Ole Miss appears to be attempting a rebranding and reset, shedding more coaches than it did previously, as the program reels from a less-than-ideal string of recent headlines. Hugh Freeze is gone, and if a new agreement between the Mississippi institutions comes to pass, it appears that the Egg Bowl may follow.
It’s been alleged that Ole Miss is trying to trade its spot in the Egg Bowl rivalry game against Mississippi State to Southern Miss, another Mississippi program, in a first-of-its-kind transaction.
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Why would Ole Miss want to avoid the storied Egg Bowl? An unidentified Ole Miss official stated the following, albeit it’s still unclear: “Look, we know fans like it, but we’ve honestly been looking for a way out of this for some time.” Really, what about the Egg Bowl? The name is ridiculous. It gets worse with the prize. You never want to let a crisis go to waste, as some people like to say. Yes, we’re making use of our most recent crises
Given that this is being referred to as a deal, the next question that should arise is: What is Southern Miss giving up to get the Egg Bowl spot?
Although there are conflicting reports, there are whispers that Ole Miss is looking into the possibility of moving its NCAA punishments to Southern Miss.
According to a person with knowledge of the situation, it’s comparable to an NBA team trading a “bad asset” or terrible contract for something else. Essentially, Ole Miss football is attempting to transfer the negative aspects of NCAA sanctions, along with its participation in the Egg Bowl, on Southern Miss.
Ole Miss may see coming out of penalties as a net benefit even after accounting for the Egg Bowl loss, given that NCAA sanctions can, of course, be very detrimental for recruiting.
To find out how other SEC coaches and administrators would feel about such a possible arrangement, SDS contacted out to them. It’s interesting to note that a number of well-known people and coaches didn’t appear to know anything about the Egg Bowl. “Look, I find it difficult enough to keep up with the teams in my league; how do you expect me to watch Pac-12 football?” was cited as the statement made by one of them.
Other coaches who were aware of the rivalry between the Egg Bowls said it was obvious to exchange a spot in the game in order to avoid even some of the
It’s too soon to say whether or not a play like that will become standard in college football. Critics who detest the excessive concentration on playoff rankings, such the BCS rankings and the more recent College Football Playoff, have brought up the diminishing importance of rivalries. Could the next development in college football be the complete elimination of rivalries or the strategic transfer of them to smaller programs?
We’ll keep an eye on the pattern.
