| Friday, February 23, 2018 |
| Innovative $67 million Mississippi State housing plan could become model for state campuses | |
 | Last week, the Institutions of Higher Learning board approved an agreement between Mississippi State and Education Realty Trust (EdR), making it the first time that a university within the IHL system has utilized a public-private partnership to build a hybrid on campus residence facility. During the financial committee IHL meeting, this arrangement was hailed as what future arrangements on Mississippi campuses could look like. "This should be the gold standard and I hope if anybody else does it, [they do] it this well," said IHL board member Alan Perry. Don Zant, vice president for finance and chief financial officer at MSU said that going through EDR cost the university about 15 percent less than what it would have cost for the university to construct it. |
| MSU Carl Small Town Center's Thomas Gregory to lead statewide planning association | |
 | Thomas R. Gregory III, a Mississippi State alumnus and community planner for the university's Carl Small Town Center, recently was elected to a one-year term as president-elect of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Planning Association. In January 2019, he will begin a two-year term as the organization's president. Previously, Gregory served as APA Mississippi's public information officer and conference committee chair. He currently is a member of its leadership development task force. Gregory, a Greenwood native, is a 2005 MSU magna cum laude business administration, construction management and land development bachelor's graduate who also minored in economics and political science. He returned to his alma mater during the 2017 fall semester after serving eight years as chief administrative officer for the City of Greenwood. |
| Area law enforcement still fielding concerns after online threats | |
 | The Starkville Police Department released its second statement in as many days Thursday night following a misinterpreted threat many thought to be geared toward Starkville High School. SPD Public Information Officer Brandon Lovelady issued a media release saying the department has received inquiries concerning a screenshot taken of a series of text messages between what appear to be two students in the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. One of the people participating in the conversation is seen warning the other person against going to school because a family member had been told by police that there would be a school shooting at Armstrong Middle School. Police say they believe the post is related to the concerns the department fielded Wednesday night, which started with a Facebook post. |
| Lawsuit looms for Starkville over parade denial | |
 | Starkville Pride is planning to bring a lawsuit against the city of Starkville after the board of aldermen voted Tuesday to deny its request to hold a Pride parade next month. Bailey McDaniel, an organizer with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) support group, confirmed Starkville Pride has retained the representation of the New York legal firm Kaplan and Company, LLP, to sue the city. While Kaplan said it's too early to talk about the specifics of the case, or whether it will be filed in state or federal court, Kaplan said the issues seem to be straightforward. She also declined to say when the case might be filed, but it will be done "promptly." "It seems to me that this is a pretty clear case here," she said. |
| Starkville Pride builds network of support | |
| Starkville Pride, a local LGBT support group, got support from local and state groups during a Wednesday evening meeting at Mississippi State University Wednesday. The meeting came after the Starkville Board of Aldermen voted Tuesday to deny the group's request to hold a Pride parade downtown on March 24. Four aldermen -- Ben Carver of Ward 1, David Little of Ward 3, Roy A. Perkins of Ward 6 and Henry Vaughn of Ward 7 -- voted to deny the request. They have yet to publicly offer reasoning as to why. During Wednesday's meeting, Whit Waide, a clinical assistant professor in MSU's Political Science Department, encouraged the dozens of people in the Colvard Student Union third-floor meeting room to push back against the city's decision. The government has to have a legitimate reason to deny requests, Waide said. So far, in the Starkville Pride case, Starkville's city government has offered none. |
| GSDP, local businesses show support after LGBT pride parade blocked | |
| The Greater Starkville Development Partnership on Thursday morning released a statement in support of the LGBT community after city leaders opted against issuing a permit for a gay pride parade to a local grassroots group. "As the leader in economic development, tourism, and community development in Starkville, the Partnership echoes the clear message in our mission which states, 'We believe in the inclusive treatment of all people. We are our best when everyone is equally engaged and valued,'" the GSDP said in a statement following Tuesday's 4-3 vote by the Starkville Board of Aldermen. Several businesses and GSDP members downtown have also shown their support for the LGBT community in the wake of the news. |
