Mississippi State University#Mitchell Memorial Library

{{wide image|Regimental parade, Mississippi State University A & M College.jpg|1000px|Mississippi State in 1914|alt=1914}}

The university began as The Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi (or Mississippi A&M), one of the national land-grant colleges established after Congress passed the Morrill Act in 1862. It was created by the Mississippi Legislature on February 28, 1878, to fulfill the mission of offering training in "agriculture, horticulture and the mechanical arts ... without excluding other scientific and classical studies, including military tactics." The university received its first students in the fall of 1880 in the presidency of General Stephen D. Lee.

In 1887 Congress passed the Hatch Act, which provided for the establishment of the Agricultural Experiment Station in 1888. The Cooperative Extension Service was established in 1914 by the Smith-Lever Act. The university has since had its mission expanded and redefined by the Legislature. In 1932, the Legislature renamed the university as Mississippi State College.

In 1958 the Legislature renamed the university Mississippi State University in recognition of its academic development and addition of graduate programs. The Graduate School had been organized (1936), doctoral degree programs had begun (1951), the School of Forest Resources had been established (1954), and the College of Arts and Sciences had replaced the General Science School (1956).

The university was desegregated in July 1965, when Richard E. Holmes, a graduate of Henderson High School in Starkville, became the first African-American student to enroll. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by Congress the year before, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was being debated, and the United States Supreme Court had ruled in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional.{{cite news|last1=Salter|first1=Sid|title=Mississippi State's First Black Student Showed Courage|url=http://www.clarionledger.com/story/opinion/columnists/2015/07/15/salter-msus-first-black-student-showed-courage/30183439/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=|access-date=October 28, 2015|publisher=Jackson Clarion-Ledger|date=July 15, 2015|archive-date=July 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728005301/https://www.clarionledger.com/story/opinion/columnists/2015/07/15/salter-msus-first-black-student-showed-courage/30183439/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=|url-status=live}}

The School of Architecture admitted its first students in 1973, the College of Veterinary Medicine admitted its first class in 1977. The MSU Vet school (commonly referred to as the CVM) is the largest veterinary school under one roof in the nation. The School of Accountancy was established in 1979.

The University Honors Program was founded in 1968 to provide more rigorous course curricula for academically talented students and support guest lecture series, forums, and distinguished external scholarships. The program has been vastly expanded and has a separate college. This was made possible by funding by Bobby Shackouls, an MSU alumnus and retired CEO, who donated US$10 million to found the Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College in April 2006.{{cite web |url=http://www.msstate.edu/web/media/detail.php?id=3417 |title=Headlines | Mississippi State University |website=Msstate.edu |date=January 16, 2017 |access-date=January 21, 2017 |archive-date=October 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018220735/http://www.msstate.edu/web/media/detail.php?id=3417 |url-status=live }}

MSU also started a joint Ph.D. program in engineering with San Jose State University in California, allowing an increase in research for both universities, as well as enhancing the stature of both engineering colleges.{{cite web|title=MSU/SJSU Engineering Ph.D. Gateway Program|url=https://engineering.sjsu.edu/news-and-events/news/msusjsu-engineering-ph-d-gateway-program|website=Engr.sjsu.edu|publisher=SJSU Engineering|access-date=September 8, 2016|archive-date=September 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913053815/https://engineering.sjsu.edu/news-and-events/news/msusjsu-engineering-ph-d-gateway-program|url-status=live}}

In March 2009, Mississippi State announced the conclusion of the university's seven-year capital campaign, with more than $462 million received in private gifts and pledges.{{cite web|url=http://www.msstate.edu/web/media/detail.php?id=4496|title='State of the Future' campaign ends successful run (Mississippi State University)|publisher=Msstate.edu|access-date=August 14, 2014|archive-date=July 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728005303/https://www.msstate.edu/newsroom?id=4496|url-status=live}}

