HATTIESBURG, Miss. — For the first time in 699 days, the Golden Eagles will compete as a team in an outdoor meet, as they open the outdoor season at the Al Schmidt Bulldog Relays hosted by Mississippi State on Friday and Saturday in Starkville, Miss. at the Mike Sanders Track and Field Complex.

“We’re anxious to start the outdoor season,” head coach Jon Stuart said. “We’re going to see some good competition with a few schools from the SEC, a few schools from our own conference and several others from across the country. We’re excited to get started with the outdoor season and we hope to build some momentum from this meet.”

The Black and Gold will have 46 student-athletes competing over the two days, with 30 making their outdoor debuts for the Golden Eagles.

Southern Miss will take on a loaded field, as they will be joined by 33 other teams including: Alabama, Alabama A&M, UAB, Alabama Huntsville, Alabama State, Alcorn, Arkansas Pine Bluff, Arkansas State, Belhaven, Birmingham Southern, Hinds CC, Jackson State, Kennesaw State, Louisiana, LA Tech, ULM, Little Rock, Memphis, Meridian CC, Mississippi College, Mississippi State, Mississippi Valley State, Mobile, New Orleans, North Alabama, Northwestern State, Northwood University, South Alabama, Stillman College, Tennessee Tech, Vanderbilt, West Georgia, and William Carey.

Friday’s field events will begin at 10 a.m. with the women’s hammer throw, while the women’s 400m dash will begin the running events for the Golden Eagles at 5:20 p.m. On Saturday, the shot put will kick off the field events at 11 a.m., while action on the track will start at noon with the 4×100 relay.