Thursday, November 30, 2017   
 
History comes alive through Grant, Lincoln at Mississippi State
Former Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank Williams vividly remembers when his fascination with President Abraham Lincoln began. He was 11 years old and in sixth grade. It was a painting of Lincoln that first sparked his curiosity in the 16th president and he told the Starkville Daily News about how sitting under that painting in grade school would one day culminate in his gift to Mississippi State University of the largest collection of Lincoln memorabilia and artifacts in existence. "The face fascinated me, the wear on it, the pressure and the stress and years later I learned the printmaker took the face from a Brady photograph, but he stuck it on the body of John Calhoun, who was the big secessionist of the pre-Civil War who thought the South had a right to leave the Union," Williams said. Years later, Frank Williams and his wife Virginia would be the primary benefactors for the Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana, featuring 17,000 priceless artifacts and 12,000 books included in the Williams Collection.
 
Grant Presidential Library Opening at Mississippi State
The Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library at Mississippi State University officially opens today at 2 p.m. Located on the 4th floor of Mitchell Memorial Library, the $10 million addition contains a state-of-the-art museum chronicling Grant's life and his significance in American history. The library also features the Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Abraham Lincoln memorabilia. Visitors will find plenty of information on the Civil War and two presidents who shaped the course of American history.
 
ACCESS at Mississippi State helps intellectually disabled gain independence
When Andrew Carlyle was an infant, a congenital heart defect which led to a stroke, seriously affected his intellectual capacity, so much so that the child's first neurologist told his parents, Greg and Ann Maria, that Andrew would likely never learn to speak or walk. On Tuesday, 20-year-old Andrew Carlyle did both, mesmerizing his audience at the Columbus Rotary Club at Lion Hills Center. Tuesday's program, introduced by Greg Carlyle, a Rotarian who is the headmaster at Heritage Academy, informed Rotarians about Mississippi State's ACCESS program for young adults who have intellectual disabilities. Now in its sixth year, ACCESS provides a range of services for 16 students who live, learn and participate in a college environment. Program director Julie Capella noted while there are roughly 200 programs to help college-age students with intellectual disabilities around the country, MSU's is one of just 13 to offer a four-year residential program.
 
Eddie Kelly to address fall graduates at MSU-Meridian
The area division manager of Mississippi Power Co. will be the fall 2017 graduation speaker for Mississippi State University-Meridian. Eddie Kelly delivers the Dec. 7 commencement address at an 11 a.m. public ceremony in the Kahlmus Auditorium on the College Park Campus. More than 70 students are candidates for degrees. Kelly has led MPC Meridian since 2013. In addition to a bachelor's degree in accounting from William Carey College (now University), he holds an MBA from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Prior to graduating from the Mississippi Economic Council's Leadership Mississippi in 2014, the Gulfport native completed similar executive training programs in Georgia and Lauderdale County. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he served on active duty in Gulf War operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and was honored with the Navy Commendation Medal for leadership under fire.
 
Photo: Tours MSU Vet School
Photo: Rep. Scott Bounds, Sen. Jenifer Branning, both of Philadelphia, and other legislators, state budget analyst and agriculture industry partners were on the campus of Mississippi State University recently to tour the MSU School of Veterinary Medicine and other agriculture units on the campus. First row, from left, are Rep. Rob Roberson, Starkville, Ethan Branning, Senator Branning, Ellis Branning, Rep. Bounds, Dr. Mark Keenum, President of Mississippi State University, Rep. Mac Huddleston, Pontotoc. In back are Rep. Jim Beckett, Bruce, Dr. Gary Jackson, Executive Director, MSU Extension Service, T J Taylor, Policy Director, Office of Speaker Philip Gunn, Rob Dowdle, Legislative Budget Office, Corbin Stanford, Legislative Budget Office, Lee Thorne, Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation and Dr. Reuben Moore, MSU Extension Service.
 
