Wasn't that long ago that we were 1 and 2 in football. No doubt rivalry improves both programs in any sport.
It absolutely does. Mullen made Ole Miss make some moves. They likely keep Nutt an extra year without Mullen success. Our basketball programs are neither one great, but when the other has a good year or two it absolutely lights a fire in the other’s administration.
And like I said, Ole Miss saw how much fun y’all were having with baseball, and the second we got a decent team/program we dove headfirst into it. I mean in a 5 year span I went from cutting the legs off lawn chairs to sit on a steep *** hill down the 3B line, to sitting in a fairly nice terrace in LF (no it’s not the Left Field Lounge, so those of you who have major Ole Miss Syndrome calm down, but it was a big advancement compared to what we had).
And this last part will make some of y’all go crazy, but at least 60% or more of you are adults and will understand it’s just reality - Ole Miss investing like they did in baseball helped create the New Dude. Because MSU 100% is more invested in baseball, institutionally and historically. But, when that gap started narrowing it put some pressure on MSU. The New Dude was going to happen regardless, but if Ole Miss was, say Alabama, in terms of baseball engagement and investment, you probably don’t have all the things that the New Dude has. It’s a Taj Mahal. Dudy Noble was and is nicer than Swayze Field, but that gap had narrowed a few years ago, and MSU (wisely) made damn sure that the gap became more noticeable.
As much as we both want the other to lose, the others success betters our programs.