With foundation laid for state flag change, Mississippi State looks to benefit

Resolution to change flag passes Mississippi House or Representatives and Senate

It appears there is now little danger of Kylin Hill sitting out the 2020 football season and it looks like NCAA postseason events will be able to keep on coming to the campuses of Mississippi State and all Mississippi schools.

Both the Mississippi House of Representatives and Senate passed a resolution Saturday that will now allow consideration of a bill to change the state's flag. The bill is considered to be extremely likely to pass through both the House and Senate and be signed by Governor Tate Reeves in the upcoming days. The bill will first be taken up by the House on Sunday afternoon.

To get to this point, both the House and Senate had to pass Saturday's resolution with two-thirds majorities. It was considered the biggest hurdle to ultimately changing the flag. The House passed it 85-35 and the Senate followed suit, 36-14. There are still steps to take when it comes to ironing out the exact details of the bill, but legislators are now expected to move quickly to remove the state flag that has flown since 1894. The flag has been controversial for years due to the inclusion of the confederate battle emblem – a symbol many view as racist.

Assuming the flag indeed gets taken down, it's great news for Mississippi State and its fellow instate schools. The NCAA announced last week that it would no longer allow postseason events like baseball regionals and women's basketball tournament games to be played on Mississippi campuses as long as the current flag flies. The Southeastern Conference also announced it was considering restrictions of its own.

Then, earlier this week, MSU running back Kylin Hill – arguably the Bulldogs' best player – upped the ante when he insinuated he wouldn't play in 2020 unless the state flag gets changed.

After the votes came through on Saturday all but assuring a change is near, Hill chimed in on Twitter with this:

If you From Mississippi you felt this one ❤️ 🤞🏾

— Kylin Hill (@H_Kylin) June 27, 2020

MSU head track and field coach Chris Woods weighed in as well:

Today is a great day! We are one step closer to shedding light on the true representation of our great State! #HailState

— Chris Woods (@CoachCwoods) June 27, 2020

Woods was part of a Mississippi State contingent of coaches and administrators that went to the State Capitol on Thursday to lobby for a state flag change. They were joined by coaches and administrators from the state's other institutions. 

In the end, those efforts surely aided in what happened on Saturday as the stage is now set to put up a new state banner. 

"This is important in so many different ways," Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen said last Thursday. "You can talk about economic factors. You can talk about athletic competition. You can talk about our universities. You can talk about public education. Or you can just say it’s the right thing to do. This is a great opportunity to be on the right side of history."