| Ecstasy, party drug of '90s, makes a roaring comeback | |
 | The party drug of the '90s is making a roaring comeback. In just two years, narcotics agents in Mississippi have seen seizures of ecstasy (also known as MDMA) soar from just 261 pills to more than 35,000 pills last year. Nationally, more than 12 million Americans have tried the illegal stimulant. Ecstasy (called "Molly," "E" and the "hug drug") is often laced with other drugs, sometimes deadly fentanyl. Almost a third of the illegal drug sold on the streets in the U.S. contains no ecstasy at all, according to a study by the Florida House Experience. "You're really playing Russian roulette with what you're taking," said Tommie Whitten, treatment specialist for Southern Mississippi Addiction Campuses. "The drug is making a comeback because it creates a euphoria that people like," said Dr. Patrick Kyle, associate professor of pathology and director of clinical chemistry and toxicology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. |
| Mississippi Civil Rights, history museums set to surpass attendance projections | |
| If current attendance rates hold, the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History could see up to 300,000 visitors in 2018. That would top almost all the civil rights museums in the South. The highest, the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis located in the old Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, had 310,352 visitors last year. Author Ralph Eubanks said many are attracted to Mississippi because it was ground zero for the modern civil rights movement and much of what happened here is known, in contrast with some other states, still grappling to comprehend their pasts. "We've had to confront a lot more of our demons," said Eubanks, who detailed his Mississippi childhood in his memoir, "Ever Is A Long Time." "That doesn't necessarily mean we've dealt with all those demons, but our demons have been put out into the open." |
| Highway commissioner slams Senate road bill | |
| For three years, the Mississippi Legislature has delayed providing funds for repairing the state's roads and bridges. The delay followed a December 2014 report from the Mississippi Economic Council that revealed more than 500 state bridges were in substandard condition and 5,000 miles of state-maintained roads were in need of repaving. On Tuesday, the Mississippi Senate acted, but Mike Tagert, Northern District commissioner for the Mississippi Department of Transportation, said the Senate's plan will create more problems than it proposes to solve. "I'm not pleased about it," Tagert said. "This is going to take money away from the department of transportation. It's going to do nothing for the Golden Triangle or the Northern District." |
| Legislative decision still must be made on how to divide BP money | |
 | A decision eventually will be made, perhaps this legislative session, on how to divvy up funds from the settlement reached with BP after the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Many Gulf Coast legislators say, since the oil spill caused by the massive explosion of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico mostly impacted their region, they should receive the funds. That also has been the position of Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, who presides over the Senate. But others, including many Northeast Mississippi legislators, have a different view of how the $750 million in funds the state will receive over 17 years should be spent. "I think it is going to be a dogfight," said Rep. Steve Holland, D-Plantersville. "I think the Coast deserves a large portion of the money. But I kind of feel the rest of the state should benefit a little bit. I don't have a preconceived formula. But they ought to be able to work out something. If they can't, I could." |
| Mississippi lawmakers consider tax breaks for teachers | |
| Proposed tax breaks for Mississippi residents who receive a bachelor's or post-graduate degree could be the lone policy addressing the state's need for more qualified teachers to survive the 2018 session. House Bill 1550, which passed by 180-0 last week, attempts to head off the exodus by offering a three-year state income tax exemption to these Mississippi residents. Under the proposal, K-12 teachers would be eligible for a five-year exemption. Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, Lamar, whose wife is a teacher, acknowledged one of the difficulties educators face "obviously has to do with pay." Lawmakers enacted a teacher pay raise in 2014, but Mississippi's starting teacher salary trails that of its peer states of Alabama and Louisiana, according to a 2016 report by the Hechinger Report. Lamar, the bill's sponsor, doesn't expect the measure to be a silver bullet -- for one, it still faces approval by the Senate and it's likely that additional revisions are needed, but he believes "this is a start." |
| Do student-centered funding formulas work? | |
