JACKSON, Miss. — On the outskirts of Mississippi’s capital city, customers entering a Dick’s Sporting Goods are greeted by a rack of apparel belonging to one of the state’s college football programs.
The rack is full of blue and white hats and shirts, not red and blue for the Ole Miss Rebels or maroon and white for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The depiction of a tiger streaks across sweatshirts and three letters crawl across the ball caps: J-S-U.
Usually, Jackson State apparel is located toward the back of the store. Not today.
“We put it in the front after the announcement,” says Josh Eide, a 40-year-old store staff member.