1962–63 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 June 2020 1962–63 Mississippi State Bulldogs Basketball Mississippi State Bulldogs logo.svg 150 Mississippi State 1963 basketball team yearbook photo.jpg 260 Southeastern Conference SEC 7 6 22–6 12–2 Babe McCarthy 8th McCarthy Gymnasium Southeastern Conference Champions NCAA tournament Mideast 3rd Place The 1962–63 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Mississippi State University in the 1962–63 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. Led by head coach Babe McCarthy, the Bulldogs finished with a 22–6 record (12–2 SEC) and received an invitation to the NCAA tournament in the Mideast region.MSU Basketball Media Guide 2017 https://static.hailstate.com/custompages/pdf/mbk/mbk_1718mg.pdf HailState.com 10 June 2020 Mississippi State secured the SEC title outright with a win over Ole Miss on March 2. At that time, the SEC did not hold a postseason tournament, so the only conference title went to the regular season champion. Having long followed an unwritten rule that teams from Mississippi would never play integrated teams with black players, the Bulldogs had declined all NCAA Tournament invitations prior to 1963.Mather Victor When Loyola-Chicago Broke a Racial Barrier 55 Years Ago https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/sports/loyola-chicago-1963-ncaa-tournament.html 28 May 2020 The New York Times 29 March 2018 In 1963, however, university president Dean W. Colvard decided to take a risk and accept the tournament invitation. On March 2, 1963, Colvard issued a statement announcing that he would be sending the team to the tournament "unless hindered by competent authority."Colvard D. W. Statement by D. W. Colvard, President of Mississippi State University, Relative to Participation in NCAA Championship Competition https://msstate.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16631coll1/id/12 Press release Mississippi State University Libraries 10 June 2020 en 2 March 1963 The decision faced challenges from the state college board and segregationists throughout the South, but ultimately the Mississippi State team was able to depart the state to play in Michigan. In what is now called the "Game of Change", the Bulldogs faced a majority-black Loyola-Chicago team in the Mideast regional semifinal. They lost 61–51, but won a consolation game against Bowling Green the following day to finish in 3rd place for the Mideast region.Wolff Alexander Ghosts of Mississippi https://vault.si.com/vault/2003/03/10/ghosts-of-mississippi-forty-years-ago-a-courageous-college-president-defied-a-court-order-barring-mississippi-state-from-integrated-competition-and-sent-his-team-to-face-black-players-in-the-ncaa-tournament https://web.archive.org/web/20200610020446/https://vault.si.com/vault/2003/03/10/ghosts-of-mississippi-forty-years-ago-a-courageous-college-president-defied-a-court-order-barring-mississippi-state-from-integrated-competition-and-sent-his-team-to-face-black-players-in-the-ncaa-tournament dead June 10, 2020 10 June 2020 Sports Illustrated 98 10 10 March 2003 en-us References Mississippi State Category:Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball seasons Mississippi State