main rivalries which the Bulldogs formed through the years are with, LSU Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide and Kentucky Wildcats.
The Bulldogs hold an all- time record of 541-562-39 including a conference championship in 1941 and a divisional title in 1998. To date the university took part in 19 Bowl games, including a five game winning streak between 1999 and 2011. The Bulldogs have an 11-8 record from Bowl games and their last game occurred in 2015 at Belk Bowl, with a win against NC State.
Despite the lack of overall success at bigger stages, the programs produced plenty of NFL players, including 11 athletes that went onto being drafted in first round, including players such as Walt Harris and Eric Moulds.
Harris, a cornerback, drafted by the Bears spent 14 seasons in NFL and had 35 interceptions recorded to his name. His best year was at 2006 when he played for the 49ers where he was chosen to Pro Bowl and was named the 49ers’ MVP. He also co-led NFC in interceptions that year.
Moulds, a wide receiver drafted by the Bills, played 11 seasons in NFL, mainly for the Bills. He was three times Pro Bowler, named three times to All- Pro and led the AFC in receiving yards in 1998. He finished his career just 5 yards shy of receiving 10000 yards.
Basketball at Mississippi State hasn’t won national titles but the Bulldogs went to 10 NCAA tournaments, including three trips to the Sweet Sixteen and their biggest achievement, reaching the Final Four in 1996. They have also been conference tournament champions four times and 10 times they won conference regular season title.
The most accomplished Bulldog in NBA is Bailey Howell who played for 12 seasons in NBA after being drafted 2nd overall in 1959 by the Pistons.
Howell won two NBA titles with the Celtics, he’s been picked to 6 NBA All- Star games and was inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.
Despite overall lack success at national stages, the Bulldogs have done a good job of fielding many athletes who found their way in professional leagues including few who had some success leaving a mark after themselves.
