The Mississippi State and Southern Miss men’s basketball teams will play an exhibition game later this month to raise money for tornado victims throughout the Mississippi Delta.
All proceeds from the game, which is set to tip off at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday, Oct. 29, will go to victims of an EF-4 tornado that ravished portions of the Delta such as Rolling Fork and Silver City on March 24. Distributing the funds will be disaster relief organization CitiIMPACT.
“CitiIMPACT is honored to be the recipient of this charity basketball game between two such remarkable universities,” the organization’s CEO, JD Smith, said. “On behalf of those in Mississippi who were devastated by recent tornadoes, we extend our heartfelt appreciation for your willingness to help in such a meaningful way. These donations will help provide new homes for those who have lost everything. It will be vital in restoring and transforming communities that were destroyed.”
Discussions surrounding a charity game for tornado victims began in the offseason between Southern Miss head coach Jay Ladner and Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans, but when a regular season game couldn’t be worked out, the two landed on the idea of an exhibition game going into the new season.
“We’re excited to partner with Southern Miss to play a charity exhibition basketball game in the state of Mississippi,” Jans said. “Our basketball program is in a position to help the residents of the Mississippi Delta and especially the people affected by the tornadoes. We’re looking forward to competing down in Hattiesburg for this worthy cause.”
As Jans noted, the game will be played in Hattiesburg inside Reed Green Coliseum. It will be the first time Mississippi State has played in Hattiesburg since 1995 when the Bulldogs ousted the Golden Eagles 72-69 in overtime before eventually advancing to the Final Four.
Both teams are coming off successful 2022-23 campaigns, in which the Bulldogs returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. Southern Miss, who ended the year in the NIT, won the Sun Belt regular season championship in their first year as a member of the conference.
Tickets for the exhibition match between Mississippi State and Southern Miss can be purchased here. Chairbacks will be $20 and bleacher seats will be $10. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