Drones a greater risk to planes than birds, FAA research finds
Video: New research commissioned by the FAA finds a high-speed collision between a drone and an airliner would be worse than a bird strike. Newly-released animation shows how a drone could cause significant damage to a plane's engine or tail area. This year, the FAA has received an average of 250 reports of drones near airports every month, up from 159 for most of last year. Kris Van Cleave reports.
 
Drones pose real risk for airplanes, new study finds
Video: Experts believe it's just a matter of time before a drone strikes a plane loaded with passengers.
 
Drone collisions with aircraft modeled
The results of the first study to use computer modeling to simulate midair collisions between manned and unmanned aircraft in detail strongly suggest that the danger of such real-world collisions must be taken seriously. Detailed results of a 14-month study by the FAA-funded Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE) were published Nov. 28, and presented in a webinar led by Gerardo Olivares of Wichita State University, the principal investigator and leader of a collaboration that also involved Mississippi State University, Montana State University, and Ohio State University.
 
Drones can cause major damage to aircraft, study finds
Even at the same weight and speed as a bird, a drone that collides with an aircraft will cause more damage, a study by Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE) found. ASSURE, led by Mississippi State University, used computer models to test a 2.7-lb. quadcopter and 4 lb. quadcopter and a 4-lb. and 8-lb. fixed wing drone colliding with a business jet and a single-aisle commercial transport jet. The researchers studied the vertical and horizontal stabilizers, the wing leading edge, and the windshield. The Federal Aviation Administration will use ASSURE's study to develop operational and collision risk requirements for drones.
 
Drone Strike Hazards Confirmed in New Manned-Unmanned Study
When an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) struck a Beechcraft King Air 100's wing last month in Canada, it showed that hypothetical "what-ifs" about the dangers of drones flying around manned aircraft aren't actually hypothetical. It also makes the FAA's Center of Excellence for UAS Research Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE) final report on air-to-air, unmanned-to-manned collisions all the more significant. ASSURE and the FAA announced Wednesday its report titled, "The sUAS Air-to-Air Collision Severity Evaluation Final Report," which studies small drones, business jets and commercial jets. "While the effects of bird impacts on airplanes are well documented, little is known about the effects of more rigid and higher mass [small UAS] on aircraft structures and propulsion systems," said Mississippi State University's Marty Rogers, the director of ASSURE.
 
Drones inflict more physical damage than bird strike equivalent: ASSURE study
Studies by a consortium of leading universities, through the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE), have begun to bring better understanding to the physical damage associated with small unmanned aircraft -- or drones -- colliding midair with commercial and business aircraft. The ASSURE research team began its research in 2016, using unique resources from Mississippi State University, Montana State University, Ohio State University, and Wichita State University. This research team set out to answer the question of what happens when -- not if -- there is a collision between a sUAS and an aircraft. "While the effects of bird impacts on aircraft are well documented, little is known about the effects of more rigid and higher mass sUAS on aircraft structures and propulsion systems," said Mississippi State University's Marty Rogers, the director of ASSURE. "The results of this work are critical to the safety of commercial air travel here in the United States and around the world."
 
FAA to Develop Drone Collision Risk Mitigation Requirements Based on ASSURE Report
The Federal Aviation Administration plans to establish new requirements for drones to help mitigate collision and operational risks based on the results of a study released by the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence. A research team at ASSURE performed computer simulations and physical tests to examine potential damage to a manned aircraft in the event of a collision with a small unmanned aerial system and found that drone collisions inflicted more structural damage to the aircraft than bird strikes, FAA said Tuesday. Mississippi State University oversees ASSURE that was selected by FAA in May 2015 as a UAS center of excellence.
 