On March 24, 2012, a 21-year-old student at the university named John Sanderson was shot twice in the torso and killed inside the Evans Hall Dormitory on campus by a small caliber handgun.{{Cite web |date=2012-03-29 |title=MSU murder suspects, victim had criminal pasts |url=https://www.actionnews5.com/story/17283034/msu-murder-suspects-victim-had-criminal-pasts/?outputType=amp |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=www.actionnews5.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2012-03-27 |title=Second Suspect Caught in MSU Murder Case |url=https://wreg.com/news/second-suspect-caught-in-msu-murder-case/amp/ |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=WREG.com |language=en-US}} Three men, Mason Perry Jones, Trent DeUndra Crump, and Duntae Harvey, were captured in connection with the slaying.{{Cite web |date=2012-03-28 |title=3 charged in MSU shooting |url=https://www.wapt.com/article/3-charged-in-msu-shooting/2078112 |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=WAPT |language=en}} Mason Perry Jones later pled guilty to murder and was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Carl |date=2015-03-20 |title=Jones sentenced to life for role in 2012 MSU murder |url=https://cdispatch.com/news/jones-sentenced-to-life-for-role-in-2012-msu-murder/ |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=The Dispatch |language=en-US}}

File:MSU Lee Hall.webm

File:MSU Drill Field.webm

The main campus is mostly in the Mississippi State census-designated place, with a small part in Starkville.{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/DC20BLK/st28_ms/place/p2848030_mississippi_state/DC20BLK_P2848030.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Mississippi State CDP, MS|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=August 14, 2022|quote=Mississippi State Univ (in blue text)}}
{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/DC20BLK/st28_ms/place/p2870240_starkville/DC20BLK_P2870240.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Starkville city, MS|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=August 14, 2022|page=4 (PDF p. 5/5)|quote=Mississippi State Univ (in blue text)}}

Mississippi State's campus is centered on the main quadrangle, called the Drill Field due to its heavy use by the Corps of Cadets prior to the end of World War II. The Drill Field is defined at its north and south ends by the mirror-image buildings, Lee Hall and Swalm Hall. Old Main was the original dormitory, west of Lee Hall; it burned in a tragic fire, and was replaced by the Colvard Student Union. The largest building fronting the Drill Field is Mitchell Memorial Library.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}

From the Drill Field, the campus radiates in all directions. The College of Engineering can be found mostly to the east side of the Drill Field; to the north are the Arts and Sciences, including Computer Science, and the College of Architecture, Art, and Design. Humanities are found to the south, while Agriculture dominates the west section. To the west and northwest are also found the athletic facilities, including Scott Field and the Humphrey Coliseum, or The Hump.

Beyond the main campus (and the series of commuter parking lots ringing the main campus) are the North and South Farms. While still used for their original purpose of agricultural research, the Farms are also host to newer facilities, such as the astronomical observatory and Veterinary College (South Farm) and the High Performance Computing Collaboratory (North Farm). At the far west of campus, one finds first the fraternity and sorority houses, and beyond them the Cotton District and downtown Starkville, Mississippi. The university is also home to the Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park, which host many of the university's research centers, such as the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS) and the nationally recognized Social Science Research Center.

The Williams Building, which houses the MSU Police Department {{cite web|url=https://map.msstate.edu/map/accessible.php?id=233&cId=2396&mId=54610|title=Mississippi State University|work=map.msstate.edu}} was designed by architect Emmett J. Hull.{{cite web|title=Hull, Emmett J. (b.1882 - d.1957)|url=https://www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/Public/rpt.aspx?rpt=artisanSearch&Name=hull%2C%20emmett%20j.&City=Any&Role=Any|website=Mississippi Department of Archives and History|access-date=November 5, 2017|archive-date=July 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728005338/https://www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/Public/rpt.aspx?rpt=artisanSearch&Name=hull%2C+emmett+j.&City=Any&Role=Any|url-status=live}}

{{wide image|DrillFieldPanorama.jpg|1000px|alt=The Drill Field and surrounding buildings|The Drill Field and surrounding buildings}}

Mississippi State University operates an off-campus, degree-granting center in Meridian, Mississippi that offers undergraduate and graduate programs. In cooperation with the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, the College of Engineering offers the Master of Science degree to students in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

File:Ulysses S. Grant 1870-1880.jpg

The Mitchell Memorial Library is in the heart of the campus, on the eastern side of the Drill Field.{{cite web|title = Library Location|publisher = Mississippi State University|year = 2011|url = http://www.msstate.edu/web/maps/index.php?building=0055|access-date = August 17, 2012|archive-date = September 22, 2012|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120922033538/http://www.msstate.edu/web/maps/index.php?building=0055|url-status = live}} The library has a collection of 2,124,341 volumes and 70,331 journals.{{cite web|title = Library Collection|publisher = Mississippi State University|year = 2011|url = http://library.msstate.edu/overview/index.asp|access-date = August 17, 2012|archive-date = September 22, 2012|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120922031655/http://library.msstate.edu/overview/index.asp|url-status = live}}

