Mississippi Gridiron Magazines Kicks Off Second Season

Gridiron Magazine Cover

Fans feasting on Mississippi high school football games on Friday nights must wait until August.

But for readers of “Mississippi Gridiron” magazine that provides in-depth previews of high school and college football teams in the Magnolia State, the wait comes to an end in early June.

Mississippi College graduate Chris Brooks, the former sports information director at his alma mater, says the magazine’s second season promises to out-pace the first by a big margin.

The magazine is due to hit Wal-Mart and other retailers around the state on June 5.

The magazine is a publication of Venture Sports, Inc., the Brandon-based company owned and operated by Brooks. Look once more for detailed coverage of every high school football team in the state, whether it’s the 2010 national champs, the South Panola Tigers, the Mendenhall Tigers, the Clinton Arrows, Pearl Pirates, or Jackson Academy Raiders.

Fans can also check out stories about the Gator Bowl champs, the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the Ole Miss Rebels, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, the Jackson State Tigers or the Mississippi College Choctaws, to name a few of the collegiate teams featured .

Todd Kelly, the director of development and communications with the Mississippi High School Activities Association, is among the Mississippians eager to see the newest publication roll off the presses.

“Chris has done a fantastic job with Mississippi Gridiron,” said Kelly, who worked as a sports reporter for more than two decades with “The Clarion-Ledger” before joining the MHSAA staff in Clinton.

“I know it’s taken an incredible amount of hard work to make this happen,” Kelly said. “I see his publication continuing to get bigger and better. It’s a must read for anybody who loves Mississippi football.”

Selling for $11.99, the 288-page publication was a definite crowd-pleaser in 2010 for thousands of coaches, players, fans, and recruiters. It is chock full of photos. In December, Brooks launched the 2010 championship edition of “Mississippi Gridiron” that gave readers a nice recap of the just concluded college and high school football seasons.

Brooks served as sports information director at Mississippi College for eight seasons and three years as a graduate assistant on the Clinton campus. He stepped down at MC following the 2009-2010 season to devote full-time to his new job. David Nichols serves as the Christian university’s sports information director after spending four years as an assistant under Brooks.

It was truly a labor of love as Brooks, staffers and a team of contributors worked long hours to get the sports magazine off the ground and tell the stories of Mississippi student-athletes and coaches. The lifelong Mississippian says, “I take pride in the fact that our state produces as much football talent as any state in the country per capita.”

Whether you pull for the Northwest Community College Rangers, the Delta State Fighting Okra or the Stone County Tomcats, football fans will have lots to cheer about when “Mississippi Gridiron” hits newsstands in June.