| Friday, June 5, 2026 |
| MSU College of Arts and Sciences grants transform student learning opportunities | |
 | Five Mississippi State educators are the recipients of 2026 Inclusive Excellence Teaching Grants supporting innovative College of Arts and Sciences projects to enhance student learning through engagement, application, access and experiential opportunities. Recipients include: Carrie McCormick, instructor, Department of Communication, Media and Theatre, "Escape to Engage." Danielle Nadorff, associate professor, Department of Psychology, "Open Access to the Symposium." Sydney Pullen, assistant professor, Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures, "Oral History Training for Community Engaged Research. Sean Stokes, associate clinical professor, Department of Chemistry, "Open-Access MCAT/DAT Preparation Course." Kemeshia Swanson, assistant professor, Department of English, "Living Mississippi." |
| MSU's Marshall garners second honor for acclaimed Civil War-era biography | |
 | According to an MSU press release, Mississippi State's Executive Director of the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, Anne E. Marshall, has received a Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award for her book "Cassius Marcellus Clay: The Life of an Antislavery Slaveholder and the Paradox of American Reform," adding to a growing list of accolades for the acclaimed work. Founded in 1978, the institute annually honors outstanding achievement in the arts and literature. Its juried awards are among the state's highest recognitions for creative work. Winners will gather at a ceremony at the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson on June 13. "Personally, this award means a lot to me because Mississippi has always been famous for outstanding artistic expression and wonderful writers, so to be honored by an organization that celebrates the rich culture of our state is very special," said Marshall, who is also a professor of history at MSU. |
| 'No threat to food safety': Gipson reacts to screwworm reports | |
 | Reports have confirmed the reappearance of the New World screwworm (NWS) within the United States and Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson wants to assure both consumers and farmers that the situation is under control. The USDA confirmed the screwworm was detected in Texas Thursday marking the first time since 2017 it has posed a threat to U.S. cattle. The threat of the screwworm was briefly mentioned during U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins' visit to the Mississippi State campus in August. "We are indeed facing a potential serious national threat with this screwworm," Secretary Rollins said during the visit. Commissioner Gipson released a statement Thursday highlighting that the screwworm is a pest and not infectious. "I want to ensure the public that the confirmation of the New World screwworm in South Texas poses no threat to food safety. The New World screwworm is an invasive pest, not an infectious disease. This is an animal health issue, not a food safety issue. Our meat supply is safe to eat," said Commissioner Gipson. |
| SPD cameras provide real-time support for officers, investigations | |
 | When Sgt. Brandon Lovelady pulls his gun from its holster, an alert immediately sounds in the earpiece of every Starkville police officer on duty and his body camera begins recording. Inside the Starkville Police Department's analyst room, staff can instantly pinpoint his location on a city map and watch the situation unfold in real time. Though only a demonstration, the scenario highlighted how the department uses its BodyWorn camera system, which uses artificial intelligence to create situational awareness, improving officer safety, supporting investigations and providing real-time information during critical incidents. "One of the major tenants that we thoroughly agree with 21st century policing is embracing technology," SPD Chief Mark Ballard told The Dispatch on Thursday. "You have to understand it, you have to understand how it works in the lives of the average citizen and you have to understand how these tools can make your job easier (and) more effective. And that's what these camera systems do." The department first deployed the camera system in 2021 and renewed its five-year contract with supplier Select Utility Inc. in January for a total of 78 body and 50 patrol car cameras. |
| Propst Park kayak launch moves into design phase | |
| Propst Park is one step closer to being the city's top destination for recreation as progress continues on the long-floated plan for a kayak and canoe launch on Luxapalila Creek. With the city council's approval Tuesday of Neel Shaffer's submission to a request for qualifications for engineering services for the launch, the project now moves onto the planning and design phase. That starts with a kickoff meeting between elected officials, recreation department staff and other stakeholders to finalize scope and objectives of the project, Greg Lewis, director for the parks and recreation department, told The Dispatch on Thursday. "We anticipate right now that ... during the first quarter of next year, we will start (construction for the) project and probably end it by the summer (of 2027)," Lewis said. "We hope to beat that timeframe, but of course sometimes with permitting, there could possibly be some hold up." The kayak and canoe launch is a piece of a broader transformation planned for the southeast corner of Propst Park, where the city is also developing the Dr. John "Jack" Kaye Cretaceous Fossil Park. Ornithomimosaur toe bones and other land-dwelling dinosaur and marine reptile fossils have been discovered at the site. |
