Top 10 things to look forward to

As we await the next era in Ole Miss football, here are 10 things to look forward to:

(10) Names on Uniform- A welcome change back to pre-O era.

(9) Football & the Grove- It's football time again!

(8) The O & D Lines- Our best group in a long time and perhaps the best in the SEC this year.

(7)The Presidential Debate- The world will be focused on Mississippi and Ole Miss.

(6)The Jumbotron- The largest in the SEC (at least until October).

(5)The new basketball practice facility- A 46,000 square foot facility that should help the Rebels greatly in recruiting.

(4) The remodeled larger OU Stadium- The Baseball stadium gets a major upgrade.

(3) Jevan Snead- Finally, a quality QB.

(2) J. Powe- The stud finally gets to play.

(1) The Houston Nutt era begins- Back to our winning ways.

A look back: Sept. 15th / Vandy

Sept. 15

Ole Miss has played on four Sept. 15th's. (1-2-1). In 1973, Ole Miss traveled to Columbia, MO. The Rebels lost to the Tigers 0-17. In 1979, Ole Miss started the season with a victory over Memphis State in Memphis by a score of 38-34. Ole Miss tied Arkansas in 1984, 14-14, in Little Rock. Finally in 1990, Ole Miss lost to Auburn in Jackson, 14-20.

Here is a look at those seasons:

1973-

Coaches: Kinard, Vaught

Record: 6-5

Notable Wins: Tennessee (Jackson) 28-18

1979-

Coach:Sloan

Record:4-7

Notable Wins: Tennessee(Jackson) 44-20

1984-

Coach: Brewer

Record:4-6-1

Notable Wins: None

1990-

Coach: Brewer

Record: 9-3

Notable Wins: Arkansas (Little Rock) 21-17 / Georgia (Athens) 28-12/ LSU (Baton Rouge) 19-10

Vandy:

Despite the fact that Ole Miss leads the series with Vandy, the Vandy v. Ole Miss game has become an exciting, nail biting experience. The most memorable Ole Miss Vandy game came on Oct 28, 1989 in Oxford. Chuck Mullins was severely injured and later died from a massive hit in that game.

Some other memorable Ole Miss /Vandy games:

• 1990- Ole Miss 14 Vandy 13 (Nashville)


• 1991- Vandy 30 Ole Miss 27 (Oxford)


• 1999- Vandy37 Ole Miss 34 (Oxford) (OT)


• 2002- Ole Miss 45 Vandy 38 (Oxford)


• 2003- Ole Miss 24 Vandy 21(Nashville)


• 2004- Ole Miss 26 Vandy 23 (Oxford)

Q & A with J. Stern of Ole Miss Sports Production

I recently spoke with J. Stern, Assistant Athletic Director for Ole Miss Sports Production. He was gracious enough to answer a few questions about Ole Miss productions.


I asked how OleMissSports.tv is doing. He stated that .tv is about to celebrate it's sixth anniversary in August. Ole Miss was one of the first universities to stream live video over the internet in 2001. He said that .tv is holding steady in numbers. There are no plans as of now to change the current subscription options. As for programming, .tv will continue with live sporting events, such as baseball and soccer. Also, .tv will continue to produce "South Zone Live", a show where Pete Boone answers questions from fans. "South Zone Live" will start again sometime in September. The university asked to stream Media Days in Birmingham but the conference does not allow live streaming of the event.


We talked about ongoing events and future plans for Ole Miss productions. Ole Miss productions is moving with the rest of the athletic department to the Old Physical building. He confirmed that Ribbon boards will be installed at both Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and the Tad-Pad. They will be installed at VHS in the next couple of weeks. The ceiling is being painted at the Tad-Pad and the video board is being repaired.


I was curious as to how long it takes to produce the coaches t.v. shows. He said that it takes 65-70 hours of man power a week to produce one show. The production team usually gets in around 6:00am on Sunday morning after the game. Coach O begins work on the show around 8:00 am and is usually finished with his part in an hour.


Finally, I asked him what we can do as Ole Miss fans to help the Athletic Department. Buy tickets, come to the games and dig deep, he said. He also confirmed that fans can designate exactly how they want their donations spent.


I thank J. Stern for taking the time to answer some questions. I am impressed with the friendlness and accessabilty of our athletic department. I applaud their efforts to address concerns and issues of the fans.


I encourage everyone to visit olemissports.com and check out .tv. There are two subscription options, a six month plan for $65 and an annual plan for $99.95. Faculty, staff and students receive a discount. For questions, email sportstv@olemiss.edu.