Since 1974 Bulldog Club members have provided life-changing opportunities for thousands of young people through scholarship support. Over the years, we have built on that foundation and continue to provide the necessary resources to push Mississippi State Athletics forward. With that in mind, in 2024 the Bulldog Club announced an update to our processes and policies that allowed us to continue to reward and recognize our membership through a new priority point structure.
 
After extensive research, discussion with numerous supporters, and thorough consideration, the Bulldog Club debuted their new priority point structure on July 9th, 2024. The new point structure is explained in detail below, including a comparison between the old legacy structure and the new one. This new point structure is designed to be straight-forward and easier to navigate. The most notable change is the new structure rewards points based on payment only, not pledges. The most exciting change is it rewards more points than ever before to philanthropic gifts beyond seating requirements. Under the new structure, points do not expire, they continue to accrue overtime. The account needs to be active with a current pledge on file for points to have affect, but the points do not expire. Season ticket purchases continue to be honored and consecutive years of giving play a role in the new structure as well.

We know priority points have a great impact on Bulldog Club membership and have been accrued over many years of tremendous support of our athletics programs. In recognition of this, we honor any points that were earned prior to the new point structure via legacy points. Legacy points were locked on all active accounts on July 8, 2024. Points in the new structure will be added in addition to the frozen legacy points saved on Bulldog Club accounts. To view your legacy points, you can log in to your online Dog Tag account.

Every active Bulldog Club member earns a rank based on the priority points they have accumulated. The higher the rank the more priority a Bulldog Club Member has (with #1 being the highest). All priority seating areas, parking, post-season ticketing, and assignment requests are satisfied based on Bulldog Club Rank. To view your rank, you may log in to your online Dog Tag account. Priority deadlines are set prior to events such as renewals, re-seating, parking assignments, and post-season assignments. These priority deadlines represent the time a “snapshot” will be taken of Bulldog Club Ranks to establish the rank order for the event.

 
 

FAQs

Why change the point structure?
The legacy structure had many layers and was difficult to understand and anticipate. After extensive research we found new, practical and uncomplicated ways to apply points to our membership. The new structure is payment focused and rewards philanthropic giving at a higher rate than ever before. This focus is due to scholarship costs and other operational costs ultimately being budgeted and satisfied for by the cash we receive in the current year, making payments in the current year and unrestricted philanthropic giving paramount. 

Why are unrestricted & capital payments rewarded at a higher rate than restricted payments in the new structure?
It is important to note, the new structure does not honor any donation at a lower rate than the legacy structure. However, the new structure does increase the points rewarded to donations made to philanthropic initiatives such as unrestricted funds and facility projects. The reason for this, is because those philanthropic payments are how we satisfy the greatest and most immediate needs of the department each year. 

Why will pledges not receive points in the new structure?
Pledge points will no longer be in effect as accounts under the legacy structure received points and priority throughout the year based on pledges that ultimately may not have been paid. While we understand the majority of pledges to the Bulldog Club are made in good faith and are paid off, the legacy structure had the potential to create unfair priority. We wanted to ensure fairness across our membership. Furthermore, pledge points expired each year creating confusion among our members when their points would be affected by a change in their pledges. Rewarding payments is more straightforward and simple. Lastly, our scholarship costs and other operational costs are budgeted for and ultimately satisfied by the cash we receive in the current year, making payments in the current year paramount. 

While pledges do not receive points under the new structure, they keep the account active and keep your accrued points effective. If an account does not have a pledge for the current drive year on file the points are not in effect. They are not lost, they are just not effective in our rankings. It is important to ensure your account has a pledge on file at the start of each year to stay active. The Bulldog Club does roll over seating pledges and annual philanthropic pledges from the previous year at the start of each new drive year to help maintain the active status of the accounts. 

Why do we no longer receive a point per season ticket?
Under the legacy structure the points an account earned for season tickets expired each year. Under the new structure they receive less points per year but they accumulate.
    LEGACY EXAMPLE: John & Jane Doe had 4 points for 4 football season tickets in 2023 those points expired at the end of that drive year and came off the account to be replaced by the points for     the season tickets in 2024. If they maintained the 4 tickets in 2024 then 4 points came back on the account but they never accrued.
    NEW EXAMPLE: John & Jane Doe receive 1 point for purchasing 4 football season tickets in 2025. They receive another 1 point for purchasing 4 season tickets in 2026 giving them 2 points under the new structure. As long as they continue to pay for at least 1 season ticket each year, they will get their 1 point/season of tickets purchased. By 2029 they will have accumulated 5 points in this category which would not have been possible in the legacy structure unless they bought an additional ticket. This new structure honors longevity of season ticket support at a more significant rate.

Why remove the multiplier in the consecutive years of giving category?
The multiplier in the consecutive years of giving category was removed to simplify the point structure. The multiplier was factored into the legacy structure as some of the point categories did not accrue and expired each year. With the new structure allowing all points to accrue overtime, we felt the multiplier was no longer necessary in this category. By honoring each consecutive year of giving across any and all accounts with 1 point/year we believe we honor longevity of support fairly.