| Ole Miss Rebels football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| First season | 1890 | ||
| Athletic director | vacant | ||
| Head coach | Hugh Freeze | ||
| Home stadium | Vaught-Hemingway Stadium | ||
| Field | Jerry Hollingsworth Field | ||
| Year built | 1915 | ||
| Stadium capacity | 60,580 Largest Crowd: 62,663 (Oct. 10, 2009 vs. Alabama) |
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| Stadium surface | FieldTurf | ||
| Location | University, Mississippi | ||
| League | NCAA Division I | ||
| Conference | SEC (1932 - present) | ||
| Division | Western Division (1992 - present) | ||
| Past conferences | Independent (1890-1898) Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1899-1920) Southern Conference (1921-1932) |
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| All-time record | 614–464–35 (.567) | ||
| Postseason bowl record | 21–12–0 | ||
| Claimed national titles | 3[1][2] 1959, 1960, 1962 |
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| Conference titles | 6 1947, 1954, 1955, 1960, 1962, 1963 |
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| Division titles | 1 2003 |
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| Consensus All-Americans | 11[3] | ||
| Current uniform | |||
| Colors | Yale Blue and Harvard Crimson | ||
| Fight song | Forward Rebels (Official) Dixie (Unofficial) |
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| Mascot | Rebels Rebel Black Bear |
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| Marching band | Pride of the South | ||
| Outfitter | Nike | ||
| Rivals | Mississippi State Bulldogs Vanderbilt Commodores LSU Tigers Arkansas Razorbacks |
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| Website | OleMissSports.com | ||
The Ole Miss Rebels football team represents the University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, in the sport of American football. The Rebels compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The football history of Ole Miss includes the formation of the first football team in the state and the 26th team on the list of college football's all-time winning programs.[4] The Ole Miss Rebels posted their 600th win on September 27, 2008 when they defeated the (then ranked No. 4 and future 2008 BCS National Champ) Florida Gators 31–30 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.[5]
Throughout the 115-year history of Ole Miss football, the Rebels have won six Southeastern Conference titles (1947, 1954, 1955, 1960, 1962, and 1963); they also have a claim to three national championships (1959, 1960, 1962).
In 1890, Dr. A.L. Bondurant, later the dean of the Ole Miss Graduate School, rallied Ole Miss students to help form an athletic department to encompass the sports of football, baseball and tennis. The students brought this initiative to reality and in 1893, with Bondurant as the coach, a football team came to fruition. The first team won four of five games during that inaugural football season. One of those wins was the very first football game ever played by an Ole Miss team, a 56-0 victory over Southwest Baptist University of Jackson, Tennessee (now known as Union University). This was on November 11, 1893.
The next year, 1894, Bondurant passed on his coaching duties. Ole Miss Football, a book published in 1980 by Sports Yearbook Company of Oxford, MS, says J.W.S. Rhea was the first coach at Ole Miss having been hired part-time by Bondurant and having led the 1894 team to a 6-1 record. The annual Ole Miss media guide lists C.D. Clark as the coach of the 1894 team and further says about him, "Although it has never been documented, it is thought that C.D. Clark of Tufts was the first paid football coach at Ole Miss. His name appears as manager of the team as shown in the Ole Miss Magazine dated November 1894."[6] The College Football Data Warehouse also lists Clark as the coach for the 1894 team.[7]
Twice in its history, Ole Miss did not field a football team. In 1897, a yellow fever epidemic cancelled the football season. In 1943, football was abolished at all Mississippi state-supported institutions by the state college Board of Trustees due to World War II.[8]
While the NCAA's website states that "the NCAA does not conduct a national championship in Division I-A football and is not involved in the selection process," it goes on to say that "a number of polling organizations provide a final ranking of Division I-A football teams at the end of each season." Ole Miss claims three national championships based on other polls.
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The major polls of the time (Associated Press & United Press) named Syracuse University the National Champion in 1959 (The University of Mississippi was #2 in both polls), the University of Minnesota in 1960 (Mississippi was #2 in AP and #3 in the UPI) and the University of Southern California in 1962 (Mississippi was #3 in both polls).[11][12]
In 1955, the Rebels were declared National Champions by the Massey Ratings, though they are not considered to be a major poll and it is not claimed by the University.
