It’s time for the University of Southern Mississippi to discover its identity and for those within and outside the school’s athletic department to make a difference.
That message was delivered by USM Senior Associate Athletic Director Jeff Hammond on Thursday night.
Hammond spoke to members of the Southwest Central Mississippi Alumni during their dinner at Mr. Whiskers in McComb.
During his 30-minute speech, Hammond told those in attendance that the present is the time for the Golden Eagles to make their mark and show who they are.
Among several topics, Hammond discussed the Golden Eagles’ upcoming football season under head coach Larry Fedora and new defensive coordinator Dan Disch.
“I think we’re going to run the table this year,” Hammond predicted. “Some people look at me and throw rocks at me and say, ‘You’re crazy.’ I tell them, ‘Darn right I am. I was a soldier for 32 years.’
“We’ve got the coach, we’ve got the players, we’ve got the people,” Hammond added. “Now all we’ve got to do is let this thing take its course.”
Hammond briefly mentioned Golden Eagles starting quarterback Austin Davis, calling him the only four-year starting quarterback among the state’s colleges.
“This team is going to take us to a championship,” Hammond said.
He added that any pending championship would be “critical” to the rise of the school’s athletic program.
“This year is the new climb,” he said. “And this time, we ain’t stepping down. We ain’t getting off. We’re staying where we belong.”
Hammond called Ole Miss’ and Mississippi State’s chances of getting a Bowl Championship Series bid this season “at the lower end of the SEC. It ain’t gonna happen.”
“We win a couple championships in football, overnight we become Boise State, TCU,” Hammond added. “We can get there, so let’s support the kids on the team this year.”
Prior to his gridiron prognostications, Hammond said USM’s new School of Business has a chance to “solve a family problem” and give the university its identity.
“I’ll tell you who we are,” Hammond said. “We are the University of Southern Mississippi, and all roads that go to business must come through Hattiesburg.
“Entrepreneurial skills, business thought and the future of this state must travel through Hattiesburg, Miss., and that campus.”
Hammond called USM’s School of Business “the most magnificent building in the state” and “the center of gravity.”
He added that the university currently has a campaign to raise the funds to “build this dream.”
“No one is on a mission to build a dream like this, where the payoff is going to be greater than anyone’s ever, ever seen.”
Hammond added that when the school is built, the state “is going to have to go to the Golden Eagle drumbeat.”
Hammond also shared experiences from his 32-year military career, including his time in Baghdad, Iraq.
A 1979 Southern Miss graduate, Hammond talked about his combat tour into Sadr City, just outside Baghdad and home to about 2.5 million Shiite Muslims.
“The place has no electricity, no running water, no sewer,” Hammond said. “They throw their garbage when they eat out on the streets and no one picks it up ... It’s a disaster.”
While in the midst of taking Sadr City, Hammond said, Iraqi soldiers fighting along with U.S. troops quit fighting.
“Their commander turned to me and told me in broken English, ‘We quit. We won’t fight anymore,’ ” Hammond said.
Hammond credited Southern Miss for his being able to handle the stress of military life. “I knew the University of Southern Mississippi taught me how to think,” he said. “Not what to think, how to think, how to think through problems.”
That, Hammond said, is when an American soldier turned to him with a message. “The Iraqi soldiers were so enamored with this boy who turns to his commanding general and says, ‘I can make a difference,’ ” Hammond said. “This kid took the Americans and the Iraqis back into the fight. At the end of 48 hours, they had secured Sadr City.”
While not on the level of sacrifice of the U.S. military, Hammond called on those in attendance to make a difference for their alma mater.
“You have choices in life. You decide how you feel, you decide what you say,” he said. “You also decide whether or not you want to make a difference.
“Everyone in this room is qualified to make a difference,” Hammond added. “Each and every day, each step along the way, make a difference. I ask you to make a difference for your university.”
