Colorado Rockies Outfielder Seth Smith Addresses MC Wild Game Dinner

Courtesy of the Colorado Rockies

Colorado Rockies Outfielder Seth Smith is hitting the Mississippi College banquet circuit as the keynote speaker at MC’s annual Wild Game Dinner.

The event on Nov. 11 will be the biggest fund-raiser of the year for MC’s athletic department. In just over eight years, the Wild Game Dinner has raised more than $700,000, including over $150,000 last year. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. in Anderson Hall on the Clinton campus.

Smith is a 27-year-old Mississippi native who was a standout athlete at Hillcrest Christian School in Jackson before earning All-American honors on the Ole Miss baseball team. He also served as a backup quarterback to Rebels football star Eli Manning, now of the New York Giants.

In his third full year with the Colorado Rockies and wearing No. 7, Smith belted 17 homeruns as of Sept. 20 and knocked in 51 runs during the 2010 season. During the 2009 season, Smith smacked 15 homers.

In 2007, the Mississippian was called up to the Rockies in September and helped Colorado advance all the way to the World Series. Seth and his wife, Lindsay, are the parents of a young daughter, Sienna Elizabeth, and live in Brandon.

Big names in the sports world have appeared on the Clinton campus before as Wild Game Dinner speakers. The list includes former Ole Miss Chancellor Robert Khayat, a Rebels football star who played with the Washington Redskins, former Major League Baseball pitcher Jeff Brantley, former Lady Rebels basketball coach Van Chancellor, and ex-Mississippi State head football coach Sylvester Croom.

The funds raised are helping keep Mississippi College at the very top of the American Southwest Conference. Money has helped renovate the university’s athletic offices and facilities, launched the website GoChoctaws.com and purchased digital cameras and computers. MC is home to 16 NCAA Division III sports teams.

This year’s Wild Game Dinner will be prepared by world famous chef Billy Joe Cross, a former MC basketball player. Smoked venison, frog legs, fried quail, catfish casserole, dirty rice casserole and steamed vegetables will be on the menu.

“Our athletic department owes much of our success directly to the Wild Game Dinner,” said MC athletic director Mike Jones. “We are blessed to have the level of support we receive from our friends and alumni and look forward to another great year.”

Tickets for the event start at $100 and tables may also be purchased.  Contact Missa Turman of the MC Athletic Department for more information or ticket purchases.  Call 601.925.3341 or e-mail to turman@mc.edu.