Mississippi State is one of the few universities to house presidential papers. In May 2012, on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Ulysses S. Grant Association, Mississippi State University was selected as the permanent location for Ulysses S. Grant's Presidential Library. President Grant's artifacts are to remain permanently at the Mitchell Memorial Library on the MSU campus. These include Grant's letters and photographs during his presidency, from 1869 to 1877. The MSU library catalogued and cross-referenced 15,000 linear feet of material. Grant's letters have been edited and published in 32 volumes by the Ulysses S. Grant Association and the Southern Illinois University Press.{{cite web| title = Ulysses S. Grant's Presidential Library| publisher = Mississippi State University| year = 2011| url = http://library.msstate.edu/overview/index.asp#grant| access-date = August 17, 2012| archive-date = September 22, 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120922031655/http://library.msstate.edu/overview/index.asp#grant| url-status = live}}Smith (May 18, 2012), "Ulysses S. Grant: How 'bout them Dawgs!," The Dispatch

The library is also home to the Congressional and Political Research Center, which is on the first floor. This center, established in November 1999, houses the collections of US Senator John C. Stennis and Congressman G. V. Montgomery, nicknamed "Sonny". Their careers spanned a total of 72 years of service as Congressional leaders. The center also provides research materials and information on individual US Senators and Representatives, the US Congress, and politics at all levels of government.{{cite web| title = The Congressional and Political Research Center| publisher = Mississippi State University| year = 2011| url = http://library.msstate.edu/overview/index.asp#cprc| access-date = August 17, 2012| archive-date = September 22, 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120922031655/http://library.msstate.edu/overview/index.asp#cprc| url-status = live}}

Among the library's premier collections is that of internationally known author John Grisham, an MSU alumnus who donated his papers to the university in 1989. Grisham's collection, now consisting of over 42 cubic feet, has also attracted national attention to the library. Materials from the Grisham papers are on display in Mitchell Memorial Library's John Grisham Room (3rd floor), which opened in May 1998. The libraries also receive his published works, including foreign-language translations.{{cite web| title = Grisham Collection| publisher = Mississippi State University| year = 2011| url = http://library.msstate.edu/overview/index.asp#grisham| access-date = August 17, 2012| archive-date = September 22, 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120922031655/http://library.msstate.edu/overview/index.asp#grisham| url-status = live}}

In 2000, the Charles H. Templeton Collection, which includes over 200 nineteenth- and twentieth-century music instruments, 22,000 pieces of sheet music, and 13,000 records, was transferred to the Libraries. According to author and musicologist David A. Jasen, the Templeton Collection contains the most complete collection of Victor Talking Machines from their debut in 1897 to 1930. This collection was valued at over $495,000 in 1989. Items from the collection are on display at the Templeton Music Museum on the 4th floor of Mitchell Memorial Library. In 2001, a digitization project was established to digitize and provide access to the entire sheet music collection. The project has digitized, archived, and cataloged over 6,000 pieces of music.{{cite web| title = Grisham Collection| publisher = Mississippi State University| year = 2011| url = http://library.msstate.edu/overview/index.asp#templeton| access-date = August 17, 2012| archive-date = September 22, 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120922031655/http://library.msstate.edu/overview/index.asp#templeton| url-status = live}}

The library hosts the Charles Templeton Ragtime Jazz Festival, an annual event including lectures and live performance of historic and contemporary ragtime. The festival debuted in March 2007, the first of its kind in Mississippi. The multi-day event features seminars, tours of the Templeton Music Museum, and concerts by ragtime and jazz musicians.{{cite web| title = Ragtime Jazz Festival| publisher = Mississippi State University| year = 2011| url = http://library.msstate.edu/overview/index.asp#rag| access-date = August 17, 2012| archive-date = September 22, 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120922031655/http://library.msstate.edu/overview/index.asp#rag| url-status = live}}

File:MSU The Junction.webm

Formerly the poorly-conceived convergence of five often-congested roadways and, earlier, a rail line, this student-inspired concept got its name from the term "Malfunction Junction", the informal name of the crossroads prior to the vacation and rerouting of some of the roadways. This resulted in improved traffic flow and ample new green space for leisure activities and events, including football tailgating.

Anchored by Davis Wade Stadium, Barnes & Noble Bookstore and the University Welcome Center, the Junction is the focal point of a pedestrian-friendly central campus and a significant gathering place for students, alumni and visitors. It is linked by paved walkways and green space to the university's other manicured "lawn", the historic Drill Field.

