Serious question for Etolonel Colonel or any Rebel fan

I have always wondered why the 2 major schools in Mississippi, Ole Miss and Miss State, and even the mid-major USM are not in the bigger cities in Mississippi like Jackson, and are out in the middle of nowhere. No offense intended, just a question I have pondered before and never had anyone to ask.

 

I don't know why Ole Miss is in Oxford, Mitty Tate is in Starkville and Southern is in Hattiesburg. Why is Alabama in Tuscaloosa and Auburn in Auburn-Opelika-- instead of in B'ham or Mobile or Montgomery or Huntsville ? Most of these schools were established in the 1800's-- maybe that has something to do with it, i dunno

 

Well, now that I think about it that way, maybe we are weird for having our flagship university in the Baton Rouge. Arky is in Fayetteville, UT in Knoxville, UGA in Athens and so on. Man, we are a weird bunch here in Louisiana.

 

Why is that weird? It's the state's capital city...

 

I'm pretty sure he meant it sarcastically...

 

I was being sarcastic. It makes perfectly good sense to me to have the flagship university of a state in the capitol. I just dont understand why many other states dont have it the same way.

 

Man............have you ever been to Montgomery? When the rest of Alabama flushes.....it floats up there.

 

It probably had a lot to do with politics. Probably the same reason that we have so many 4 year colleges in Louisiana.

 

LQC Lamar, famed Mississippi statesman and Planter, lived in Lafayette [pronounced LuhFAYIT, not the French LOFEEE-YET because we Mississippians hate the damn French. They wouldn't help us bomb Iraq!] County when the MS Legislature approved the charter for the University of Mississippi. The Planter interest lobbied for a state institution of higher learning in 1846 because many of the Planters male children were travelling to Yankee lands to study economics, politics, philosophy, history, medicine and math.
Lamar lobbied for Lafayette County to be the home of the University (not yet called "ole miss") so Planters' children could study in state rather than going up north and being influenced by abolitionists (who were not in the majority up north at the time, but many in the south feared they were).
Oxford got its name as such because the townsfolk, led by Lamar, hoped the Legislature would pick their town to seat the state University. They hoped an the English town of the same name might help persuade the Legislature into action. It did, the rest is history.

Didn't any of you Ole Miss fans actually GO to Ole Miss? If so, then you obviously didn't pay attention in class.

And, LSU fans, when you come to Oxford and are in our stadium enjoying your Tigers whip the two-total shee-aht out of us, make sure you have locked your cars! You might want to re-enter your hotel rooms with caution, too because in Oxford, we don't take kindly to obnoxious visitors!

 

Thanks Realist, that's the kind of answer I was looking for. Now that you mention it, I am really glad I am staying in Grenada and not in Oxford, because I dont want any stink bombs in my hotel after the game Saturday.