The most points ever scored in a game by the Ole Miss Rebels was 114 when Ole Miss defeated Union College 114–0 on October 29, 1904.[13]
The Ole Miss football team was the first college team in the nation to fly to a game, having done so in 1937. The flight was from Memphis, Tennessee to Philadelphia.[14]
Ole Miss' first game to ever be broadcast on television was in 1948 against Memphis.[15]
The speed limit on the Ole Miss campus is 18 miles per hour in honor of Archie Manning, who wore the same number during his playing days at Ole Miss.
Ole Miss plays a central role in Michael Lewis's book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game and its 2009 film adaptation, The Blind Side.
John Vaught, a line coach at Ole Miss in 1946 under Harold D. "Red" Drew and a former All-American at TCU, remained in Oxford as head coach in 1947 and led the Ole Miss program to national prominence over the next 24 years, posting 23 winning records.
In his first season at the helm in 1947, the Rebels posted a 9-2 record and won the first of six SEC crowns (1947, 1954, 1955, 1960, 1962, 1963). That 1947 season also saw Ole Miss great Charlie Conerly become the first Rebel player to be a contender for the Heisman Trophy, placing fourth in the voting for the prestigious honor.
Vaught's squads, however, didn't stop at just winning league titles, as the Rebels claimed three national championships in 1959, 1960 and 1962. Ole Miss won the 1959 Dunkel System national crown, the 1960 Football Writers Association of America, Dunkel System, and Williamson System national championships and the 1962 Litkenhous Ratings national title. Vaught's 1962 squad remains the only undefeated team in Ole Miss football history. Vaught's 1959 squad, which was honored as the “SEC Team of the Decade,” was ranked the third best collegiate football team from 1956 to 1995, according to the Jeff Sagarin Ratings released in January 1996.
The Rebels were also among the winningest programs in the country under Vaught during the 1950s and 1960s. From 1950-59, Ole Miss posted an 80-21-5 record (.778 winning percentage). The 77.8 winning percentage was third to only Oklahoma and Miami (OH) during that decade. In the 1960s, Vaught guided the Rebels to a 77-25-6 record and a 74.0 winning percentage, which was the ninth best during that decade. The Rebels 1962 season under Vaught is, to this day, the only undefeated season in Ole Miss history. The Rebels ended that season 10 and 0 and as national champions.[16]
In the 1950s and 1960s under Vaught, Ole Miss was a fixture in the national polls. The Rebels were ranked atop the Associated Press poll for three weeks during the 1960 season and one week during the 1961 campaign. In 1964, Ole Miss was ranked preseason No. 1 in the Associated Press poll.
Vaught also made going to postseason play the norm rather than the exception for the Rebel football program. Ole Miss played in 15 consecutive bowl games from 1957-71 which, at that time, was a national record. In all, Vaught led Ole Miss to 18 bowl game appearances, posting a 10-8 record in those contests. For his efforts, Vaught was named SEC Coach of the Year six times (1947, 1948, 1954, 1955, 1960, 1962).
During his time at the helm, Vaught coached some of the best players ever to wear the Red & Blue. In 24 seasons, Vaught produced 26 All-America first teamers. He also coached four players who finished in the top five in the Heisman Trophy voting. Along with Conerly in 1947, Charlie Flowers (5th in 1959), Jake Gibbs (3rd in 1960) and Archie Manning (4th in 1969, 3rd in 1970) were in the running for college football's top honor.
Failing health forced Vaught to resign his position in 1970 and the reins of the Ole Miss football program were turned over to Billy Kinard.
See also: 1959 Ole Miss Rebels football team
Billy Kinard became the first Ole Miss alumnus to head up the football program, while Frank “Bruiser” Kinard, an offensive line coach under Vaught since 1948, was named athletic director that same year.
The Rebels went 16-9 under Billy Kinard, including a 10-2 record and a 41-18 Peach Bowl victory over Georgia Tech in his first year in 1971. Kinard's 10 victories are tied for fourth most by a first-year head coach in NCAA Division I history.
Kinard coached the Rebels through the 1972 season and through the third game of the 1973 season. After the disappointing 5–5 season in 1972, there was some pressure among the alumni to have Kinard removed. The administration bowed to this pressure after the Rebels started the 1973 season 1–2, including a shutout loss to Missouri, 17–0, and was upset by Memphis State, 17–13. Both Billy Kinard and Frank Kinard were fired, and John Vaught was rehired as both the head coach and athletic director.
