Standing in The Junction in early 2025, Gary Gleason couldn’t help but remark on the changes he saw to Mississippi State’s campus—new buildings, new and “missing” roads, and far more students than when he was an undergrad in the 1980s. Those changes are even more stark for his mother Bettye, who was a student in the 1950s.
Still, despite how the university has grown since their days as students, they said the feeling of being a Bulldog and the sense of purpose that drives Mississippi State has remained the same. And that shared sentiment has not only kept the Gleason family tied to MSU but also provided a maroon and white thread that has kept the family connected through the generations.
“I don’t know that we’d be as close if we didn’t all share that Mississippi State connection,” Gary said of the relationship that exists between him, his parents, his brothers and their children. “If we had all gone to different schools, there would be a big link missing. It’s cool that we have this common thread connecting our lives.”
Bettye is pictured with the MSU ROTC.
It all started when Bettye Bradley, a graduate student in business, came to Mississippi State following her graduation from Delta State and met the late John “Jack” Gleason in Perry Cafeteria.
A Corinth native, Bettye served as a sponsor for MSU’s ROTC and was selected as the university’s first Miss MSU. Representing MSU in the Miss Mississippi pageant, she came in as runner-up to Lynda Lee Mead of Natchez, who would go on to be crowned Miss America 1960.
John, a Doddsville native who grew up on a farm, was in Starkville to study agricultural engineering, though his education was put on hold while he completed military service. He was living in Old Main when it burned in January 1959. Bettye, who was already smitten with her new beau, watched the inferno from the window of her dorm—Magruder Hall—which was across the street.
“It was horrific; just unbelievable,” Bettye recalled, explaining how she waited and watched to make sure John emerged from the building. “Old Main was supposed to always be there. To look out and see it going up in flames was just heartbreaking.”
The couple married the next year and became eligible for married-student housing. Having completed her master’s degree, Bettye taught classes in the College of Business. John graduated the next year.
After a brief stint with Massey Ferguson, John was appointed to the U.S. Secret Service. Among his first jobs was guarding the west gate of the White House during the Kennedy administration. He took a leave of absence from the Secret Service for a year to help his aging father manage the family farm, leaving JFK’s detail roughly a month before the assassination.
“I was thankful he wasn’t serving when Kennedy was assassinated,” Bettye recalled.
“But dad spent a lot of time guarding Kennedy,” Gary added. “Mom even accompanied him to Martha’s Vineyard and the Kennedy Compound during that time.”
John ultimately had a 34-year career with the Secret Service, serving under every president from Kennedy to Bill Clinton. During that time, he and his family—which grew to include sons Brad, Gary and Michael—lived in Washington, D.C.; Chicago, Illinois; and Knoxville and Memphis, Tennessee; and Clinton. He retired in 1994 as special agent in charge for the State of Mississippi.
Bettye, meanwhile, returned to the workforce after raising her sons by working part time for the Mississippi Railroad Association. She then had a 20-year career as a government affairs liaison for Illinois Central Railroad, retiring as Canadian National Railroad’s director of government affairs for the state of Mississippi.
Gary speaks with undeniable pride of his parents’ careers, especially his trailblazing mother. Following the untimely death of her father, Bettye was raised by a single mother who worked multiple jobs. The family had little, and Bettye grew up making her own clothes—including those for pageants. Despite these hardships, she still found her way to earning a master’s degree at a time when pursing higher education wasn’t “something women did” and ultimately overcoming challenges to earn her position with the railroad.
“Some of the men in the railroad association didn’t want a woman representing them at the Capitol,” Gary said. “But Illinois Central was so impressed by her and her abilities they said they were going to pull out of the association, along with Kansas City Southern, and she went on to represent their interests.”
“When they needed legislation introduced, I would help make that happen and work to get it passed,” Bettye recalled.
Gary said he and his brothers always knew Mississippi State was the backbone of their parents’ success—providing opportunities and an education to set their careers in motion. And while as kids they weren’t exactly coming to campus to tailgate for football games, he said his parents made sure the boys knew where the family got its start.
“We might get like a Mississippi State jacket for Christmas or something and we’d follow Bulldog sports from afar,” Gary said. “But the main thing was we always knew that’s where our parents went to school and how it shaped our family.”
When it came time to choose their own destinations for higher education, there was no question where the Gleason brothers would go. In turn, each came to Mississippi State.
Brad graduated in 1988 with degrees in business management and marketing and works in the HVAC industry in Memphis. Michael received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in forest products in 1993 and 1995, respectively, before earning a medical degree from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He now practices in Jackson as a board-certified emergency medicine physician. Middle son Gary earned an industrial technology degree in 1989 and is now self-employed with Gleason Steam LLC —a niche company that provides engineering services and training for industrial and institutional steam users across North America.
