Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Ole Miss Reveals Spring Football Schedule on Wednesday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Levi Dombro | Last updated Feb 20, 2025 12:17 PM ET

Ole Miss head football coach Lane Kiffin has done an excellent job adapting to the ever-changing landscape that is college football in the NIL and transfer portal era. Not only has he landed two of the nation's best transfer portal recruiting classes in consecutive seasons, but he has started to find his rhythm with recruiting at the high school level as well.

Kiffin, however, has had to do away with several aspects of running a college football program that were commonplace up until recently. Last season, Ole Miss decided against having a spring game for fear that they would lose players to the transfer portal, and this year is no different. The Rebels will have 15 spring practices over four weeks from March 18th until their finale on Saturday, April 19th.

As they did in 2024, the team will institute the "Grove Bowl Games" instead of a spring game for the public, which will include 7-on-7 drills, a dunk contest, a tug-of-war, and a hot-dog-eating contest with the legendary Joey Chestnut. Kiffin chose this route because of the transfer portal, but also because he feels the spring game has been a waste in years past.

“I think if you think outside of the box and traditional way of doing things, which I think it’s well known we do," said Kiffin. "I think, over time, the spring game isn’t much value.”

Ole Miss has some serious work to do this offseason as they transition from the Jaxson Dart years into the Austin Simmons era. Kiffin and his staff will have to replace 18 starters from last year's 11-win team but they'll have all spring and summer to right the ship.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: