Players, coach react to Mississippi College cutting football: 'Shocked would be an understatement'

Players, coach react to Mississippi College cutting football: ‘Shocked would be an understatement’

Posted by author November 18, 2024 Football

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The Mississippi College football program has been discontinued effective immediately, the school announced Monday afternoon.

The school said eliminating the football program “will allow the institution to further its commitment to excellence in intercollegiate Division II play across its 17 remaining sports and pursue needed facility upgrades” in its news release. Mississippi College is also renaming to “Mississippi Christian University.”

The Mississippi College football program was incepted in 1907. It went 2-8 this season and lost its final game 20-14 against Delta State.

“Sitting here shocked would be an understatement of the news our team received today from our administration,” coach Mike Kershaw said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. “It is horrible for these kids that because of poor decisions from people now 105 kids and coaching staff’s lives are about to change.

“My number 1 thing is to find these kids a new home to play the game they love. I have kids on this team that can play at all levels. Please reach out to me if you have any questions about any of them. These kids are good kids that will make your program better on and off the field.

“Pray for these kids and our staff going forward and again please reach out to me about our players.”

Players react to Mississippi College discontinuing football program

Players have taken to social media since the news broke to express their reactions to the program’s elimination. Kicker Price Nixon called Mississippi College “cowardly leaders.”

“Mississippi College football has just been killed this morning by an inept school administration,” Nixon wrote on X. “They failed not only the athletes but the legacy of players, coaches and a community that had stood behind this team for decades. The administration couldn’t even show their faces.”

In a second X post, he wrote, “Cowardly leaders jeopardized the livelihoods of our coaches and the careers and effort that everyone on this team and staff has put into this school and team. The president didn’t even have the courage to show his face to the team.”

Eli Anderson, Mississippi College’s leading passer, said in an X post, “My heart breaks for my teammates and this coaching staff. This is absolutely wild.”

Below are some of the social media posts from Mississippi College coaches and players.

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.