MC ATHLETICS DINNER BROCHURE
WHAT: The Dr. Don Phillips Mississippi College Athletics Dinner
WHEN: Thursday, November 9th - 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Anderson Hall, B.C. Rogers Student Center
FEATURED SPEAKER: Buck Showalter, Baltimore Orioles Manager and Mississippi State All-American
For additional information contact Tim Fritts at 601-925-7826 or send an email to
tfritts@mc.edu.
The annual Mississippi College Athletics Dinner has become the most important night of the year for the athletic department. In just 15 years over $1,800,000 has been raised including over $160,000 just last year. The past speakers have included Bobby Bowden, Van Chancellor, Mike Bianco, Jeff Brantley, Sylvester Croom, Robert Khayat, Seth Smith, Gene Stallings, John Smoltz, Sarah Thomas, Fred McAfee, Clark Kellogg and Tim Brown.
This is an exciting time at Mississippi College as the Choctaws have completed their transition back to Division II and the Gulf South Conference, a league MC was a part of from 1972-96. The money raised at this event has always made a huge impact on the athletic department, and the support will continue to be vital as the Choctaws and Lady Choctaws look to compete in the GSC and on a national level. Major improvements and enhancements have been made through renovations of offices and facilities, including building the Robert W. Girling Field House for our soccer teams, the Rice Field House for our baseball team, and major renovations to the MC Softball Complex.
“Our athletic department at Mississippi College owes much of our success directly to the Athletics Dinner,” said MC Athletics Director Mike Jones. “We are blessed to have the level of support we receive from our friends and alumni and look forward to another great year.”
Further renovations are being planned that will keep the Choctaws competitive in the Gulf South Conference.
A three-time Manager of the Year (1994, 2004 and 2014), Buck Showalter is in his eighth season with the Orioles. Showalter currently ranks fourth among active Major League managers and 25th all-time with 1,429 career victories.
Showalter earned First Team All-America honors in 1977 at Mississippi State University, where he established a still-standing school record for batting average (.459) and a then-team mark for RBIs (44).
He spent the first 19 seasons of his professional baseball career in the New York Yankees organization, playing for seven years in the minor league system before becoming a coach and eventually the league’s youngest manager in each of his four seasons (1992-95). Showalter also had managerial stints with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Texas Rangers, where he ranks 4th in victories with 319 for Texas.
Showalter graduated from Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in education in 1979. His father, the late William Nathaniel II, was an All-American fullback at Milligan College in Tennessee and then served as principal at Century High School for 23 year.
Showalter was called “Nat” throughout his youth before acquiring nickname “Buck” from Ed Napoleon, his manager at Fort Lauderdale in 1977.
Showalter and his wife, Angela, were married on March 5, 1983, and have two children. Their daughter, Allie St. Clair Showalter Robinson, was born on January 30, 1987, and married Andrew Robinson in 2013. Their son, William Nathaniel IV (Nathan), was born December 17, 1991, and is currently an Area Scout for the Orioles.
SPONSORSHIP LEVELS
| Platinum |
$10,000 donation, private pre-dinner visit, 12 complimentary tickets, 4 reserved parking passes and preferred seating. |
| Gold |
$5,000 donation, private pre-dinner visit, 8 complimentary tickets, 3 reserved parking passes and preferred seating. |
| Silver |
$2,000 donation, 8 complimentary tickets and preferred seating. |
| Blue |
$1,000 donation, 8 complimentary tickets. |
| Choctaw |
$100 per ticket. |