| Employers added 172,000 jobs last month as US job market shows resilience despite Iran war | |
 | U.S. employers added a surprising 172,000 jobs in May as the labor market continued to show resilience in the face of rising costs from the Iran war. The Labor Department reported Friday that job growth was down slightly last month from a revised 179,000 in April. The unemployment rate stayed at a low 4.3% The job market has been recovering this year from a miserable 2025, so far shrugging off higher energy prices and increased economic uncertainty since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February. Hiring has bounced back this year from a miserable 2025, showing unexpected strength in the face of economic uncertainty and painfully high energy prices caused by the Iran war. Unemployment remained at a low 4.3% in May. But despite the improvement from last year, job creation is way down from the boom that followed pandemic lockdowns. |
| How Mississippi plans to make government more efficient with AI | |
 | Mississippi State Health Officer Daniel Edney had a simple message for legislators when asked about government efficiency in his department. "I'm thanking God today for AI, because it has brought a lot of solutions to a lot of the problems I'm facing," he said. Edney was one of six Mississippi department heads asked to speak with a House committee on government efficiency about the ways that they're saving time and money in their jobs. Most of the others echoed Edney's thoughts on artificial intelligence and other kinds of updated technology. Increased technology use doesn't mean maximum savings, said committee chair Rep. Hank Zuber, R-Ocean Springs. Zuber questioned why each agency was using a different type of software and paying an individual licensing fee, suggesting that the state pursue an all-encompassing contract with a single fee. Beyond a statewide provider contract, Mississippians could also see legislation next session targeting the hiring regulations instituted by the state personnel board. |
| Vicksburg Rotary hears Entergy CEO on Amazon data center, rate concerns | |
| Concerns about rising electric bills and long-term infrastructure costs tied to Amazon Web Services' data center expansion surfaced Thursday at the Rotary Club luncheon, where Entergy Mississippi CEO Haley Fisackerly addressed questions about how the projects will be funded and whether ratepayers could be exposed to additional costs. "There's a lot happening in your community, and there's a lot of information, and there's a lot of misinformation," he said. "And I'm here to answer those questions." He framed the recently announced Amazon Web Services data center buildout as part of a long-term shift in both energy demand and economic development, while describing contractual protections designed to shield existing customers from financial exposure if projected growth does not fully materialize. Fisackerly said Entergy's contractual safeguards are designed to shield existing customers from financial exposure tied to large-load industrial projects. He said the company is managing growth in a way that balances new demand with system reliability. |
| Mississippi lawmakers talk school consolidation, closures in state | |
| Legislators unpacked the details of one of the most contentious words to echo around the Capitol in the past few years: consolidation. Mississippi representatives met on Thursday, June 4, to discuss, specifically, the consolidation of K-12 schools and districts throughout the state. Committee Chair Rep. Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, warned that districts with fewer than 1,000 students were likely the first on the list. Mike Kent, an interim deputy superintendent with the department of education, suggested that the state could see a return to one-room schoolhouses in some areas. Legislators have had consolidation discussions for years at the Capitol, sounding alarms among those who fear the dissolution of their community without a school as an anchor point. "Consolidation has been such a dirty word for most people. They think we're trying to tear their community down," Roberson said. "And the truth is, if the school is what's holding it together right now, more than likely you've got bigger problems. We don't need to let the children in these areas be harmed by the fact that the adults can't figure out how to get this together." |
| Can consolidations fix dysfunctional school districts? | |