Mississippi DHS under investigation over food stamps consultant
Federal investigators are examining whether Mississippi officials manipulated federal reporting within a public assistance program, even as Mississippi leaders continue looking for ways to limit "welfare fraud" among participants. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Mississippi Department of Human Services over its management of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. Human Services is also the state agency expected to soon assume responsibility of Medicaid eligibility The department first hired consultant Julie Osnes in 2011 to help improve its SNAP error rate, which, if low, can earn the state cash incentives. Federal investigators have discovered that through consultants like Osnes, states have manipulated their reported numbers, making them unreliable.
 
Kevin Ford eager to get down to business as new District 54 representative
Kevin Ford spent the day after his election to House District 54 in Jackson meeting with Speaker of the House Philip Gunn another House officials to try and set a date for his swearing in and presenting a list of requested committee assignments. "One of the committees is the Education Committee," he said. The others are Ports, Harbors and Air Ports and Tourism, he added. Ford defeated Dr. Randy Easterling in the runoff for the House seat, getting 1,434 votes to 959 for Easterling. He said getting on the House Education Committee is one of the moves toward working to improve education. "I believe the Mississippi Adequate Education Program needs to be fully funded, and I want to work toward doing that," he said.
 
Following Senate, House Mandates Sexual Harassment Training
The House on Wednesday adopted by voice vote a resolution that would require all House employees -- including all members -- to be trained annually on workplace harassment and discrimination. The bipartisan measure comes on the heels of allegations against Democratic Rep. John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, the longest serving member in Congress, and Democratic Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota. As those cases work through the congressional ethics process, there's a renewed focus on how sexual harassment can be reported on Capitol Hill. "The fact that some people walking these halls are subjected to a threatening or hostile work environment when they came here to serve their country, to serve their ideas -- that is wrong. That is a disgrace," said Speaker Paul D. Ryan at a press conference earlier Wednesday. Ryan said House Administration Chairman Gregg Harper, a Mississippi Republican, is holding hearings and working on updates to the Congressional Accountability Act that would overhaul the process for complaints to be made and reviewed.
 
DOJ may be cracking down on recreational marijuana
Attorney General Jeff Sessions hinted Wednesday that the Justice Department may take a tougher stance on recreational marijuana in the near future, a change in policy that would have a significant impact on the five states plus the District of Columbia that already allow the drug to be used for more than medicinal purposes. California is scheduled to join that group on Jan. 1. Sessions and other DOJ officials previously indicated they would continue the policy laid out by the department under former President Barack Obama, which in essence allows state officials leeway in how they deal with the drug as long as they meet certain standards, like keeping cannabis out of the hands of minors, keeping it from crossing into states where it isn't legal and preventing drugged driving. Marijuana, however, remains illegal under federal law, and there was always the possibility the Trump administration could crack down.
 
More MUW students treated for carbon monoxide exposure
Crews are continuing to determine the root cause of a carbon monoxide leak inside a residence hall at Mississippi University for Women. The university says it appears to be an apparent boiler misfire. Forty one students have been evaluated at a hospital following the leak at Kincannon Hall. All students were later released. MUW President Dr. Jim Borsig says the residence halls have fire alarms and sprinkler systems, but the university is now in the process of installing carbon monoxide detectors inside three buildings. The installation should be complete by Wednesday night. Students are expected to return to Kincannon Hall Thursday.
 
Ice, stars highlight planetarium programs at Delta State University
Dr. Adam Johanson, director of the Wiley Planetarium at Delta State University, has two planetarium events left before he closes for the year. On Thursday, the planetarium will feature the film "Ice Worlds" at 6 p.m., narrated by actress Emily Watson. Johanson said the film talks about how ice plays a role within our planet, as well as the solar system. The last event for the year will be "Star of Bethlehem" on Dec. 8. Attendees will get a chance to see what the sky looked like during the birth of Jesus, more than 2,000 years ago. "We will talk about new stars that have been recorded throughout history and look for possible symbolism that could be seen in the sky, which might have caused the wise men to believe something significance was happening," he said.
 
