| Wednesday, February 14, 2018 |
| Mississippi State to host second Black Alumni Weekend beginning Thursday | |
 | For the second time, Mississippi State University will hold an event for its African-American alumni. The second MSU Black Alumni Weekend will take place Thursday through Sunday, attracting approximately 700 alumni to campus. The event will follow a theme of "Pioneers, History Makers and Future Leaders." "It is a collaborative event between an executive planning committee of 18 alums and our office, the alumni association to help them execute the reunion, " said MSU Alumni Association Executive Director Jeff Davis. The planning committee was chaired by 1985 chemical engineering alumna Connie Spells Raines and included three generations of alumni. |
| Classics of all kinds highlight MSU Riley Center Spring/Summer Series | |
 | Classics will rule the stage as the MSU Riley Center presents its 2018 Spring/Summer Performing Arts Series, starting April 14 with a concert by the powerhouse rock band Jefferson Starship. Classic rock and soul, classic American roots music, a renowned classical ballet and even a family-oriented musical version of a classic fairy tale make up the Spring/Summer Series. The nine-show season runs through Aug. 18. "Each of our performers and productions in the Spring/Summer Series has, in some exceptional way, stood the test of time," said Dennis Sankovich, the Riley Center's executive director. "What better fit could we have for our Victorian gem of a theater? It made its grand debut in 1890, regained its youthful vigor in 2006, thanks to a loving restoration, and has since inspired the ongoing revival of Meridian's historic downtown." |
| MSU Riley Center announces 2018 Spring/Summer Series | |
 | The MSU Riley Center has announced its list of performers for the 2018 spring and summer performing arts series. The announcement was made on the stage of the Riley Center Theater for the first time ever Tuesday. Organizers are excited about the performers coming to Meridian this series. "It is not only wonderful entertainment. I mean right in your own backyard you can see major artist like KC and the Sunshine Band and Pat Benatar. How can you miss it? All you have to do is drive downtown. Where other places you have to 90 minuets to see something," said Dennis Sankovich, the executive director of the Riley Center. |
| Mississippi State expert explains state gun deaths ranking | |
| Deaths caused by firearms remain a pervasive problem across the country, with a recent report ranking Mississippi in the top five states with the most gun deaths. The Violence Policy Center recently released its most recent analysis of gun deaths across the country, and reported 19.64 guns deaths in Mississippi per 100,000 people, which ranked the state with the fourth-highest total. Alabama (2nd) and Louisiana (3rd) both finished with higher gun death rates per capita than Mississippi, with 21.51 and 21.08, respectively. Alaska was ranked as the state with the highest gun death rate per capita, at 23.86. Mississippi State University criminology professor David May said higher levels of gun ownership leads to the increased availability of guns, which can lead to higher levels of accidental homicides by guns. |
| Party's over: Raucous Fat Tuesday gives way to solemn Lent | |
 | Families camped out from early morning to catch beads and stuffed animals thrown from float riders. Revelers took to the streets in elaborate or funny costumes evoking Marie Antoinette, President Donald Trump and glamorous vampires. And amused bystanders took in the chaotic scene from lawn chairs. Carnival season started Jan. 6 and came to a close Fat Tuesday with festivities throughout New Orleans. Wednesday marks the first day of Lent, a period of reflection and restraint after the days of parades, parties and revelry. Throngs of people were on the median for the final day of Mardi Gras, cooking up crawfish and red beans and rice. Others had set up ladders for their kids to sit on and catch beads and throws from the passing Zulu parade, one of two main parades that take to the streets on Fat Tuesday. |
| Future of NASA, Stennis Space Center 'strong,' officials say | |
 | ASA's John C. Stennis Space Center will remain a key partner in the next stages of space flight and exploration, officials said Monday during a state of NASA event. The state of NASA is strong, Acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot said, as the agency prepares for a return to the moon, more space exploration and an eventual expedition to Mars. Lightfoot said NASA's budget for Fiscal Year 2018-19 is $19.9 billion, up $400 million from the current budget. Of that, $132.6 million is designated for Stennis, a NASA field center in Hancock County that tests rockets. Those funds will be used primarily for space launch systems and operations of the facilities. |
| Charter schools are constitutional, Hinds County judge rules | |
