ITTA BENA, Miss. — Mississippi Valley State's football program has been forced into a travelling road show this season.
Earlier this year an engineer said MVSU's home stadium was unsafe for people to use because of structural damage. So the Southwestern Athletic Conference program has played all of its home games 45 miles off campus on a high school field in Greenville.
The school plans to use state funding to bring the stadium up to code and make other improvements, which will cost about $5 million. It's a big number for Jerry Rice's alma mater, which has an athletic budget around $3.3 million.
It's a stark contrast to some of MSVU's neighbors. Mississippi stands in the vast shadow of the SEC, where schools spend that much on high-definition video boards or practice facilities.