This is two days late and one of the biggest days of the year has already happened with Ole Miss' demolition of Oklahoma State in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. But there should be many more notable moments for the Rebels programs between now and the next New Year's Day. Check out the list below, as we give you 10 dates that are relevant to Ole Miss' athletic calendar. Also, here's a link to last year's list so you can see how we did.
Date: Jan. 7, 2016
Significance: Ole Miss opens the Pavilion at Ole Miss this week, facing Alabama in men's basketball to open the new arena. The women turn off the lights of Tad Smith Coliseum Jan. 4. The more than $90 million multipurpose facility has several premium seating areas, allowing 1,500 premium seats, and has a capacity of just less than 10,000.
It's an impressive addition that is much needed, and Avery Johnson and the Crimson Tide will get the first look at it on Thursday night. There are also modern fan amenities to elevate the basketball gameday experience. Tad Smith Coliseum had been Ole Miss' basketball home since 1966.
Date: Jan. 29, 2016
Significance: I almost combined this one with the next entry on the list, but due to the different structure of the recruiting calendar I felt its separate entry was warranted. This is the Friday of Ole Miss' big official visit weekend for this recruiting class. It's the only available weekend before National Signing Day with students back in school for the spring semester, and it's also the last weekend prior to NSD.
That's a bit tricky because Ole Miss will have to do a great job of keeping prospects locked into that final weekend, when traditionally, the weekend is set up for late fliers and squeezing in final trips of maybe some plan B guys. Instead of that, this is the premier Ole Miss visit date that will decide the Rebels' success less than a week later. As of now, almost all commits who are not early enrollees are scheduled for that weekend, and several top prospects, such as Jeffery Simmons and Deontay Anderson, are planning trips for then. Ole Miss will also attempt to get a few recruits back that weekend for unofficial visits.
Date: Feb. 3, 2016
Significance: The first Wednesday in February is a guarantee for this list, as Ole Miss currently has the No. 2 recruiting class nationally, per Rivals.com. The Rebels have commitments from two of the top five players in the country in quarterback Shea Patterson and offensive tackle Greg Little while also being among the contenders for No. 1 prospect Rashan Gary and No. 5 prospect Mique Juarez.
The Rebels have a chance to be the story on National Signing Day, as a class to reload the roster appears to be on the way. A top-five class is expected in Oxford at this point. Patterson will already be on campus, but he'll still be a name thrown around quite a bit on this Wednesday.
Date: March 13, 2016
Significance: It's NCAA basketball selection Sunday, a date when Ole Miss has been selected for the Tournament twice in the past three seasons. Currently, the Rebels are 10-3 after having a seven-game winning streak snapped at Rupp Arena against Kentucky on Saturday night. Andy Kennedy has done a nice job in previous seasons filling roles with his roster in order to make a run at NCAA play.
This date determines if there is any sort of postseason play and also the success of the final season with Stefan Moody.
Date: March 18, 2016
Significance: The Rebels open Southeastern Conference baseball play at Tennessee on this date. The Volunteers provide Ole Miss with a winnable opening series and a chance to build some momentum during the first half of the SEC schedule. The nonconference slate is a mixed bag with a bad RPI weekend against Grambling and a very challenging home series against top-five Louisville and former assistant Dan McDonnell. The Cardinals return first round pick Kyle Funkhouser on the mound. There's also a tournament at Coastal Carolina, where the Rebels face Cincinnati, Ball State and Coastal Carolina.
If the Rebels can get two in Tennessee, two of the next three weekends are at home against South Carolina, who has questions, and Arkansas. The other weekend is at Mississippi State, and Mike Bianco has been dominant in Starkville, winning five of the last six series at Dudy Noble Field.
Date: April 28, 2016
Significance: The 2013 Ole Miss signing class created a national infomercial for the program when they signed back in February of that year. That's how the top-15 recruiting trio should close its collegiate career, as well. Laremy Tunsil has a chance to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, and Laquon Treadwell and Robert Nkemdiche are also expected to be chosen in the first round on April 28.
Tunsil said he will make a Draft decision this coming week, though he's clearly expected to bypass his senior season. Treadwell is saying he will decide soon, but it's hard to imagine him returning with a first round grade on the table. Nkemdiche, who didn't play in the Allstate Sugar Bowl due to his Atlanta hotel incident last month, has some volatility in his projections, but the talent is there for an NFL team to get past the off-the-field issue. The Draft success will give Ole Miss another recruiting pitch to use when restocking its cupboard. The NFL will soon determine the Ole Miss five-stars to have had successful collegiate careers.
Date: Sept. 5, 2016
Significance: The Rebels get a premier date and opponent to open the 2016 season. Ole Miss and Florida State will match up in Orlando on Labor Day in a game featuring two of only five teams to appear in back-to-back access bowls. FSU lost to Oregon in a national semifinal and to Houston in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, respectively.
FSU has dynamic running back Dalvin Cook back for 2016, so the Rebels will have to deal with a threat who was third nationally (FBS) in yards per game and scored 40 percent of the Seminoles' touchdowns. It will essentially be a road game for the Rebels but provides quite an opportunity to display they're a program that reloads rather than rebuilds following the careers of Treadwell, Tunsil and Nkemdiche. Quarterback Chad Kelly is expected to return, and the prolific offense will get a chance to elevate its profile immediately.
Date: Sept. 17, 2016
Significance: It's another date with Alabama, as the Rebels look for their third win in a row in the series. Considering the last two seasons, it's a game that could go a long way toward deciding the SEC West champion in 2016, and it's a certainty that the national media will dissect Hugh Freeze's recent success against Nick Saban.
It's also the SEC opener in a brutally difficult four-week span. The Florida State game opens things, and then the Rebels get the one breather with Wofford before home games against Alabama and Georgia. Surviving that stretch will be paramount to keeping the same goals next season. This date is also Ole Miss' first SEC game in the renovated Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The north end zone bleachers were torn down as soon as the 2015 home season ended and is expected to be completed for 2016. The capacity will extend to 64,038. A lot will be known about the Rebels season by October.
Date: Nov. 26, 2016
Significance: Speaking of three-straight wins, Ole Miss has a chance to do the same against Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl. The Rebels closed 2015 with a win in Starkville for the first time since 2003 to give themselves a shot at the Sugar Bowl.
With a road team finally winning in the series, it's important for Ole Miss to hold serve at home in 2016 and consolidate the road win. With Dak Prescott's career over, MSU is in the midst of finding a new face of the program. Dan Mullen has done a good job developing talent, but this is a tremendous opportunity for Ole Miss to continue to the momentum in the series. The Rebels have won three of the last four against the Bulldogs.
Date: Dec. 4, 2016
Significance: It's bowl selection day for 2016, a date that has been very good to the Rebels the last two seasons. Ole Miss has elevated itself to national status with back-to-back New Year's Six appearances. Hugh Freeze has improved his win total in Oxford a game each of his four seasons.
Bowl selection is one of the main perception points for the athletic year, and this will be an important day for Ole Miss to show it is a stable program cemented in an elevated tier instead of a special signing class that has come and gone. It's also the date when we can fully look at the first years of Patterson, Little and other top newcomers.