{{Infobox US university ranking

| Forbes = 242

| QS_W = 1001–1200

| THE_WSJ = 401-500

| USNWR_NU = 214 (tie)

| Wamo_NU = 254

| THES_W = 601–800

| USNWR_W = 832 (tie)

| ARWU_W = 501

}}

U.S. News & World Report National Rankings{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/mississippi-state-university-176080/overall-rankings |title=Mississippi State University Graduate School Rankings |magazine=U.S. News & World Report National Rankings |access-date=November 2, 2019 |archive-date=November 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103032418/https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/mississippi-state-university-176080/overall-rankings |url-status=live }}

Mississippi State University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate, master's, specialist, and doctoral degrees. The university has the following colleges and schools:

As of fall 2021, Mississippi State's enrollment was 23,086.{{Cite web|last=Effectiveness|first=Office of Institutional Research &|title=Enrollment Data|url=https://www.ir.msstate.edu/research/enrollment_data.php|access-date=December 18, 2021|website=Institutional Research & Effectiveness|language=en|archive-date=December 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218164116/https://www.ir.msstate.edu/research/enrollment_data.php|url-status=live}} The university has 160 buildings, and the grounds comprise about 4,200 acres (17 km²), including farms, pastures, and woodlands of the Experiment Station. The university also owns an additional 80,000 acres (320 km²) across the state.

MSU has over 300 student organizations. Prominent groups include the Student Association, Famous Maroon Band, MSU Road Runners, Alumni Delegates, Maroon VIP, Lambda Sigma, Orientation Leaders, 18 fraternities and 11 sororities, the Residence Hall Association, the Black Student Alliance, the Mississippi State University College Democrats and Republicans, Music Maker Productions, the Baptist Student Union, the Engineering Student Council, Arnold Air Society, the Stennis-Montgomery Association and ChallengeX. The University Recreation department oversees the intramural sports program.{{Cite web|title=Intramurals - University Recreation - Mississippi State University|url=https://www.urec.msstate.edu/programs-and-activities/intramurals/|access-date=February 8, 2021|website=www.urec.msstate.edu|archive-date=February 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214090505/https://www.urec.msstate.edu/programs-and-activities/intramurals/|url-status=live}} There are many international student organizations active on campus, including the Nepalese Student Association and ISA,{{citation needed|date=December 2013}} which organize various programs to educate students about their culture and traditions. The national literary magazine Jabberwock Review is also based at MSU.

Mississippi State's local radio station is WMSV.

Prior to WMSV, Mississippi State had a student-run radio station, WMSB, which went off the air permanently at the end of the spring semester of 1986. WMSB was a low-power FM station with studios on the top floor of Lee Hall. WMSB was begun in the fall semester of 1971 in a freshman dorm room on the third floor of Critz Hall, utilizing an FM stereo transmitter that was designed and built as a high school science fair project by one of the station's founders. The station's original call letters were RHOM. Later, funding was solicited from the Student Association. Funding was approved, the low-power RCA FM transmitter was ordered and the call letters WMSB were issued by the FCC. The station was moved to studios on the top floor of Lee Hall that were formerly occupied by a student-run AM station.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

The student newspaper is The Reflector, published twice per week on Tuesday and Friday. The publication was named the #1 college newspaper in the South in 2007 by the Southeast Journalism Conference.{{cite web |url=http://ocean.otr.usm.edu/~w304644/sejc/2007-winners.htm |website=Southeast Journalism Conference |title=Southeast Journalism Conference |access-date=November 18, 2019 |archive-date=September 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100902193323/http://ocean.otr.usm.edu/~w304644/sejc/2007-winners.htm |url-status=live }} In recent years, The Reflector has remained in the top 10 college newspapers in the South.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}{{cite web |title=2017 Winners |url=http://sejc.org/2017-winners/ |website=Southeast Journalism Conference |access-date=November 18, 2019 |archive-date=November 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128203100/http://sejc.org/2017-winners/ |url-status=live }}

Mississippi State is home to WMSV, the campus radio station.

