Football fans urged to be mindful of road closures, gameday pet policies

SEC Nation will air live from the Junction beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday. Visitors coming to campus are urged to be mindful of gameday road closures and pedestrian safety measures. (Photo by Beth Wynn)

Contact: James Carskadon

STARKVILLE, Miss.—With Mississippi State University set to host Louisiana State University for Saturday’s [Sept. 16] primetime SEC football matchup, fans and campus visitors are urged to be mindful of gameday pet policies, as well as road closures relating to the game and SEC Nation, which will air live from the Junction on Saturday morning.

With the exception of service animals, pets are prohibited on the MSU campus beginning at noon the day before a game. If a pet is brought to campus at any point, owners are reminded to clean up after their pets.

MSU will host SEC Nation, the SEC Network’s traveling college football live morning show, in the Junction on Saturday from 9-11 a.m. CST prior to the 6 p.m. matchup between the Bulldogs and the Tigers on ESPN. Additionally, “The Paul Finebaum Show” will be held live from 2-6 p.m. Friday [Sept. 15] from the Junction and feature special guests.

In anticipation of the production requirements of SEC Nation, Creelman Street access via Stone Boulevard closed Wednesday evening. University personnel wishing to access Creelman Street (McCarthy Gym area) and the Lloyd Ricks Watson (LRW) parking lots are able to do so from President’s Circle only. Access to Creelman from Tracy Drive also is closed.

On Thursday and Friday afternoons from 4:30-5:30 p.m., Lee Boulevard–between the YMCA building and Colvard Student Union–will open for eastbound traffic only. This will give those in the affected area an alternate exit route.

Campus buses will be allowed to enter Creelman Street from President’s Circle to pick up passengers at the Montgomery Hall bus shelters. Faculty, staff and students housed in buildings located in the affected area of this street closure may make plans to take an alternate route to access Creelman and LRW parking lots on Thursday and Friday mornings of this week.

Here’s a timeline that will be beneficial to MSU students and faculty and campus visitors over the weekend:

Thursday, Sept. 14

--Campus shuttles will reroute around President's Circle Thursday and Friday. Shuttle routes that will be affected by this closure will be re-routed to the Montgomery Hall shuttle stop via President's Circle and Bully Boulevard.

--Large equipment may cause some traffic issues with tractors/trailers going to and from the SEC Nation set area and with staging for the show.

--Students should use caution changing classes in this area Thursday and Friday.

--The university is working to make sure no public tailgating areas are impacted by the additional space requirements for SEC Network guests.

Friday, Sept. 15

--Junction will still open at 4 p.m., but patrons will not have access to portions of Creelman St. for unloading tailgating equipment. Please be mindful of the influx on Stone Boulevard as traffic leaves campus as it closes and traffic arrives to drop off tailgating supplies.

--Friday any commuter decal can park in any commuter zone.

Saturday, Sept. 16

--B.S. Hood will close at 6 a.m. Saturday.

--Portions of Stone Boulevard will close at 2 p.m. in anticipation of the Fan Zone opening.

--Walker Road will be off limits to all non-credentialed patrons as normal. However, a loading/unloading zone will be set up on Saturday in front of the YMCA Building for fans. To assist with unloading supplies there will be a loading zone in front of YMCA, but access to it will close 8 a.m. Saturday to non-credentialed patrons.

--Stadium gates open at 3:45 p.m. Fans should arrive early.

--This is the first SEC game at home, so fines for improper use of cowbells will be strictly enforced. RING RESPONSIBLY.

--Dawg Walk at 4 p.m. WILL NOT change routes because of SEC Nation.

--Reserved RV/Wise Center, Research Park, Davis Wade Express, and Horsepark shuttle routes for Saturday will run three hours before kickoff (3 p.m.) and two hours after the end of the game.

In addition to the road closures related to SEC Nation, fans should also remain aware of MSU’s new gameday pedestrian safety and postgame traffic egress plans. More on the gameday changes for 2017 can be found at https://www.msstate.edu/newsroom/article/2017/08/msu-enhances-pedestrian....

For a complete gameday guide, visit http://www.hailstate.com/gameday/football-vs-lsu/football/1050/.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.

Thursday, September 14, 2017 - 10:49 am