Following the 1973 football season, Vaught resigned once again as head coach, but remained on as athletic director. His final record with the Rebels was 190–61–12. The 190 victories still rank Vaught in the top 25 winningest coaches in NCAA Division I history, and he is the fourth-winningest coach in SEC history. In 1979, Vaught was inducted in the National College Football Hall of Fame.
Ken Cooper, an assistant under Kinard since 1971, was named head coach on Jan. 17, 1974, and took Ole Miss through the 1977 season. Cooper compiled a 21-23 record during his four years at the helm, and his tenure is probably best remembered for one hot and humid day in September 1977. In one of the most memorable games in Rebel football history, Ole Miss upset Notre Dame, 20–13 in Mississippi Memorial Stadium on Sept. 17, 1977, in Jackson. That loss was the Irish's lone setback of the 1977 campaign, as Notre Dame finished the season with an 11–1 record and claimed both the AP and UPI national titles.
Following the 1977 season, Steve Sloan, the former All-American quarterback at Alabama under Paul "Bear" Bryant, was hired as the new Rebel boss and began his five-year stint in 1978. Sloan posted a 20–34 record from 1978–82.
After stepping outside the Ole Miss family football tree the previous nine seasons, Ole Miss looked for a familiar face to lead the football program, and the Rebels found that person when Billy Brewer returned to Oxford to take over as head coach in December 1982.
In his first season in 1983, Brewer guided the Rebels to their first winning regular season since 1977 with a 6-5 record. The Rebels also went to their first bowl game since 1971 losing to Air Force 9-3 in the Independence Bowl.
Brewer remained in Oxford for another ten seasons, leading the Rebels to five winning seasons and four bowls, including Ole Miss' 1990 New Year's Day Gator Bowl appearance, which was the program's first January bowl game since 1969. He was named SEC Coach of the Year in 1986 (8–3–1 record) and 1990 (9–3 record), and in 1986, the Rebels return to the national rankings for the first time in over a decade.
Brewer coached 11 years (1983–93) and compiled a 67–56–3 record, making him (at the time) the second winningest Ole Miss football coach behind Vaught. Brewer also led Ole Miss to eight Egg Bowl victories over rival Mississippi State.
Brewer was dismissed just prior to the 1994 season after the NCAA infractions committee found him guilty of "unethical conduct," and Ole Miss defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn took over as interim coach, directing the Rebels to a 4–7 record under difficult circumstances highlighted only by a 34-21 victory over rival LSU.
On Dec. 2, 1994, Tommy Tuberville was selected as the coach in charge of getting the Rebels on the right track.
After serving as an assistant coach on the collegiate level for nine seasons (eight at Miami and one at Texas A&M), Tuberville began creating excitement in his first season in 1995, finishing the campaign with a 6–5 record and an Egg Bowl victory over Mississippi State.
That excitement grew in 1997, when Ole Miss recorded its best season since 1992 with an 8–4 record, a thrilling 15–14 Egg Bowl victory over Mississippi State and a Motor City Bowl win over Marshall University. The bowl appearance was the program's first since 1992, and the Rebels earned a final national ranking of No. 22 in both polls.
The revitalized Ole Miss program continued in its success in 1998, but suffered a setback after the Egg Bowl when Tuberville, despite repeated assurances that he would not leave - even going so far as to say "They'll have to take me out of here in a pine box"[17][18][19] - , agreed 2 days later to become the head coach at SEC West rival Auburn University.
David Cutcliffe took over as head coach on Dec. 2, 1998. Cutcliffe, who came to Ole Miss from his offensive coordinator post at Tennessee, took over the reins just 29 days before the Rebels' Sanford Independence Bowl date versus Texas Tech. Despite the short preparation time for the game, Cutcliffe led the Rebels to a 35–18 victory over the Red Raiders, quite arguably the biggest upset of the 1998 bowl season.
Cutcliffe brought with him to Oxford a high-powered offensive style that energized the Rebel fanbase.
In the time from 1997–2003, the Rebels played in six bowl games, tied with Arkansas for the most bowl appearances among SEC Western Division schools during that span.
