March marks start of entertaining, busy sports schedule on Coast
Not since Craig Ehlo competed for the CBA's Mississippi Jets in Biloxi from 1986-88 or the Mississippi Sea Wolves of the ECHL played a total of 11 seasons from 1996-2009 has the Coast served as site to so many quality sporting events.
Starting in March, the Mississippi Gulf Coast will be buzzing with entertainment options for sports fans, especially on the baseball diamond.
Jackson State will play Southern University at 7:05 p.m. on Tuesday in the first Division I college baseball contest ever played at MGM Park. The next day, Southern Miss will play South Alabama at the same time.
The two contests begin a seven-game slate of college baseball at MGM Park, including USM-Tulane on March 22, Alcorn State-Jackson State on April 15 and Mississippi State-La.-Monroe on April 20.
The other college games are William Carey-Delta State on March 9 and Nicholls State-South Alabama on March 30.
The Biloxi Shuckers will begin their first full season at MGM Park on April 7 when they take on the Chattanooga Lookouts.
There will be no 54-game road trip this year. The Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers will play 70 of their 140 games at MGM Park, which is 100 percent complete and ready to host a full schedule.
The busiest sports weekend on the Coast will be April 1-3 with the return of the Gulf Resort Classic, a Champions Tour event in its seventh year.
It just so happens that April 2 is the date of the Brewers-Shuckers exhibition game at MGM Park.
That likely means that while Ryan Braun and the rest of the Brewers will be taking the field at MGM Park, the likes of of Fred Couples, Colin Montgomerie and Miguel Angel Jimenez will be wandering the course of Fallen Oak golf course in Saucier.
I find it hard to imagine that there's been a weekend on the Coast before that has featured more star power in the sporting world.
You might have to go all the way back to the 1945 Gulfport Open when Sam Snead topped Byron Nelson in a 19-hole playoff at the Great Southern Golf Club to find a comparable day, but it would be hard to top two of golf's greatest legends going at it.
You also can't forget the old Metro Conference basketball tournaments at the Coast Coliseum in 1990 and 1995. Both of those tournaments featured title games that had Louisville edging Southern Miss for the championship before large crowds.
The Sea Wolves also held high the Kelly Trophy in 1999 as ECHL champions.
There are several moments in the Coast's sports history that have stood out over the years, but it's unlikely that the region has been busier than it will be in the coming months and years.
Starting in 2017, the Conference USA baseball tournament will make MGM Park its new home for at least two years. There's also an option for the tournament to return to Biloxi in 2019 and there's a good chance it will keep coming back for many years to come.
That being said, the long-term future of baseball and golf on the Coast will be determined by how well they are supported in attendance. If fans show up at MGM Park and Fallen Oak, the number of events in the area will only grow.
It's best to take full advantage of these opportunities.
It's not every day that a National League MVP like Braun or a Masters champion like Couples will be competing on the Coast.
Contact Patrick Magee at pmagee@sunherald.com and follow him on Twitter at Patrick_Magee.
This story was originally published February 27, 2016 at 12:55 PM with the headline "March marks start of entertaining, busy sports schedule on Coast ."