STARKVILLE — Vic Schaefer knows all about the history of the Tennessee women’s basketball programs.
In more than 25 years in Division I basketball, Schaefer has witnessed many of Tennessee’s 35 combined Southeastern Conference regular-season and tournament championships, 18 NCAA tournament Final Fours, and eight NCAA national titles. He knows the power of the Orange and how quickly the sounds of “Rocky Top,” the unofficial fight song for Tennessee, can wear on the ears of someone competing against the Lady Volunteers.
“(Tennessee) is a program that has been established since the beginning of time, really,” Schaefer said. “(Tennessee) and the Louisiana Techs of the world, those are the programs that really established what women’s basketball is today — Texas, Texas Tech. Those were the committed programs early on. The trail (former Tennessee coach and Hall of Famer) Pat Summitt blazed for our game is second to none. For a guy like me who has been around a long time, that is what that means. For today’s kids, it is a day and age where there is more parity and more programs that are committed, like Tennessee has always been.”
Schaefer takes pride in the fact he and his coaching staff are building a program at Mississippi State that aspires to reach Tennessee’s heights. At 8 tonight (SEC Network), No. 13 MSU (17-4, 4-3 SEC) will see how much progress it has made when it plays host to No. 19 Tennessee (12-7, 3-3) at Humphrey Coliseum. “True Maroon” will be the theme for the game, and fans are encouraged to show their MSU spirit by wearing maroon.
For MSU, the matchup will be a chance to end a 36-game losing streak to Tennessee. MSU is the only SEC team that hasn’t defeated Tennessee.
“They’re a great team,” MSU sophomore point guard Morgan William said. “There is a lot of tradition for Tennessee, but I am a sophomore now, so now it is just another SEC game we have to win.”
Said MSU junior Ketara Chapel, “It is another great team. We just have to come out and play like we played against South Carolina but with a different outcome, a win”
Schaefer echoed those thoughts when he said Tennessee has “seven McDonald’s All-Americans, nine total on their bench” as well as a “great coaching staff.” In the “old” days, Schaefer said Tennessee typically had 12 All-Americans on its bench and relied on that depth and relentless effort, especially on the offensive boards to beat teams.
But Schaefer feels MSU has developed a reputation for a similar brand of tenacity and a suffocating defense that often frustrates opponents. The Bulldogs also have shown a willingness to sacrifice their bodies and to help their teammates by taking charges, which Schaefer said is one of the best hype plays in the game. He said those qualities have helped MSU build a strong following in three-and-a-half seasons.
On Sunday, then-No. 10 MSU made history when a program-record crowd of 10,626, which is 126 more than the listed capacity for Humphrey Coliseum, watched its 57-51 loss to No. 2 South Carolina. The crowd was the fourth-largest in the history of the Hump and the largest to see a women’s basketball in the state of Mississippi.
Nationally, the crowd was the 22nd-largest to see a women’s basketball game this season. The crowd helped MSU climb to 14th in the nation in home attendance (4,991).
Schaefer said he saw former women’s basketball official Sue Kennedy on Sunday, and said Kennedy told him she never would have believed a crowd of 10,626 would come out for a women’s basketball game at Humphrey Coliseum. He said she complimented him on a tremendous atmosphere and that she was proud to see the change.
Schaefer believes that is the sentiment of many throughout the nation. He said the way the Bulldogs play has helped them go from averaging 1,317 fans in 2012-13 to where they are today.
“I think people realize this isn’t Mississippi State of old,” Schaefer said. “That’s no knock on anybody that was here previously or any teams here previously. I think people across the country realize the talent we have here with our players. They realize the staff I have here. I think across the country people respect us, respect how we play the game.”
Schaefer said none of that adds to the “pressure” he or the Bulldogs face to beat the Lady Volunteers. He said “pressure” is receiving a phone call at 8:35 a.m. on July 12, 2000, from an emergency physician in Crockett, Texas, telling him his son, Logan, was “unconscious, unresponsive, and seizing” and asking him which hospital he wanted him to be sent to. Logan Schaefer suffered a traumatic brain injury after a wakeboarding accident and needed to be sent to a Level I trauma center. Thirty-nine days after the accident, Logan Schaefer walked out of TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston.
“We want to win, but I think we know how to win and know what we need to do to win,” Schaefer said. “We have had some things in the last couple of weeks that have kind of changed our team dynamics a little bit and we’re trying to get back to doing those things we were doing two, three, four weeks ago that were helping us to play a little different.”
While Tennessee (average of 9,997) continues to draw big crowds at home and on the road, Schaefer believes his program is building toward that number. Last season, MSU had the fourth-largest jump in average home attendance from the previous year from 2,321 to 3,755. In 18 home games, MSU set a program record with a total attendance of 67,598. MSU is on track to shatter its average attendance and the total marks, which are two more reasons why momentum is building in Starkville.
“(Tennessee has) great players and a great staff, but, at the same time, since we have been here we have set all kinds of new records and done something new every year,” said Schaefer, whose team won a school-record 27 games, including a program-best 11 in the SEC, last season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. “Our goal is to go win (tonight). If we do win, that will be another one that has never been done.”
Tonight, MSU will have to avoid playing against the name on the jersey and concentrate on beating the players who are wearing them. It enters the game having lost two in a row and three of four. Schaefer said the Bulldogs haven’t played well in two of those losses, which makes the game crucial regardless of the opponent. Games at Arkansas and at LSU are next on the schedule, followed by a home game against No. 22 Missouri, so life won’t get any easier. A first victory against a powerhouse like Tennessee could help build confidence and help MSU solidify a place in the top four in the league.
William and Chapel said history is in the past and the Bulldogs are focused on forging their identity.
“Just like Tennessee, I think we have a great staff and great players, too, so I think it is even,” Chapel said.
NOTE: The first 5,000 in attendance receive free maroon and white poms. MSU students will get free pizza while supplies last.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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