Good morning, Bulldogs! Jackson Owen is staying home!

What else do we have brewing today?

🏀 Schedule drop
🥎 Dominant defender
🐶 And much, much more!

Time really does fly.

Earlier this week, I celebrated my 40th birthday. As many of you reading this can probably relate to, four decades sure went by fast!

It doesn’t seem like all that long ago I was gathered around the television with my family watching Coach Richard Williams and the Dawgs in the 1996 Final Four. It seems like yesterday I was calling up my Ole Miss buddies to rub it in after the kick and the pick on Thanksgiving night in 1999. My memories of running around Dudy Noble Field as a kid, thinking about how it was one of the most awesome places I’d ever seen, are still fresh.

As the years have gone on, the memory list has grown and grown. I got to celebrate in the rain beside my wife in 2014 when we were about to beat Auburn and become the No. 1 football team in the country. It was one of the most joyous nights of my life back in 2021 when I, as a new MSU full-time employee, got to celebrate a national championship alongside our Diamond Dawgs.

If all that wasn’t cool enough, the last nine years, I’ve had the opportunity to parent three new diehard Bulldog fans as my children have all discovered they came into this world with Maroon in their blood.

There have been so many special times since I arrived on this planet in 1985 – times I’ll cherish forever.

Upon reflecting though, do you know what’s really made all those times special? It’s not so much the personal satisfaction of seeing State’s success. It’s who I’ve gotten to experience the highs and lows with.

Yes, I remember well and appreciate all of the aforementioned moments and games by themselves. But take away the people that surrounded me in those moments and much of the sweetness from the memories fades away.

That’s one of my biggest takeaways through my first 40 years of life. The most precious part of our existence is having those other hands to high-five, or shoulders to cry on, if necessary.

The wins and losses simply don’t mean anywhere near as much without having each other to celebrate with or complain to if the circumstances warrant.

It’s a huge reason why I love what I do. In my role, I get to share my love for Mississippi State with every single one of you.

Whether that’s through a feature story or a podcast or a video script – it doesn’t matter if my name is attached to it or not – I simply want to do something that helps you all feel connected to this program and each other.

Because at the end of the day, that’s what life and sports should be all about – being in it together, whatever comes our way.

I can’t wait to keep walking this journey alongside all of you, and hopefully, celebrating many more good times together in the years to come.

Bring on the next 40 years!

Hail State!

(Coleman’s Corner is brought to you each Thursday by Mississippi State athletics senior writer Joel Coleman. A 2007 and 2009 graduate of Mississippi State, Coleman has worked inside and around MSU sports for nearly two decades with prior stops also including the Starkville Daily News and Sports Illustrated.)

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Summer Schedule Drop. The SEC has announced Mississippi State men’s basketball’s 18 conference matchups! All nine of State's SEC home opponents are coming off NCAA Tournament berths headed by Auburn who made the 2025 NCAA Final Four. The Bulldogs also welcome Alabama and Tennessee who are coming off 2025 NCAA Elite Eight trips along with Arkansas, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt to Humphrey Coliseum.

🔼 Hoops On The Beach. Mississippi State women’s hoops will play in the Emerald Coast Classic this upcoming season on the campus of Northwest Florida State!

🔼 Diamond Defense. Mississippi State softball has signed transfer Anna Carder, the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year this past season at Southern Illinois. Carder, a First Team All-MVC member, hit .390 and produced a .617 slugging percentage.

🔼 Movin’ Around. We have 72 days until Mississippi State football’s season opener at Southern Miss on August 30!

Canon Boone will wear No. 72 for the Bulldogs this fall. Boone played in seven games last fall for Mississippi State — one at center, five at right guard and one at left guard.

🤔 BULLDOG TRIVIA

Home Slate. How many of Mississippi State men’s basketball’s home SEC opponents qualified for last season’s NCAA Tournament?

Got a guess? 

Scroll to the bottom of the Bulldog Brew to see if you know your stuff!

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🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: All nine!

🐶 Have a great Thursday, y’all!