| Monday, April 30, 2018 |
| Longtime Mississippi State art professor to retire | |
 | After 36 years teaching art at Mississippi State University and 40 years total in academia, Brent Funderburk will retire from the university on May 22, his 66th birthday. "I think 40 years is a good number, and I really desire to be a painter full-time," Funderburk said. Despite his desire to paint full-time, Funderburk said he would miss being able to support students on their journey and watch them grow as artists. "I love the fact that as a visual artist, you can actually physically see young people grow, because we have visual evidence," Funderburk said. "In other words, their souls are on the outside. They can look whatever way they want to look, but you can't hide the fact that in visual art, your innards are going to be seen." |
| Mississippi State's Fulbright finalist heads to the UK's Cardiff University | |
 | A Mississippi State University honors student will travel to the United Kingdom's Cardiff University as part of flagship international exchange program to research depression and drug addiction while pursuing a master's degree in public health. Laurel native Jesse Smith, a senior biological engineering major, is Mississippi State's newest Fulbright finalist in the UK-Cardiff University Partnership Award. Cardiff University is ranked among the top 100 universities in the world. "Personally, this is a great opportunity for cultural engagement," Smith, a member of MSU's Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College, said in a news release. At MSU, Smith has studied traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and developed computational platforms for research use. |
| Mississippi State ag unit faculty, staff, students honored | |
| Faculty, staff and students from Mississippi State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Mississippi Agricultural Experiment Station (MAFES) were honored at an awards ceremony. At the ceremony, nearly 24 people with the department were honored for their contributions through hard work, research and teaching. MAFES staff were also recognized for their work throughout the year, operating the university's various experiment stations located throughout the state. MSU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean and MAFES Director George Hopper lauded all those who received awards. |
| MSU Student Ag Awards | |
 | Eight College of Agriculture and Life Sciences students at Mississippi State University students won awards in the oral and visual display competitions at the 82nd-annual Mississippi Academy of Sciences meeting this year. Rebecca Humphrey, an undergraduate student in animal and dairy sciences from Sarah, Miss., placed first for her undergraduate poster presentation. Hunt Walne and Zhongyue Yang, who are both pursuing master's degrees, placed first and third in oral presentations, respectively. Walne also placed first in the visual display competition. Five doctorate students also received awards at the event. |
| DAR recognizes career of retired Mississippi State professor Pete Melby | |
 | The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution is honoring a retired Mississippi State faculty member whose long tenure featured many landscape design accomplishments. Pete Melby of Starkville recently received a DAR Conservation Committee certificate citing "outstanding achievement for environmental awareness." A faculty member in the university's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Melby concluded a 35-year landscape architecture career in 2013. Melby's nomination by the Starkville chapter was due, in part, to many public service programs he led over the decades for both the DAR and local garden clubs. "An impressive experience" was how he described the recent Jackson ceremony at which national organization president Ann Turner Dillon presented his honor. |
| Gencyber program offers enrollment for day camp | |
| The Gencyber program in a partnership with BulldogBytes, is reaching out to girls from second through fifth grades to encourage them in pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) classes. They will sponsor a free camp June 25-29, at the Bryan Public Library. "We will spend a lot of time talking about online safety," Sara Lee, director of the camp, said. "Children become active on social media early and they need to understand that not everyone who sends them a friend request is a friend. You can't begin too early explaining cyber safety." Lee said this is the second year the program has been offered in West Point. Bulldog Bytes is an important part of Mississippi State's work to develop a computing and cyber security workforce for the future. |
| Art in the Park | |
 | Monica Herard and Candace Stephenson have been coming to Houston for more than five years and their art hangs in offices and homes around the community. Herard and Stephenson were back at the Master Gardener mini-park next to City Hall in downtown Houston Thursday for Art in the Park, the annual event that sees artists from the T.K. Martin Center for Technology and Disability at Mississippi State exhibit their work. Art in the Park began several years ago when Scott Cagle, Chickasaw County Agent, took a group of Mississippi Homemaker Volunteers to visit the T.K Martin Center for Technology and Disability Center. Cagle said the group was impressed by the art and offered to sponsor an exhibit in Houston. |
