Mississippi State is in the midst of a branding change. The "M-State" and "Mississippi State" Banner wordmark logos are being phased out in favor of the Script "State" and Stacked "Mississippi State" lettering. This concept takes a quick look at how this updated branding may be applied to Mississippi State's Men's Basketball uniforms for the 2024-2025 season.
The first thing to note is that the Stacked "Mississippi State" lettering actually has its origins in Men's Basketball. It was first worn in the 2002-2003 season and was was updated to its current version (with the Bulldog Bold font) for the 2009-2010 season, where it was worn on White, Maroon, Black, and Gray uniforms for the final three seasons of the Stansbury Era. Starting with the 2012-2013 season, it was replaced by the Banner wordmark, which as of the 2023-2024 season is in its 12th and likely final season on the Bulldogs' Men's Basketball uniforms.
Additionally, Mississippi State has worn a version of a Script "State" logo before, from the 1974-1975 seasons to 1976-1977 seasons as well on a one-game throwback uniform in 2018. This version differs from the version that originated in baseball and is currently being pushed university wide, with a thicker stroke and just different shape all-around, though the basic concept of a cursive "State" with a tail underneath remains the same. This script was also worn on two Women's Basketball uniforms during the 2020-2021 season. With that being said, the Script "State" logo that is a part of the new university branding has not ever been worn on a basketball uniform before, but I expect that to change very soon.
You can get a more in-depth recap of this history on the Men's Basketball Uniform History page and Yearly Men's Basketball Uniform Records page!
Additionally, Mississippi State has worn a version of a Script "State" logo before, from the 1974-1975 seasons to 1976-1977 seasons as well on a one-game throwback uniform in 2018. This version differs from the version that originated in baseball and is currently being pushed university wide, with a thicker stroke and just different shape all-around, though the basic concept of a cursive "State" with a tail underneath remains the same. This script was also worn on two Women's Basketball uniforms during the 2020-2021 season. With that being said, the Script "State" logo that is a part of the new university branding has not ever been worn on a basketball uniform before, but I expect that to change very soon.
You can get a more in-depth recap of this history on the Men's Basketball Uniform History page and Yearly Men's Basketball Uniform Records page!
Stacked "Mississippi State" Lettering
| White - Primary Home The white uniform in this concept features the Stacked "Mississippi State" Lettering with double maroon stripes on the sleeves and collar and bold maroon numbers. This super clean look would be the Bulldogs' primary home uniform. |  |
| Maroon - Primary Road The maroon uniform would be a simple inverse of the home uniforms, with the Stacked "Mississippi State" Lettering in white, double white stripes, and bold white numbers. It would be the Bulldogs' primary road uniform. |  |
Script "State"
| Gray - Primary Neutral Site Mississippi State has worn gray uniforms a few times throughout its history, most recently in 2020 with a darker gray uniform. This would be a return to a lighter gray look, primarily mirroring the road gray baseball uniforms that the Bulldogs have worn for the last four seasons, with the Script "State" on the chest, maroon-white-maroon striping on the sleeves and collar, and maroon numbers outlined in white. This uniform would be ideal for neutral site games, as gray is able to contrast with both white and most dark colored uniforms. It could also be worn for at least one home and at least one road game per year. |  |
| Black - Secondary Road Mississippi State has worn black uniforms every year since they were first introduced in the 2009-2010 season. The last three years, the Bulldogs' black uniforms have featured block "STATE" lettering; this concept keeps that idea but transforms it into the Script "State"! While I think I prefer the Script "State" to be white on a black background, its usage so far in that context has been consistently maroon outlined in white, from baseball uniforms to volleyball uniforms to press conference backdrops. So my prediction is that would be the case for basketball as well. As such, this uniform kinda matches the black volleyball uniforms that were debuted in 2023, with a maroon Script "State" outlined in white, white numbers (outlined in maroon), and white-maroon-white stripes on the sleeves and collar. This would be worn mainly as a secondary road option, although it could also be worn for a home "blackout" game and a neutral site game or two if needed. |  |
Throwbacks
| Cream - Game of Change Throwbacks Bar none, the best Men's Basketball Uniforms that Mississippi State has worn this century are the cream "Game of Change" era throwbacks that were worn from the 2015-2016 to 2019-2020 seasons. They were criminally under-worn, only appearing nine times over those five seasons. With a cream base, block "STATE" lettering on the chest, maroon striping on the sleeves and collar, and block lettering, these were an absolutely phenomenal look. They need to be brought back as soon as possible, and I've been beating this drum ever since they were retired. Keep them for special occasions only, but at a minimum they need to see the court at least twice a year. |  |
| White - 1996 Final Four Throwbacks The best basketball uniforms Mississippi State ever wore just happened to be during the most successful season in program history, when the Bulldogs reached the NCAA Final Four in 1996! With split "Mississippi - # - State" block lettering, maroon side panels, double stripes on the sleeves and collar, these were a classic look for a classic team. The fact that there have never been throwback uniforms to these is a shame, especially for the 25th anniversary in 2021. Gigantic missed opportunity. Nevertheless, there are strong rumors that a throwback '96 uniform will finally be introduced later this season. What that uniform may look like exactly is yet to be seen. Mississippi State has worn throwbacks with varying levels of accuracy over the years; hopefully this one is on the very accurate end of the spectrum! For this concept, that's where I went. As historically accurate as possible, even down to the old version of the M-State logo on the shorts. Like the cream throwbacks, these would be worn for special occasions. But even more special in this case. The biggest of the big games. Kentucky. Ole Miss. Alabama. Those types of game. Anytime there's going to be a huge crowd and a high stakes game at The Hump, bust these out to maximize the hype. |  |
To close, I wanted to leave with an example of how these uniforms would be worn throughout the course of a season. Six uniforms is a lot, and it would be easy for one or more of them to be neglected throughout the course of a season. But with 30+ games in a season, it's possible to get a good distribution. So, following the guidelines I laid out above, I looked at the 2023-2024 season schedule and laid out how I would distribute the appearances of these 6 uniforms.
The result? The primary white uniforms are worn the most, at 10 appearances. The primary maroon uniforms come in second at 7 appearances. Black and gray each get worn 4 times, while the cream and '96 throwback uniforms make 3 special appearances each.
The result? The primary white uniforms are worn the most, at 10 appearances. The primary maroon uniforms come in second at 7 appearances. Black and gray each get worn 4 times, while the cream and '96 throwback uniforms make 3 special appearances each.
It's an exciting time for athletic aesthetics at Mississippi State! I'm looking forward to seeing how these branding changes affect all sports - and how close this prediction / concept is for Men's Basketball. Hail State!
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