Name: Sunday Morning Quarterback
Homepage: Sunday Morning Quarterback
School: University of Southern Mississippi
Location: Hattiesburg, Miss.
School Colors: Black and “Gold” (Actually, yellow. Not as catchy)
School Mascot: A giant Golden Eagle, Seymour (“Seymour D’Campus”)
Do outsiders “get” your mascot?: “Golden Eagles” is pretty generic, although there are no actual golden eagles living anywhere near South Mississippi. A live eagle mascot was once poisoned (or maybe starved. The thing died on campus). At least that’s better than the old Confederate paean to KKK founder Nathan Forrest (“General Nat”) running around the sidelines in a CSA general’s uniform. Students voted him out around 1972.
School Fight Song: I love the fight song, “Southern Miss To The Top!” It has a cliche “Fight! Fight! Fight!” interlude, but it’s pretty catchy anyway. There’s an equally catchy spell out, S! O-U! T-H-E-R-N! Southern Mississippi! U! S! M! Which is just banal kindergarten stuff in print but fun on gameday.
Traditions: My personal tradition is parking at the credit union.
Uh, there’s the “Eagle Walk,” a typical sort of mini-parade for the players a couple hours before the game. All incoming freshman compete to paint sections of the Eagle Walk at orientation. When the PA says, “First down, Southern Miss!” everybody yells “to the top!”
M.M. Roberts Stadium is known as “The Rock” because it’s just two giant slabs of concrete sitting across from each other. Players hauled a lot of the original material up and down steps back in the thirties and compared it to hard labor at Alcatraz. It is ancient and looks it.
Geographical Features: Aesthetics generally only stand in the way of parking. It is not an idyllic campus setting. I would not be attached enough to Lake Byron or the Rose Garden at the “entrance” to campus to oppose either being paved for parking spaces. Wouldn’t suggest it, but wouldn’t oppose it. I am fond of some specific oak trees and at least one row of bushes, but only for sentimental reasons.
Architectural Features: The administration building, which can be captured in the same snapshot as the lake and rose garden, is more recognizable. Its dome is on the campus seal. It’s a very Roman pastiche of columns everywhere.
Notable Alumni: Brett Favre is sort of the face of USM to the rest of the country. It’s produced some other quality pro players in the last 20 years. Jimmy Buffett always comes up, too, but I’m not proud of that.
Anything else we need to know?: Southern Miss is a very average, quality public institution. It’s a laid back, liberal artsy place that’s diverse enough to be really good in music and still kick national ass in polymer science.
I see no reason anyone attending or visiting would be particularly excited, surprised or disappointed by any of their university-related experiences. (Unless they’re in the education program. Bleh).
Want to talk about your school? Take the quick survey. We’ll dig up links & photos to illustrate your answers.
[...] Sunday Morning QB tells us all about Brett Favre’s Alma Mater. [...]
You have the reason why The Rock is cleed The Rock TOTALLY WRONG. It’s not “just two giant slabs of concrete sitting across from each other”. What else do you want? Oh, and USM isn’t just “an average public instituiton”. Jackass.
so yeah, USM is not the “average public institution. thanks a bunch. and our fight song isn’t cliche or at the kindergarten level. every university uses “Fight! Fight! Fight!” because what do you do in a football game? fight to score, fight to gain that last yard, fight to win. it’s the people and the atmosphere, the attitudes and the accomplishments that make any university great. and southern is one of the greatest. thanks a bunch.
I hate to say it, Golden Eagle 8, but this was written by a grad of USM, so you’ll have to take it up with your fellow alum.