During the spring semester the Old Main Music Festival takes place, it is also free to the public, and is held on the Mississippi State Campus.{{cite web| title = Old Main| publisher = Mississippi State University| year = 2011| url = http://www.sa.msstate.edu/event/main/| access-date = January 14, 2011| archive-date = February 11, 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120211022304/http://sa.msstate.edu/event/main/| url-status = live}}

The city of Starkville and the Mississippi State campus have been a tour stop for many artists,{{cite web| title = Artists| publisher = Mississippi State University| year = 2011| url = http://www.mmp.org.msstate.edu/aboutus.html| access-date = January 14, 2011| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120603230458/http://www.mmp.org.msstate.edu/aboutus.html| archive-date = June 3, 2012}} including a visit in 1965 by Johnny Cash. After Cash's performance he was arrested, which led him to write the song "Starkville City Jail".{{cite web| title = Johnny Cash| publisher = NBC News| year = 2011| url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna20611738| access-date = January 14, 2011| archive-date = November 4, 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131104102229/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/20611738/| url-status = live}}

Every semester Mississippi State has several distinguished speakers; these have included best selling authors Greg Mortenson{{cite web | url=http://www.msstate.edu/web/media/announcement.php?id=759 | title=Greg Mortenson | website=Msstate.edu | year=2011 | access-date=January 13, 2011 | archive-date=August 21, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821125444/http://www.msstate.edu/web/media/announcement.php?id=759 | url-status=live }} and Mississippi State alumnus John Grisham,{{cite web | url=http://www.msstate.edu/web/media/detail.php?id=515 | title=John Grisham | website=Msstate.edu | year=2011 | access-date=January 13, 2011 | archive-date=February 19, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070219080733/http://www.msstate.edu/web/media/detail.php?id=515 | url-status=live }} former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Academy Award-nominated Spike Lee,{{cite web | url=http://www.hcdc.msstate.edu/newsletter/november-09.pdf | website=Msstate.edu | title=Spike Lee | year=2011 | access-date=January 13, 2011 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612132821/http://www.hcdc.msstate.edu/newsletter/november-09.pdf | archive-date=June 12, 2010 }} television science show hosts Jeff Lieberman{{cite web | url=http://www.msstate.edu/web/calendar/detail.php?id=8921 | website=Msstate.edu | title=Jeff Lieberman | year=2011 | access-date=January 13, 2011 | archive-date=May 12, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512041418/http://www.msstate.edu/web/calendar/detail.php?id=8921 | url-status=live }} and Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson.{{cite web | url=http://www.bagley.msstate.edu/events/cosmic/ | website=Msstate.edu | title=Neil deGrasse Tyson | year=2011 | access-date=January 13, 2011 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512042000/http://www.bagley.msstate.edu/events/cosmic/ | archive-date=May 12, 2013 }} Nobel laureates including Sir Harry Kroto (1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry),{{cite web | url=http://www.research.msstate.edu/rresources/news.php?id=1254 | title=Sir Harold Kroto - 1996 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry | website=Research.msstate.edu | year=2011 | access-date=January 13, 2011 | archive-date=February 4, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204035311/http://research.msstate.edu/rresources/news.php?id=1254 | url-status=live }} J. M. G. Le Clézio (2008 Nobel Prize in Literature){{cite web | url=http://www.msstate.edu/web/media/detail.php?id=4499 | title=J. M. G. Le Clézio Nobel Laureate | website=Msstate.edu | year=2011 | access-date=January 13, 2011 | archive-date=May 27, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527235734/http://www.msstate.edu/web/media/detail.php?id=4499 | url-status=live }} and Joseph Stiglitz (2001 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences){{cite web| url=http://www.msstate.edu/web/media/detail.php?id=4723| title=Joseph Stiglitz Nobel Laureate| website=Msstate.edu| year=2011| access-date=January 13, 2011| archive-date=July 28, 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728005305/https://www.msstate.edu/newsroom?id=4723| url-status=live}} have also appeared.

Mississippi State's Greek system comprises 20 fraternities (IFC and NPHC) and 14 sororities (Panhellenic and NPHC). In 2019, 24% of undergraduate men and 18% of undergraduate women were active in MSU's Greek system.[https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/mississippi-state-2423/student-life Mississippi State University] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805045923/https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/mississippi-state-2423/student-life |date=August 5, 2020 }}

{{main|Mississippi State Bulldogs}}

File:Davis Wade.jpg at the previous record-setting capacity of 58,103 against Alabama; since renovation and expansion, the new attendance record is 62,945, set in 2014 against Auburn.{{cite web |title=What They Say About Davis Wade |url=https://spark.adobe.com/page/bz0wAZIToDGjz/ |website=hailstate.com |publisher=Hail State |access-date=February 7, 2020 |archive-date=December 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212060206/https://spark.adobe.com/page/bz0wAZIToDGjz/ |url-status=live }}]]

Mississippi State University's 16 athletic teams are known as the Bulldogs. Previous nicknames included the Aggies and the Maroons. They compete in Division I of the NCAA, in the 16-member Southeastern Conference (SEC).