| Some state lawmakers say they want to reduce administrative costs and bureaucracy at school districts. They also want to replace dysfunctional school boards with more qualified leaders. They're discussing district consolidations as a way to realize those goals in hopes of improving outcomes for students at low performing schools. "We're trying to make sure that we're giving these communities some basis to have some good leadership, move their community forward and not hamstring them even further," said Rob Roberson, co-chair of the Select Committee on Consolidation. Consolidation should not compound the problems the smaller districts had before merging, he said. The state House subcommittee convened on Thursday. School consolidations have had mixed results in Mississippi. Mike Kent, a state Education Department official tasked with assisting on future consolidations, touted Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District as a "poster child" for consolidation, but acknowledged the proximity to Mississippi State University as a unique factor to its success as an A rated district. |
| House lawmakers consider Mississippi school consolidation amid enrollment decline, increased funding | |
| Members of the Mississippi House of Representatives met with leaders of the Mississippi Department of Education, Institutions for Higher Learning and Community College Board on Thursday to discuss the potential for campus consolidations. While there was little appetite for consolidation from community college and university representatives, House Education Committee Chair Rob Roberson (R) told Magnolia Tribune there was extensive discussion with the Mississippi Department of Education about the need to consolidate the state's public school districts. "You have the administrative cost which, you know, is a factor, but it's [school] buildings," Roberson explained. "And some of these districts are so small but yet they're using three and four buildings." This latest push for consolidation comes as enrollment data from the Mississippi Department of Education shows that the state's public K-12 education system has declined by nearly 63,000 students in the last decade, even as Mississippi taxpayers are being asked annually to fund over 130 school districts and the state education system as a whole at record levels. Another consideration discussed among House members focused on the Legislature setting ethical standards for school board members, particularly as it concerns attendance at meetings and appropriate conduct. |
| House committee examines school consolidation possibilities | |
| A new House committee is examining whether merging districts or closing and combining schools could save money and expand opportunities for students. House Education Chairman Rep. Rob Roberson knows it's a hot topic. "We're here to talk about consolidation and what that looks like. I know that when you bring those words up, a lot of times our school districts and a lot of our communities get very uneasy," Roberson said. Roberson is from the Starkville area, where consolidation happened in 2015. He said the result pushed him to advocate for more consolidation statewide. "Once you get past all of the political push and pull... and you start really looking at what is in the kids' best interest, it was hard... not to come to the table and say, 'This makes sense,'" Roberson said. "So, from my standpoint, do I think that these communities that need to do this, is it going to be easy? No, it's not. But nothing ever worth doing is easy." The committee will also consider consolidation at the community college and university levels. |
| Immigration bill passes without curbs on 'anti-weaponization' fund | |
 | The Senate passed a nearly $70 billion reconciliation bill for immigration enforcement early Friday morning after rejecting repeated attempts by members of both parties to prohibit or restrict a Justice Department "anti-weaponization" fund. On a mostly party-line vote of 52-47, the Senate sent to the House a bill designed to fund immigration agencies for the rest of President Donald Trump's term without new restrictions on federal immigration agents sought by Democrats. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski was the sole Republican to join all Democrats in opposition. The vote on final passage capped an 18-hour "vote-a-rama" on amendments focused mostly on a nearly $1.8 billion fund announced last month designed to compensate alleged victims of political prosecutions. Critics denounced it as a "slush fund" to reward Trump loyalists who broke the law. While administration officials later bowed to the backlash and said the fund would not move forward, lawmakers of both parties were concerned it still could. They sought to prohibit it through a provision in the reconciliation bill. |
| Republicans' sweeping election overhaul fails in the Senate | |