| As Mississippi lawmakers consider adopting a weighted student formula to replace the state's current way of funding schools, 28 other states are already using a similar model. House Education Committee Chairman Richard Bennett, a supporter of the legislation pending before lawmakers, extolls the formula as good for Mississippi students. "The formula is entirely student-based, which means that the single most important consumer of our public school system -- the student -- is the fundamental building block of the new formula," Bennett wrote in a recent op-ed. Weighted student funding, or student-centered funding, establishes a base per student amount that is required to educate a general education student -- one without special circumstances or needs. Weights, or additional funding, are then added to that amount depending on individual students' characteristics. |
| Local officials warn Congress against bigger trucks | |
 | Local officials are urging members of Congress to steer clear of any provisions that would allow longer or heavier trucks to operate on roads. A group of 1,000 local leaders, including current mayors and county officials, argued in a letter to lawmakers that allowing heavier or longer trucks on roads will destroy infrastructure that their governments cannot afford to repair. The Mississippi Transportation Commissioner, who signed the letter, said the budgets for local governments are already "on life support." "We just don't have the revenue coming in to fund our infrastructure, and it's been that way for a long time," Dick Hall said in a statement. "Bigger trucks would only further damage our infrastructure system and impact safe driving conditions." |
| Is this nationwide network of students organized enough to take on the gun lobby? | |
 | In an unprecedented manner, high school students have taken the lead in calling for increased gun regulation, including through a lie-in at the White House, a rally in front of a state capitol, classroom walkouts and three upcoming nationwide protests. Spurred by the most recent mass shooting, last week's massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in South Florida, the nation is apparently witnessing the beginning stages of a movement. This time it's #NeverAgain and #Enough instead of #MeToo, and led by high school students with a plethora of inspiration and passion. Longtime advocates of increased gun regulation say they think the teenagers marching and rallying have proven they won't stop at a few protests and tweets, but they say their movement ultimately must take on the powerful gun lobby to achieve its aims. A mission many have tried and failed in the past no matter how many deaths are blamed on gun violence in the most recent tragedy -- or even how young the victims are. |
| Lawrence Coco named new head of school at Jackson Prep | |
| Lawrence Coco was recently named as its next head of school for Jackson Prep. Coco has been actively involved at Prep since graduating from the University of Mississippi. He has worn many different hats at Prep and brings a unique institutional knowledge and diverse skillset to the position. Current Interim Head of School Denny Britt said, "I am thrilled with the board's selection of Lawrence as our next head of school. I have worked with him in numerous capacities over the years, and I am looking forward to working with him on a professional level." In September of last year, with the assistance of an executive search firm, the head of school search committee and faculty advisory committee embarked on a national search for the next position. |
| Auburn team brings home first-ever national championship trophy in 2018 Turf Bowl | |
 | Displaying their expertise on golf course turfgrass---from weed control to irrigation rates to employment regulations -- a foursome from Auburn University has captured the Golf Course Superintendent Association of America's 2018 National Collegiate Turf Bowl championship. Austin Brown, Allen Carroll, Kyle Kinney and Brock Pittman -- all seniors in the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences -- outscored 52 other student teams from 28 universities across the U.S. in San Antonio earlier this month to claim the title. These future golf course superintendents were tested on every agronomic, environmental, business and financial management aspect of the superintendent profession. The Auburn students comprised Team No. 37 that brought home Auburn's first-ever national title in the 23-year history of the competition, finishing with a two-point win over Purdue University. A distant third was reigning Turf Bowl champ Penn State. |
| Many LSU buildings experiencing air-conditioner problems that could last days, or weeks | |
 | Many buildings on LSU's campus are experiencing air-conditioning problems, and a fix could take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks. The LSU Emergency Operations Center put out an update Thursday evening saying LSU has identified the problem and is working on it. "Climate control in many of our campus buildings is operated through a chilled water system. The system is currently operating at 32% of its normal capacity," the news release says. "This means that the system is currently unable to cool many campus buildings." The outage is equivalent to the loss of about 2,800 residential air-conditioning units, according to the report, which also notes that the complexity of the repairs will delay the fix. It was not mentioned in the report when the issues were first noticed or reported. The Advocate reported in 2016 that LSU had a $510 million backlog for renovations and improvements, which included air conditioning and heating unit repairs. |