 | On Tuesday, a judge struck a blow to Mississippi charter school opponents by upholding constitutionality of the state law that established charter schools. In a judgment, Hinds County Chancery Court Judge Dewayne Thomas said the court found insufficient evidence that charter schools are funded in a way that violates state laws. In a statement, Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board Chair Krystal Cormack said she was pleased with the ruling. "We are hopeful that this court decision will encourage additional qualified operators to apply for charter schools in Mississippi," Cormack said. "Judge Thomas' ruling affirms that charter schools in Mississippi are free public schools and are therefore eligible for public school funding." |
| Mississippi charter law is constitutional, judge rules | |
 | A Hinds County judge ruled Tuesday that Mississippi's charter schools are constitutional, handing an early win to charter school proponents in the first stage of what is expected to be a lengthy legal battle. "As I have said from the beginning, this was a frivolous attempt by the Democrats and their allies to usurp the lawmaking authority of the Legislature and prohibit parents from having options when it comes to their child's education," Gov. Phil Bryant said in a statement. "I am pleased with the chancellor's ruling." Challengers plan to appeal. "This decision is disappointing, but it does not end our fight for Mississippi's children," said Will Bardwell, who represented a group of Jackson parents who filed the suit. "We plan to appeal this case to the Mississippi Supreme Court because the future of our schools depends on it." |
| House eliminates high school exit exams as part of its budget plan | |
 | The Mississippi House voted Tuesday to not require students to pass exit exams to graduate from high school. The vote was on an amendment, offered by Rep. Tom Miles, D-Forest, to the bill funding the Department of Education and the local school districts. The state Constitution prohibits the Legislature from placing general law in appropriations bills. But legislators have gotten around that prohibition through the years by placing conditions on appropriations bills, such as Miles' amendment saying funds could not be spent by the state Board of Education on mandating exit exams to graduate from high school. Bipartisan opposition to the exit exams has existed for years. |
| House moves to ban exit exams | |
| The Legislature could withhold funding for public schools if the state Board of Education doesn't eliminate testing requirements for graduation, under a proposal passed in the House Tuesday. The move to remove punitive measures for Mississippi students who fail to pass exit exams or demonstrate adequate mastery of course content came during a discussion of the general K-12 appropriation bill. The amendment passed with bipartisan approval. Its prospects in the Senate remain uncertain. That chamber could choose to amend the bill's language and remove the provision. Rep. Tom Miles, D-Forest, hitched an amendment aimed at allowing students who fail exit exams to graduate to the bill. |
| House panel advances bond bills, including one for shipyard | |
| A Mississippi House committee is moving forward with proposals to finance several projects, including improvements at a Gulf Coast shipyard and construction of road in a fast-growing Jackson suburb. It is unclear, however, whether the proposals will survive in the Senate, where leaders have been reluctant to increase the state's bond debt. Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula is one of Mississippi's largest private employers, with about 11,500 workers. The House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday passed House Bill 321 , which would authorize the state to issue $45 million in bonds. Chairman Jeff Smith, a Republican from Columbus, said it is part of a multi-year commitment the state is making to the shipyard that has military contracts. |
| House Committee passes $24 million in bonds for Reunion Parkway | |
| The House Ways and Means Committee approved $45 million in bonds for Ingalls Shipbuilding, 24 million for the Reunion Parkway project in Madison County, and bonds for other projects. The projects will be in an overall large bond bill, but House Ways and Means Chairman Jeff Smith, R-Columbus, said the committee wants to pass individual bills for projects to have a fallback plan if a large bond bill doesn't pass like it did last year. Ways and Means also passed House Bill 1553 to provide a total of $24 million in bonds, no more than $8 million a year, for Phase 2 of the Reunion Parkway project that will extend Bozeman Road in Madison County to Parkway East. Reunion Parkway is an arterial roadway constructed to connect Mississippi 463 and Bozeman Road. The west end was constructed in 2005 to coincide with the opening of Madison Station Elementary School, according to a study done for Madison County by Neel-Schaffer Inc. engineering company of Jackson. |