 | The SAVE America Act, a far-reaching Republican election overhaul that President Trump said should be his congressional allies' top priority, has officially failed in the Senate. The measure was voted on Thursday as an amendment as part of lengthy debate over an immigration funding package. The election bill has languished in the Senate for months, after the House passed a version in February on a near party-line vote. The election proposal would have taken effect immediately, even as voting is underway in congressional primaries. Notably, the legislation would have required voters to show a document proving their U.S. citizenship, like a passport or a birth certificate, when they registered to vote. Research has shown millions of Americans don't have easy access to those documents. And experts say such a provision is unnecessary, as noncitizens have never been shown to vote at anything but microscopic numbers in American elections. Still, as Trump has continued his years-long campaign to sow doubt in American elections, he pitched the SAVE America Act as a panacea to the fraud he falsely claims is rampant. |
| America's Affordability Crisis Is Jamming Up RFK Jr.'s Food Agenda | |
 | Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s push to overhaul the food system is running into resistance from food companies and corners of the Trump administration itself. White House and Trump administration officials have slowed progress on some of Kennedy's hallmark initiatives -- including efforts on ingredient oversight and ultraprocessed food -- over concerns they could further drive up food prices, people familiar with the matter said. Food-industry groups, representing companies such as PepsiCo and WK Kellogg, have been delivering a similar message to lawmakers, federal agencies and the White House, especially about policies being developed at the state level. The messages have gained traction with White House staffers who are hyperfocused on affordability as the Iran war accelerates the pace of inflation and threatens to influence voters in midterm elections. Grocery prices in April were roughly 26% higher than they were five years ago, according to the Labor Department. Kennedy's rise to prominence and the birth of MAHA caught the U.S. food industry off guard. The biggest concern for many food companies is a slew of new, MAHA-backed bills moving through the nation's statehouses that take varying approaches to regulating food additives, ultraprocessed foods and more. |
| Farm country loves Trump. His policies are making life difficult for this ally. | |
 | One big bet at the center of Rep. Derrick Van Orden's reelection campaign this week is that the best salesman for some of Donald Trump's painful economic policies is the president himself. Some 17,000 farms and a longstanding dairy industry have made the economy of Van Orden's rural Wisconsin district, a crucial artery in a major milk-producing state, particularly sensitive to Trump's tariff regime, and the spike in gas and fertilizer prices set off by the Iran war. As they battle to keep control of the House in this fall's midterm elections, a bevy of Trump Cabinet officials -- and, this Friday, the president himself -- are moving to boost Van Orden in the ag-heavy swing district. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is set to make her second appearance with Van Orden, a staunch Trump ally, in less than six weeks. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held a news conference inside a machine shed on Monday where he lamented how American children had been woefully "deprived" of whole milk. Van Orden has found himself in the position of having to defend White House policies that have been blamed for farm labor shortages, trade disruptions and soaring production costs as he campaigns for a third term in a district he has narrowly won twice. |
| Attitudes toward same-sex marriage and transgender issues are shifting, Gallup poll shows | |
| Acceptance of same-sex marriage and relationships in the U.S. has flattened after more than two decades of steadily increasing support, with an ongoing decline among Republicans, according to a new Gallup poll. About 65% of U.S. adults believe same-sex marriage should be legal, down slightly from 71% in 2022 and 2023. Most of the change is due to dropping acceptance among Republicans. In the new survey, which was conducted in May, only 37% of Republicans say same-sex marriage should be legally valid, while 35% say gay and lesbian relations are "morally acceptable." The views of Democrats and independents are largely stable in the findings released Wednesday, with most in both groups saying same-sex marriage should be legal and that gay or lesbian relations are moral. The widening partisan divide is also reflected in policy around LGBTQ+ issues across the U.S., particularly regarding transgender people, and a rising push in some states to ban same-sex marriage. The downtick in support for same-sex marriage, while slight, is still striking because of how dramatically American views on the issue have shifted over the past few decades. |
| Apple's Plan for AI Dominance Rests on Fixing Its Much-Maligned Chatbot | |
