OXFORD – University of Mississippi football fans are accustomed to the sounds of the Grove on game day — the chatter of classmates reuniting, the laughter of children playing catch, the rousing horns and drums of the Pride of the South, the cheers as Rebels parade along the Walk of Champions – but in the 2017 season and beyond, one sound will be heard over all others: chimes.

“Our hope is that the bell tower can be seen and its chimes heard from one end of campus to the other,” said Bob Lloyd of Jackson.

To support the construction of a stately new bell tower in the north end zone of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Lloyd, his brothers Ted and Ben, and their late father, William B. “Cosmo” Lloyd, have committed $1.3 million to the Forward Together campaign for Ole Miss athletics.

The tower is expected to be finished by early spring and dedicated during the Rebels’ spring game weekend. At more than 60 feet tall, it will be a focal point when walking from the Grove to Vaught Hemingway’s North End Zone Plaza along the new Gertrude C. Ford Way. The game day Walk of Champions will culminate with players walking through the Lloyd Bell Tower.

“On game day, the special tone of the Rebel bell will signal game time – time to take that jovial Grove attitude and bring that energy to the Vaught with a swagger and confidence that says, ‘This is our day and our house!'” said Lloyd, a 1983 graduate of the UM School of Business Administration.

Lloyd presented the bell tower idea to the university in 2010, having been aware of traditions surrounding similar structures at other schools. About a year later, he received a call from Matt Mossberg, a development officer for Ole Miss athletics, saying the tower would be an outstanding addition to the north end zone expansion project.