1962–63 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team

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.^[1]

1962–63 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball
Southeastern Conference Champions
NCAA tournament, Mideast 3rd Place
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
AP	No. 6
Record	22–6 (12–2 SEC)
Head coach	Babe McCarthy (8th season)
Home arena	McCarthy Gymnasium
Seasons ← 1961–62 1963–64 →

Mississippi State secured the SEC title outright with a win over Ole Miss on March 2.^[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.^[3] 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."^[4] 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.^[2]

References

1. "MSU Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). HailState.com. 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
2. Wolff, Alexander (March 10, 2003). "Ghosts of Mississippi". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 98, no. 10. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
3. Mather, Victor (March 29, 2018). "When Loyola-Chicago Broke a Racial Barrier 55 Years Ago". The New York Times. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
4. Colvard, D. W. (March 2, 1963). "Statement by D. W. Colvard, President of Mississippi State University, Relative to Participation in NCAA Championship Competition" (Press release). Retrieved June 10, 2020 – via Mississippi State University Libraries.