I could have talked with Joe Bryant for hours. Sitting in his office across the street from the stadium, I listened intently as he told me fascinating story after story about Southern Miss football of years past. His passion for promoting the university he loves, along with his ability to bring together former players make him an ideal leader in the M-Club.
Bryant played for USM in 1971-1974 seasons as the center. “Our freshman team in 1971 was the last year freshmen were not eligible to play for the varsity. I was a part of the last freshman team ever to play for Southern Miss.” He said as he showed me the picture of that team.
Interestingly enough, there were only two players from Mississippi on that team. “There were no scholarship limits in those days, so what would happen is the University of Alabama would sign 100 players. If they knew Ole Miss was looking at a player in Mississippi, they would sign him sight unseen just so he wouldn’t go there.”
He added, “State and Ole Miss would sign everyone else they could, so the players on our team were from Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Virginia. We had only two Mississippi scholarship players. That being said, once we got down here, this bunch of out of towners all found a home here.”
Being from out of town, Bryant came to Hattiesburg and knew this was where he wanted to stay. His road to being the president three times started because he simply loved USM and wanted to stay involved as much as possible. “I would go to every function I could after I graduated, and it was just a bunch of old timers. I was by far the youngest guy there, but I just wanted to be around anything Southern Miss.” He said.
He continued about his early days with a laugh, “They decided to make me president because I was just always there, and they needed to get younger.” He said this humbly, but there was something about Bryant that made people take notice. He wanted to take this group of former athletes and do so much more with them.
“When I first started, I wanted former players to take some pride in being a part of the M-Club. I made up some hats, jackets, and wearable’s. We started organizing reunions and anniversaries, anything that would connect former athletes back to one another,” he said.
So, what is the M-Club all about? What is its purpose? What does it mean for fans?
“Any former athlete, cheerleader, trainer, manager, or anyone who was employed by the athletic department can join and be a part.” He said.
“Our goal is to support current athletes, and bring together former athletes of yesteryear. We want to connect them to show them what it means to be a Golden Eagle for life.”
“The M-Club supports any person or group trying to bring former players together. More and more people are getting together and having reunions, it is exciting to see.”
One of the key aspects the M-Club has done is to make the first year after graduating a big deal for the athletes. “Before, we would just throw a jacket and letter at the guys and say, ‘congratulations.’ Now, we let them watch a video of former athletes, talk about the history and get them excited about being a part of the M-Club.”
“It makes it meaningful for them to get that letter.” Also, at graduation, they wear a special gold stole at graduation so everyone knows they were an athlete at USM.”
These positive changes are helping change the culture in the M-Club and show current athletes how special their time really was in Hattiesburg. Joe Bryant is being proactive in doing whatever it takes to grow this large group and make it a time they will never forget.
One of the big developments has been the addition of their own website. This was a necessity because former athletes had no way of connecting to one another. Now, they have a database with which to keep up with reunions, news, addresses and phone numbers of each other.
I had to ask Bryant about the unique pride of being a former Golden Eagle. He lit up as he talked about it. “There is always a unique pride in being in that underdog role. When you have to fight for everything, when you beat teams that have more money, bigger facilities, it just brings you together like nothing else can.”
The pride is certainly evident in a few minutes of talking with Bryant. He went on to tell me of Walter Peyton’s close call with Southern Miss, battles with Ole Miss and State, and wool uniforms given to an opponent on a Mississippi September home game that he just knew led to a Southern Miss victory. “There are endless stories like these floating around,” he said.
We talked current Golden Eagles, and about his passion for these current players to know the pride he and so many others have with USM. He, as do I, wants a partnership with Goldeneaglepride.com as a place where we can promote Southern Miss athletics and bring together former players and fans alike.
I will be starting a “where are they now?” feature where I will update fans on current players and coaches, memories of former days at Southern Miss, and their thoughts on the current state of USM athletics. If you are a true Southern Miss fan, then you will want to tap in to stories and players that have helped lay the foundation for this great University. That is one of our goals.
You can check out updates of M-Club happenings at www. http://usmmclub.com/.