Cutcliffe had four winning seasons in his first five seasons at Ole Miss, in 1999 (8–4), 2000 (7–5), 2001 (7–4) and 2002 (7–6), becoming the first Rebel mentor since Harry Mehre (1938–41) to post winning marks in his first five years. Cutcliffe also directed Ole Miss to four bowl appearances in his first five seasons, and is the only head coach in Ole Miss history to do so.
In 2003 Cutcliffe guided the Rebels to a 10–3 overall mark and a share of the SEC West title with eventual BCS National Champion LSU. Following their 31–28 victory over Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl Classic, the Rebels finished #13 in the final poll. It was Ole Miss' first New Year's bowl since the 1991 Gator Bowl against Michigan.
Despite his 44–29 record, five straight winning seasons, and guiding the team to its first 10 win season in over 30 years, Cutcliffe was fired by Ole Miss's Athletic Director Pete Boone in December 2004 after the team posted a disappointing 4–7 record and three consecutive losses to LSU.
Ed Orgeron, regarded as one of college football's premier defensive line coaches and recruiters, was named the 35th head football coach in the history of the University of Mississippi on December 16, 2004.[20] Orgeron, who took control of the Ole Miss program after serving the previous seven seasons as defensive line coach at the University of Southern California, and played a role in Pete Carroll's Trojan championship in 2004. He also served as USC's recruiting coordinator from 2001–2004 and was named assistant head coach in 2003. Orgeron was named the 2004 National Recruiter of the Year by The Sporting News and Rivals.com.
Orgeron's talent as a recruiter created a buzz among Rebel fans and drew national attention when Ole Miss' 2006 signing class ranked as high as fifteenth in the rankings. His 2007 recruiting class was also listed among the best in college football (#31 according to scout.com). However, his recruiting success did not translate to on the field performance. In 2007, Ole Miss was last in the SEC in scoring offense, turnover margin, rushing offense, rushing defense, punt returns, opponent first downs, red-zone offense, opponent third-down conversions, field goal percentage, time of possession and kickoff coverage.
In 2007, 20 Ole Miss football players were placed on indefinite probation by the University for having stolen pillows and clock radios from hotels in which the team had stayed in. All 20 players paid for the stolen items and therefore no NCAA rules were broken, according to the NCAA. Coach Orgeron stated that the incident would be dealt with internally and that no one would miss the season finale against arch-rival Mississippi State, because none of the 20 players had been a discipline problem before. For the same reason, that being no previous discipline issues, the school refused to release the names of the players.[21]
The 2007 season was a historic one for Ole Miss. The Rebels went winless in the SEC for the first time since 1982 – 25 years. The Rebels, under Orgeron, ended the season at 3–9 (0–8 in SEC play).
The 2007 season culminated with the firing of Orgeron on November 24, 2007. Three days later, Houston Nutt was hired as the next head football coach.
On November 27, 2007, Houston Nutt was hired as the new head football coach of the Ole Miss Rebels.[22] Nutt's hiring made him the 36th head football coach at Ole Miss.
The next day, November 28, 2007, just five weeks after having defeated Ole Miss as the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks, Nutt was officially introduced as the new Ole Miss head football coach at a press conference at the Gertrude Castellow Ford Center for Performing Arts on the Ole Miss campus.[23] During the press conference, Nutt stated, "One thing I love about Ole Miss is the tradition," naming past players such as Archie Manning, Jake Gibbs, Frank "Bruiser" Kinard, Deuce McAllister and Eli Manning. "It's about tradition. That's the reason I am here. I feel like this place can be successful. I feel like this place can win. I can't wait to tell our players this afternoon. That's how you spell fun. The way you spell fun is “W-I-N.” That's what it is all about."[24]
During Nutt's first season, he guided the Ole Miss Rebels to a 9-4 record with marquee victories over the eventual BCS National Champion Florida Gators squad, the reigning BCS National Champion LSU Tigers, and the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 2009 Cotton Bowl Classic. At the end of this season, the Rebels were ranked in the Top-15 in both major polls.