| Siri is one of the dumbest chatbots on the market. Apple hopes a reboot can power its AI comeback. When Apple stages its annual developer conference next week, the big reveal is expected to be a modern version of Siri that will look more like ChatGPT. Gone will be the old version, which has been so limited for so long that many people, if they ever use it, do so only for basic functions like setting timers. The new Siri, built atop Google's Gemini technology, is expected to offer a more modern search experience, remembering users' prior queries and accessing data from their devices for personalized responses. A new stand-alone Siri app with a paid tier, similar to competing artificial-intelligence apps, is also expected. The question is whether the new Siri, and other operating-system updates, set Apple on a path to bring generative AI to the masses, harnessing the company's formidable assets that, paradoxically, give it pole position to dominate the market even though it is years behind rivals. "I think Apple is going to win on AI," said Ron Johnson, Apple's retail chief under Steve Jobs. "The phone is the primary device on which people will use AI. And Apple is partnering with the right people to bring a unique AI experience to the phone." |
| USM to build new life sciences research center | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi is building a new life sciences research center. The announcement was made Thursday at the site where the 93,000 square foot building will be constructed. That location is south of the Walker Science Building and west of The Hub. It will house biological, biomedical and environmental research activities that are currently taking place at the nearby Johnson Science Tower. "(Building the new center is) critical to maintaining and enhancing our Carnegie Research One status and, more importantly, will lead to discoveries that may find cures and interventions for neurodegenerative disorders, infectious diseases and more," said Joe Paul, president of Southern Miss. USM has $87.5 million of state money for the project, but another $30 million is needed. That will be raised through federal assistance and private fundraising. "We'll be reaching out to our friends, our corporate partners, alumni who've graduated from life science programs to help us in this endeavor and really shape the future of research here at Southern Miss," said Stace Mercier, executive director of the USM Foundation. |
| Jackson State to host STEM competition showcasing Mississippi students' projects | |
| High school students from Hinds and Yazoo counties will showcase science and engineering projects Friday during the culminating events of the third annual ExxonMobil-Jackson State University STEM Summer Camp. Jackson State University is partnering with ExxonMobil and the Tapia Center at Rice University to host the competition, which will feature student projects focused on algorithms, energy, heat transfer and problem-solving. The event will include a student science fair from 10:30 a.m. to noon, followed by an awards banquet from noon to 1 p.m. Students will present their work and compete in team-based challenges while educators, legislators, industry leaders and community representatives serve as judges and interact with participants. Organizers said the annual camp is designed to expose students to STEM fields and provide hands-on learning opportunities that encourage future careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. |
| Mississippi teen studying in Italy helps organize Anglican church memorial for 1944 war dead | |
| A 17-year-old Episcopalian from Mississippi, who is completing a year of study abroad in Italy, has led an effort at his adopted church in Genoa to preserve the memory of 18 American airmen and 93 Genoese who died 82 years ago in a U.S. bombing mission. Jack DuPont of Waveland, a small city on the Gulf of Mexico, has been living with host families in Genoa since last September and attending a local school there, an experience sponsored by Rotary International. While immersing himself in Italian culture -- he arrived not knowing the language but has picked up enough to communicate -- DuPont also began attending worship services at Church of the Holy Ghost, an English-speaking congregation that is part of the Church of England. The church has a range of ministries supporting immigrants and students like DuPont. "I've had an amazing experience," DuPont, who returns to Mississippi at the end of this month, told Episcopal News Service in a phone interview. "The amount of opportunities that have come from this experience is just unbelievable." |
| U. of Alabama, Tuscaloosa Schools to Help Teachers Grow | |
| The University of Alabama is partnering with Tuscaloosa City Schools to offer reduced tuition to those seeking to become leaders in local education. In a Thursday announcement, TCS said they and UA will each pay one-third of the cost for eligible teachers to pursue advanced credentials -- a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership or the Instructional Leadership Reduced Hour Option. That would leave the teachers responsible for only the final third - the estimated total cost for participants is approximately $4,900 for the master's degree program and $2,940 for the reduced-hour option. "Our strongest future leaders are already serving students in our classrooms today," said Dr. Mike Daria, superintendent of the Tuscaloosa City Schools. "This partnership allows us to identify, develop and support talented educators who are committed to the Tuscaloosa City Schools and want to make an even greater impact through leadership. Investing in our teachers is one of the best investments we can make in the future of our district." |