| U. of Tennessee looks to change policy governing administrative stipends | |
 | Weeks after the University of Tennessee adopted a new policy on pay for administrators who move to faculty jobs, the university is backtracking on some changes to the way it handles stipends and supplemental pay for some of those administrators. On Thursday the UT board of trustees' executive and compensation committee gave approval to system officials to look at developing a separate policy on how to compensate administrators who earn stipends or supplements on top of their faculty pay. At the same time, they also removed language from the new policy set in December governing the pay of administrators who move to teaching jobs. That policy requires supervisors to remove administrative stipends at the end of an appointment and set regulations on how to pay former administrators at the conclusion of their appointments. But the policy would have created problems because of variations in the way different campuses compensate their administrators, according to UT system Chief Operating Officer David Miller. |
| Sen. Bob Corker joins Tennessee students in campaign against modern slavery | |
| Wonder what those red X's are that students at the University of Tennessee were wearing on their hands on Thursday? Thursday was "Shine a Light on Slavery" Day and the students and others across the country were wearing the X as part of a campaign to raise awareness about human trafficking through the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery. The group was started last year under legislation introduced by Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, who also made an appearance at UT on Thursday wearing a red X. More than 27 million people worldwide currently suffer under forced labor and sexual servitude, according to Corker's office. The issue has been one of his top priorities since he traveled to Southeast Asia in 2014 and met with young women who were victims of human trafficking. |
| More high school grads in South Carolina skipping college, state agency warns | |
 | More S.C. students are passing on going to college, presenting a new financial challenge to the state's colleges and universities, according to the state agency that oversees higher education. In 2016, 67 percent of high school graduates who graduated "on time" -- after four years -- entered a two- or four-year S.C. institution, down from 81 percent 10 years earlier, according to data compiled by the state Commission on Higher Education. The commission told state senators Thursday more S.C. students are bypassing higher education, even when counting out-of-state schools. In 2006, a little more than 8 percent of high school graduates did not enter an in-state or out-of-state school or join the armed forces. By 2016, that number had grown to 20 percent. |
| Battery complaints behind U. of Florida police probe of dean | |
 | Two allegations of simple battery involving students led to John Bourn, dean of students at P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School, being placed on administrative leave this week, according to Maj. Brad Barber, spokesman for the University of Florida Police Department P.K. Yonge, which serves students in kindergarten through 12 grade, is part of the UF College of Education. One of the incidents is said to have happened last week and the other in November 2017, Barber said. Simple battery in Florida is a misdemeanor that involves striking or touching someone against their will, and is punishable by up to a year in jail, a year of probation or a $1,000 fine. UF police detectives are scheduling interviews with those involved in the case and there is no timetable for when the investigation will be completed, Barber said. |
| Texas A&M returns to Austin for South by Southwest 2018 | |
 | Texas A&M University has announced its return to the South By Southwest Conference in Austin for the 2018 Interactive Week. The university plans to participate in events from March 11-14, including five panel discussions at the Courtyard Marriott focused on topics ranging from artificial intelligence and natural disaster mitigation to health care and human rights. Texas A&M President Michael K. Young, Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp and Senior Vice President of the Texas A&M University Health Science Center and Vice Chancellor for Health Services Carrie Byington are set to be among the featured speakers. |
| Study: students believe they are prepared for the workplace; employers disagree | |
