MADISON, Miss.- Bringing the state’s biggest rivals, Mississippi State and Ole Miss, together for one awesome cause, the Unified Egg Bowl.
“The idea is that you get traditional athletes together with athletes that have intellectual disabilities and it fosters community and understanding, so what we’re trying to do is bring that unified sport element to Mississippi,” said Special Olympics Mississippi Public Relations Director Jim Beaugez.
MSU head coach Dan Mullen and Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze have sent out challenges to fans, followers, students and alumni of their teams to donate toward Special Olympics programs at their universities. The team that raises the most will have a three-point advantage when the first Unified Egg Bowl kicks off at the MSU intramural fields at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 19.
The videos are available for viewing and sharing on Special Olympics Mississippi’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/SpecialOlympicsMS.
“The goals behind the Unified Egg Bowl are to foster interaction, inclusion and understanding about intellectual disabilities,” said Tony Bahou, President and CEO of Special Olympics Mississippi. “It’s a great way for our athletes to have fun while showing the world that even though we like our sports rivalries, Mississippi is unified in support of Special Olympics.”
Special Olympics athletes will play flag football on teams alongside traditional college students from MSU and Ole Miss, while sharing in the fanfare and passionate competition that the schools will display when their Division 1 football teams meet the following week.
The Unified Egg Bowl brings the international Special Olympics Unified Sports movement, which joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team, to Mississippi. The program was inspired by a simple principle: playing together is a quick path to friendship, understanding and inclusion.
“This is truly a historic time for Mississippi, and the world is watching and cheering,” said Bahou. “There’s much more at stake than the glory of winning—we are challenging both schools to make history by helping create unified sports programs on their campuses. They can do that by donating, volunteering and pledging not to use the R-word.”
The Special Olympics Unified Egg Bowl will be held on the intramural athletic fields on Stone Boulevard on the campus of Mississippi State University, just down from Davis-Wade Stadium and the home of the top-rated Bulldogs football team. MSU Athletic Director Scott Stricklin will kick off festivities, and Miss MSU Randi-Kathryn Harmon will perform the national anthem. A pep squad of the school’s Famous Maroon Band will perform at halftime.
You can donate to Special Olympics Mississippi at UnifiedEggBowl.org.