Ret. Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey shares leadership tips with Auburn business college
Ret. Army General Barry McCaffrey spoke at Auburn University on Wednesday afternoon, sharing thoughts on leadership with the students and community members in attendance. "I believe you have a responsibility as a leader to sell yourself to the people who work for you," he said. "You have to sell yourself to make sure that when you're on a message that people don't feel comfortable with, they don't tune you out. We tend to do that. We watch Fox or NBC. We read New York Times or Washington Examiner. We don't like information that's in dissonance to what we believe." The four-star general and former White House cabinet member visited the university as part of a series of events commemorating the Harbert College of Business' 50th anniversary. He used expertise he gleaned from his 32-year Army career, as well as his experience in the civilian world as founder and CEO of a consulting firm, to guide the audience on how to become effective leaders.
 
U. of Tennessee: $59K Power T world record event worth cost
The University of Tennessee's world record in forming the largest human letter was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students that officials say more than paid for itself in marketing outcomes, but it also came at a cost. The event in March cost $59,871, according to a report on discretionary spending at the UT Knoxville chancellor's office. "The expenditure brought about a lot of value for the university, especially since the event was just five weeks prior to our admissions confirmation deadline and the national exposure allowed us to share our school traditions/spirit with viewers/families at a key time of year for us," UT spokeswoman Karen Simsen said in an email. A total of 4,223 students, staff and alumni gathered in Neyland Stadium in March to form the record-breaking Power T. Representatives from Guinness World Records also were on hand to certify the record. Students at the University of California, Berkeley have since broken the record during a fall orientation event.
 
U. of Missouri to offer expanded online nursing program
A new online program will allow registered nurses to complete their bachelor's or master's degree at the University of Missouri, providing better educated nurses for patient care and more nurses with the qualifications to teach. A news release from the Sinclair School of Nursing stated that applications will be accepted through April 1 for classes starting in June. The program is being supported by a grant from the state Board of Nursing and the Missouri Department of Higher Education and includes money to offer scholarships for full- and part-time students in the first year of the program. The program is designed to help prevent a looming nursing shortage, the release stated.
 
How the Senate and House tax bills would hit higher education
As Republican leaders in the Senate lobbied to secure the votes needed for a drastic overhaul of the U.S. tax system, higher education leaders and student groups have continued to keep the spotlight on provisions in both houses of Congress that would significantly affect -- and, they believe, badly hurt -- institutions and college-goers alike. Both tax reform plans would for the first time tax the income of college endowments by targeting the largest endowments at private institutions -- a "disastrous precedent for universities and indeed, for all charitable organizations," said Mary Sue Coleman, president of the Association of American Universities, in a statement this week. But the effects of the two bills on students and colleges are wide-ranging. It appears increasingly likely that some version of the tax plan will pass the Senate -- possibly as soon as this week. That means many of the details of tax reform legislation, and the discrepancies between the two versions, will be worked out in conference committee.
 
Grad Student Walkout: University Graduate Students Walk Out To Protest Tax Plan
Graduate students around the country walked out of their classes, office hours, and research labs to protest the House Republican tax plan Wednesday. "This plan is going to be disastrous for higher ed," said Jack Nicoludis, a Harvard graduate student in chemistry, who helped organize a protest on the campus. He said the bill would more than double his taxes. In exchange for teaching courses or teaming up with professors on research projects, universities don't charge many Ph.D. students tuition, and give them modest stipends. The House bill would end the tax break students get on the value of their tuition waivers. "Graduate students already struggle to get by and this will just be another factor that dissuades people from getting Ph.D.s," Nicoludis said.
 
It Started as a Tax Cut; Now It Could Change American Life
The tax plan has been marketed by President Trump and Republican leaders as a straightforward if enormous rebate for the masses, a $1.5 trillion package of cuts to spur hiring and economic growth. But as the bill has been rushed through Congress with scant debate, its far broader ramifications have come into focus, revealing a catchall legislative creation that could reshape major areas of American life, from education to health care. The proposals break from seven decades' worth of federal efforts to broaden access to higher education. The House or Senate bill includes provisions ending the deductibility of tuition waivers for graduate students, repealing the deduction for interest paid on student loans and taxing university endowments.
 
