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As of 2012 the Mascot's official name has become Roary the Lion. He made his debut at the October 6, 2012, Homecoming game against the South Dakota Mines. He is a staple at all home sporting events, as well as throughout the community of Joplin.
Facilities
Warren Turner Field (opened in 2015) is named after long-time MSSU baseball coach Warren Turner. The year 2015 marked the first time the MSSU Baseball Program played on campus in more than 40 years. The first game played on the field was February 14, 2015, against Upper Iowa University. A formal dedication of the field occurred on April 18, 2015.
Fred G. Hughes Stadium (opened in 1975) is named after former Joplin Globe publisher and Missouri Southern board of regents member (1965–1981) Fred G. Hughes (1913–1994). Due to a large financial donation by the Robert W. Plaster Foundation, the stadium is expected to be renamed in his honor in the near future, though the plaza at the entrance to the stadium may be named after Hughes. The stadium's artificial turf was replaced in 2003.
Leggett & Platt Athletic Center (opened in 1999) is named for Leggett & Platt, a major manufacturing firm located in Carthage, Missouri. Leggett & Platt was a major donor for the construction of this facility. The facility seats more than 3,200 for basketball and other indoor sports. It also includes an indoor track and field facility.
Robert Ellis Young Gymnasium (opened in 1968) is named after Robert Ellis Young (1919–1995). Young had represented the area in the Missouri House of Representatives. The 1,700-seat gymnasium was home to the university's basketball teams from 1968 until 1999, when they moved to the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. The school's volleyball team currently uses the facility. The university's swimming pool is also located in this building.
Fight song
Southern Fight Song is the official fight song for Missouri Southern State University. The MSSU Fight Song lyrics were selected during a contest conducted in late 2012 and early 2013. Until the winner was announced at the Lions vs. Central Oklahoma Bronchos basketball game Thursday, February 21, 2013 in Leggett & Platt Athletic Center, only the musical score existed.
Athletics tragedies
On September 27, 2005 head football coach John Ware experienced a severe heart attack while working in his campus office. Coaching staff administered CPR at the scene but Ware was pronounced dead on arrival at a Joplin hospital a short time later. Ware was in his second year as the Lions' head coach.
In the early morning on Friday, December 2, 2011, two Missouri Southern football players were killed in an automobile accident that injured two other students. Michael McCrimmons and Diondre Johnson, both 19-year-old freshmen from Springfield, Missouri died in the crash; the vehicle ran off the road on Interstate 44 about two miles east of Sarcoxie, Missouri. A vigil was being planned for the students, according to President Bruce W. Speck.
On the night of November 1, 2013, Missouri Southern football offensive line coach Derek Moore was shot outside a Joplin theater and later died at an area hospital. Moore was in his first year on the Missouri Southern coaching staff after spending the previous three seasons at Western Illinois University. Due to the shooting death school officials cancelled Homecoming activities.
