| Friday, August 21, 2026 |
| IHL approves student housing expansion at Ole Miss, hotel room lease agreement for Jackson State | |
 | New student housing and degree paths at the state's four-year universities were approved by the Board of Trustees for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning on Thursday. Three new programs approved by the IHL Board include a Bachelor of Applied Science in Criminal Justice and a Bachelor of Science in Human Forensic Science at Mississippi State University along with a Bachelor of Science in Social Media and Digital Communication at the University of Southern Mississippi. Among the other business considered by the IHL Board: A request from Mississippi State University to enter the design phase of a new parking structure to be located in the Crossroads Districts to accommodate anticipated student and economic development growth was approved. The planning phase of that project is anticipated to cost $1 million. When complete, the new structure will have a capacity of 500 to 700 vehicles. |
SPORTS
| The Rock at Southern Miss gets a new name | |
| M.M. Roberts Stadium, affectionately referred to as The Rock, on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi is getting a new name under a facility naming deal. The Institutions of Higher Learning Board has approved a Facility Naming Agreement between Southern Miss and Renasant Bank for approximately 10 years, changing the name of The Rock to Renasant Stadium. According to IHL records, Renasant Bank will pay Southern Miss naming rights fees on an annual basis, starting in Year 1 at $500,000. Over the 10-year period, Southern Miss will be paid a total amount of $13,706,838 for the naming rights. The Southern Miss stadium was dedicated as M.M. Roberts Stadium on September 25, 1976, and named after a former Golden Eagle letterwinner and IHL Board of Trustees member. |
| IHL approves Pete Taylor Park renovations | |
 | Plans to renovate Pete Taylor Park at the University of Southern Mississippi were unanimously approved today by the Mississippi Institute of Higher Learning. The renovations would entail changes to the baseball stadium's exterior design, expand seating along the third-base line and will be part of a future project pending fundraising efforts. The USM Athletic Foundation has retained Wier Boerner Allin Architecture as the design professional for the project. The project is privately funded. USM will present the drawings to donors and the general public at a later date. |
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