House Republicans Eye Sweeping Changes in Higher Education Act
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are expected to release a bill this week that would reauthorize the federal law governing higher education, the Higher Education Act of 1965, and it includes several significant changes, according to The Wall Street Journal, which reviewed a summary of the proposal. Among the changes in the overhaul package from the U.S. House's education committee, led by Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, are a plan to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the Fafsa, and cap the amount that students may borrow. And it would end a loan-forgiveness program for public servants who have made payments on their loans for 10 years. The House Republicans' bill also would expand job-training and apprenticeship opportunities, which have been championed by the Trump administration and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
 
U.S. House committee leaks summary of broad plan for reauthorizing the Higher Education Act
The education committee of the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives is set to release an opening salvo in Congress's long-overdue reauthorization the Higher Education Act, the law that oversees federal financial aid programs. Policy wonks circulated bullet points from the committee, which plans to release the full proposal later this week. And The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday published four articles about the pending legislation based on a summary the newspaper reviewed. While plenty of details have yet to emerge, the summaries describe an ambitious plan to substantially change how the federal government targets and distributes student aid money, with moves to both deregulate and tighten oversight of aspects of aid programs. Congress last authorized the Higher Education Act in 2008. The proposal from the House education committee, which is led by Representative Virginia Foxx, a North Carolina Republican, appears to be more aggressive in its goals than the changes Congress made almost a decade ago.
 
Graduation rates reflect lower test standards
Tim Kalich, the editor and publisher of the Greenwood Commonwealth, writes: "After Tate Reeves' luncheon presentation last week in Greenwood, several of those in attendance told me that it was obvious the lieutenant governor was trying to avoid my question. I thought so, too. At the end of delivering a talk I suspect Reeves has already made a dozen times or so, the Republican left about 10 minutes for questions from the audience. I was sitting on the front row, and my hand went up along with several others. He called on two people to my right, then one to my left, then looked at me and said time was up but that he would take my question afterward. 'Well, I think I'd like the audience to hear the question, if you don't mind,' I responded. Reeves agreed. He didn't know, of course, what I might ask, but he might have figured it wasn't going to be a softball question."
 
Republicans pick up seat with stealth campaign
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Bobby Harrison writes: "Within minutes of all the votes being counted and tallied Tuesday night in the Senate District 10 special election, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves took to twitter to boast a seat held by Democrats was being picked up by Republicans with the victory of 29-year-old Neil Whaley of Potts Camp. Reeves' Twitter pronouncement had to be particularly hurtful to Democrats since the election was for the seat held by Senate Democratic leader Bill Stone of Holly Springs. Stone, much to the chagrin of many Democrats throughout the state, opted to step down midway through his term to accept a post in the Holly Springs city government, resulting in the need for the special election. But Reeves' Twitter pronouncement also was a bit odd in that it was the first public pronouncement of the party affiliation of Whaley, a political novice."


SPORTS
 
Joe Moorhead officially named Mississippi State's coach
Mississippi State wasted little time in hiring its 33rd head football coach. About 48 hours removed from Dan Mullen's departure on Sunday, Bulldogs' athletic director John Cohen navigated through a landscape filled with coaching searches and landed one of the nation's up-and-coming coaches in Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead. News of Moorhead's hire broke late Tuesday and was confirmed by MSU on Wednesday morning. "During our search, it became unequivocally clear who our next football coach was and that man was Joe Moorhead," Cohen said. Moorhead will be formally introduced at a press conference Thursday at 10 a.m. in the Seal Football Complex. It's open to the public.
 