 | College students may believe they're ready for a job, but employers think otherwise. At least, that's according to data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which surveyed graduating college seniors and employers and found a significant difference in the groups' perceptions. The association surveyed 4,213 graduating seniors and 201 employers on eight "competencies" that it considers necessary to be prepared to enter the workplace. This information comes from the association's 2018 Job Outlook Survey. For the most part, a high percentage of students indicated in almost every category they thought they were proficient. Employers disagreed. "This can be problematic because it suggests that employers see skills gaps in key areas where college students don't believe gaps exist," a statement from the association reads. The biggest divide was around students' professionalism and work ethic. |
SPORTS
| Bulldogs celebrate senior night with a victory | |
| Last season's senior night at Mississippi State ended in disaster. Following an emotional pregame ceremony, the Bulldogs were blown out and lost their shot at a Southeastern Conference championship. With the league title already secured this year, No. 2 MSU waited until after it's 82-61 victory over Auburn to celebrate senior guards Victoria Vivians, Morgan William, Blair Schaefer and Roshunda Johnson. "For these four seniors and this team, it was a pretty special day," said MSU coach Vic Schaefer. "It was senior night but I've got a feeling we're going to play in here again. Senior nights are always a little bittersweet but tonight wasn't. It was purely a celebration for these four and they deserve it. They deserved that crowd tonight." |
| No. 2 Mississippi State Women Cruise by Auburn 82-61 | |
 | Senior night was a ton of fun for No. 2 Mississippi State. It has been that kind of season for the rolling Bulldogs. Teaira McCowan had 16 points and 18 rebounds, powering No. 2 Mississippi State to an 82-61 victory over Auburn on Thursday in front of a crowd of 9,474. "I don't know if anyone had a better day than me today," coach Vic Schaefer said. "I'm so proud of my seniors. Senior nights are always bitter sweet, but (Thursday) night was purely a celebration. We had 9,400 there and they deserved everyone that was here." |
| Mississippi State seniors beat Auburn for 118th victory | |
| Another packed crowd of 9,474 filtered into Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday night as the No. 2 Mississippi State Bulldogs went for yet another milestone in their women's basketball program's history. This time, the large contingent of Bulldog fans came to see four seniors who had helped produce one of the greatest seasons in state basketball history. Those four seniors added another notch to their proverbial belts hosting Auburn as they won their 118th game in four seasons with an 82-61 triumph. It was the 29th-straight win for Mississippi State (29-0, 15-0 Southeastern Conference), which now holds the second-longest winning streak in the conference history. The Bulldogs finish out the regular season with a road game at Kentucky on Sunday. |
| No. 2 Mississippi State is one win away from a perfect regular season | |
| Mississippi State is now one win away from achieving a perfect regular season record because Vic Schaefer, a perfectionist, views his Bulldogs as imperfect. From Schaefer's view -- and, granted, he often confesses to "coaching against the ghost" -- the Bulldogs still need some improvement in the leadership and maturity aspects. Well, kind of. They haven't been a good practice team. They haven't been a good shootaround team on gamedays. But then something happens when it's actually time to play. "When the lights come on," Schaefer said, "this group gets it." The No. 2 Bulldogs didn't play their best game on Thursday night -- they committed an uncharacteristic 16 turnovers -- and they still easily beat Auburn, 82-61, at Humphrey Coliseum. |
| Mississippi State's Vic Schaefer fulfills promise with big gift to Boys & Girls Club | |
| The buzzer had barely sounded following Mississippi State's 82-61 win over Auburn on Thursday night before head coach Vic Schaefer of the Bulldogs was reaching for his pen. A month ago, he promised he'd write a $10,000 check to the Boys & Girls Club of Starkville if State's season attendance eclipsed the 110,000 mark. On Thursday night, Schaefer put his money where his mouth was and then some. Immediately following the game, Schaefer was joined by members of the Boys and Girls Club on the court and he gave the group the $10,000 he promised along with $36,000 in donations from other donors, bringing the total gift to $46,000. "I'm a little lighter now, but maybe I have a little more quickness now because I certainly lost a little bit (of money)," Schaefer joked. "I was glad to do it. This is what makes Mississippi State so special -- people wanting to support our community, great causes and the youth, who are our leaders of tomorrow. It's really, really special." |
| Mississippi State's Vic Schaefer a semifinalist for national coaching award | |
| Mississippi State's Vic Schaefer has been selected as a semifinalist for the Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year. Schaefer has guided the second-ranked Bulldogs to a 28-0 record and the program's first Southeastern Conference Championship. Schaefer was a finalist for the award last season when MSU finished as the national runner-up. Uconn's Geno Auriemma has claimed the honor the past two seasons and along with Schaefer have the only two remaining undefeated teams in the country this year. The list of 10 semifinalists will be narrowed to four finalists on March 14 and a winner announced on March 31. |
