NATCHEZ — It’s a long way from Natchez to Starkville, and many Mississippi State fans in the area aren’t able to get up to north Mississippi to see the Bulldogs as often as they’d like.

But Wednesday, the newest member of the Mississippi State coaching staff will be coming down to the Miss-Lou for a visit with Bulldog fans.

MSU head football coach Dan Mullen will be speaking at the Eola Hotel in downtown Natchez at noon on Wednesday.

The free event is part of the Bulldog Road Tour. Natchez is one of 16 stops on the tour, which is a way for Mississippi State fans across the Southeast to meet the new football coach.

“We just try to go to a lot of places where the fans are,” Mississippi State football team spokesman Joe Galbraith said. “It rotates from year to year and we wanted to make sure that Natchez was on this trip. We’re excited about coming down there.”

Mullen will arrive at the Eola at about 11:30 a.m. and will speak to the crowd at noon. The event also includes a buffet lunch. There is no admission to attend the event, but the lunch must be paid for.

Mullen will also meet and greet with the fans in attendance. The event should last about an hour.

“We had over 31,000 at our spring football game,” Galbraith said. “All those people made the trip to see us, and we wanted to make sure we got on the road and thanked them for coming and told them we appreciated their support.”