Oxford: ‘No More Sleepy Little College Town’ Thanks to the Eli Manning Effect

By Billy Watkins

William Griffin of Jackson can remember in the mid-1970s when Oxford had only a couple of restaurants on its town square.

If you wanted a good steak, The Sizzler was a few miles west on Mississippi 6.

“I never thought I’d see Oxford turn into what it has become today,” says Griffin, a two-sport athlete at Ole Miss.

What it’s become is a city that has won a multitude of awards over the past decade, from Money magazine’s Top 100 Best Places to Live in 2007, Outside Magazine’s 20 Best Small Towns in America in 2008 and a Top 101 Safest Cities in the United States, according to safehome.org in 2017.

Ole Miss Football vs LSU on November 21st, 2015 in Oxford, MS. Photo by Joshua McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics.

These days it is known for its dining, music, arts — and, oh yes, seven home football weekends each year for the Ole Miss Rebels.

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2026 Rebels Football

Sun, Sept. 6vs Louisville, NashvilleW 41-38
Sat, Sep 12vs CharlotteW 41-9
Sat, Sep 19LSUW 32-24
Sat, Sep 26@ FloridaL, 52-28
Sat, Oct 10@ VanderbiltW 52-17
Sat, Oct 17MissouriW 31-3
Sat, Oct 24@ TexasL, 34-27
Sat, Oct 31vs AuburnW 45-14
Sat, Nov 7vs Georgia6:00 PM
ABC
Sat, Nov 14@ Oklahoma2-30-3:30 PM
Sat, Nov 21vs Wofford11:00 AM
SEC Network+
Sat, Nov 27vs Mississippi State11:00 AM
ABC