| The U. of Texas at Austin Is Removing Its Cesar Chavez Statue | |
 | The statue of Cesar Chavez at the University of Texas at Austin is being removed, university officials told The New York Times. The decision was made in the wake of revelations The Times published that Mr. Chavez, the United Farm Workers co-founder, sexually abused multiple women and girls over the years. Dozens of other markers honoring the civil rights icon have been removed in the last few months, including statues in Tucson, Ariz., and at California State University in Fresno. Several cities and states have also canceled or rebranded celebrations named for Mr. Chavez, who died in 1993. One of the leading civil rights icons in the country, Mr. Chavez and other leaders of the United Farm Workers union kicked off strikes that resulted in more rights for laborers and greater awareness of their working conditions. In March, The Times reported that Mr. Chavez, as he was building his labor movement, abused the female activists around him, including Dolores Huerta, the union's co-founder. The statue at UT Austin, which occupies a central spot on the west mall of the campus, was placed in 2007. |
| Backlash Mounts Against Michigan State University's Board | |
 | When Michigan State University president Kevin Guskiewicz announced last week that he was leaving East Lansing to take the top job at Clemson University, the blame game over his exit began immediately. Guskiewicz cast the first stone in his resignation announcement. In a scathing letter, he accused the Board of Trustees of spending "too much energy" on "revisiting past conflicts and internal disagreements rather than focusing collectively on the opportunities and aspirations ahead of us." He also blamed trustees for "publicly undermining decisions and putting personal interests above the best interests" of the campus community. In addition, Guskiewicz wrote that they abused "their access to privileged and confidential information to mispresent [sic] facts, manipulate situations and selectively use and leak that information to promote personal agendas." Now, amid the finger-pointing, Michigan State is set to embark on another presidential search. As the trustees begin that effort, lawmakers across the state are calling for their removal and pushing for changes to overhaul a board that seems perpetually embroiled in controversy. |
| Has the Left Ruined the Humanities? | |
 | You've heard the critique. The humanities and social sciences have been corrupted by political aims, and their disciplines have tossed out rigorous research standards in favor of advancing social-justice causes favored by the political left. This has made for an impoverished scholarly landscape, filled with laughable claims and obscure jargon. Over the past several months, a group of high-profile scholars convened privately to study whether this criticism holds water across several fields within the humanities and social sciences. "The first thing to say," they concluded, "is that we reject the complaint in this bald form." However, the group found reason for concern -- a "mixed picture" that validates portions of the criticism. "Every field we have studied," the group wrote, exhibits warning signs pointing to "a deterioration in scholarly standards fueled by the substitution of political criteria for properly scholarly criteria in the assessment of research and a more general repudiation of longstanding ideals of rigor and objectivity." What's unique about this latest effort is who convened the group. |
| To Fund Pell, House Appropriators Suggest Ending Subsidized Loans | |
| Republican House appropriators are planning to shore up funding for Pell Grants, which aid low-income college students. But they would do so through cuts that include eliminating subsidized federal student loans. Higher ed groups are calling it a poor solution to the estimated $17 billion Pell shortfall. "We're enormously appreciative that the House Republican legislation would address that shortfall and protect the program for students that are most in need," said Craig Lindwarm, senior vice president of governmental affairs for the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. "Unfortunately, though, it does so in a way that takes from students in another manner." At the end of December, almost three million borrowers were using subsidized loans, said Emmanual Guillory, senior director of government relations at the American Council on Education. (Only undergraduates qualify for these loans.) Current borrowers wouldn't be affected, he said, but that's how many could be affected in the future. House Appropriations Committee chair Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican, said in a news release that "America's success has rested on a simple belief: that every citizen should have the opportunity to learn, work, innovate, and build a better future. This bill supports that promise. From groundbreaking medical research and restored focus on core public health to workforce training and educational opportunity, it invests in the people and institutions that strengthen our nation." |