| Mississippi Capitol Police officer reportedly fired for Confederate flag confrontation | |
| A black Capitol Police officer was reportedly fired after a recent confrontation with those waving Confederate battle flags and Mississippi flags outside the state's new civil rights museum. A video posted on Facebook captured the encounter. State Rep. Kathy Sykes, D-Jackson, said Tuesday she confirmed the firing. African Americans hold the museum in high regard, she said. To wave Confederate battle flags around the museum is "almost like desecration," she said. Mississippi is the only state with a Confederate battle flag incorporated into in its state flag design. The state flag doesn't fly outside the museum or its companion, the History of Mississippi Museum. |
| Mayor George Flaggs meets with Trump administration again in D.C. | |
| Mayor George Flaggs Jr. returned to Washington, D.C., Monday at the invitation of the Trump administration to discuss infrastructure, taking with him a request for $195 million federal assistance for major infrastructure projects in Vicksburg. The meeting with President Trump and administration officials came as the president outlined a $1.5 trillion infrastructure program plan using $200 billion in federal funds with state and local governments providing matching funds on at least a four-to-one ratio. The administration said existing funding sources such as sales taxes already levied highway projects may count towards a local match. "Considering the place seating, I think it went extremely well. I sat between the president of the United States and Secretary of Transportation; that can't be bad," Flaggs said. "I talked about small cities being able to improve their water quality and wastewater treatment, and how they would be able to afford it. When (Trump) starts talking about $200 billion for local infrastructure, you can get no better than that." |
| Trump wants states, businesses to foot infrastructure bill | |
| Mississippi stands to benefit from a rural block grant program in President Donald Trump's infrastructure proposal released this week, but would struggle to come up with matching funds or large private investments to benefit from other parts of the plan. Overall, Trump wants state and local taxpayers and the private sector to pay for the bulk of a national infrastructure overhaul. Gov. Phil Bryant and Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. were with Trump and federal transportation officials in Washington on Monday for the unveiling of the proposed $200 billion, 10-year federal spending plan. Both had the administration's ear as it developed the proposal, and both gave Trump's plan high marks. |
| Tupelo native qualifies for 3rd District U.S. House seat | |
| Katherine B. Tate, an "advocate for educational choice" and an education consultant, has qualified to run for the 3rd District Mississippi U.S. House seat being vacated by Rep. Gregg Harper. Tate, a Tupelo native now living in Jackson, is the sixth Republican to enter the race, which has a June 4 primary. She is a former teacher, state curriculum administrator and school auditor. Tate said in a statement that as a former educator and administrator, she is "keenly aware of the role that public policy plays in shaping our educational and cultural institutions" and that she is committed to "advancing the foundational principles of faith, family and constitutional conservatism." |
| Bipartisan Praise, and Questions, About Thad Cochran | |
 | An omnibus bill wrapping up fiscal 2018 spending could serve as a victory lap for Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran, who continues to battle questions over his health and stamina in the role. Rumors have swirled quietly for months about the 80-year-old Mississippi Republican's future. Those whispers became louder last year after Cochran took a prolonged absence from the Senate due to health issues. Colleagues on both sides of the aisle say they have heard rumors that Cochran would leave before the end of his term in 2021, but they have no direct knowledge of his decision-making process. Much of the respect Cochran's colleagues hold for him and his staff seems to stem from principles Cochran himself set for his office more than four decades ago. |
| Russia Sees Midterm Elections as Chance to Sow Fresh Discord, Intelligence Chiefs Warn | |
 | Russia is already meddling in the midterm elections this year, the top American intelligence officials said on Tuesday, warning that Moscow is using a digital strategy to worsen the country's political and social divisions. Russia is using fake accounts on social media -- many of them bots -- to spread disinformation, the officials said. European elections are being targeted, too, and the attacks were not likely to end this year, they warned. "We expect Russia to continue using propaganda, social media, false-flag personas, sympathetic spokespeople and other means of influence to try to exacerbate social and political fissures in the United States," Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, told the Senate Intelligence Committee at its annual hearing on worldwide threats. |