| Bulldogs have busy road trip in Texas | |
| Mississippi State's road trip takes them to Texas where the 21st-ranked Bulldogs will spend the next four days playing four games in the Lone Star State. MSU (1-3) starts off at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi to participate in the Kleberg Bank College Challenge taking on UC Santa Barbara (1-3) today at 2 p.m., Nicholls State (1-3) Saturday at 2 p.m. and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (3-1) Sunday at 3 p.m. The Diamond Dogs will go with the same pitching rotation they used last weekend at Southern Miss -- left-handers Konnor Pilkington and Ethan Small on Friday and Saturday and righty Jacob Billingsley on Sunday. Mississippi State will then travel to Texas Rio Grande Valley (4-1) on Monday at 7 p.m. |
| Mississippi State baseball team bounces back, beats Jackson State | |
| The opening weekend of the college baseball season was a jarring experience for Gary Henderson. What Henderson saw in then-No. 21 Southern Mississippi's three-game sweep of then-No. 23 Mississippi State wasn't what he expected. The series in Hattiesburg had moments where MSU looked clueless in all three aspects of the game. If Wednesday is any indication of the future, MSU has worked out its initial issues. "If you saw us over the weekend, we were clearly more relaxed, (had) noticeably more energy, and played a lot better," Henderson said. Hunter Vansau and Hunter Stovall had two hits, and Vansau and Tanner Poole had home runs as part of a 10-hit attack in a 12-1 victory at Robert Braddy Field. |
| Bulldogs come out slugging after coach's 'unfortunate' departure | |
| Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: "Mississippi State had just completed a flawless, 12-1 trouncing of Jackson State late Wednesday night when interim head coach Gary Henderson entered the Bulldogs' traditional post-game huddle out in left field of Bob Braddy Stadium on the JSU campus. Before Henderson could begin to talk, applause broke out. State players were clapping for their new head coach. You don't see that every day in college baseball. But then you also don't see such a stunningly peculiar start to a season as these State players have experienced this February. 'Tonight was big for our team,' Henderson later told reporters. It was." |
| Ranked tests await Mississippi State softball team | |
| Through the first two weeks of the season, the Mississippi State softball team has hovered just outside the national rankings. That could change this weekend when MSU faces three ranked opponents in the Mary Nutter Classic in Palm Springs, California. MSU will open the 24-team, four-day event today by taking on No. 15 Arizona State at 3 p.m. and No. 23 Nebraska at 10 p.m. MSU will play No. 16 Oklahoma State at 3 p.m. Friday and San Jose State (7 p.m.) and Cal State Fullerton (9:30 p.m.) Saturday. The games will be MSU's first away from home after a season-opening 9-1 homestand. "It will be great to take a road trip and for this team to face a major challenge on the road," MSU coach Vann Stuedeman said. "With (Southeastern) conference play approaching, we need a good barometer for where we stand. It will be some great competition and also a great experience for the girls." |
| Joey Jones hired as Mississippi State's special teams coordinator | |
| Mississippi State head coach Joe Moorhead was left in a bind when his initial special teams coordinator hire Scott Fountain elected to return to Georgia after less than a month on the job. Moorhead certainly made a splash hire with Fountain's replacement in former South Alabama head coach Joey Jones. Jones guided the Jaguars to a 52-50 record over nine season after beginning the program's first football team. The 55-year old took South Alabama to two bowl games and was the Sun Belt Coach of the Year in 2013. Jones was the head coach at Birmingham Southern for one season. He was also a wide receiver at Alabama under Paul "Bear" Bryant and played three years professionally for the Birmingham Stallions in the USFL and the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL. |
| Southern Miss baseball gets 3 home games back originally lost via 'Religious Freedom' law | |
 | The Southern Miss baseball team got back three home games it thought were lost for good. USM (3-1) will play host to Tennessee-Martin in a three-game series in Hattiesburg over the next two days. The two teams will play the first game at 2 p.m. on Friday and then a doubleheader at 11 a.m. on Saturday. A couple of months ago, Stony Brook backed out of a three-game series set for this weekend in Hattiesburg over Mississippi's "Religious Freedom" law, sending USM school officials on a search to fill that weekend on the schedule. Stony Brook, a public university based on Long Island in New York, decided not to travel to Hattiesburg when it realized that the state had banned all travel to the state of Mississippi following a 2016 executive order by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The executive order was created in response to Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signing House Bill 1523, which makes it legal for businesses to refuse service to anyone based on religious beliefs. |