It was announced on April 16, 2009 that Nutt and his wife Diana had committed to give a gift of $100,000 dollars to Ole Miss. Half of the contribution will create scholarships for student-athletes. The other half of the gift will be used toward the university’s Indoor Practice Facility, which opened in 2004 and cost $17 million to build.[25]
On November 7, 2011 it was announced that Coach Nutt will resign from the position of head coach at Ole Miss. His resignation will become official once the season comes to a close as he will finish his final 3 games at the university.[26]
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Hugh Freeze | Head Coach |
| Tom Allen | Linebackers |
| Maurice Harris | Recruiting/Tight Ends |
| Chris Kiffin | Defensive Line |
| Matt Luke | Offensive Line |
| Derrick Nix | Running Backs |
| Dave Wommack | Defensive Coordinator/Safeties |
The 2007 season was a historic one for Ole Miss. The Rebels went winless in the SEC for the first time since 1982 – 25 years. The Rebels, under head coach Ed Orgeron, ended the season at 3–9 (0–8 in SEC play).
Orgeron's talent as a recruiter created a buzz among Rebel fans and drew national attention when Ole Miss' 2006 signing class ranked as high as fifteenth in the rankings. His 2007 recruiting class was also listed among the best in college football (#31 according to scout.com). However, his recruiting success did not translate to on the field performance. In 2007, Ole Miss was last in the SEC in scoring offense, turnover margin, rushing offense, rushing defense, punt returns, opponent first downs, red-zone offense, opponent third-down conversions, field goal percentage, time of possession and kickoff coverage.
The 2007 season culminated with defeats to LSU (27-41) and Mississippi State (14-17) which resulted in the firing of Orgeron the following day. Three days later, Houston Nutt was hired as the next head football coach.
The biggest change for the Rebels going into the 2008 football season was the head coach. Houston Nutt began his first season as head coach of the Rebels, replacing Ed Ogeron, who was fired after his 2007 team failed to win an SEC game.
With a new head coach also came new assistants, including Tight ends/special teams coach James Shibest, Running game coordinator Mike Markuson, Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker, Recruiting coordinator and Safeties coach Chris Vaughn and High School Relations director Clifton Ealy, all of whom were assistants at Arkansas under Nutt the previous season.[27] Tyrone Nix left his position as Defensive Coordinator of the South Carolina Gamecocks to join Nutt's staff at the same position. Before his time at South Carolina, Nix spent 10 years at Southern Mississippi.[28]
Former Arkansas offensive coordinator David Lee originally agreed to follow Nutt from Arkansas to Ole Miss, however, he later accepted an offer to become the Quarterbacks coach for the Miami Dolphins. Upon Lee's resignation, former Ole Miss quarterback star Kent Austin, who was coming off a 2007 Grey Cup win as head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, was hired as offensive coordinator.
Projected to place 5th in the SEC Western Division in the pre-season, the Rebels finished 2nd in the West, knocked off the last 2 national champions on the road in No. 4 (at the time) Florida and No. 18 (at the time) LSU and ended the regular season on a five-game win streak. The 20th ranked Rebels then beat the 8th ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Cotton Bowl Classic.
The 2009 season was one of ups and downs for the Rebels, as the team entered the year with some of the highest expectations of any Ole Miss team in almost half a century. Ultimately, the Rebels failed to meet those lofty expectations. The Rebels finished with an 8-4 (4-4 SEC) record and an invitation to the Cotton Bowl Classic, a respectable showing but far short of the results that the team, its fans and the national media had anticipated before the season.
The Rebels began the 2009 season ranked no. 8 by the Associated Press Poll and no. 10 by the USA Today Coaches Poll. Ole Miss started the season with wins over Memphis and Southeastern Louisiana, and after some key early season losses by other top-10 schools, the AP poll put the Rebels at no. 4 in week 3—the team's highest ranking since 1970.
The Rebels didn't play up to the ranking, however, and a lethargic Ole Miss squad was defeated by the University of South Carolina in Columbia, 16-10, on a Thursday night before a national television audience. The Sept. 24 loss snapped an 8-game winning streak for the Rebels dating back to the 2008 season and sent them tumbling in the polls, never to rise higher than no. 20 for the rest of the year.
The Rebels bounced back to beat Vanderbilt on the road, but then fell to #3 Alabama at home the next week. Ole Miss recovered to win consecutive home games against UAB and Arkansas in impressive fashion before losing at Auburn in another uneven performance, establishing what would become a signature pattern for the Rebels in 2009: strong play at home but weak efforts on the road.
