STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach’s death Monday night at age 61 won’t end the Bulldogs’ season.
MSU (8-4, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) will still participate in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 2 in Tampa, Florida, the school confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
The Bulldogs will face Illinois (8-4, 5-4 Big Ten) at 11 a.m. Jan. 2 at Raymond James Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN2.
It is little surprise MSU is committed to playing in the bowl game after Leach’s death, given the coach’s proclivity for effort and participation.
The school announced when Leach was hospitalized Sunday in Jackson practice for the ReliaQuest Bowl would continue. Defensive coordinator Zach Arnett was put in charge of the team.
It remains to be seen if Mississippi State will replace Arnett this offseason, but the third-year coordinator is likely to be the Bulldogs’ head coach in Tampa.
Mississippi State is still without a full-time athletic director after John Cohen left for the same position at Auburn on Oct. 31.
Compliance director Bracky Brett has been the Bulldogs’ interim AD since then.
Sports Illustrated reported Tuesday that MSU is set to pause its athletic director search in the wake of Leach’s death, planning to push back final interviews until after the holidays.
Mississippi State said it would not confirm any information Tuesday about searches for either a head football coach or an athletic director.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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