The Bulldogs compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

[5] He is also credited with the selection of what became the official school colors, maroon and white, prior to the Aggies first game ever played at Union University.

After leading Mississippi State to a 20–10–2 record in three years and an appearance in the 1937 Orange Bowl,[16] a loss,[16] Sasse stunned the students and players by resigning from his head coach's duties, following a doctor's orders after a sudden nervous breakdown.

[17] Allyn McKeen left Memphis to become head football coach at Mississippi State,[18] where he compiled a 65–19–3 record in ten seasons.

[19] In 1940, he was named Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year after leading Mississippi State to its only undefeated season in school history and its second Orange Bowl appearance, a victory.

[25] Darrell Royal came to Mississippi State from the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos[27] and put up back-to-back 6–4 records in his two seasons as the Maroons head football coach.

[37] The team finished the season with a 16–12 victory over North Carolina State in front of 8,309 fans at the 1963 Liberty Bowl played in a bitter cold Philadelphia.

[57][58] Rockey Felker returned to his alma mater, which was coming off four consecutive losing seasons, from his post as wide receivers coach at Alabama.

Sherrill began his Mississippi State career with an upset victory over a familiar foe from his A&M days, the Texas Longhorns (who were the defending Southwest Conference champions).

Although Sherrill won only eight games in his last three seasons, he built Mississippi State into a consistent winner despite playing in the same division as powerhouses like Alabama, Auburn and LSU.

Sherrill also achieved notoriety by having his team observe the castration of a bull as a motivational technique prior to a game versus Texas.

[66] Sylvester Croom, a longtime assistant in the NFL and a former player for Bear Bryant at Alabama, was hired to replace Jackie Sherrill.

[130] Mississippi State entered the Ole Miss game in Starkville needing a win to qualify for a bowl bid for a second straight season.

[146][147] In 2015, the Bulldogs went 4–4 in the SEC and finished the regular season with an 8–4 record and went on to play in the 2015 Belk Bowl against the NC State Wolfpack,[148] winning 51–28.

There was also concern that he didn't really fit in with Mississippi State's culture,[168] even though he'd taken the podium ringing a cowbell when he was formally introduced as head coach.

[169] According to ESPN, Mississippi State officials intended to fire Moorhead if he didn't defeat Ole Miss in the 2019 Egg Bowl.

At an emotional press conference the following day, Moorhead tried to knock down the rumors about his job security, saying, "This is my school, this is my team, this is my program," and that anyone who thought otherwise could "pound sand and kick rocks."

[173] Besides the Bulldogs' lackluster performance in that game, athletic director John Cohen and other school officials were angered when they learned quarterback Garrett Shrader had suffered an eye injury during a fight in practice, an incident that appeared to show a lack of discipline within the program under Moorhead's watch.

[179][180][181] Mike Leach also had prior coaching experience in the Southeastern Conference, serving as offensive coordinator at Kentucky under Hal Mumme for two seasons in 1997 and 1998.

[192] On June 30, 2022, Mississippi State and Mike Leach agreed to terms on a contract extension that would keep the coach in Starkville through the completion of the 2025 season and raise his annual pay to $5.5 million.

[215] Lebby also had prior ties to the state of Mississippi and the Southeastern Conference from his time as offensive coordinator at Ole Miss under Lane Kiffin from 2020 to 2021.

With the SEC eliminating divisions after the 2023 season,[229] the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide were not selected the play each other in 2024 while the conference decides on a permanent scheduling format for 2025 and beyond.

Played 117 times as of the completion of the 2023 season, this rivalry is LSU's most-played football series in its history and Mississippi State's second behind only Ole Miss.

[244] The teams were selected to meet in 2024 and will play on the game's traditional Thanksgiving weekend date while the Southeastern Conference determines a scheduling format for 2025 and beyond.

have cowbells gradually introduced to the MSU sports scene in the late 1930s and early 1940s, coinciding with the 'golden age' of Mississippi State football success prior to World War II.

A popular legend is that during a home football game between State and arch-rival Ole Miss, a jersey cow wandered onto the playing field.

By 1963 the demand for these long-handled cowbells could not be filled by home workshops alone, so at the suggestion of Reeves the Student Association bought bells in bulk and the Industrial Education Club agreed to weld on handles.

In early 1975, the SEC adopted a rule against artificial noisemakers that made it illegal to ring a cowbell during games; an official complaint by Auburn coach Shug Jordan, whose disapproval of the tradition went back several years,[264] after the Tigers narrow 1974 win over the Bulldogs was largely responsible for the decision.

[268] In 1981, a Mississippi State faculty member filed a suit against Auburn University and the Southeastern Conference that sought to have the rule declared unconstitutional after his cowbell was confiscated at the 1981 AU-MSU game at Jordan–Hare Stadium.

Maroon and White are the distinctive colors of Mississippi State University athletic teams, dating back over a century to the very first football game ever played by the school's student-athletes.