While at State, Gary was letterman and a team captain for Bulldog football. As a walk-on under Head Coach Rockey Felker, he was a back-up to All-SEC tight end Louis Clark. He recalls beating Tennessee—the defending SEC champions—in Knoxville as one of his stand-out MSU memories.
“It was a thrill,” he recalled. “We practiced all week with huge loudspeakers playing jet noise to prepare us for the crowd noise at Neyland Stadium. But the coolest thing that stuck with me was that when our plane landed at Golden Triangle Regional Airport, it wasn’t just the bus waiting to take us back to campus.
“There was a huge crowd of fans gathered on the tarmac treating us like rock stars as we deplaned,” he continued. “Then, the entire way back from the airport, Highway 82 was lined with fans. There was another huge crowd waiting at McArthur Hall, which was the athletic dorm at the time.”
On the family front, Gary’s playing time gave the Gleason family a reason to visit Starkville and make new memories. The brothers continued to attend MSU sporting events over the years ensuring John and Bettye’s six grandchildren were also exposed to the Maroon and White life.
And it worked. The four grandchildren who have reached college age—Michael’s children Parker, Miller and Carlie, and Gary’s oldest son Jack—have all attended State. Parker earned a biomedical engineering degree in 2022 and is following his father’s footsteps into medicine. Miller enrolled in 2021 and his twin sister, Carlie, earned early admission into the architecture program. She is completing her fourth year in the five-year program.
More than simply making her a Bulldog fan and exposing her to campus, Carlie credits her trips to Starkville with helping to shape her career goals. It was at her family’s tailgates that she met MSU architecture alumna Carley Dunaway who owns Jackson’s Dunaway Williams Architects, where Carlie has interned for three summers.
“I don’t have an earliest or favorite memory of visiting State,” Carlie said. “It’s just that as long as I’ve been remembering things, I remember being here. I remember being in my cheerleader outfit over there. I remember meeting my boss when she was in architecture school at a tailgate outside Barnes & Noble.
“MSU has just always been a part of my life,” she added.
Her cousin Jack, agrees. The freshman, who is named after his grandfather, said he never really considered another school. Instead, he hung his hopes on the family alma mater where he developed fond memories while attending baseball camps sponsored by the Diamond Dawgs and even a football camp hosted by Dak Prescott.
Now, as a right-handed pitcher, he is part of Bulldog baseball’s youth camps, helping K-12 students from across the region make their own memories of MSU.
“When I was their age, this was my dream. This is what I wanted to do my whole life,” Jack said. “There was one point where I thought there was no way I was going to make it, but you keep going and keep working hard and you can do anything, God willing.”
Gary said that’s what Mississippi State has given to the Gleason family—a place that rewards hard work and sets them up for success whether their dream is medicine, baseball or a career in architecture. And while there are still two of “Bettye Mom’s” grandchildren left to make a college choice—Gary’s younger children Grace, a high school sophomore, and 11-year-old Andrew—the family is confident they will follow the sound of cowbells to Starkville as well.
“Our parents didn’t pressure us to come here. In fact, mine encouraged me to look around and see what school fit me best,” Carlie explained, speaking of her family in general and her parents, who met at MSU, specifically. “The thing is, because MSU is such a part of our family no other place was going to feel as homey.
“That’s the best way parents can encourage their kids to come to MSU,” she added. “No pressure, no ultimatums. Just exposure to the university and all that it has to offer, and the knowledge of what it can do for you.”
Support your Bulldog Beauties
A lot has changed in the 66 years since Bettye Bradley represented Mississippi State in the Miss Mississippi Pageant. For one, it’s unlikely anyone in this year’s contest made their own clothes for the competition like she did in 1959. For another, there’s a lot more scholarship money—more than $100,000—on the line.
One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is MSU’s reputation for having plenty of representatives in the Miss Mississippi pageant. Miss MSU 2025 Sarah Randolph is the official Bulldog entrant, but there are several other members of the Maroon and White family who will join her onstage in Vicksburg to vie for a chance to represent the state in the Miss America competition.
When the stage lights come on, the Bulldog family can cheer for the following MSU students and alumni in this year’s contest:
- Miss Brandon Skylar Harden, a senior in interdisciplinary studies
- Miss Starkville Karolina Heathcock, a senior in wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture and Student Association vice president
- Miss All-American City Jaycee Janzen, a senior in marketing
- Miss Lee County Avery Claire Littleton, a 2022 biomedical engineering graduate
- Miss Fairpark Aniyah McKissic, a junior in music education
- Miss Vicksburg Morgan Nelson, a senior in biological sciences and Miss MSU 2024
- Miss Heartland Jalyssiah Ott, a senior in psychology
- Miss MSU Sarah Randolph, a senior in biological sciences
Mark your calendars for the 2026 Miss MSU pageant, Thursday, Sept. 18, when the university will select its next Miss Mississippi representative.