STARKVILLE — Last month, fresh off losing to rival Mississippi State, Ole Miss women’s basketball coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin didn’t have much to say about the Humphrey Coliseum crowd of more than 7,000 fans.

With the seats matching the maroon shirts of most fans, McPhee-McCuin said, she didn’t even realize how large the gathering was. However, less than two weeks later after her team’s home victory against Florida in front of 2,450 fans, it was apparent that the crowd in Starkville did actually stick out to the Rebels’ coach.

She made that clear while voicing her displeasure for women’s basketball struggling to draw crowds like men’s teams in Oxford do.

“Why can’t we be an everything school?” McPhee-McCuin said. “Because that’s a destination spot. It’s happening up the street. We went to that game and there was 7,000 people in there. You get what I’m saying? I don’t even want to call them their names. But it happened.”

McPhee-McCuin made clear the struggle women’s teams face when building programs. Recent regular season success for Ole Miss’ men’s basketball has drawn impressive crowds, but fresh off a Sweet 16 trip, the women’s team is averaging fewer than 4,000 fans per game.

Yet in the same state, Mississippi State ranks fourth among SEC teams with an average attendance of 5,457 and had a recent sellout against LSU.

As the programs meet for the return game in Oxford on Sunday (3 p.m., SEC Network+), it’s a reminder of how impressive MSU’s rise in women’s basketball is while its rival looks to catch up.

How Mississippi State became a prominent women’s basketball brand

The country woke up to the tune of a cowbell on March 27, 2017, and Mississippi State women’s basketball was the reason why.

It was a normal morning for Robin Roberts in most regards as she took her spot hosting Good Morning America on ABC. However, the Bulldogs had just given her an excuse to ring a cowbell on one of television’s most popular shows.

Sporting an assortment of maroon and white, Roberts reminded the nation of what had happened the night before. With a win against Baylor, Mississippi State had just clinched its first trip to the Final Four.

For Roberts, who grew up and played basketball in Pass Christian, Mississippi, the cowbell was a chance to endorse what the Bulldogs just accomplished. For former MSU coach Vic Schaefer, it was the start of a week that changed women’s basketball in Starkville – and across the state – forever.

Roberts became an iconic part of MSU’s success, highlighted by a postgame speech she gave in Mississippi State’s locker room after an upset of UConn in the 2017 Final Four.

“Thank you for elevating women’s basketball the way you have,” Roberts told the team.

But she also played a big role in helping grow the game, which doesn’t go unnoticed by Schaefer.

“That’s free advertisement,” Schaefer told the Clarion Ledger this week. “You get a 30-second blip on an ad for ‘Good Morning America,’ it’s $4 million from what I’ve been told. We got about $12 million worth of advertisement three straight days that didn’t cost us a dime.”

Reaching the level of success required to get that national hype wasn’t easy, though.

Sharon Fanning-Otis spent 17 seasons as MSU coach, guiding the program to its first six NCAA Tournament appearances. However, room remained for Mississippi State to take the next step.

Schaefer inherited a team ahead of the 2012-13 season that was fresh off back-to-back losing seasons. He finished 13-17 in his first season and didn’t make the NCAA Tournament the following season despite a 22-14 record. Across his final six seasons, Mississippi State became a fixture in March Madness and the national polls.

“There’s an investment level that is required,” Schaefer said. “Once you get a return on your investment, it’s real easy to support it.”

Style of play was a big reason Schaefer’s teams appealed to Starkville.

Success for Mississippi State, Ole Miss starts in Mississippi high school basketball

In-state products such as Victoria Vivians (Carthage) helped mold the best years of Schaefer’s tenure, but even since his departure, Mississippi has generated top players.

Debreasha Powe is a sophomore at Mississippi State out of Meridian High School in Meridian. Madison Booker, a freshman star for Schaefer at Texas, is a product of Ridgeland. In her first season, Powe started 32 games for an NCAA Tournament team. This season, Booker is averaging 15.5 points per game and has started all 24 games she has appeared in.

“I think in both cases, those kids played for really good high school coaches,” Schaefer said. “They had a lot of success in high school. They had to be the player on their high school team, so night in and night out they had to show up and be accountable. I think that’s what gets you ready for college more than anything.”

Added to the list is Ole Miss forward Snudda Collins out of Brookhaven. The state is producing talent at an impressive pace, though it doesn’t guarantee the top players are coming to your program.

“I think the trend is becoming that elite players from their state are staying home,” McPhee-McCuin said. “What makes it difficult in Mississippi is you have two Power Five programs in the same conference … That makes it incredibly challenging because when you do get one that has a lot of talent, now you’re fighting in state against them.”

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With success, though, comes the ability to recruit at a bigger scale. Collins and Powe are the lone in-state products across the two rival rosters this season. However, both programs have top players from other spots, ranging from MSU guard Mjracle Sheppard from Washington to Ole Miss guard Marija Avlijas from Serbia.

There are layers to creating the success women’s basketball has in Mississippi. It’s a cycle where fans, programs and schools work hand-in-hand to keep each other moving forward.

When the highs are reached and programs get to the levels Mississippi State and Ole Miss have gotten to, the benefits resonate throughout the state.

“When you have two programs on the national stage that are able to give exposure to women’s sports, compete at the highest level and be two brands that are recognized on the women’s side, it’s not only great for our universities, it’s great for our schools,” MSU coach Sam Purcell said.  

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.