Bulldogs athletic teams have won a total of 28 conference championships (14 SEC). Mississippi State's most successful sport is baseball. The Diamond Dogs have won 17 conference championships (11 SEC) and 6 SEC tournament championships, while making 28 NCAA Tournament appearances and 12 College World Series appearances. The Diamond Dogs play home games at Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium, which holds the NCAA record for the largest single-game on-campus baseball attendance at 16,423 fans (April 15, 2023, vs. Ole Miss). After finishing runner-up in 2013, the Diamond Dogs won their first Men's College World Series in 2021, the university's first national championship in any sport.{{Cite web|title=Mississippi State wins the 2021 College World Series, its first NCAA championship in school history {{!}} NCAA.com|url=https://www.ncaa.com/live-updates/baseball/d1/mississippi-state-wins-2021-college-world-series-its-first-ncaa-championship-school-history|access-date=July 1, 2021|website=www.ncaa.com|language=en|archive-date=July 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210701031822/https://www.ncaa.com/live-updates/baseball/d1/mississippi-state-wins-2021-college-world-series-its-first-ncaa-championship-school-history|url-status=live}}

{{Cleanup gallery|date=September 2024}}

{{main|List of Mississippi State University people}}

File:Coachvan.jpg|Van Chancellor
Basketball coach, 4-time WNBA champion

File:Willclark97.jpg|Will Clark
Baseball player, 6-time MLB All-Star

File:Jerry Clower 1974.jpg|Jerry Clower
Stand-up comedian

File:John Cohen (110228-F-AN607-001) (cropped).jpg|John Cohen
Athletic director, Auburn Tigers

File:Leonard B. Cresswell.jpg|Leonard B. Cresswell
Major general in the Marines, Navy Cross recipient

File:Fletcher Cox.JPG|Fletcher Cox
American football player, 3-time Pro Bowler

File:Erick Dampier Mavs 2009.jpg|Erick Dampier
Basketball player, played 16 seasons in the NBA

File:Kermit Davis.jpg|Kermit Davis
Basketball coach, Ole Miss Rebels

File:John Grisham 2009.jpg|John Grisham
Author of popular legal thrillers

File:Mississippi State University President Mark E. Keenum.jpg|Mark Keenum
Current president of Mississippi State University

File:Sonnyvmontgomery.jpg|G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery
Member of U.S. House of Representatives, 1967-1997

File:UK Matthew Mitchell Action 1.jpg|Matthew Mitchell
Former head women's basketball coach, Kentucky Wildcats

File:Alan Nunnelee, 112th Congress Official Portrait.jpg|Alan Nunnelee
Member of U.S. House of Representatives, 2011-2015

File:Rafael Palmeiro 2003.jpg|Rafael Palmeiro
Baseball player, 3,020 hits, 569 home runs

File:Jonathan Papelbon warmups 2008.jpg|Jonathan Papelbon
Baseball player, 368 career saves

File:Dak Prescott.JPG|Dak Prescott
American football player, 2016 NFL Rookie of the Year

File:Buck Showalter 2011.jpg|Buck Showalter
Baseball manager

File:Stennis3rd.jpg|John C. Stennis
U.S. Senator, 1947-1989

File:Scott Stricklin.png|Scott Stricklin
Athletic director, Florida Gators

File:AmyTuck.jpg|Amy Tuck
Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi, 2000-2008

File:Jarvis Varnado.jpg|Jarvis Varnado
Basketball player, career NCAA blocks leader

File:Brandon Woodruff checks a runner, March 25, 2019 (cropped).jpg|Brandon Woodruff
Baseball player, 2-time MLB All-Star

File:Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) official headshot - 116th Congress.jpg|Marsha Blackburn
United States Senator from Tennessee

File:Ed Smylie in 2011.webp|Ed Smylie
NASA engineer credited with saving the crew of Apollo 13

{{Portal|Mississippi}}

• List of agricultural universities and colleges
• List of architecture schools
• List of business schools in the United States
• List of engineering schools
• List of forestry universities and colleges
• List of land-grant universities
• List of schools of landscape architecture
• List of research universities in the United States
• List of schools of veterinary medicine

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Category:Land-grant universities and colleges

Category:Universities and colleges established in 1878

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