STARKVILLE — It’s safe to call Gary Blair an icon.
Being a member of six Hall of Fames, including the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, would suffice to secure someone an integral spot in the history of the sport.
But aside from the 25 20-win seasons, the 10 Sweet 16 appearances, and seven championships, including a NCAA national title in 2011 as head coach at Texas A&M, Blair has been one of the best ambassadors for women’s basketball ever since he entered the college ranks as an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech in 1980.
In that time, Blair has helped build programs at Stephen F. Austin, Arkansas, and Texas A&M, so he knows the grass roots work it takes to get women’s basketball noticed.
Blair sees the work Vic Schaefer, his former assistant and associate head coach at Arkansas and Texas A&M, has put in at Mississippi State and he couldn’t be more proud. He also is excited for the sport to see a crowd of 7,780 come out Sunday to see No. 4 MSU defeat Texas A&M 71-61 at Humphrey Coliseum.
“Let me first congratulate the crowd,” Blair said, “(and) what the coaching staff and the administration have done to make Mississippi State relevant in women’s basketball.”
That’s how Blair opened his 12-minute, 24-second interaction with the media. He made similar comments on Feb. 8, 2015, in his last visit to the Hump. On that day, No. 17 MSU defeated No. 13 Texas A&M 63-61 in overtime before a crowd of 4,651 at Humphrey Coliseum. The win was Schaefer’s first against his former boss.
The second victory in the series came on a day in which the Bulldogs (21-1, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) had their highest point total in the five games they have faced the Aggies with Schaefer as head coach in front of the third-biggest crowd in program history.
The growth in MSU’s program wasn’t lost on Blair, who praised the atmosphere and the amenities that have helped make women’s basketball in Starkville a big ticket. He said he walked around the Hump and Mize Pavilion, the practice facility for the MSU basketball teams, prior to the game to see what MSU does for home games. He came away impressed with Bully’s Kidz Kourt in Mize Pavilion, which is open to children prior to games, and the school’s efforts to market and to promote the sport.
“I know this has always been a baseball school and a football school, but doggone this is exciting,” Blair said. “All of the stuff upstairs, you are doing things right. The most important thing is you’re understanding how to promote the game of women’s basketball. We’re still in the grass roots stage, unless your name is Connecticut or South Carolina with their 14,000 (fans).”
Blair said he understands MSU is only charging adults $5 for tickets, but he said the big thing is people are coming to see the team, which is why he said the administration could opt to decide to raise the ticket price later.
In the grand scheme of things, though, Blair said MSU drawing crowds like 7,780 is good for everyone in the sport. He encouraged MSU’s administration to relish the support and to do its best to nurture that following and to help it grow.
“There were a lot of things that were better today (than in 2015),” Blair said. “You open up the doggone gates at 1:30 (for a 3 p.m. start) and the general admission folks are fighting to get their seats down close. I talked to a lot of them. That’s what we need to do all across the league.
“We have to create culture and atmosphere. You’ve got it.”
As proud as he was of his players and the victory, Schaefer said he took just as much pride in the attendance because crowds like Sunday’s have become the norm for women’s basketball games in Starkville.
“(Coach Blair) is special to me,” Schaefer said. “I learned so much (from him). … You guys have to know how hard that guy has helped market women’s basketball across the country — how many times at symposiums and Final Fours that he speaks. That is what we did when we were at Arkansas when we built that program, and we did it at A&M. We have been able to come here and we have done it here. 7,700 today. That is the new norm in Starkville, Mississippi, to watch women’s basketball. I am as proud of that crowd being here today with him in the building as anything I did today. I know the pride he takes in what he did trying to get people to come to our games when we were at Arkansas. That is part of building a program.”
Earlier in the season, Schaefer advocated for the administration to agree to open the doors to Humphrey Coliseum 90 minutes before games to let the fans get their seats. He said he is excited that has happened and that he is looking forward to the next changes that will come. For now, he said he is OK with parking at Davis Wade Stadium if that opens a parking space for fans to be closer to Humphrey Coliseum.
“I have so many people wanting reserved parking,” Schaefer said. “That will be the next thing. That is part of it. That is part of the growth of our program. These kids deserve it. They have been the ones that have put the people in the stands, in my opinion, because of how they play the game. They’re so much fun to be around.
“I went recruiting last night and I had more people in the other school’s jersey in this state come up to me and compliment my team. I could have fallen over 15 times. Talking about people in red and blue complimenting our team here at Mississippi State, but that is the appreciation. That’s what these kids don’t get. Everybody in this state is watching them. Everybody is keeping up with them. Like the school or not, I think they love our kids. I think they love how they play the game. I think they love the way they represent women’s basketball in the state of Mississippi, and we’re just so fortunate to have them at Mississippi State. … It is really, really special, and you’re right, the growth of our program it’s exponentially happening right before our eyes and it is getting bigger all of the time.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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