| How yard signs helped beat Roy Moore, and could elect red-state Dems | |
 | Before Doug Jones shocked the world, before the stunning allegations against Roy Moore, even before the pundits thought a special Senate election in Alabama could be competitive, Wade Perry decided to run a different kind of campaign. So he turned to yard signs. No, really. The 42-year-old manager of Jones' longshot Democratic Senate campaign sat in the candidate's Birmingham headquarters in the early summer, before Jones even won his own primary, and hatched a plan with campaign chairman Giles Perkins. Their realization: the campaign needed to show Republican voters -- some of whom hadn't voted for a Democrat in decades -- that it would be OK to support one this time around. |
| Matt Wilbanks found guilty of capital murder in 2013 shooting of Ole Miss student | |
| The man who pulled the trigger that claimed the life of Ole Miss graduate student Zacharias Hercules McClendon in 2013 was found guilty of capital murder this evening by a 12-member jury at the Lafayette County Courthouse. The one-day trial started Monday with jury selection and reconvened Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m. The murder took place on Dec. 18, 2013, in McClendon's apartment at 20B County Road 140 just off of College Hill Road in Oxford. According to the state, Steven “Matt” Wilbanks, along with Joseph Lyons and Derrick Boone, entered McClendon's apartment and Wilbanks shot him in the back of the head with a 16-gauge shotgun while McClendon was doing dishes. The audio recording of Wilbanks' interview with law enforcement on Dec. 18, 2013, was the last evidence to be presented to the jury by prosecutors. Wilbanks told investigators that the shotgun belonged to him. "I bought it at a gun show in Hattiesburg for $8," Wilbanks said. |
| USM president concerned over possibility of gun bill | |
 | The debate over who can carry a gun in Mississippi and where continues in Jackson. Some university officials and security experts are concerned over the impact of one proposed bill. House Bill 1083 would allow people to sue over gun-carry bans on public property, specifically enhanced concealed carry permit holders. The bill passed in the house last week and has moved to the senate for consideration. "I think it's worrisome," said Dr. Lou Marciani, Director of the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety & Security at The University of Southern Mississippi. NCS4 is the nation's only research center devoted to the study and practice of safety and security in spectator sports. The organization has worked with large venues, the Super Bowl and even the Olympics. "We have enough problems, as I would say, in the area of safety and security. I'd say we are very concerned," Marciani said. |
| Southern Miss Coca-Cola Classic Rodeo returns to Hattiesburg | |
| The "Greatest Show on Dirt" is returning to Hattiesburg on Friday and Saturday for the 33rd annual Southern Miss Coca-Cola Classic Rodeo. The Department of Recreational Sports at the University of Southern Mississippi will host the event at the James Lynn Cartlidge Forrest County Multi Purpose Center on U.S. 49 South, starting at 7:30 p.m. with doors opening at 6 p.m. The rodeo, which began in 1986 at the Southern Miss Equestrian Center with J. Hugh Mitchell as the first grand marshal, serves as a fundraiser for student scholarships and professional development. "We are fortunate that the rodeo continues to be produced by Harper and Morgan Rodeo, the producers of the Dixie Nationals and provider of livestock to the National Finals Rodeo," said Mark Crager, director of Southern Miss Recreational Sports. |
| East Mississippi Community College coach offers his roadmap for success at Rotary Club | |
 | While it is easy to get caught up in the accomplishments of the East Mississippi Community College in Buddy Stephens' 10 seasons as head coach, Stephens likes to warn of the pitfalls of success. Stephens shared his program's recruiting philosophy and explained how the program has been built into a national power at Monday's meeting of the Starkville Rotary Club. "Success does not happen overnight," he said. "It is a long process. It involves a lot of people. As you prepare to have success, you have to be aware of the pitfalls of success." Stephens tied a successful football program to a successful business. He said there are two main pitfalls to success. To achieve success, one has to work to exhaustion. One also needs to be surrounded by people who think well in groups. |
| U. of Florida professor offers advice on love, relationships | |
