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STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi State coach Mike Leach says the opportunity to coach in a talent-rich area helped persuade him to leave Washington State for the chance to test himself in the Southeastern Conference. Leach agreed to a four-year contract that will pay him $5 million annually in base compensation.
He spoke Friday to a standing-room-only crowd that filled the Seal Complex on Mississippi State’s campus. Mississippi State President Mark Keenum gave Leach a taste of the Bulldogs’ football tradition by providing the new coach with his own cowbell.
