Inside Zac Selmon's first year as Mississippi State athletic director and why focus is branding

STARKVILLE — In one corner of his office, Zac Selmon is building a collection of props from every sport at Mississippi State. Across the room, some of his favorite Adidas shoes are on display. Near the entrance sits a replica of the Selmon brothers statue at Oklahoma, which honors his father Dewey and his uncles Lee Roy and Lucious.

A year ago, that office didn’t look the same. Mississippi State spent last December searching for athletic director John Cohen’s replacement.

Selmon was hired in January, and though his family still lives on campus while they await the completion of their home, his office makes it clear he’s settling in.

“I feel like I’m just starting to get to that point where I’m having more of an understanding of who we are, where we’ve been,” Selmon told the Clarion Ledger in an exclusive interview on Dec. 8. “Now, I have better clarity of where I think we can go into the future.”

Selmon said his approach when he was hired, as someone who had never served as an AD before, was to observe at first.

Now, as he prepares for his second year in the job, he’s leading a charge in helping MSU become a contender in a new era of college athletics.

Inside the addition of Jeff Lebby

As the statue suggests, the Selmon family is of legendary status at Oklahoma. Selmon witnessed its firsthand, whether it be through his childhood or during his time spent in OU’s administration in 2009-14 and again from 2015-23.

He went back to the Sooners last month when he searched for Zach Arnett’s replacement as football coach. Selmon hired Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, but he didn’t want it to be just another hire.

Selmon and his staff wanted to send a message with the addition, signaling a new era in Mississippi State football.

“It was really clear that we’re going to be more invested in resources in our football program,” he added. “I’ve read and heard something of like, ‘Oh, it’s just lip service.’ No, it’s not.”

MSU held an arrival party for Lebby at the airport before an introduction outside the football facility the following day. It was unlike any hiring at Mississippi State before, and while it garnered praise on social media, it also received backlash for being over the top.

To Selmon, it was a chance to do something different and showcase the passion in Starkville.

“We’re going to continue to grow, and we’re going to continue as a department to innovate,” Selmon said. “We’re going to continue to set the standard. One of the things, probably from my upbringing, has been never disqualifying yourself. We shouldn’t look at what we’re doing to be a second seat to anybody.”

Why branding matters to Zac Selmon

Selmon, a former tight end at Wake Forest (2003-07), remembers being in high school in 2002 and watching his future team take on Oregon in the Seattle Bowl. He recalls seeing the uniforms the teams had on and wondering about the various color combinations of helmet, jersey and pants that could work.

He knows a team’s appearance matters because he lived the life of a recruit. It’s why branding has been a priority in his first year.

“Why do you wrap a present at Christmas time? Because you know it’s going to be nice and shiny,” Selmon said. “For us, it’s kind of similar with our branding. We want to make sure that people understand that when you come to Mississippi State, you’re going to have every resource you need to be successful. It’s going to be a fun place to go. There’s great people. You’ll be able to wear the coolest stuff that there is.”

Selmon says MSU is in the talent acquisition business, which ranges from players to coaches to staff. If branding helps bring in better talent, it’s going to lead to more winning – for the teams and the university.

“When teams are successful, specifically teams that are consistently on national television, it helps with enrollment,” Selmon said. “It helps with alumni giving. It helps with engagement from every aspect of campus because it’s a unique medium of college sport and bringing so many people together.”

How Mississippi State competes in the NIL era

The Bulldog Initiative has been considered the official NIL collective for Mississippi State since its inception in 2022. However, it formally earned the label in the week leading up to the 2023 football season opener.

“That mark, as being the official of anything, is a big deal,” Selmon said.

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When Cohen departed in November 2022, reports surfaced suggesting Mississippi State’s lack of NIL movement was among the reasons why. The Bulldog Initiative got a surge in funding immediately afterward and has continued to grow.

The collective started a drive in mid-November with a $1 million matching gift for memberships and donations before December. The number was met and surpassed before the deadline.

Selmon acknowledges that he can’t change how things used to operate, but he’s optimistic Mississippi State can compete in the NIL landscape.

“We’ve put ourselves in a position to be successful," Selmon said. "Successful doesn’t mean reckless, too. Some schools, I think – or some collectives, some NIL boosters, however you want to define them – have been reckless. And a lot of times reckless without any backing.”

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Zac Selmon: Inside Mississippi State AD's approach to football, NIL