 | As it turns out, it takes more than a box of chocolates and a dozen roses to be the ideal romantic partner. Victor Harris, a University of Florida professor who studies human relationships and communication, said the keys to successful relationships aren't well-portrayed in today's media. Sometimes, he said, people need to unlearn what magazines and popular culture have taught them. So, here -- from the expert -- are his takeaway pieces of advice. |
| Bush Library panel: Nativism not going away as political issue | |
 | Political experts gathered Monday at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library said they believe the current trend of nativism in both the U.S. and across Europe is unlikely to fade anytime soon. Citing the victory of President Donald Trump in the U.S. and the Brexit vote in the U.K., the panelists said high levels of immigration in recent years are likely a factor in the public support of tightening immigration rules. The panel at the "Immigration, Nativism & Changing Politics" event included Daron Shaw, University of Texas at Austin professor of political science and former strategist for George W. Bush's 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns; Kyle Kondik, managing editor of "Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball" at the University of Virginia's Center for Politics; Martial Foucault, professor of political science at Sciences Po Paris and director of political research center CEVIPOF; Chris Garman, managing director for the Americas at the Eurasia Group; and Raymond Duch, director of Centre for Experimental Social Sciences at the University of Oxford. |
| Report: Russia sparked fear at the U. of Missouri during 2015 protests | |
 | Russian Twitter trolls pounced on the University of Missouri's woes in 2015 using the same techniques they applied to disrupt the 2016 presidential election, a U.S. Air Force officer wrote in an article published recently in Strategic Studies Quarterly. In the aftermath of the Nov. 9, 2015, resignation of UM System President Tim Wolfe during protests over racial issues, some feared a violent white backlash. It was fueled in part by a real post on the anonymous social app Yik-Yak from Hunter Park, then a student at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, that he would "shoot every black person I see." The fear was enlarged and spread by a now-suspended Twitter account. The fear generated by the real and fake posts caused many students to stay home on Nov. 10, with several professors canceling classes and some stores along Ninth Street near campus closing their doors. The tweet and photo were fake, Lt. Col. Jarred Prier, director of operations for the 20th Bomb Squadron, wrote in "Commanding the Trend: Social Media as Information Warfare" for the winter edition of Strategic Studies Quarterly. |
| Projections show House work-study proposal would benefit for-profits, community colleges | |
 | House Republicans' rewrite of the Higher Education Act was a dud in almost all respects for student aid advocates and higher education associations. But in its proposal for the Federal Work-Study formula, the bill appeared to deliver on calls to make the program's funding allocation more equitable. The work-study formula has long been criticized for unfairly favoring elite private colleges in the Northeast. Under the PROSPER Act -- as House Republicans have deemed their bill -- those are the institutions that would lose out the most on funding, according to an analysis by the American Council on Education. The new formula would distribute funding in some surprising ways, however. Community colleges would see a big boost in work-study funding. But for-profit colleges would, too. The bottom line, ACE says, is that the formula change would benefit institutions that primarily serve undergraduates over those that have a serious research mission and support graduate students. |
| Despite contrary claims, HB 1083 changes existing gun rights policies at universities | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "Full disclosure: I'm a public university employee and a gun owner. Mississippi House Judiciary B Committee Chairman Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, has authored legislation known as House Bill 1083 that he says is designed to allow Mississippians with enhanced concealed carry gun permits a streamlined process to legally challenge the policies of public entities that limit firearms. That's true. Gipson said that his legislation would assure that enhanced carry permit holders be able to possess and carry their weapons wherever they see fit -- and that HB 1083 does not change existing laws regarding gun rights on university campuses. From my viewpoint, that's not true and here's why." |
SPORTS
| Bulldogs learn from loss, look ahead to Vandy | |