| SEC announces schedule for 2018 Football Media Days | |
 | The Southeastern Conference has announced the schedule for its annual football media days, which will take place at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia, July 16-19. A more detailed daily schedule with full television information, rotational breakdown and student-athletes attending will be available later this summer. During the four-day SEC Media Days event, the Hall of Fame will be home to the coaches' primary press conferences and serve as the live broadcast headquarters for both ESPN and the SEC Network. The Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center, which is connected to the Hall of Fame, is the host hotel for the event and will house Radio Row and other media interviews and activities. The 2018 event will mark the first time SEC Media Days will be held outside the Birmingham, Alabama, area since 1985. |
| South Carolina coach files lawsuit against Missouri AD Jim Sterk | |
 | South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley has sued Missouri athletic director Jim Sterk for slander, according to court documents that were filed in the South Carolina Court of Common Pleas on Thursday. Staley is seeking damages of $75,000 for comments Sterk made on KTGR on Jan. 30. Sterk has 30 days to respond to the lawsuit. The conflict stems from Missouri's game Jan. 28 at South Carolina, which was played in front of 13,433 fans at Colonial Life Arena. The Tigers were booed throughout the game, a heated 64-54 Gamecocks victory that included a scuffle in the second quarter. Also Thursday, Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey issued a public reprimand of Sterk and fined him $25,000 for violating SEC bylaw 10.5.1, which states, "Coaches and administrators shall refrain from public criticism of other member institutions, their staff or players." |
| Dawn Staley files defamation lawsuit suit against Missouri AD | |
| South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley filed a lawsuit against Missouri athletic director Jim Sterk on Thursday claiming defamation and negligence and seeking up to $75,000 in damages. Then later Thursday, Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey issued a public reprimand and a fine of $25,000 to Sterk, while also announcing a mandated review of Colonial Life Arena's game management and visiting team security. After the Missouri-South Carolina matchup in Colonial Life Arena on Jan. 28, Sterk accused USC fans of spitting on Mizzou players and calling them the " 'n' word," echoing complaints on social media that Mizzou coach Robin Pingeton alluded to in a news conference. Furthermore, Sterk said Staley promoted the atmosphere that fostered the alleged behavior. After her team defeated LSU on Thursday night, Staley declined to answer questions about the lawsuit and its timing. |
| Thousands of 2nd graders gifted helmets with Texas A&M athletes talking importance of safety | |
| More than 3,700 area second graders heard from Texas A&M University athletes about the importance of helmet safety Thursday as part of the 10th annual Hard Hats for Little Heads program. In addition to their trip to the university campus, each of the students received a free helmet they can use to put their newfound enthusiasm for safety in action. Select students also got the chance to participate in a relay race during the energetic morning event held at Reed Arena in College Station. Athletes from A&M's baseball, softball, equestrian and football teams each took to the floor of the arena to share stories of how helmets are important and the potential dangers of skipping out on the safety measure. Mary Jo Prince, program coordinator with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension's Brazos Valley Injury Prevention Coalition, said the event's mission of "saving lives" and hopefully preventing more potential brain injuries is critically important to the futures of the children. |
| Exclusive: Federal documents detail sweeping potential NCAA violations involving high-profile players, schools | |
| Documents and bank records obtained in discovery during the federal investigation into the underbelly of college basketball detail in meticulous fashion the expenditures of prominent former NBA agent Andy Miller, his former associate Christian Dawkins and his agency, ASM Sports. They include expense reports and balance sheets that list cash advances, as well as entertainment and travel expenses for high school and college prospects and their families. Yahoo Sports viewed hundreds of pages of documents from the years-long probe that had federal authorities monitoring multiple targets and intercepting more than 4,000 calls across 330 days, providing a clear-eyed view into the pervasive nature of the game's underground economy. While three criminal cases tied to the investigation may take years to play out, the documents viewed by Yahoo revealed the extent of the potential NCAA ramifications from the case. |
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