Category: Back Story

There’s an old saying: “You can’t go home again.” But when home is Mississippi State University, you can. In my case, it’s happened not once but twice. When I transferred from Duke to join Jeff—my high school sweetheart and now husband—at State in 1996, I...

This undated photo from the University Archives shows Mississippi State students registering for classes inside Humphrey Coliseum. At the time, signing up for courses meant long lines, paper forms and a little patience. Do you have memories of registering for classes? Maybe you were racing...

Found in the Office of Public Affairs photo archive, this image from 1998 shows a College of Business computer lab inside McCool Hall. Were you one of the students who studied here? Share your memories at alumnus.msstate.edu or by emailing alumnus@msstate.edu. Include your name, major(s)...

Alumnus career, gift, enable students to find their paths Bill Hudnall has made changing lives his life’s work. As a school counselor, he helped hundreds of young men and women land scholarships, locate jobs and navigate challenges. His work has made an impact every day....

When nepotism policies prevented my return to the Starkville Police Department, where my uncle was a captain, that could have been the end of my law enforcement career—and it did pause it for a year. During that time I sold cars at Premier Ford, Lincoln,...

Found in the University Archive, this photo captures a packed day at Mississippi State’s Left Field Lounge, a one-of-a-kind tradition where fans cheered on Bulldog baseball from tailgates, trucks and homemade seating just beyond the outfield fence. What began in the 1960s as fans pulling...

I recently attended a ceremony at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, where MSU President Mark E. Keenum, Gov. Tate Reeves and officials from the U.S. Air Force celebrated the signing of an enhanced use lease to pave the way for construction of the 100,000-square-foot...

Found in the University Archive, this image captures an MSU ROTC cadet rappelling down the Military Science Department’s training tower in 2005. The Army ROTC has long played an active role on campus, preparing students for leadership through challenging training exercises like this one. Today,...

Found in the University Archive, this image from the 1990s captured students playing hacky sack outside the Colvard Student Union. Before the union’s 2006 renovation, the stairs to the union were a popular gathering place for students between classes. Building on this sense of fun...

Mississippi State’s eighth president, Hugh Critz, may have been the most reluctant leader in the institution’s history. Born in 1876 as the oldest of seven children, Critz learned to handle horses and farm the land. Critz’s father, Wiley, earned his living running a livery stable...