| Mississippi State had its four-game winning streak halted in overtime at Missouri over the weekend. But that did not stop coach Ben Howland from leaving Columbia with his head held high over the way his team played. The Bulldogs overcame a 12-point deficit in the final 1:37 of regulation only to come up four-points shy in overtime. "I was just really proud of them," Howland said. "They showed incredible fight. They never quit and never gave up. They put themselves in a position to win against a really good team on the road. They had a 17-0 run during the last few minutes of regulation and the overtime." Howland feels there were lessons to be learned from that loss to the Tigers. |
| State men begin critical stretch with road game at Vanderbilt | |
| It's perhaps the most important week of men's basketball in a long time at Mississippi State. Fighting for their NCAA Tournament lives, the Bulldogs face a pair of critical games over the course of the next four days beginning with Wednesday night's 6 p.m. game at Vanderbilt. MSU (18-7, 6-6) has a fighting chance for its first trip to the big dance since 2009. The Bulldogs sit on the tournament bubble, with every game from here on out vital to their postseason fate. ESPN's Joe Lunardi has Mississippi State as one of his Next Four Out in his most recent Bracketology, meaning MSU is predicted as one of eight teams just outside the tournament as things currently stand. To claw their way into the field, the Bulldogs must keep earning wins with Wednesday night's tilt being a potential tipping point. |
| Why Vanderbilt basketball fans are still coming to see losing team | |
 | Vanderbilt basketball is offering a Valentine's Day ticket special for its home game versus Mississippi State on Wednesday night. The Commodores' "Date Night Deal" includes two tickets and two mini ganache-filled bundt cakes for $35, plus processing fees. It's a creative way to keep up Vanderbilt's surprising late-season rebound in home attendance despite one of the worst seasons on the court in recent memory. Vanderbilt (9-16, 3-9 SEC) has averaged 10,282 in attendance in six home games since SEC play opened, including a game against TCU. That's only a slight drop from the 10,568 average in the corresponding six home games last season, which ended in an NCAA tournament bid. So why, amid a frustrating season, are Commodores fans still coming to home games in such numbers? |
| Bulldogs breaking in a new backstop | |
| Josh Lovelady was a stalwart starting 51 games behind the plate for Mississippi State last season. With Lovelady's graduation, the Bulldogs now must break in a new backstop for 2018. Juco transfer Marshall Gilbert and a returning sophomore Dustin Skelton are both expected to see time at catcher this year. "When you talk about a 56 game season, an SEC Tournament, a regional, super regional and an Omaha run, you might be talking of playing upwards of 70-plus games this year," said MSU coach Andy Cannizaro. "So you need two guys at that position to be able to play that many games. We have a lot of confidence in Marshall Gilbert and Dustin Skelton and both of them are certainly going to play." |
| Mississippi State's Riley Self on Stopper of the Year Award watch list | |
| Mississippi State closer Riley Self has been selected to the preseason watch list for the Stopper of the Year Award by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association. The Stopper of the Year Award is presented to the top relief pitcher is college baseball. Louisville's Lincoln Henzman claimed the honor last season. Self, a sophomore right-hander from Coldwater, made 31 appearances out of the bullpen and finished with a 5-2 record and eight saves. He posted a 3.72 earned run average, 60 strikeotus and 20 walks in 48 1/3 innings of work. |
| Mississippi State softball unveils 'No One Fights Alone' campaign | |
 | "No One Fights Alone" has been a mantra for Mississippi State softball as one of its own battles ovarian cancer. The program will now honor others battling the disease during its midweek contests all season long with its "No One Fights Alone" campaign. Every midweek game, beginning this Thursday, Feb. 15 against UT Martin, Mississippi State softball will wear special teal uniforms to bring awareness and honor those battling ovarian cancer. The Bulldogs also encourage fans to show their support by wearing teal to each midweek game. The message hits close to home for the Bulldogs as freshman outfielder Alex Wilcox was diagnosed with ovarian cancer during her junior year of high school. The team has rallied around her wearing teal every Wednesday since the fall semester and by flying a "No One Fights Alone" teal flag at Nusz Park. |
| NCAA football attendance down for six Mississippi schools | |
