Mississippi State announces plans for new IPF, football facility upgrades
Mississippi State’s push forward as an athletics department continued on Wednesday as Director of Athletics Zac Selmon announced a huge addition to the football program.
A previously planned facility upgrade to the football practice facility has now been officially stamped by Selmon and MSU. State will bring its first football-only Indoor Practice Facility to campus along with key upgrades to the Leo Seal Jr. Complex. A large donation from Billy W. Howard Sr. of Howard Industries provided the gift and the facility will be named in his honor.
“We are so thankful to the Howard Family and Howard Industries for their thoughtful decision to invest in the development of elite talent at Mississippi State,” Selmon said in a school release. “We know this is a critical time in college football, and we must continue to take steps forward to elevate Mississippi State football.
“We are thrilled Howard Industries shares this belief with us, but we are even more excited and honored that the new facility will bear the name of Mr. Billy, as he is someone who exemplifies what it means to be a Mississippi State Bulldog. We can’t wait to continue to share his story with all who walk through the doors of this facility.”
Howard is a 1946 graduate of MSU and earned a degree in electrical engineering, but he is also a former three-sport athlete for the Maroon and White. Howard was nicknamed “Iron Man” after playing nearly every minute for legendary coach Allyn McKeen’s football team.
Howard created Howard Industries in 1968 after working for General Electric and has formed his Ellisville-based company into a billion dollar company.
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“This donation is a tribute to my family’s deep ties to Mississippi State University,” Mr. Howard said. “It’s an honor to support the football program and to help build a facility that will continue to nurture the next generation of student-athletes. I’m proud to be a part of the Bulldogs’ legacy.”
The facility fills a need that has been present for several years. MSU built the Leo Seal Jr. Complex in 2013 and the facility itself is in need of several upgrades that will take place during this project. The biggest project, however, will be State building a stand-alone IPF.
MSU was the final school in the SEC without its own IPF though the Bulldogs have been sharing the Palmeiro Center with baseball for nearly 20 years. The project was initially included in the University’s Master Plan released in January. This particular project is pending IHL approval.
The indoor facility will be 110,000 square-feet with training and recovery area upgrades. Along with the IPF that will be connected to the current facility where the Bulldogs’ turf field sits. It is expected to cost approximately $60 million with CDFL and HOK handling architecture. The University expects groundbreaking in 2027 with the summer of 2028 the expected grand opening of the IPF. Renovations to the Leo Seal Complex are expected to follow.
