Mississippi State athletic director Greg Byrne was also in town for the Road Dawgs Tour on Tuesday and answered a few questions about the football program and the athletic department in general.

Q: What has Dan Mullen brought to your football program?

A: He’s brought excitement. The fan base is enthused and they’re ready to jump on board as we go forward.

Q: What was the timeline on bringing him to Starkville.

A: It all happened pretty quick. We needed to let him concentrate on the SEC championship game, so we did that. Afterwards, we got together and a day later, he was our coach. We were well impressed with him right off the bat because everywhere he’s been, he’s won. As Jim Tressel (Ohio State football coach) told me during the search, he said ‘winners win and Dan Mullen is a winner.’

Q: What are some facility improvements that are on your long term radar?

A: Football-wise, we’ve got to look at the stadium and create some more high-end seating. There’s a big need for that. The football practice fields need to be redone. We’re building a basketball practice facility and we’re redoing the track. We need a golf practice area for our golf teams. We’re building an indoor tennis facility. We need to update volleyball. We’ve got a lot of needs.