Mississippi State welcomes Joe Moorhead: 'Moor Cowbell' is the cry
Less than 24 hours after Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead agreed to become the new head football coach at Mississippi State, a T-shirt already had gone into circulation in Starkville, Miss. "Moor Cowbell," the T-shirt read, a reference to the custom of Bulldog fans ringing cowbells at football games. There was excitement in town Wednesday when the university made the formal announcement of its new coach, naming Moorhead, 44, a Pittsburgh native who had rejuvenated the Penn State offense over the last two seasons with a clever and innovative read option attack. Moorhead returns to the job of head coach, one he held for four seasons at Fordham, where he went 38-13 before James Franklin hired him in December 2015 to come to Happy Valley. In a statement issued Wednesday, Franklin said he "couldn't be happier" for Moorhead and his family.
 
Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead has list of coordinator candidates
One of Joe Moorhead's first major staffing decisions as Mississippi State's new head coach will be hiring a defensive coordinator. Mississippi State athletics director John Cohen told the Clarion Ledger Wednesday Moorhead has a list of several people that he has isolated for the position. "Joe has a really strong list of candidates," Cohen said. "I don't think he is in a big hurry because we don't have to be. Obviously, the priority right now is the recruiting side of it and putting a staff together. But the list of candidates he has for D.C. are exciting."
 
Joe Moorhead will not coach in Mississippi State or Penn State bowl
New Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead will not coach in the Bulldogs' bowl game next month, athletic director John Cohen said Wednesday. The former Penn State offensive coordinator will not coach in the Nittany Lions' bowl game, either, Cohen said. Moorhead, who was hired Tuesday to replace Dan Mullen, will be with MSU observing players during practice and will attend the Bulldogs' bowl. Running backs coach Greg Knox will continue to coach the Bulldogs throughout their bowl prep and in its bowl game, Cohen said. Mississippi State (8-4) was No. 23 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, released on Monday night. A variety of bowls are still i play for Mississippi State, including the Outback Bowl, Taxslayer Bowl, Music City Bowl, among others. The bowl game will be announced on Sunday.
 
Mississippi State's Gabe Myles makes SEC Community Service Team
Mississippi State senior wide receiver Gabe Myles was selected to the SEC Community Service Team. The Starkville native has donated time back to his hometown through reading to students at the TK Martin Center and participated in the Read Across America event last March. He also volunteered with the Salvation Army's Red Kettle campaign and at Camp Rising Sun. Additionally, Myles is part of the Allstate Goodworks Team and is on the Wuerfell Trophy watch list.
 
Todd Grantham joining Gators coaching staff
Todd Grantham is the third Mississippi State assistant to leave and join Dan Mullen's staff at Florida. Grantham, the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator this past season, reunites with fellow assistants John Hevesy and Billy Gonzales in Gainesville. Grantham turned the defense around during his lone year at MSU. He inherited a unit that was ranked 110th in total defense in 2016 and finished the regular season 10th nationally this season.
 
Bulldogs battle Bison tonight on SEC Network
Mississippi State puts its perfect 6-0 record on the line against North Dakota State tonight at 6 on SEC Network. It will be the first ever meeting between the Bulldogs and Bison on the hardwood. MSU is currently off to its best start since 2003-04 and have five players averaging 11 points or more. Junior guard Quinndary Weatherspoon tops the Bulldogs scoring 12.8 points and hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in their 59-56 win over Jacksonville State on Sunday. Coach Ben Howland said "it remains to be seen" if point guard Lamar Peters will play tonight. Peters has been suspended the past two games for a violation of team rules.
 
Teaira McCowan Leads No. 6 Mississippi State Over Louisiana-Lafayette, 94-37
Mississippi State's Victoria Vivians was looking through the postgame box score when her eyes suddenly went wide. A few numbers had caught her eye. "Dang, Teaira!" Vivians said. Dang, indeed. Teaira McCowan had career-highs with both 31 points and 20 rebounds to lead No. 6 Mississippi State over Louisiana-Lafayette 94-37 at the Mississippi Coliseum. The 6-foot-7 McCowan has been a really good player on some great teams during her first two seasons with the program. Now the Bulldogs need her to be one of the stars. She certainly looked the part against the Ragin' Cajuns. "She'll go for spurts where she's locked in and she's impacting the game on both ends," Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer said. "When she does that and we run our offense through her and not to her, that's when we really get good."
 