Following the Auburn loss, the Rebels won three straight home games, including quality wins over Tennessee and LSU. Entering the final week of the season, the team was back in the rankings (no. 20) and seemed set for another winning record in the SEC and a trip to the Capital One Bowl, the SEC's highest-paying bowl destination outside of the BCS. Those plans were dashed, however, when Rebels lost to Mississippi State in Starkville, 41-27, finishing the regular season at 8-4 overall and 4-4 in conference play.
One week later Ole Miss accepted an invitation to play in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, marking the team's second-consecutive trip to Dallas and the program's first back-to-back January bowl births in 40 years. Ole Miss defeated Oklahoma State 21-7.
The Ole Miss Rebels currently have four combinations of uniforms that they are known to sport. All combinations involve gray pants with stripes of red and blue. The Rebels use blue jerseys for their primary home uniforms and red jerseys as alternates; both have bold white numbers and white shoulder stripes. White jerseys with red numbers and stripes are used on the road.
On October 30, 2010, the Rebels wore all-gray uniforms for the first time in their annual bout with the Auburn Tigers. The gray jerseys are adorned with blue and red shoulder stripes and blue numbers outlined in red. Although worn at home, Mississippi's all-gray uniforms are considered white jerseys (rather than colored); consequently, visiting opponents will wear their home, colored jerseys while the Rebels wear all-gray.
The Battle for the Golden Egg (nicknamed the Egg Bowl) is an annual college football game between the Ole Miss Rebels and in-state fellow SEC team Mississippi State University (MSU) Bulldogs. While the 2 teams have played each other since 1901, with 2003 being the year in which the 2 teams had played each other 100 times and now having played each other a total of 108 times, the first game officially known as "The Battle of the Golden Egg" was in 1927.[29] While it is called a "Bowl", the game is not a postseason bowl game, but rather a regular season Southeastern Conference (SEC) game. Ole Miss leads the series with 60 wins to MSU's 42 wins. There have been 6 ties. Mississippi State has currently won 3 straight and 4 of the last 5 Egg Bowls.
Ole Miss first played LSU on December 3, 1894 winning 26–6 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Throughout the fifties and sixties, games between the two schools featured highly ranked squads on both sides and seemingly every contest had conference, and at times national title implications - a tradition recently renewed, as the 2003 matchup decided the SEC Western Division Champion, and helped propel LSU to a national championship. A trophy has now been named for the LSU-Ole Miss rivalry known as the "Magnolia Bowl" which began in 2008 with a 31-13 victory by the Ole Miss Rebels, but is still not recognized by LSU. The 2009 game was also won by Ole Miss 25-23.[30] The latest edition was another classic, typical of the games between these two, with LSU scoring with under a minute left to prevail 43-36. LSU leads the overall series over Ole Miss 56-39-4. 2011 will mark the 100th edition of this great rivalry.
The Vanderbilt-Ole Miss rivalry is an annual college football rivalry between the Vanderbilt University Commodores and the University of Mississippi Rebels. The Rebels are the Commodores' second-longest, continuous football rivalry.[31] Both teams are founding members of the Southeastern Conference, and their universities have the smallest and second-smallest, respectively, student body populations among SEC schools. This similar size, the schools' proximity to one another (Nashville is less than 4 hours from Oxford), and the similar culture of Greek life (both schools' student bodies have high percentages of participation in fraternities and sororities) led them to choose to be one another's inter-divisional non-rotator when the SEC grew to 12 teams for the 1992 season. The schools have lately been rather evenly matched. In the last ten years, Ole Miss leads the series, 6-4, but Vanderbilt has won 3 of the last 5. The series has also been marked by close games, with the average margin between the teams since 1999 only 7 points. Ole Miss leads the series, 47-35-2.
Ole Miss first played Arkansas in 1908, with Arkansas winning that game 33–0. They would play each other many times, though sporadically, over the next several decades, including two meetings in the Sugar Bowl in 1963 and 1970; Ole Miss won both Sugar Bowl matchups.
In 1991, Arkansas joined the Southeastern Conference, and was placed in the same division as Ole Miss when the conference split into two divisions in 1992. Ole Miss won the first conference contest in Little Rock by a score of 17-3.
The two teams have played each other annually since 1981 yet the intensity of the rivalry pretty much died from the early 1970s until 2007.
