From the Top: A Letter from Athletic Director Jeremy McClain
9/18/2025 3:58:00 PM | General
It’s that time of year again! The Fall semester is now in full swing, and there is excitement in the air as we dive into the 2025-26 athletic season!
Several of our sports have started their seasons, and we are excited to support our coaches and student-athletes. Our volleyball program is off to a strong start and had an amazing opening home weekend, setting multiple attendance records!
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— Southern Miss Volleyball (@SouthernMissVB) September 14, 2025
Today's attendance record nearly DOUBLED with 923 fans today!#SMTTT pic.twitter.com/PY2wIIMxJi
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— Southern Miss Volleyball (@SouthernMissVB) September 17, 2025
Our single-season Season Ticket record has been smashed and we’re just getting started!
Be part of the fun: https://t.co/Qn5HlvzF2O#SMTTT pic.twitter.com/5oHOTfINLJ
Our men’s and women’s golf programs also had a week for the record books, with both winning tournaments on the same day! Congratulations to both teams!
Much of the anticipation leading into the fall has been centered on football as we welcome a new staff to town. Coach Huff and his staff have done an outstanding job of “Flipping the Script’ in a short period of time and have created genuine buzz and excitement as the season begins. There is still plenty of work ahead, but we’re energized by the opportunity and excited to see where this team can go.
This season’s schedule is one of the best we have had in many years, including seven home games! We have had great crowds and great energy through the first three games, and now we shift our focus to our first road contest, against Louisiana Tech. However, we are back home in the Rock next Saturday for a big match-up against Jacksonville State. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m., and we need everyone in the Rock to bring the noise and make it an unrivaled home-field advantage for our team — single-game tickets are available now at SouthernMiss.com/tickets!
Reed Green Renovation
I am happy to announce that the Reed Green Renovation Project will commence this January, with primary focus on the south side and the proposed practice facility. Originally scheduled to begin in Summer 2025, necessary planning and timeline considerations required adjusting the start date. The new schedule reflects the $40 million project budget and our commitment to minimizing disruptions for our teams, fans, and community.
NIL/Revenue Share Update
College athletics is evolving faster than ever, and new changes are reshaping how institutions support their student-athletes. As part of the House Settlement that occurred this summer, institutions can now participate in revenue sharing with student-athletes. Our donors have been incredibly helpful in allowing us to create an opportunity where we can share revenue with select student-athletes and continue to put Southern Miss in a position to be competitive within the Sun Belt and beyond. One positive outcome from these rule changes is that our donors can now directly support our student-athletes by making a tax-deductible gift directly to the Southern Miss Athletics Foundation.
Record Fundraising
As college athletics continues to evolve, we continue to strategize ways to stay ahead of the curve. One certainty in that strategy is increased private fundraising. I am excited to share that FY25 was by far our best fundraising year on record. Our donors contributed over $9.5 million through the Southern Miss Athletics Foundation this year in support of our student-athletes. That mark is almost $1 million more than our previous high. We are incredibly thankful for the generosity of our many donors who helped us set the tone for years to come!
As we head full speed into our ’25-’26 seasons, I am encouraged by the momentum and support throughout the Golden Eagle family! Thanks to so many of you who continue to pull the rope in the same direction! Let’s continue the fight!
Southern Miss To The Top!
Jeremy McClain