Why Mississippi State fans can't bring cowbells into Music City Bowl in Nashville

STARKVILLE – They don't call it the Music City for nothing.

The tunes of many different instruments echo through the city streets of Nashville on a daily basis. Even the college football bowl game that the city hosts is named after that moniker. 

The clanging of cowbells, however, will not be heard from inside Nissan Stadium during the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30.

Scott Ramsey, the Music City Bowl CEO, said on ESPN 680 in Louisville on Monday that Mississippi State fans cannot bring their cowbells into the venue to cheer on their Bulldogs (6-6) when they face the Louisville Cardinals (7-5). 

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"I’m sure we will see a lot in the city, but they won’t be allowed in the stadium," Ramsey said on The Deener Show. "Due to safety certification process with [the Department of] Homeland Security and what the Titans and Nissan Stadium are going through, which is a very high-end certification process. Just the nature of the bell, not necessarily just from a noise side, but from a safety and a noise side, they're not going to be allowed in the stadium." 

The last time these two teams met in the 2017 TaxSlayer Bowl at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida, MSU fans were allowed to bring cowbells into the stadium. The same was true at the Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa last year. 

A Mississippi State spokesman told the Clarion Ledger certain venues decide whether cowbells are allowed. Nissan Stadium is taking a hard stance on its normal game day procedures.

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"Nissan Stadium is a designated SAFETY Act Facility by the Department of Homeland Security," a stadium representative said in a statement to Mississippi State. "Nissan Stadium's supporting documentation for its designation under the SAFETY Act specifically prohibits noisemaking devices inside the stadium such as blowhorns, airhorns, cowbells, whistles for all events." 

The Tennessee Titans' website also has a lengthy list of items that are prohibited inside Nissan Stadium. One of the lines reads "horns, whistles or other noisemakers." Cowbells fall under that distinction. 

The Clarion Ledger spoke with Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen on Monday to discuss the situation. Cohen said that his hands are tied. Mississippi State fans must abide by the stadium policy.

Contact Tyler Horka at thorka@gannett.com. Follow @tbhorka on Twitter. To read more of Tyler's work, subscribe to the Clarion Ledger today!