OXFORD − Paul Radigan took care of the problem himself.

The Library, a popular bar on the square in downtown Oxford, recently ran a promotion that caught the bar up in controversy. As it often does for weekends when Ole Miss football games are played, The Library distributed promotional stickers to patrons.

Two weeks ago, the slogan a young employee came up with did not go over well: Second half at The Library.

The tagline ran against Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin's message to fans. Despite Kiffin's urging of fans to not leave Vaught-Hemingway Stadium early during blowouts, the record crowd of 67,505 at Ole Miss' 52-13 win against Georgia Southern dissipated considerably at halftime. Like many other establishments on The Square, The Library got fans who experienced the second half of that game, well, at The Library.

Paul Radigan, a manager at The Library who has been there 18 years, grabbed the whole roll of stickers and took them out of the bar.

"It's done," Radigan said. "That promotion is over."

Most of the blowback came from social media, but there were in-person complaints. The Library did not hear from Kiffin, but an Ole Miss University representative did reach out.

Radigan is an Ole Miss fan himself. He said the promotion was ill-advised, and it isn't what the bar stands for.

"We messed up," Radigan said. "It was unfortunate. But we want all Rebels fans to stay at the stadium for all four quarters."

Radigan wants to set the record straight: The Library is an Ole Miss place through and through. A large decal commemorating 100 years of Ole Miss football decorates one wall, along with former school mascot Colonel Reb. An old-school SEC decal is pasted by it and an SEC pinwheel logo is built into the ceiling. There's even a small statue of former Ole Miss football coach Johnny Vaught that greets people at the door.

Robert Patterson, who has been going to The Library since 2010, said the Ole Miss tokens scattered throughout the bar aren't just for show.

"I'm a die-hard fan for sure, just like many others that come through the door," Patterson said.

Patterson wasn't at The Library for the Georgia Southern game when the promotion happened, but he saw the criticism his local bar drew.

"I definitely heard about the situation," Patterson said. "I don't think the business itself, The Library, was aiming to deter attendance to football games. I don't think it was personal. I think it was just an idea that had arisen that sounded great, but nobody thought about the impact that it may have on the football program. To me it was not that major of a deal. I definitely think our football team has a lot more to worry about."

Fans leaving Vaught-Hemingway Stadium early may be moot point moving forward. With the Rebels (4-1, 0-1 SEC) moving to SEC play, home games should tighten up. The stadium stayed packed down the stretch of Ole Miss' 20-17 loss to Kentucky last week. Linebacker Chris Paul said the crowd was great last week, and now the onus is on his team to bounce back against South Carolina (3-1, 1-1) on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ESPN).

"With the crowd being out there and sticking with us through thick and thin it means a lot," Paul said. "It shows how much support they have for this program. We have to go back, get up to our standards and make them proud."

Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Oxford bar ends 'second half' promo geared to Ole Miss football fans