'Dang, Teaira:' Mississippi State's McCowan has career-best effort against ULL
Everyone knew who the star of the game was afterward, but maybe it took Victoria Vivians a little longer to realize. Vivians and her teammates were taking a minute to look at the stat sheet before the post-game press conference when Vivians' eyes bulged. "Dang, Teaira," she said loudly. She was blown away by Teaira McCowan's 31 points and 20 rebounds in Mississippi State's 94-37 win against Louisiana. Coach Vic Schaefer turned to her with a smirk. "Yeah, and in only 26 minutes," he said. The 6-foot-7 center was everywhere in the dominant win. She was so much bigger, so much faster and more skilled than any post player UL tried using to stop her. Guards Morgan William and Jazz Holmes would often drive through the lane and just lob the ball to McCowan down low for an easy layup. It wasn't just the things that show up on the stat sheet.
 
Three Mississippi State players on national award watch lists
Three Mississippi State players were named to the Naismith Player of the Year Trophy watch list on Wednesday. Senior guards Victoria Vivians and Morgan William were each selected to the list along with junior center Teaira McCowan. Additionally, Vivians and Williams were also added to the Wade Trophy watch list, which also goes to the top player in women's basketball. Vivians currently leads the Bulldogs scoring 18.8 points per game. William is averaging 6.2 assists and 5.5 points while McCowan is putting up 14.7 points and pulling down 10.3 rebounds.
 
Depth will be issue for Mississippi State, Vic Schaefer
Depth will be a topic that will come up often this season for Vic Schaefer. A year ago, the Mississippi State women's basketball coach had one of the deepest and experienced teams in the nation, which played a key role in the program's historic upset of four-time reigning national champion Connecticut in its first trip to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament and its initial appearance in the national championship game. This season, MSU can make a case for one of the nation's deepest backcourts with seniors Victoria Vivians, Morgan William, Roshunda Johnson, and Blair Schaefer and junior Jazzmun Holmes. That group will receive a boost early next month when Arkansas transfer Jordan Danberry becomes eligible. But the decision to ask Danberry to join the active roster was made in part after sophomore forward Jacaira "Iggy" Allen suffered a season-ending knee injury. She has since had surgery and is on the road to recovery, but she won't be back this season.
 
David McFatrich resigns as Mississippi State's volleyball head coach
David McFatrich resigned as Mississippi State's volleyball head coach on Wednesday, Director of Athletics John Cohen announced. "We appreciate everything that David has done for Mississippi State volleyball in his three years," Cohen said. "We wish David and his family all the best in their future endeavors." MSU will begin a national search immediately for a new volleyball coach.
 
Ole Miss to host MHSAA football state championships: What you need to know
The MHSAA football state championships -- including in Division 6A, Pearl (15-0) vs. Starkville (13-2) at 7 p.m. on Friday -- are coming to Oxford for the second time in three years. Ole Miss is hosting all six games inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Friday and Saturday. With the final day of classes before next week's fall exams and Ole Miss hosting two basketball games on Saturday parking might cause some headaches. The MHSAA has announced parking plans for fans and families of the 12 high schools descending to Oxford. On Friday all lots surrounding VHS will be available. There will be an ADA shuttle on the South and Track parking lots for ADA patrons. The parking garage by the Pavilion will not be available until 5 p.m.
 
