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Lane Kiffin on how Ole Miss' racial history made it difficult to recruit Black players
TL;DR
Lane Kiffin highlighted challenges in recruiting Black players to Ole Miss due to its racial history and ties to Confederate symbols. He noted that potential recruits often express concerns about moving to Oxford, Mississippi, unlike other locations.
Key points
- Lane Kiffin discussed recruitment challenges at Ole Miss.
- Concerns stem from the university's racial history.
- Recruits' families are hesitant about moving to Oxford, Mississippi.
- Kiffin noted positive feedback about campus diversity.
Mentioned in this story
University of MississippiLSUOle Miss
The already contentious relationship between Lane Kiffin and the University of Mississippi just got a little thornier.
In an interview with Vanity Fair for a profile published on Monday, May 11, the first-year LSU coach, who spent the previous six seasons at Ole Miss, said he faced difficulties attracting top recruits to the Rebels due to the university’s sordid racial history and the longtime connection it had with Confederate symbols.
Kiffin told the publication that elite prospects would tell him “Hey, coach, we really like you. But my grandparents aren’t letting me move to Oxford, Mississippi.”
“That doesn’t come up when you say Baton Rouge, Louisiana,” Kiffin said. “Parents were sitting here this weekend saying the campus’s diversity feels so great: ‘It feels like there’s no segregation. And we want that for our kid because that’s the real world.’”
During a conversation the next day, Kiffin told Vanity Fair that he hoped his comment “comes across respectful to Ole Miss…. There are some things that I’m saying that are factual, they’re not shots.”
Kiffin coached at Ole Miss from 2020-25, a run capped off by a College Football Playoff appearance last season. After weeks of will-he-or-won’t-he speculation, Kiffin left the Rebels before the playoff to go to LSU, which lured him away with a seven-year, $91 million deal. Under new head coach Pete Golding, Ole Miss advanced all the way to the playoff semifinals, where it lost to Miami 31-27.
Confederate flags were widely displayed at Rebels home games until the late 1990s, when the school instituted a ban on sticks at sporting events in 1997. Colonel Reb, a goateed southern planter, was sidelined as Ole Miss’ mascot in 2003 and replaced in 2010 by a black bear (which was later replaced by a shark in 2018). Even the university’s unofficial name, Ole Miss, has roots extending back to the days of slavery.
As the Vanity Fair story noted, about 26% of Oxford residents are Black, compared to 51% of Baton Rouge residents.
Q&A
What challenges did Lane Kiffin face in recruiting Black players at Ole Miss?
Lane Kiffin faced difficulties attracting Black recruits due to Ole Miss's racial history and connections to Confederate symbols.
How did Ole Miss's racial history affect Lane Kiffin's recruitment efforts?
Kiffin indicated that potential recruits often cited concerns from their families about moving to a place with Ole Miss's racial background.
What did Lane Kiffin say about the campus diversity at Ole Miss?
Kiffin mentioned that parents appreciated the campus's diversity, expressing a desire for a non-segregated environment for their children.
