When Barack Obama and John McCain arrived for Friday’s debate at the University of Mississippi’s Gertrude C. Ford Center, the institution’s chancellor greeted them and presented each with a gift of a nice bag from the university.

Senator Obama arrived at about 1:30 p.m. After meeting with the Democratic candidate, Robert C. Khayat, the chancellor, proclaimed him “a charmer.”

Senator Obama, Mr. Khayat said, looked him in the eye and offered to stick around for extra photo opportunities. The chancellor said he told the senator that his basketball gear would fit nicely into the university bag, and Senator Obama responded by challenging the chancellor (who is a former professional football player) to a game of 21 at some point in the future.

Senator McCain arrived around 3 p.m., and the chancellor’s meeting with him and his wife, Cindy, was nice but not the same, according to Mr. Khayat.

“He scores low on the warmth scale next to Obama,” the chancellor said right after leaving his meet-and-greet with the Republican candidate. “But I’ve met him before, so maybe he figured he didn’t need to waste any on me.”