PHOTO: Mississippi State Gives Up Yardage To Sugarland

The annual spring game is a rite of passage for many college football teams and their fans. The glorified intrasquad practice is the first official look that most supporters will get of the team that they'll be cheering on in the fall. Schools try to make a really big deal of it, but most people know deep down (or perhaps not so deep down) that it's merely a glorified practice session. The Mississippi St. Bulldogs, however, have taken a bold stance to do away with any pretense.

On Saturday, MSU Athletic Director Scott Striklin tweeted out a picture of the field for the 2012 spring game.

via @stricklinMSU

What you're looking at is a stage on the field. That's because the popular (I assume they're still popular) crossover country-music group Sugarland will be playing a concert on Saturday night. Since there would be precious little time between the end of the MSU spring game and the beginning of the Sugarland concert in which to construct a stage, rig lights, etc., this year's spring game will be played using only 60 yards of the football field. No, really.

It's a bold move for the Bulldogs to play "half-court" football, as it were, but an even bolder move for the school to simply shrug and imply, "Hey, it's a spring game. You guys know the score. Come on, now."

I can only hope more and more schools follow this lead. Have a combination spring game and Cirque du Soleil show at the USC spring game. Dedicate half the field to a police auction at a Florida Gators spring game. And have half of the field at the Boise State spring game dedicated to the ice and snow that permeates the native wasteland, to serve as a grim reminder that "Idaho."

For all news and information regarding the Mississippi State Bulldogs, please visit For Whom the Cowbell Tolls.