Champions For Change: How the Mississippi State Bulldogs and Their Bold Coach Defied Segregation

The author of this book is not a Miss State alumni, rather he is an almunus of our rival. He started researching this story while he was the beat writer covering Miss State sports for the Jackson Clarion Ledger. Kyle currently works for the Memphis Commercial Appeal and still covers sports. While the story of Coach McCarthy and the 1963 team is a living legend around Starkville, it is mostly unknown through out the nation these days. Professor Jenkins of MSU's history department used to include this story in his Mississippi History and Civil Rights Courses. It is a story of determination and doing the right thing, even if it means disobeying orders and slipping out of town in the dead of night. Its also a rarely told story about white southerners who stood up against segregation on a National stage. This event occurred just a few months after the riots over the admission of the first black student at our rival Ole Miss. This one game actually changed perceptions and baseketball. It's also one of the best examples of why our college sports are about more than wins, loses, and tournamet victories. As Doc Jenkins used to tell it, this game was the reason he had hope and reassured his parents he would be just fine attending Miss State University in the late 60s. And yes, it was that important to sports, academia, and the nation. If you think your a true fan of NCAA Basketball then this is a must own book for your library.