The 2001 Ole Miss-Arkansas game set a NCAA record for most overtime periods played (7). It has since been tied, but never broken. Arkansas won that game 58–56.
2007 saw the rivalry return to a heated one when after Houston Nutt resigned as the head coach for Arkansas, Ole Miss hired him as their new head coach a week later.
2008 saw the first game between Ole Miss and Arkansas in which Nutt returned to Arkansas in his first game against his former team. Ole Miss, and Houston Nutt, won 23-21. This of course only made the rivalry that much more intense.
The following season, 2009, Arkansas went to Oxford to take on Ole Miss. Ole Miss again won, 30-17.
In 2010, Arkansas was able to finally claim a win over their former head coach Houston Nutt with a 38-24 decision in Fayetteville. Ole Miss ended the 2010 season with a 4-8 record including a season-opening loss to lower division Jacksonville State University.
1893–1992
|
Offense |
Defense |
1935 L Orange Bowl Catholic (DC) 19-20
1947 W Delta Bowl TCU 13-9
1952 L Sugar Bowl Georgia Tech 7-24
1954 L Sugar Bowl Navy 0-21
1955 W Cotton Bowl TCU 14-13
1957 W Sugar Bowl Texas 39-7
1958 W Gator Bowl Florida 7-3
1959 W Sugar Bowl LSU 21-0
1960 W Sugar Bowl Rice 14-6
1961 L Cotton Bowl Texas 7-12
1962 W Sugar Bowl Arkansas 17-13
1963 L Sugar Bowl Alabama 7-12
1964 L Bluebonnet Bowl Tulsa 7-14
1965 W Liberty Bowl Auburn 13-7
1966 L Bluebonnet Bowl Texas 0-19
1967 L Sun Bowl UTEP 7-14
1968 W Liberty Bowl Virginia Tech 34-17
1969 W Sugar Bowl Arkansas 27-22
1970 L Gator Bowl Auburn 28-35
1971 W Peach Bowl Georgia Tech 41-18
1983 L Independence Bowl Air Force 3-9
1986 W Independence Bowl Texas Tech 20-17
1989 W Liberty Bowl Air Force 42-29
1990 L Gator Bowl Michigan 3-35
1992 W Liberty Bowl Air Force 13-0
1997 W Motor City Bowl Marshall 34-31
1998 W Independence Bowl Texas Tech 35-18
1999 W Independence Bowl Oklahoma 27-25
2000 L Music City Bowl West Virginia 38-49
2002 W Independence Bowl Nebraska 27-23
2003 W Cotton Bowl Oklahoma State 31-28
2008 W Cotton Bowl Texas Tech 47-34
2009 W Cotton Bowl Oklahoma State 21-7
Ole Miss has ten former players and coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Ole Miss has two former players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Ole Miss has three former players in the Helms Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame.
Ole Miss has one former player in the National Quarterback Club Hall of Fame.
Ole Miss has had 19 players selected in the first round of professional football drafts.
The school's fight song is Forward Rebels, also known as Rebel March.[32]
Another official song is called Alma Mater.[32] The song's lyrics are as follows:[32]
Way down south in Mississippi,
There's a spot that ever calls,
Where amongst the hills enfolded,
Stand old Alma Mater's Halls.
Where the trees lift high their branches,
To the whispering Southern breeze,
There Ole Miss is calling, calling,
To our hearts fond memories.
A modification of the Elvis Presley song An American Trilogy, now known as From Dixie with Love or Slow Dixie, was also played during football games, both home and away. The song was officially dedicated to Ole Miss fans when it was played before the Ole Miss versus LSU football game in 2003, which was at the time, the largest crowd at a football game ever in the State of Mississippi.[32] Sometime in either 2004 or 2005,[33] students began chanting "The South will rise again" in place of "His truth is marching on" at the end of the song which, after repeated warnings by school administrators in 2009 to stop the chant, resulted in the song being officially banned by the University's Chancellor.[34] The traditional song "Dixie" is also unofficial, but it was not a part of the ban and is still played.
Another unofficial song is I Saw the Light.[32]
The school cheer is entitled Hotty Toddy[35]:
Are you ready?
Hell yes! Damn Right!
Hotty Toddy, Gosh almighty
Who the hell are we, Hey!
Flim Flam, Bim Bam
Ole Miss By Damn!