| Advocacy groups sue Education Department on physician associate loan limits | |
 | A pair of advocacy groups filed suit on Wednesday against the Education Department over its cap on how much physician associates and assistants can borrow in student loans, the latest legal challenge to the recent limits. The American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) and the PA Education Association filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging that the Department of Education's impending rule change on the borrowing cap for physician associate students is unlawful. Under the new rule, which the department published in the Federal Register last month, graduate and professional students can borrow up to $100,000 and $200,000 in loans, respectively. Annually, the two groups of students can respectively borrow up to $20,500 and $50,000. The median tuition for in-state and out-of-state students is nearly $97,000 and more than $101,200, respectively, according to the AAPA. The association noted in February that factoring in housing, fees, supplies and "other required expenses," the total cost of attendance for these students "often exceeds" $200,000. Eleven programs qualify as "professional" degrees under the new rule, including chiropractic, dentistry, medicine, optometry, osteopathy, pharmacy, podiatry and veterinary medicine. Physician associate programs, though, are not in that category and are therefore subject to the lower borrowing limits. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State, Georgia lined up for Athens Super Regional | |
| A big battle of Bulldogs awaits. No. 14 Mississippi State and No. 3 Georgia will square off in the Athens Super Regional this weekend at Foley Field. A series win for State would send it to its first College World Series since 2021. For Georgia, its first since 2008. Game 1 is set for Saturday at 10 a.m. CT with Game 2 on Sunday at 11 a.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN. Game 3 would be on Monday at a time and on a network to be determined. Coach Brian O'Connor has been working to make sure MSU continues to grow throughout his first season at the helm. He hopes that work will have the Bulldogs ready for the next step to Omaha. "There's a lot of stuff that is done that's intentional, that when you get to a regional and then you get to a super regional, that hopefully your team is ready to play," O'Connor said. "And I believe this group will be ready to go." Both squads will bring some of the best offenses in college baseball to Foley Field. |
| Baseball: Bulldogs Earned Buc-ee's And On Quest To Earn More | |
| Mississippi State's baseball team pulled out of Starkville on Thursday morning. Destination: Athens, Georgia -- where MSU will battle Georgia in a super regional this weekend with a trip to Omaha and the College World Series at stake. Well, sort of. Before the Diamond Dawgs enter the Peach State, they're slated to make a pit stop. "About three hours down the road, we're going to stop at a Buc-ee's," State head coach Brian O'Connor said. "We're going to give [the team] 30 minutes of Buc-ee's. I told them no showers though. [I told them], 'You can't shower there, but get as many beaver nuggets as you wanna get, OK?'" By the time you're reading this, it's likely the Bulldogs have already had their fill of beaver nuggets, brisket sandwiches, beef jerky and whatever else they could find inside the holy grail of gas stations. There's no word on if Noah Sullivan, Ace Reese or any of the boys came away with Buc-ee the beaver T-shirts. Might be best to leave those alone anyway. Bully might get jealous. What's safe to say is MSU's players were looking forward to their half hour in convenience store heaven. It's a request the team actually made all the way back in March, but it was an unfulfilled ask at the time. |
| Mississippi State baseball team stops at Buc-ee's on way to Georgia | |
| Mississippi State baseball's trip to Buc-ee's on June 4 on the way to the Athens Super Regional appears to have gone well. A video posted by the team on social media recapped the Bulldogs' 30-minute visit where they grabbed all sorts of snacks. Coach Brian O'Connor said June 3 that the team would be going because the Bulldogs earned it, unlike earlier in the season when they didn't stop at Buc-ee's while bussing from Arlington, Texas, to Hattiesburg. Pitcher Tyler Pitzer filmed the video, showing various players walking around the store grabbing food two days before No. 14 MSU (47-13) begins its super regional at No. 3 Georgia (49-12). Some of the highlights included Chris Billingsley Jr. loading up on gummy candy, Tomas Valincius filling his basket half full of caffeinated drinks and Bryce Chance, whose nickname is "Beans," posing with a can of beans. O'Connor made a brief appearance, too, walking around the store with a basket in his hand. O'Connor said the purpose of visiting Buc-ee's was to have some fun and make sure Mississippi State will play loose against Georgia. |
