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From MSFame.com Commentary Pete Boone and Roy Culberson, made significant contributions to the future of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum Wednesday.
Boone understood the symbolism."We want to help ensure that this is a quality museum for years and years to come," Boone said. "We want this to be a place our grandkids' grandkids can come and learn about Mississippi's wonderful sports heroes." Boone, the athletic director at Ole Miss, and Culberson, his counterpart at Jackson State, will help make that happen. Their athletic departments are participating, along with the Jackson Touchdown Club, in the creation of an endowment fund to ensure the future of the museum. The Jackson Touchdown Club donated the first $20,000 to the endowment. Those who buy tickets to Ole Miss home basketball games will contribute 50 cents per ticket. Those who buy tickets to Jackson State's home football games will contribute 30 cents per ticket. With their ticket stubs, those fans can get discounted admission to the museum, which remains one of the finest of its kind in the nation. "I can't even begin to tell you how big a deal this is for us," Michael Rubenstein, the museum's executive director. "This is huge. It couldn't have come at a better time." The museum turned 6 years old July 4, having never received one copper penny of government support for its operation. While similar museums around the country - most notably, Florida's Sports Hall of Fame - have closed, Mississippi's remains open approximately 310 days a year, welcoming about 30,000 visitors per year. The museum houses artifacts, interviews and archival footage on the Hall of Fame's 209 inductees, as well as other Mississippi sports figures and historic sporting events. It is, as all who have visited can attest, a splendid tribute to our state's sports heritage. It is also expensive to operate and more expensive to expand as it must each year. "We currently have about four months of operating costs in reserve," Rubenstein said. "That's about where we were when we started six years ago. "So while we haven't gone under, as others have, we haven't made a lot of progress, either. The new endowment cannot be touched until it reaches $500,000 in principal. Says Rubenstein, "This is strictly about the future." Steve Carmody, the former USM football standout and president of the museum's board of directors, approached all Mississippi universities seeking participation in the project. "There was interest all around," Carmody said. "Certainly, we hope others participate in the future. "We won't turn down a green dollar from anybody." It doesn't have to be just the universities, either.How about a Hall of Fame Night in Mississippi high school football? The museum recently opened a section dedicated to the state's high school sports history. So pick a Friday night and let Mississippi high schools add a 50-cent surcharge to tickets. The Mississippi High School Activities Association and the Mississippi Private Schools Association could work in concert and make it happen. Do the same for the championship rounds of the two state basketball tournaments. How about the city of Jackson lending a hand? The city already plays host to the Mayor's Trophy baseball game. Add a dollar to the price of a ticket and help support one of the city's nicest attractions. Those are just a few ideas. You may have more. Know this: All involved in the museum will listen. Rick Cleveland is an award-winning sports columnist who, along with his brother Bobby Cleveland writes for The Clarion-Ledger. His late father, Ace Cleveland, was a 1998 inductee into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. > > © Copyright 2001-2002 by Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Museum |
