With the 2024-25 school year nearing its end, Sports Editor Teddy King and Arts & Culture Editor Claire Reynolds present a list of the most culturally significant moments in Ole Miss sports from last year.
Rushing the field (twice) after the Georgia win
Ole Miss Football’s 28-10 upset over then-No. 2 Georgia on Nov. 9, 2024, is undeniably the year’s most remarkable sports achievement. The Bulldogs, back-to-back national champions in 2021 and 2022, came into Oxford with a historic pedigree — led by Kirby Smart, who once coached alongside Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin at Alabama. The Rebels had other plans.
Fans storming Hollingsworth Field at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium after the last-minute win over LSU in 2023 was epic, but the victory over Georgia sparked something even greater. As the game clock ticked down, fans gathered along the sidelines, waiting to rush the field, and an official’s whistle stopping play with 16 seconds left triggered an early wave of celebration.
After being ushered off the field to accommodate the game’s conclusion, Rebel fans regrouped and stormed the field again moments later — this time, officially ending the game — to celebrate one of the biggest wins in program history.
Squirrel(s) running on field
Speaking of rabid fans, Ole Miss football supporters were not the only ones to storm the field this football season. During an Ole Miss win against Oklahoma on Oct. 26, 2024, a Grove squirrel broke into the Vaught and ran from the 17-yard line to the end zone. While the touchdown might not have added to Ole Miss’ winning score against the Sooners, the squirrel made strides for rodent representation in sports.
A mere two weeks after this spectacle resulted in a delay of game, a Grove squirrel once again found its way onto the field during the Georgia game, but this time the field-invader terrorized the players on the Bulldogs’ sideline. There is speculation that the squirrel responsible for this unsportsman-like conduct is the same small rodent that had the big play in the previous game. Coincidentally, or not, the Rebels won both of these games.
It is still up for debate whether the squirrel was a last minute walk-on, or rather scurry-on, player. While the NCAA does not technically have any eligibility rules specifying the species Kiffin’s players must be, the ethics of having a squirrel player are a little bit hairy.
Marching the goalposts to the Square
Prior to the 2024 Georgia game, the last time the goal posts came down in the Vaught was a decade earlier when the Rebels upset Alabama 23-17. Following that game, one of the posts from one end zone was marched out of the Vaught and ended up at Ole Miss fan Buckner Corso’s house about a mile away from campus.
After the Georgia win, the goal posts from both end zones came down. After some fans initially tried to drop the posts from the top of the Vaught — and were promptly discouraged — they marched the yellow markers to the Square. One set of uprights wound up leaning against the Lafayette County Courthouse.
Getting to Sweet 16
Both Rebel basketball programs advanced to the Sweet 16 in their respective NCAA tournaments during the 2024–25 season. It marked the first time in school history that the men’s and women’s teams made Sweet 16 appearances in the same year.
Under head coach Chris Beard’s leadership in just his second season at Ole Miss, the men’s team recorded its second 20-win season in a row and earned its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2019.
During the regular season, the Rebels notched upsets over then-No. 4 Alabama, then-No. 14 Kentucky and then-No. 4 Tennessee and battled their way to the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, solidifying their resurgence on the national stage.
Meanwhile, in her seventh season at the helm, head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin guided the women’s team to another deep postseason run, adding to the program’s growing legacy.
McPhee-McCuin led her team to a Sweet 16 appearance for the second time in three seasons. The Lady Rebels posted a 22-11 overall record and a 10-6 mark in SEC play, finishing fifth in the conference standings.
Madison Scott, the team’s fearless leader and a five-year veteran for the Lady Rebels, was selected as the 14th overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft and will play for the Dallas Wings alongside UConn’s Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 overall pick.
Students camp out for the Auburn basketball game
While the Ole Miss vs. Auburn men’s basketball game ended in heartbreak for the Rebels, the fans’ excitement for the game perfectly showcased the culture that Ole Miss sports is famous for fostering.
The Rebels’ game against the then-No. 1 Tigers, which started at 1 p.m. on Feb. 1, drew 9,974 in total attendance in the Sandy and John Black Pavilion. According to a video posted by @redcupolemiss on Instagram, some students camped outside the Pavilion starting at 9:45 p.m., or earlier, on Jan. 31, to secure student section seating.
In typical Ole Miss fashion, these determined basketball enthusiasts showed up in style. They set up tents rigged out with lawn chairs, PlayStations and ample snacks. There were even musicians performing to keep spirits high through the night.
We might have lost the game, but we proved that we will never lose the party.
