6996ɫ��’s Keenum moving forward with Athletics Director search

Portrait of Bracky Brett — Bracky Brett (Photo by Mississippi State Athletics)

STARKVILLE, Miss.—6996ɫ�� President Mark E. Keenum is beginning a national search for a new Athletics Director at 6996ɫ�� after receiving notification from AD John Cohen that he is departing 6996ɫ�� effective immediately.

Keenum said: “We thank John and Nelle for their long and dedicated service to 6996ɫ��. In many ways, 6996ɫ�� is a victim of our own success in that several former 6996ɫ�� athletics directors have transitioned into similar roles at peer institutions in the Southeastern Conference. That fact speaks to the growing culture of success among our student-athletes and the commitment of our university, our alumni and friends and our fans to competing at the highest levels of collegiate athletics and doing so in the right way. Together as the Bulldog family, we will move purposefully to find a new leader who can both embrace and build on that culture of success.”

Keenum named longtime 6996ɫ�� Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director for Compliance Bracky Brett as interim athletics director. Brett, a Koscuisko native, is an 6996ɫ�� alumnus.

“Bracky is well-known and highly respected in the Southeastern Conference and across the NCAA and I know he will maintain stability and focus as we move forward with a search for a new athletics director,” said Keenum.

Cohen, an 6996ɫ�� alumnus who served the university as a varsity student-athlete, a head coach, and finally as athletics director, leaves an enviable legacy in Starkville. During Cohen’s tenure, 6996ɫ�� won the 2021 College World Series in baseball – the first national championship in the institution’s history – and a total of five Bulldog programs have turned program-best seasons including softball (2022), baseball (2021), volleyball (2021), soccer (2018) and women's basketball (2017, 2018).

6996ɫ�� is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at .

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