Skip to main content
ole-miss logo

Ole Miss changes up the end of Spring football with returning Meet the Rebels event

11by:Jake Thompson•04/04/25•

JakeThompsonOn3

resize
Ole Miss fans taking part in Meet the Rebels. Mandatory credit: Ole Miss athletics

Spring ushers in a season of change and for the Ole Miss football program that means getting rid of a tradition and bringing back an old one.

With the Grove Bowl now a thing of the past after evolving into the ‘Grove Bowl Games’ last year it seems that also ran its course after one Spring.

The program announced last month that after a five-year absence the annual Meet The Rebels event is returning, replacing the usual slot for a Spring game or some likeness of a fan-attended competition.

This is nothing new as sixth-year Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has been at the forefront of evolving the Spring game formate, eliminating them altogether basically. Kiffin was scoffed at by many with the hot dog-eating competition and tug-of-war replacing a traditional scrimmage but now he is viewed as a trendsetter in a college football landscape dictated by NIL and the transfer portal.

Spring depth charts are now antiquated as coaches refuse to give any extra fuel to a player who might be considering leaving for a new team in the April transfer window.

“A lot of new moving parts out there, probably like most of the country and college football now,” Kiffin said at the start of Spring practices last month. “So, you know, a lot of guys to watch, a lot of filming to watch on this and a lot of rotations of different players.

“So got a lot of challenges ahead of us, and a lot of new starters at different places. And continuing to figure out a roster and evolving schedule that has another free agency coming up. So that ran and we’re just trying to make the best of it and work through it.

So now the meet and greet format is back, which was usually held until August to help signal the start of Fall camp. Meet the Rebels has not taken place since 2019 and will be the first of the Kiffin era at Ole Miss after COVID canceled the 2020 event and has not been brought back since until this month.

Fans will be able to meet players on the indoor practice field inside the Olivia and Archie Manning Performance Center on April 12 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free.

Player autographs will be available and lines will be on a first-come, first-serve bases. Kiffin nor any other coaches will be available for autographs.

Though he will be part of the first stop on the Grove Collective Caravan, formerly known as Rebel Road Trip, which is making Meet the Rebels as its Oxford stop this month. That event will start on the stage in the indoor field at 1:30 p.m. CT.

The Egg Bowl Trophy and other trophies will be on hand for fans to take pictures with on a table located in the middle of the field.

Fans will also have the ability to purchase merchandise with Ole Miss Authentics being on hand for the event. Concessions will also be available.

You may also like