 | The NCAA released attendance figures Tuesday for the 2017 football season. The Magnolia State not immune to the national drop in fans coming out to games. Ole Miss and Mississippi State remain in the top 30 in FBS attendance. Alcorn State and Jackson State are in the top 15 in FCS, Delta State is in the top 25 in Division II. The Rebels, Tigers, and Southern Miss suffered significant drops in average attendance per game. Mississippi State, Alcorn State, and Delta State stayed close to their 2016 average. Mississippi College and Millsaps saw a rise in attendance even with fewer home games. The NCAA didn't list any figures for Belhaven. |
| College football heads in wrong direction with largest attendance drop in 34 years | |
| Major-college football experienced its largest per-game attendance drop in 34 years and second-largest ever, according to recently released NCAA figures. Attendance among the 129 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in 2017 was down an average of 1,409 fans per game from 2016. That marked the largest drop since 1983 when average attendance declined 1,527 fans per game from 1982. The 2017 FBS average of 42,203 fans per game is the lowest since 1997. That average attendance drop marked the second-sharpest decline since the NCAA began keeping track of college football attendance in 1948. For the first time in history, average attendance declined nationally for four consecutive seasons. |
| UF's Mike White: No interest in Ole Miss basketball job | |
| A day after longtime Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy stepped down, Florida coach Mike White took himself out of the running to coach at his alma mater. White said Tuesday he had "no interest" in coaching at Ole Miss, where he started at point guard for four years from 1995-99 and later worked as an assistant coach from 2004-11. "I have no interest at all," White said. "I love Ole Miss, my wife loves Ole Miss. It's a great place. Great people. Oxford is an awesome town. Ole Miss has been really, really good to me. But we are so fortunate to be here at Florida. It's one of the best jobs in the country. And I'm not interested in any other job." White is 65-32 in two-plus seasons as Florida coach. Last year, the 40-year-old coach guided UF to its ninth Elite Eight appearance in school history. Last spring, White signed a contract extension through 2023 that pays him an average annual salary of $2.75 million per year. |
| UGA will name indoor football facility for Billy Payne and father Porter | |
 | The University of Georgia will name its new indoor football facility for Billy Payne, the former UGA football player who brought the Olympics to Atlanta 22 years ago, and Payne's late father, Porter Payne. The state Board of Regents approved the university's request for the naming in its monthly meeting in Atlanta on Tuesday. The UGA football team began using what will now be the William Porter Payne and Porter Otis Payne Indoor Athletic Facility a little more than a year ago after a $30 million fundraising drive by the UGA Athletic Association. Friends of the two donated $10 million toward the cost of the indoor practice facility, according to the university. Payne, now 70, stepped down as Augusta National chairman last year and is credited with helping persuade the private club to finally admit women as members after years of criticism, among other changes to bring the club into the 21st century. |
| SEC's Greg Sankey fires back at Mississippi lawmakers over gun bill proposal | |
 | Columnist Ron Higgins writes in The Times-Picayune: "SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is someone who thoroughly studies an issue before offering public opinion. Last week, however, when a proposed bill in the Mississippi State Legislature that would allow guns in stadiums and arenas was approved by the House of Representatives, Sankey wasted no time -- pardon the inappropriate pun -- firing back. He counted, 'One Mississippi, Two Mississippi.' Then, he informed leaders at Ole Miss and Mississippi State: If the state's senate agrees to turn the proposed bill into a law, the Rebels and Bulldogs would likely play only road games until further notice. ...If the Mississippi gun law passes, not only will it give the South a black-eye, it could lead to an unimaginable recruiting fallout in all SEC sports." |
| Andy Kennedy would be a slam dunk on TV | |
| Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: "Don't know what Andy Kennedy will do next, but I know what I would do -- and it wouldn't be recruit teenagers. Ever. Again. No, I'd do what AK does so wonderfully, which is talk, analyze a sport he knows so well, be quick, clever, glib and intelligent -- and get paid handsomely for it. ...This is not to say Kennedy cannot coach again if he so chooses. He is well respected around the league as well as the nation. Kennedy has often said, 'You are what your numbers say you are.' The numbers say Kennedy is the winningest basketball coach in Ole Miss history with 245 victories over 12 seasons and with games left to play in that 12th season. You average more than 20 victories a season for 12 seasons at Ole Miss, you earn respect." |
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