SUMMIT — Meet Coach Sylvester Croom.

Mississippi State’s new head football coach cradled the youngestBulldog fan, 12-day old Grace Goff, as her father, Mickey Goff ofMeadville, beamed with paternal pride. Grace’s mother, Page, smiledproudly, too.

Grace was adorned with a tiny maroon paw print on her leftcheek. She slept peacefully through most of Tuesday night’s MSUSouthwest Region Alumni Bulldog Family Celebration which was heldin the sparkling new Horace C. Holmes Union Building, located onthe Southwest Mississippi Community College campus.

Croom’s large, strong hands also hold the future of the MSUfootball team. It’s a fragile, depressed, downtrodden program,racked by lopsided setbacks, beset with injuries and the awfulspecter of NCAA sanctions looming overhead like a dark cloud.

Still, there is a bright ray of hope on the horizon. Croom, thefirst black head football coach in the powerful SoutheasternConference, isn’t concerned about milestones and political agendas.He wants a winning football team on the Starkville campus, Bulldogproud and Bulldog tough.

He didn’t promise instant miracles Tuesday night as a crowdestimated at 200-plus listened intently to his eloquent message. Hedid ask for loyalty and enthusiastic support.

“Come to our games and make some noise,” said Croom. “Make theother team worry about you. Buy season tickets and support ourprogram.”

After going 2-10 in Coach Jackie Sherrill’s swan song season,the Bulldogs endured their share of embarrassing setbacks. Sevenstarters return on offense and seven more on defense. With Croomand 10 new assistant coaches on staff, many of those starters couldbe watching from the sidelines when the 2004 season kicks off Sept.4, against Tulane.

“I won’t make a lot of promises,” said Croom, a 49-year-oldnative of Tuscaloosa, Ala. “I can promise you that we will be ateam that hits you and gives the best effort possible on everyplay. We won’t be a team that beats ourselves.”

His last statement drew a round of applause from the attentivecrowd. Last year’s team was plagued by mistakes and penalties ontop of penalties. For sure, it was ugly.

“We are going to face tough times, bumps in the road,” saidCroom. “You can’t turn against each other. You have to lift eachother up.”

Croom has been on a nonstop schedule since he was hired inDecember. Splitting time between coaching running backs with theGreen Bay Packers and learning his new position at MSU, he hassurvived an exhausting schedule. His wife, Jeri, is still packingtheir furniture and belongings in Green Bay.

It has been a whirlwind tour of alumni meetings and recruitingvisits. Croom operates on six hours sleep and sometimes he gets byon three hours.

“I am really busy,” Croom admitted. “I recruit by day and meetfans and alumni by night. I do it one day at a time. The Lord hasgiven me strength.”

Croom was an All-SEC center at the University of Alabama,(1972-74) playing for the late Paul “Bear” Bryant. Obviously, muchof his coaching philosophy was formed in Tuscaloosa while hisfather, a minister, preached the gospel on Sundays.

Croom spent 10 years as an assistant coach at Alabama. Add 17years coaching in the NFL and the man obviously knows the game.

“The most important thing about my job is that I love coachingand I love the players,” said Croom. “I love people.”

Croom received a standing ovation when MSU National AlumniAssociation president Gary Blair of Brookhaven introduced him tothe crowd. “Coach Croom is a man of character and integrity. Hecares about his players. He is a family man who knows theSouth.”

The NCAA’s iron hammer will fall on the MSU football programthis summer. There is no place to hide. Sherrill has promised towrite a book about the NCAA and its infractions committee. The NCAAis expected to throw the book at Sherrill’s former regime.

Croom said the cloud of NCAA probation hanging over MSU has hurtrecruiting. “We hope that when the NCAA passes out sanctions, wecan put that behind us and go on with our business. Because ofuncertainty, it has been a factor in our recruiting.”

On the horizon are recruiting stops in Jackson and Hattiesburgon Thursday and New Orleans and Meridian Friday, complete withalumni speaking engagements added to the mix.

Croom has a long, hard row to hoe but he does have plenty ofsupport right now. The Bulldog family is behind him and they’recounting on a brighter future in Cowbell Country.

Write to sports editor Tom Goetz at The DAILY LEADER, P.O.BOX 551, Brookhaven, MS or e-mail sports@dailyleader.com