Since 1983, the administration has distanced itself from Confederate symbols, including barring faculty from displaying any Confederate imagery in their offices. In 1997, the university student senate passed a resolution requesting fans not to display the Confederate battle flag at university athletic events. Using this action as encouragement, the university then banned sticks under the guise of fan safety, to discourage fans from displaying the Confederate flag at football games and other athletic events. This controversy began when head coach Tommy Tuberville complained that the battle flag had hampered his attempts to recruit a few top-notch black athletes. Coaches prior to Tuberville also expressed concerns about the difficulty of recruiting top-notch black athletes.
In 1972, Ole Miss' first black football player, Ben Williams, was signed and began playing. The defensive tackle, recruited out of a small school in the Delta region of Mississippi, eventually claimed All-SEC honors and had a long and successful NFL career following his stint at Ole Miss.
In 2003, the school's mascot, Colonel Reb, was discontinued from official participation in athletic events by the school.[36] The school solicited ideas to replace Colonel Reb, but after an exceedingly lackluster response, decided to go without a mascot. An unofficial Colonel Reb mascot still makes appearances in The Grove, Ole Miss' tailgating area, before home games. In 2010, the university began its plan to phase out the use of Colonel Reb on official merchandise such as hats and shirts. The university has reclassified the Colonel Reb trademark as a historical mark of the university.[37] On October 14, 2010, it was announced that students, alumni and season ticket holders at the university had picked Rebel Black Bear as their new mascot.[38][39] The announcement was the result of a campuswide vote in February and months of polling. The bear beat out two other finalists, the Rebel Land Shark and something called the "Hotty Toddy," an attempt to personify the school cheer.
October 28, 1989, Roy Lee "Chucky" Mullins (July 8, 1969 in Russellville, Alabama – May 6, 1991 in Memphis, Tennessee) was an American football player at Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) best known for the devastating football injury that left him a quadriplegic. Mullins was injured on October 28, 1989, during the Ole Miss Rebels' Homecoming game against the Vanderbilt Commodores in Oxford. As Mullins plunged head-first into a tackle of Vandy fullback Brad Gaines after a short pass reception, the impact shattered four vertebrae in his cervical spine, immediately paralyzing him.
After being airlifted to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Mullins underwent a tracheotomy and five-hour bone graft operation to fuse the vertebrae. Mullins never regained sensation below his neck; shortly before his death, however, he was able to move a hand across his body and touch his chest.
As soon as the injury occurred, Mullins became the recipient of a huge outpouring of community support. Ole Miss fans, college football fans in the South and people from all over the nation immediately began to donate money towards Mullin's growing medical expenses. President George H.W. Bush visited Mullins in his hospital room and encouraged him while on a visit to Memphis. Soon, Ole Miss established the "Chucky Mullins Trust Fund" to properly manage the donations. The city of Oxford donated land for a specially-designed handicap accessible house for Mullins. Donations to the trust fund eventually exceeded $1 million.
Mullins returned to Ole Miss on June 20, 1990 to complete his undergraduate studies.
Less than a year after returning to school, Mullins was stricken by a pulmonary embolism, caused by blood clots formed by inactivity and poor circulation. He died in the hospital on May 6, 1991 and was buried outside his home town of Russellville, Alabama.
During Mullins' time in the hospital, he and Gaines, who did not know each other before the accident, became close friends. Every year since Mullins' death, Gaines, alone, visits and maintains his friend's gravesite three times a year: May 6 (the anniversary of Mullins' death), October 28 (the anniversary of the injury) and December 25 (Christmas Day). Brad Gaines continues this personal tradition to this day.
Each spring, during the annual Grove Bowl (a game at the end of spring practices pitting Ole Miss players against each other), the senior defensive player who most embodies Chucky Mullins' spirit and courage receives the "Chucky Mullins Memorial Courage Award". With the award, the player received the right to wear jersey number 38, the same number Chucky wore on his jersey. Chucky's number 38 was retired on September 3, 2006 in a pregame ceremony before the Rebels' victory over Memphis. The winner of the "Chucky Mullins Memorial Courage Award" now wears a patch in honor of this award. Chucky's number is only the second number in Ole Miss football history to be retired. The only other was the legendary Archie Manning's number 18.
The numbers 18 for Archie Manning and 38 for Chucky Mullins are the only two retired numbers in Ole Miss football history.
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