Contact: Allison Matthews
STARKVILLE, Miss.--As always, the annual Super Bulldog Weekend at Mississippi State will include hospitality, sports and a spring homecoming opportunity for university alumni and friends.
Taking place Friday-Sunday [April 17-19], the decades-old tradition wouldn't be complete without a friendly--but very, very serious--competition to determine who prepares the best barbeque pork.
The SBW Barbeque Cooking Contest, a joint effort of MSU's athletics department and the Mississippi Pork Producers Association, officially begins at 8 a.m. Friday and continues overnight with Saturday judging from 9 a.m.-noon. Planners said predictions for rain will not change the location, adding, "We'll just have to grin and bear it."
Doss Brodnax, a retired faculty member, said his team, the "Flyin' Plowboys," is not participating this year, though it did nearly every year since the event began some three decades ago.
"We enjoyed getting together, cooking the hog overnight, telling stories and just having a good time," he recalled recently. "You would see some of the same teams come to cook every year and you made real good friends."
Teams may enter up to two of the three cooking categories: whole hog, ribs and shoulder. When done, contestants pack containers of both meat and sauce for a blind-taste judging, while other judges tour the individual cooking areas to consider "presentations"--how each cooking rig is set-up and how it gives the finished product a distinctive taste.
"When the judging is going on, you want to be flashy," Brodnax explained. To achieve "flashy," the veteran grill-master said he and his teammates turned to their wives for help.
As a result, Plowboy setups typically featured swine-themed decorations, tablecloths and anything else that illustrated and complemented the barbequing experience. Ice water served up in fine crystal glasses provided a final, eye-catching touch.
"That's basically the way it's been over the years and it means a lot to people who come back every year," Brodnax said.
While the competition has taken place at various campus sites over the years, the backyard of McArthur Hall has remained its locale for about a decade now.
Bobby Tomlinson, associate director of athletics facilities and an event coordinator, said the competition is free to all entrants. "We just ask that they come and prepare the meat for judging and have a good time," he added.
While members of cooking teams often share food with visitors, Tomlinson emphasized that representatives of the state pork producers group always set up to provide free samplings for all takers. The Mississippi Pork Producers Sampling of the Grill will begin at 4 p.m. Friday and again at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Mark Crenshaw helps Tomlinson with coordinating duties. An MSU Extension Service professor of animal and dairy science who specializes in swine, he said pork producers view the family-centered event as an excellent opportunity to promote their popular product.
Tomlinson said he, Crenshaw and all others involved are dedicated to making SBW and all its aspects "a fun and family atmosphere."
For a complete Super Bulldog Weekend schedule, visit www.hailstate.com/sbw.
MSU, the Magnolia State's flagship research institution, is online at www.msstate.edu.