NASHVILLE — When Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey stepped to the podium at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Nashville to begin Monday’s conference media days, one item was missing from his wardrobe: a tie.
The omission was by design; a way for Sankey to honor former Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach. Sankey recalled a backstage conversation at a media day session he previously had with Leach, who died this past December, about the uselessness of neckties.
“It was a conversation that went much longer than I anticipated and ended on the rhetorical question of why neckties survived and powdered wigs went away,” Sankey said. “Today I am without a tie in Mike’s memory.”
Leach, 61, coached three seasons at Mississippi State (2020-22), accumulating a 19-17 record. He previously held head coaching positions at Texas Tech and Washington State before arriving in Starkville.
Leach’s final game coached was a 24-22 Egg Bowl win over Ole Miss in Oxford. Leach died from a heart attack on Dec. 12.
“He was a person (that was) important, not just to the Southeastern Conference, we only had a few seasons with him, but to all of college football,” Sankey said. “He impacted thousands of lives of people across the college football spectrum.
“He provided wedding advice, evaluated Halloween candy… He also observed the world from a perspective that made you think, often made you laugh and sometimes made you perplexed…It is important we remember people who contributed via the short-term or long-term of this wonderful conference. We are going to miss Mike and he’s not going to be forgotten.”
Following Leach’s death, MSU promoted defensive coordinator Zach Arnett to its head coaching position. Arnett led the Bulldogs to their 19-10 victory over Illinois in last year’s ReliaQuest Bowl.
Arnett, along with quarterback Will Rogers, running back Jo’quavious Marks and defensive lineman Jaden Crumedy were scheduled to speak Tuesday in Nashville.
Justin Frommer is the Mississippi State sports reporter for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
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 48 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.