STARKVILLE — It’s spring 2002, and Mississippi State University Student Association members Parker Wiseman and Jeremy Slocum have a few thousand dollars to plan the third annual Bulldog Bash.
Wiseman, SA president, and Slocum have bit off more than they can chew after agreeing to move the event from the MSU amphitheater to the Cotton District. Planning for a city venue requires approval from the city to close streets as well as getting the blessing from Cotton District business owners.
Just a year earlier, the event was moved to Main Street after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 postponed the event. After positive results downtown, the Cotton District’s boom in restaurants and nightlife made it a target location.
Several smaller student organizations had mixed results hosting events off campus up to that point, but Wiseman believed the SA’s size and resources could drive the event and make it successful.
With an SA board and dozens of student volunteers ready to help, the first Bulldog Bash in the Cotton District needed money. A lot of it.
Getting the cash to bring in quality entertainment and accommodate thousands of students in the Cotton District — as effortless as it may seem with this year’s $175,000 budget — would be the SA’s greatest challenge ahead of the Sept. 13 show date.
“Jeremy had more experience dealing with entertainment and the social scene on campus than I did, and he quickly created a budget of over $10,000,” said Wiseman, now mayor of Starkville. “We spent most of the summer seeking contributions from anyone who’d give us a few bucks to a thousand to make it work. We ended up getting almost the amount of money we needed.”
After booking six bands, including Ingram Hill, Bulldog Bash organizers moved to planning the logistics of the event, which would feature three different stages between University Drive, Maxwell Street and Page Avenue. After working with tenants and Cotton District developer Dan Camp, the SA got permission to have one stage in the parking lot behind what is now Bin 612. The other two were located on Maxwell Street, next to the former location of The Grill, and on Page Avenue.
“We really didn’t have an idea as to how this was going to turn out,” Wiseman said. “We could feel some momentum building in the days leading up. We knew it was going to be bigger than anything we’d ever experienced.”
Bulldog Bash ran flawlessly that year, with an estimated attendance of 2,000 people. City officials were encouraged by the relative lack of rowdy behavior and the SA’s ability to clean up the Cotton District when the event was over.
On the 10th anniversary of the first Bulldog Bash in the Cotton District, set for Friday from 3 p.m. to midnight, Wiseman marvels that what was once a “leap of faith” now consistently draws more than 30,000 people each year.
“By the time I got from Main Street to the Cotton District that night, there was a sea of people down Maxwell Street,” Wiseman said. “That sea of people has come to be associated with the whole event. It’s grown astronomically. I don’t think any of us could have imagined that 10 years later it would be where it is now.”
Bulldog Bash has grown tremendously over the last three years, too, as the event’s operation budget has increased from $90,000 in 2009, $135,000 last year and $175,000 this year. The SA gets a chunk of the city’s 2-percent food and beverage tax revenue, which accounted for $75,000 of this year’s budget.
Fundraising has become more reliable each year the event has grown, as the SA has secured sponsorship contracts with C-Spire Wireless and Coca-Cola in the last two years.
“Three or four years ago, we were waiting until August to offer a band because we’d still be trying to finalize our budget,” current SA President Rhett Hobart said. “We were ready to make that offer in May.”
The boost in sponsorship revenue gave the SA this year enough cash to land rising folk band The Avett Brothers and country music performer Jake Owen. Hobart said the SA has spent $130,000 of this year’s budget on music.
“I don’t think a lot of people realize how much it costs to book bands,” said Hobart. “I’ve had quite a few discussions with Mayor Wiseman about that. A good band is going to cost $100,000 to play on stage for 90 minutes.”
Hobart and his cabinet benefited from moving Bulldog Bash to November, a move caused by the first league football game falling on a Thursday night this year. All of the previous events took place the night before MSU’s first home Southeastern Conference game.
Hobart expects more than 35,000 people to attend Friday’s event, given the proximity between MSU and the University of Alabama, the Bulldogs’ opponent Saturday.
“Even though we don’t take a lot of time to enjoy it, we get a great kick out of people enjoying themselves,” Hobart said. “I’ve gotten emails and phone calls from people in Arizona, Florida and Texas saying they’re coming to Bulldog Bash. That’s pretty incredible.”
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