Football Player With 1 Kidney Sues U. of Southern Mississippi
A student athlete born with only one kidney sued the University of Southern Mississippi on Wednesday, claiming school officials pulled him off the football team after learning of his medical condition. Deven Hammond's lawsuit accuses Southern Miss of violating federal anti-discrimination laws. The 20-year-old, now enrolled at Louisiana State University, says he never has had any kidney-related problems during football games or practices in high school or college. But his federal suit claims Southern Miss officials repeatedly raised "liability" concerns after he mentioned his condition to the school's head athletic trainer in June. Hammond's offer to sign a waiver of liability didn't persuade school officials to let the defensive back rejoin the team, the suit says. Southern Miss athletics department spokesman Jack Duggan said he can't comment on pending litigation.
 
Former football player files suit against USM
A former Southern Miss student who was recruited to the university's football team but never allowed to play filed suit Tuesday against the school, alleging his civil rights and privacy were violated. According to court documents, Deven Hammond was recruited to Southern Miss by Coach Dan Disch after Disch saw Hammond play at defensive back in 2015 at Louisiana State University. Hammond was a freshman at LSU, but transferred to Southern Miss after Disch offered Hammond a full-ride scholarship and the possibility of someday leading the team's defense. When Hammond left LSU, he had to sit out one year to comply with NCAA transfer rules. During that time, he took online classes and sold his car to help pay his expenses and save money for his move to Hattiesburg. "He gave up a lot," Hammond's attorney William Most said. The Hattiesburg American reached out to Southern Miss for comment on the lawsuit, but university officials were advised not to comment on any pending litigation, spokesman Van Arnold said.
 
Police take down man amid 'Fire Currie' chants at UT Vols basketball game
A man faces charges of public intoxication, resisting arrest and assaulting an officer after a video captured police throwing him to the ground at a University of Tennessee men's basketball game on Wednesday evening. Two officers and a security guard appeared to be escorting the man out of Thompson-Boling Arena when one officer slid his hands under the man's armpits and took him down from behind, the nine-second video shows. Tyler Fambrough, a freshman at UT, recorded the video and posted it on Twitter, where it had been retweeted more than 1,000 times as of 9:15 p.m. ET. The man's identity, and whether or not he's a student, has not been released. UT spokesman Tom Satkowiak confirmed the man had been charged but had no further details Wednesday night. A representative for the University of Tennessee Police Department did not immediately return a request for comment.
 
Texas Tech AD not interested in U. of Arkansas job, sources say
A relatively quiet day for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville athletic department wound up with one big name eliminated from the search for an athletic director and no apparent movement on the coaching search. Multiple sources with knowledge of the search said Arkansas checked on Texas Tech Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt's interest in the permanent athletic job and was told he wanted to remain in Lubbock, Texas. The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal cited a Texas Tech source Wednesday as saying, "He'll be here. He's not going anywhere," in reference to Hocutt's potential candidacy for the job. Hocutt, 46, succeeded former Arkansas AD Jeff Long as chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee.
 
David L. Boren: The President Who Politicked Oklahoma Back to the Top
College football fans tend to prefer that university presidents be seen, not heard. The University of Oklahoma's president, David L. Boren, has been a flagrant violator of that precept. He urged a 2006 loss to Oregon be expunged after the Sooners bore the brunt of poor officiating. He pledged in 2011, at the height of conference realignment, that Oklahoma would not be a "wallflower," leaving open the possibility that it might depart the Big 12 Conference. And in 2015, he gave the league a public diagnosis of "psychologically disadvantaged" after none of its teams qualified for the first College Football Playoff. These are the kinds of quotations that attract the wrong kind of attention in the college football fishbowl; one journalist compared Boren to the former Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev banging his shoe on the table. But Boren, who announced in September that he would retire next year after nearly a quarter-century as Oklahoma's president, was not a typical university chief executive: neither a tweedy academic (though he was a Rhodes scholar) nor a professional administrator (though on his watch Oklahoma has climbed the annual U.S. News and World Report national rankings).



The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
Mississippi State University  •  Mississippi State, MS 39762  •  Main Telephone: (662) 325-2323  •   Contact: The Editor  |  The Webmaster  •   Updated: November 30, 2017Facebook Twitter