The C.M. Tad Smith Coliseum will host its final game on Friday night when Ole Miss and Cal State Bakersfield tips off at 6:30 p.m. CT.
The Tad Pad has been the home to 702 games for basketball, and now
it is time to say goodbye to the venerable old spaceship looking arena. The “Throwback Game in the Tad Pad” was a new but shortlived tradition of head coach Chris Beard’s tenure. Last season, the Rebels defeated South Alabama, 64-54, and in 2023, Ole Miss squeaked by Sam Houston St., 70-67, in the first ever throwback game.
Ole Miss (3-0) is off to a hot start with its latest win coming against Memphis in Oxford on Tuesday. Cal State Bakersfield (2-1) have played only one Power 4 opponent losing to Cal 87-60. Oddsmakers favor the Rebels -24.5 for tonight’s game, which will be streamed on SEC Network+.
Tonight’s game will also honor former coach Rod Barnes who coached both Ole Miss and CSBU. Barnes compiled a 141-109 overall record including three trips to the NCAA Tournament and one Sweet Sixteen appearance. At CSBU, Barnes guided the Roadrunners to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016 and went 210-231 over 12 seasons at the helm.
The arena itself is a shell of what it once was, which granted was not grandiose or something sparkling either. There will be one last trip to the restrooms that are down a flight of stairs and include metal troughs to take your relief. There will be hopefully one last throwing of streamers from the rafters in pregame. The less than great lighting, the visible cracks in the concrete, it is time for the end for the Tad Pad, but it is still nostalgic for many Ole Miss fans.
It was there we were introduced to Marshall Henderson, Andy Kennedy, Johnny Neumann, Gerald Glass, Ansu Sesay, and many others who left their mark on the fanbase. Ole Miss basketball has never had a long storied tradition of success, but there were teams and coaches who captured your heart and made some exciting postseason runs you weren’t expecting. There were conference tournament titles that you’ll never forget that all started in the small domed Tad Pad every fall for decades.
There was AK’s Army and Rod’s Squad over by the visitor’s bench giving hell to whatever poor souls entered and challenged Ole Miss. There’s the games as a student where you undoubtedly snuck in some Keystone Light or a bottle of bourbon to keep you warm in the Mississippi winter in the ancient arena. The memories will stay with us even when the building is long gone.
It will be a bittersweet moment when the clock hits zero for the last time, and the very likely stale popcorn will maybe taste a little better tonight that it can be washed down with a cold beer not snuck in the back pocket. Cheers to the Tad Pad and give ’em hell Rebs one more time.
