STARKVILLE – In 2024, hopes were not high for Mississippi State University football fans.
After opening with a win against Eastern Kentucky University, the Bulldogs dropped seven straight games in two months. The team ended the season with only two wins, neither of which was against a Southeastern Conference team or Power Five opponent.
Some fans’ patience began to wear thin.
“Everybody was leaving after the second quarter,” said Sara Atwood, a second-generation season ticket holder who lives in Senatobia. “I remember my family, … (would say things like) ‘I’m done. I’m gone. I’m going back to the tent.’ … Because the game was out of reach by halftime.”
The 2025 season was a different story. Hopes sprang back with the team’s four-game winning streak to open the season, Atwood said.
The Bulldogs finished with a more respectable 5-8, earning a bowl game against Wake Forest University and bringing fans back to Davis Wade Stadium.
More than 30,000 additional people filled the stadium in 2025 compared to the 2024 season, Senior Associate Athletic Director Brandon Langlois wrote in an email to The Dispatch.
City officials and local business owners have noticed a tie between fans’ excitement and their spending on game day and its impact on the local economy. With the influx of fans also came more shopping, hotel stays and dining in the city of Starkville, reflected by a near 10% bump in restaurant and tourism tax collections for the city.
Sandra Sistrunk, alderwoman for Ward 2 and budget chair, said the success of MSU’s football team has always been a “significant factor” when it comes to the rise and fall of restaurant and tourism tax revenue.
“I think we have clear history there that a really successful team drives that economic development,” Sistrunk said. “Even a moderately successful team is helpful with our economic development.”
Playing by the numbers
The city’s restaurant and tourism taxes generated $1,413,854 September through November, jumping up 9.6% from that same three-month span in 2024. On average, restaurant and tourism tax revenue has increased annually by about 4.3% since 2022.
While the success of the football team is a large contributor, Sistrunk said other factors include different large-scale events happening in the collection month, natural economic growth and how much extra money people have to spend on things like football games.
General sales tax collections actually ticked down September through November 2025, compared to the same span in 2024. However, Sistrunk said general sales tax doesn’t have as strong a tie to the football team’s success as the city’s restaurant and tourism taxes.
“The primary impact from a football game, or probably any other big one-day event here in town, is going to be food and beverage and possibly hotel,” Sistrunk said.
Months when there are football games tend to have higher collections than summer months, but there is even more of an impact when Power Four opponents come to town, Sistrunk said.
In the 2025 season, MSU played 10 Power Four opponents, with five of those games played in Starkville. Whereas in 2024, MSU only played four of nine games against power conference teams in Starkville.
“When you have a football game, a lot depends on time of day, who we’re playing … (and) whether it’s drawing a crowd from out of state,” Sistrunk said. “Georgia’s going to bring people here. Playing Southern Mississippi is a great in-state game, but it’s not going to draw the same number of out-of-state people as a Georgia game will.”
When the games are hosted in Starkville and the Bulldogs are competitive, it tends to bring more people to Starkville not only for the game but for surrounding days as well to shop and stay in local hotels, Sistrunk said.
“What benefits us in terms of sales tax revenue is that they come to town, (and) they stay here in town,” Sistrunk said. “They stay longer with us, as opposed to driving in and out.”
While Starkville sees most of the direct impact of MSU football, Sistrunk said there is also some overflow that can be seen in surrounding cities, particularly with people looking for places to stay.
During November, MSU played two of its most attended games of the season against Georgia and Ole Miss, which totaled 53,021 and 60,417 attendees, respectively. The same month, Columbus’ hotel and motel tax brought in $73,670, a roughly 70.46% jump from the previous year.
Frances Glenn, tourism director for the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau, said a lot of that can be attributed to fans staying in Columbus.
“I feel certain that … the Georgia game and the Egg Bowl would directly affect (the numbers we saw),” Glenn said. “Normally when Mississippi State has a home game, Columbus is full.”
Getting away from the Bulldog blues
Ryan Handran, co-owner of Rick’s Cafe, said there’s a noticeable difference at the bar after a win or even after a close loss compared to when the team completely drops the ball.
“A close loss like, against Tennessee, that’s a really good example,” Handran said. “We went into overtime. It was a really close game. The students came out, and they celebrated because that was fun to watch, even though we lost. But … a couple years ago … we lost to Troy. Nobody came out after we lost to Troy. That’s embarrassing. … That was a hard loss, and our students definitely feel that stuff.”
On any given game night, Handran said the bar can see anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 in additional revenue based on the outcome of the game.
“It’s just going to be a game-by-game basis for us,” Handran said. “And that’s honestly how Starkville is most of the time. We’re completely tied to the university about everything. If they do well, we do well.”
Handran said that connection was especially evident in the difference of crowd sizes between the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
“We can usually feel the hopefulness at the bar for sure, and I think that early this year we could feel it,” Handran said. “Our customer base was excited about the next game and their friends coming into town, and I do think that there were some at the beginning of this year building for sure.”
Atwood said her family have been life-long MSU fans, but they only showed up to some games in the 2024 season. But, she said, they felt more compelled to show up to every home game in 2025 once the team showed glimpses of the success it could achieve.
Atwood’s hope is that MSU continues its ascension toward being a competitive team in college football, more reminiscent of its successful years in 2014 and 2015.
“This town thrives on the football team and all that it brings,” Atwood said. “The players make the kids’ days. Watching Ole Miss of course you envy them or whatever, but we have got to get it together. That’s all there is to say about that. We have got to figure something out.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
