|
JACKSON -- Well,
the Super Bowl has come and gone -- the 41st time that the event
has happened and the New Orleans Saints haven't been part of the
participating teams.
However, this year was a special one for Saints fans, as their
team got within one game of the NFL's version of the Emerald City,
the first time in history that the franchise has advanced this
far in the postseason.
This is following the first time in franchise history that the
team held its preseason training camp at Millsaps College in Jackson.
I'm going to go ahead and say - based on no concrete evidence
whatsoever - that, when it comes time to decide where to hold the
2007 version of the Saints training camp, the team will be back
in Jackson.
When the team decided on training camp prior to the 2006 season,
it signed a multi-year contract with Millsaps, based on first-year
impressions. Well, the year that began in Jackson almost ended
in Miami for Super Bowl LXI and gained New Orleans - both the team
and the city - huge amounts of publicity in the process.
I'd have to say that, right off hand, Saints officials would admit
they were pleased with how the season turned out, especially in
comparison to preseason expectations that had them finishing last
in their division, not second in their conference.
It's things like this that can make things just a bit easier for
those who promote the Jackson area full-time.
"The fabulous season the Saints had is going to do wonders
for Jackson (in) August when they return to Millsaps," said
Mara Hartmann of the Jackson Convention and Visitor's Bureau. "Having
the Saints here gives us the chance to tell the story about who
we are and what Jackson is all about. If the Saints keep getting
the national (attention) that they're getting, Jackson is going
to be put on the map for a whole lot of people who did not know
who we are."
It especially helps when someone else toots your horn for you
- like, for instance, NFL coach of the year Sean Payton, the Saints'
head coach.
"From what I heard, when he was asked why he thought the
team did so well this season, he credited Jackson, Mississippi
and the Millsaps training camp; that's where the they bonded," Hartmann
said. "You cannot buy that kind of publicity. That's priceless."
Ironically, the matchup seemed to spearhead a revival of sorts
with Millsaps' program as well. The Majors ran through the Southern
Collegiate Athletic Conference with an unbeaten league mark. The
effort snapped Trinity College's 13-year hold on the SCAC title
and sent the team to the NCAA Division III playoffs for the first
time in 31 years.
Mathew Cox, the dean of enrollment management at Millsaps, said
that the connection has already led to increased name recognition
and a boost in recruitment.
"There's no question that it's helped us from a notoriety
and visibility standpoint, especially since one of our larger recruitment
markets is Louisiana and they were seeing us in their local news
daily throughout the summer," Cox said. "Now, when we
talk to kids, the likelihood that this is the first time they've
heard of Millsaps has decreased because of the Saints.
"It helps
helps when you can go in and talk with families and they at least
have
a general frame of reference of where you
are, what size you are and what kind of college you are even before
we start talking in-depth about the college."
Another issue is the personal exposure factor. Cox said that many
families would plan trips to Jackson on the weekends of training
camp. In the process, kids who were trying to decide where to go
to college spent the weekend traversing the Millsaps campus while
decked out in Saints gear.
Cox and his staff also had some official campus tours overlap
with some of the team's practices, putting an entirely different
spin on the traditional campus tour.
"Indirectly, people just hear about us more. Directly, we
have done some things in conjunction with their practices," Cox
said.
It's interesting how one open door can so often lead to so many
others. This time, Jackson and Millsaps are reaping the benefits.
Raymond Reeves
can be reached at rareeves@jackson.gannett.com.
|
