Southern Miss AD Jeremy McClain opens up about Reed Green renovations, Will Hall's football program
HATTIESBURG – There was a buzz circulating social media for a 24-hour span when the public caught wind of movements being made on renovations to Southern Miss’ Reed Green Coliseum.
The agenda for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning meeting was posted online Nov. 15 revealing more-than-ever specific details on long-awaited plans to renovate the home of Southern Miss men’s and women’s basketball. The next morning, Southern Miss was approved for a $35 million bond to increase the project’s budget significantly.
In an interview with The Hattiesburg American last week, Southern Miss athletics director Jeremy McClain said the university is hopeful to make a formal announcement in the spring.
“Timeline wise, we got one more approval in early next year that we have to check that box, and then we'll be able to share more information and actually share publicly renderings and what our timeline looks like,” McClain said.
Among the improvements from the agenda are a new training facility and practice courts (the court in the arena is the only one in the building) , a new building entrance, expanded concourse, an additional 225 seats, new scoreboards and more. A separate roof replacement is already scheduled for the spring after it was delayed from the fall.
“We're doing as much as we can with our architects now before we get that final approval,” McClain said. “We'll have a more ideal timeline once we get to that point in the spring, but we're pushing as hard as we can.”
Retaining Will Hall
McClain was quick to shut down any sort of speculation in November there could be a coaching change made with the football program.
Shortly after the season’s final game against Troy, McClain released a statement that voiced his support for coach Will Hall. He also expressed his “disappointment” in how the season played out and that “changes and adjustments to the program are needed and expected this offseason.”
The Golden Eagles parted ways with four assistant coaches, are making moves in the transfer portal and will sign this week a portion of what is projected to be one of the top recruiting classes in the Sun Belt Conference.
“I've said this, when you evaluate these kinds of situations, you got to decide whether it's broken or not,” McClain said. “And I just didn't think it was broken. I thought there were things that we needed to fix certainly, but the program was not in a spot where those issues couldn't be resolved.
“I think we've done a really good job in recruiting over the last couple of years. We've got a really talented group of young players on this roster. This class is shaping up to be a really good class. I think the culture within the program is really strong and I think you saw that in how our guys played down the stretch.”
Upcoming baseball season
Southern Miss baseball’s opener on Feb. 16 versus Marist will be here before we know it.
It’s a new dawn for the Golden Eagles, with Christian Ostrander taking over as coach for the retired Scott Berry.
Momentum still seems to be there after last season’s Super Regional appearance. However, Southern Miss lost many key players from last season’s squad, including ace pitcher Tanner Hall.
“I think it was a really good fall on the recruiting trail and all those things,” McClain said. “It's what we expected. (Ostrander’s) been able to kind of take some serious momentum and continue to build off of that.
"Moving into the season, we're going through our season ticket renewal process right now. We've got a really, really high renewal rate as people would imagine and so we're working through that process and I suspect that we'll be in a situation where we probably sell out the stadium again before the season starts.”
FALL BASEBALL: What we know about Southern Miss baseball fall 2023 under new coach Christian Ostrander
Other wins within the athletic department
McClain highlighted a few other bright spots and goals achieved throughout 2023:
A total of $9 million raised, which McClain said is a record.
SBC championships in men's basketball, women's basketball and baseball.
Volleyball and softball teams "heading in the right direction" under second-year coaches.
Men's and women's golf "trending in the right direction" also with a new facility on the way.
Track coach Jon Stuart "continues to put us in a position to be competitive."
Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss beat reporter for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at ssklar@hattiesb.gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Southern Miss AD Jeremy McClain on basketball renovations, Will Hall