| Why Gehrig Frei's parents named MSU leadoff batter after Lou Gehrig | |
| Gehrig Frei's parents named him after Lou Gehrig, but they never envisioned it working out as well as it did. Frei bats leadoff for Mississippi State, and he's also got a similar personality to Lou Gehrig, the the New York Yankees Hall of Famer who died in 1941 at age 37 from ALS. "Good thing I'm a baseball player," Frei said. "I love the game and I just try to play the game the right way." Frei's dad, John, grew up in New York. John's father was a huge Yankees fan, and Lou Gehrig was his favorite player. "He loved him because of his integrity and his no-nonsense kind of thing," John Frei said. "My father did not like the flashy Yankees." John Frei's dad died in a car accident in 1984 when John was 21 years old. So, John decided, as a tribute to his father, that he would name his first-born son Gehrig. Frei has two siblings, an older sister and a younger brother. "When his dad approached me about naming our first son Gehrig, it honestly didn't take long at all to convince me," said Frei's mom, Teri. "It was one of those things that it felt meaningful. It felt like it had purpose, whether he played baseball or not. It just represented something special that felt right." |
| Local Sculptor Creates Statues for MSU Baseball Entrance | |
| He may not be as famous as Remington or Rodin, but thousands of fans admire the work of Rusty Reid every Spring. The retired dentist turned sculptor created the statues of Mississippi State Baseball greats Ron Polk, Will Clark, and Rafael Palmeiro that grace the entrances at Dudy Noble Field. Reid came late to sculpting, and what started as a hobby has taken up a larger amount of his time. To help learn the craft, he reached out to his favorite sculptors and asked to watch them work. Some became mentors to him. When he began to work on the MSU statues, he spent time with his subjects to get a feel for their personalities and find out what details were important to them. For him, that project was a labor of love. "You have to really enjoy the process of, maybe, what you're doing it for. There's a big difference between what I did for Mississippi State. I donated it. I loved every second. There was zero pressure, but when you're getting paid by somebody to do it, there is pressure, and it's different. And so, you have to be careful. The fun can go out of it if it's a business. Well, I'm retired. It's not my main business, so I'm very fortunate that I can have fun doing it," said Reid. |
| Texas Tech's Glasco: WCWS loss doesn't mean investment not paying off | |
| Texas Tech came up short to Texas for the second straight season in the Women's College World Series championship series despite one of the biggest financial roster investments in the sport. But Red Raiders coach Gerry Glasco pushed back on the idea that the investment did not pay off following the 4-1 loss to Texas on Thursday night that ended their season. Star pitcher NiJaree Canady, who became the first $1 million player in softball when she left Stanford for Texas Tech last season, came up short of a championship in both 2025 and 2026. "I think that anyone that understands our sport knows that you can't buy a championship, and I think our investors are beyond thrilled with where we're at," Glasco said. "The families and the businesses that are supporting us, they couldn't imagine what we did happening 24 months ago. Only if you're naive and don't understand the difficulty of this sport could you think this was disappointing." Though Texas Tech fell short, Glasco and Canady pointed to the rising fan interest in the sport and the television ratings as reasons why investment in rosters and the sport will continue. |
| Trump boosts Senate's new college sports proposal: 'Last chance to save College Sports' | |
| President Donald Trump threw his support behind the Protect College Sports Act, a new Senate bill that would create a federal rulebook for collegiate sports, urging lawmakers to come together on a bipartisan law for his signature this summer in a social media post Thursday. "This Law resolves many of the most urgent issues challenging our Universities and Student-Athletes, stops the chaos and, most importantly, it may be the last chance to save College Sports, and Colleges themselves, before it's too late," he wrote on Truth Social. The boost to the Senate effort came after House lawmakers' high-profile attempt to regulate college sports, the SCORE Act, fell apart. "The House of Representatives tried multiple times to pass a bill. Unfortunately, it failed," Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said at the hearing. "The Protect College Sports Act is the only bipartisan bill. It is the last best hope we have to save college for us." On Thursday, Trump agreed, writing that the path to saving college sports from a "ROAD THROUGH HELL" lies in Congress. |
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