I thought the championship games site was supposed to rotate among Hattiesburg, Starkville, and Oxford. Last year, it was in Hattiesburg. Same this year. I was thinking it would be at one of the other 2 sites this year.
HS championship games
- Thread starter BonzoGoesToCollege
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Memorial Stadium was scheduled to host last year but it changed last minute to Hattiesburg because Jackson State hosted the SWAC title game (and they're doing it again this year).
The MHSAA didn't say but I think they thought it was likely Jackson State would host again this year and reached an agreement with Southern Miss (press release here).
You'd think the MHSAA would have gone to Oxford since the Rebels never go to Atlanta. **
The MHSAA didn't say but I think they thought it was likely Jackson State would host again this year and reached an agreement with Southern Miss (press release here).
You'd think the MHSAA would have gone to Oxford since the Rebels never go to Atlanta. **
It hasn't been in Starkville since 2016 and Oxford since 2017. I know covid affected the schedule in 2020 but it is an absolute joke that Hattiesburg got 2018, 2019, 2021 and now 2022.
Say that loud enough & often enough and Jackson State's administration will send you Valentines for doing your part to ensure they have an on campus stadium as soon as possible.
Well, they need a stadium. And Jackson isn't going to let them put it on campus IMO. The proposed site was a good location.
Fact remains, USM is a great venue for the championships. No point in rotating it really. It doesn't benefit the schools other than fans getting to visit their favorite school if they get lucky. Pretty sure State and OM don't really care much for hosting it.
Jackson State's proposed stadium location is on its campus.
That said, I agree with you regarding MM Roberts Stadium.
That said, I agree with you regarding MM Roberts Stadium.
That's never going to happen. It's going to be kept in Jackson. Jackson State will lose that fight every time until something changes with the people in charge (Same people that give us a hard time). The site proposed near the downtown area was good proposal.
USM SUCKS as a permanent venue. It's too far south. The idea was to rotate it like this: MSU, UM, MSU, UM, USM, USM. The odd rotation was because MSU and UM were to host it years they didn't host the Egg Bowl. The original idea was for just MSU and UM, the SEC schools, to host it. Schools in the south complained. I'd say just throw the Vet into the mix and then it works pretty well, for the Egg Bowl and for rotating regions.
Who's even playing? I know Starkville-Brandon in 6A. Still shocked it's not Tupelo and Ocean Springs, which I think would have been a much better championship game, but MS playoffs can get crazy. I wasn't impressed with Starkville at all in the regular season, but here they are. Then Picayune and I assume West Point in 5A.
I've been to HS Championships at every venue. USM is easily the best. It's a large HS stadium and fans sit on top of the field. The rotating had nothing to do with north, south, etc. It was simply to incorporate the venues. And no, Memorial Stadium is a train wreck. It has no business in the rotation. The field was so bad the last time they played it there, complaints were filed. 60K seat stadiums suck for HS ball too by the way. But I get people don't want to drive. Kids don't care though.
HS baseball championships are what really needs a better venue. Playing on a massive pro field is a terrible situation for game play.
I think a good rotation would be Oxford-Starkville-Jackson-Hattiesburg.
From someone associated with the games, I heard that State & UM really aren’t interested in hosting anymore, while Southern & Hattiesburg seem to embrace it. The general idea is that State & UM don’t see as much of a benefit.
Mississippi College or Belhaven (they have a nice, recently updated artificial turf field) would be good spots (parking at Belhaven would be a drawback though).
Exactly! And in reality, no school benefits from hosting. Recruits will be going to those campuses anyway.
Belhaven's stadium has 1200 seats. Most high school stadiums are larger.
Then put it in Jackson and leave it. USM is too far south. Jackson dang near is.
Why is it too far south? Schools routinely travel 3+ hours in playoffs in 1A ball. If it fair Resurrection in Pascagoula has to travel to Vardaman or vice versa? Or to Simmons and vice versa? It's a once in a lifetime deal for the kids. They ain't worried about the ride and possibly hotel stay.
It should only be played in Vaught-Hemingway & Davis-Wade. The allure of getting to play in those stadiums adds to the excitement for the players, many of whom will never play on those fields.
As far as USM goes, they aren't on the same level. Kids don't dream of playing there.
You think kids in north Alabama are complaining about a chance to play in Bryant-Denny or Jordan-Hare? Of course not.
As far as USM goes, they aren't on the same level. Kids don't dream of playing there.
You think kids in north Alabama are complaining about a chance to play in Bryant-Denny or Jordan-Hare? Of course not.
how many people attend? The last one i attended was Meridian vs South Panola (10-15 years ago?), that crowd would have fit into MC's stadium several times.
It's probably too small too. It was too small when they had it there back in the 90s too. These larger schools games bring crowds. 8500 won't hold some of those. Schools like Brandon, MC, Oak Grove will have 10K+ depending on matchups obviously.
Correct.
That MHSAA press release I linked in my first response said that more than 40,000 fans showed up during last year's title games.
Because it gives a totally unfair advantage to the south half in what's supposed to a neutral site game between the north and south champions. That's why USM was added to the rotation in the first place, people in the south bitched about MSU and UM being too far north. If they catered to the south, they better cater to the north. The playoffs are different because you earn your seed in them.
PS: I'm a 1A guy. I know all about that. We have had division games nearly that bad for years.
If schools start chairbacking stadiums and dropping attendance some, the larger venues might be better to watch games then. And look, my kids played at Memorial Stadium and USM in championships. They wanted to play at State so bad. So that's the part that makes rotating worth it. Im simply stating from a viewing perspective etc, USM is fantastic for HS football games. I do wish baseball could play on campuses. Trustmark is a travesty for HS baseball. Nice place, too damn big. Average college players struggle to hit a ball out there.
MC is too small. You might could have 1A and 2A there, but the point is to have it all at the same site. There are 4 in the state. The 6 A game has over 15K routinely.
They played it at MC way back in the day. Problem with that is the visitors side is way too small. Also, the stadium itself may be a little too small for some of the 6A or 5A games.
Yes. MCs visitor side is the issue. It’s too small for the 6A MAIS a champ game.
And JSU is going to get an on campus stadium.
They don't break it down per game? On average that would be a little less than 7k per game? Like most attendance figures, that is likely inflated 10-20%.
There should be breakdowns but this was just for a press release where a total number was needed.
Being in the Belhaven neighborhood "would be a drawback", especially at night
They could add "dodging bullets" as a tie breaker.
No, the best proposal was the one on JSU's campus. It's cheapest. It gives the hospital the room they want, and makes that area better. Jackson does not need a big football stadium. No bowl game is on the horizon, neither is any semi-pro soccer team or anything like that. Jackson isn't even a football town.
If an entertainment venue is ever contemplated in Jackson, it needs to be an arena. Concerts, basketball, etc. could be hosted there. Possibly NCAA basketball games. Jackson is a basketball town.
I seriously doubt it's inflated at all. And yeah, the average is 7,000/game, but you're probably looking at about 2,500 for the 1A and 2A games. You're definitely looking at sometimes 15,000+ for the 6A and 5A games. All depending on who's playing. Some schools travel and draw better than others.
Yep MM Roberts closely resembles a high school stadium.
I've been to them many years where I went to every game. You have that about right. The 6A game is even bigger sometimes.
Needs to rotate between the 3. Make it simple. But if the rotation gets messed up and it goes to one of them more than once, who cares. Yes, someone is getting a geographical advantage but it's high school football championships, both teams will have plenty there.