| Fresh, healthy farm tour set for May 22 | |
 | The value and healthfulness of farm-fresh foods will be on display May 22 for a group of 15 adults who attend a Mississippi State University Extension Service daylong tour. This is the second year of the Farm Fresh and Healthy Tour, which offers moms and caregivers of school-age children a look at local farms and farm products. Participants will tour local farms and visit a livestock production facility. Tour participants also will receive $20 in farmers market bucks to use later at the Starkville Farmers Market. The market runs from 4-6 p.m. on Tuesdays and from 7:30-10:30 a.m. Saturdays through the summer. |
| Education Realty Trust (EDR) Tops Q1 EPS by 29c, Beats on Revenues | |
| Education Realty Trust (NYSE: EDR) reported Q1 EPS of $0.53, $0.29 better than the analyst estimate of $0.24. Revenue for the quarter came in at $90.73 million versus the consensus estimate of $87.22 million. Company highlights include: Began construction in February on College View, a 656-bed, mixed use, ONE Plan community on the campus of Mississippi State University. The $69.2 million community is targeting a summer 2019 delivery. |
| OCH to seek partnership with city on EMS district | |
| OCH Regional Medical Center will appeal to the Starkville Board of Aldermen Tuesday in a bid to keep ambulance service unified through the county as Starkville considers partnering with a private company to create an emergency medical service district. Aldermen are considering the EMS district, the idea for which Fire Chief Charles Yarbrough presented the idea for at the board's last meeting. Yarbrough's presentation included a partnership with Ruston, Louisiana-based Pafford EMS, which is a private company. OCH currently responds to all emergency medical calls within Oktibbeha County. The hospital has five ambulances, CEO Richard Hilton said, three of which are staffed 24/7. Ambulances currently dispatch from OCH. Starkville Fire Department also responds to EMS calls within Starkville, and Yarbrough has noted the fire department often reaches a scene before ambulances because it responds from stations throughout the city, rather than from a single point. |
| Mary Pollitz joins Dispatch newsroom | |
| Mary Pollitz has joined the newsroom at The Dispatch as the education reporter. In that role, Pollitz will cover public and private school districts in Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties, as well as Mississippi University for Women. She will cover board meetings and write stories about how education issues impact the public. She also will write human-interest features highlighting local students, teachers and administrators. Pollitz, 25, is a Picayune native who earned a communication degree with a journalism emphasis from Mississippi State University in 2016. |
| Marking Mississippi's Literary Trail, From William Faulkner to Jesmyn Ward | |
 | Mississippi authors have long stood their ground in the South's competitive literary landscape. William Faulkner won a Nobel Prize in 1949 for his textured examination of aristocratic decay in small-town Mississippi. Eudora Welty was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom for her novels and essays. More recently, the National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward explored the dark moodiness of race and poverty along Mississippi's Gulf Coast. Now they and a host of other literary heroes from the Magnolia State will be celebrated along the newly named Mississippi Writers Trail. "Mississippi has a big presence in the birth of American culture," said Malcolm White, executive director of the Mississippi Arts Commission. "The biggest asset is our cultural story, and literature and writing is part of that." |
| A proud night as the Max opens in Meridian | |
| It was a night to be proud for the hundreds who attended Friday's VIP reception and dedication of the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience in Meridian. "Tonight we're opening a center that all the people in Mississippi and around the world can come to visit," Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant said. "Mississippi can do remarkable things ... Meridian, Mississippi, Lauderdale County, this is a night to be proud." For those who have worked tirelessly for more than a decade on the $50 million museum, there was pride in the completion of a longtime endeavor presented with numerous challenges. "This is absolutely amazing," Congressman Gregg Harper said. "When you look at all of the people involved in this over the years, it is truly a team effort. It is a beautiful facility, a showstopper for Mississippi -- not just, Meridian, this is a Mississippi jewel and we're excited to be here for its opening. |
| Trump's Role in Midterm Elections Roils Republicans | |
| President Trump is privately rejecting the growing consensus among Republican leaders that they may lose the House and possibly the Senate in November, leaving party officials and the president's advisers nervous that he does not grasp the gravity of the threat they face in the midterm elections. Mr. Trump, for his part, has complained to associates about having been deployed to campaign for relatively weak Republicans like Roy S. Moore, who lost last year's Senate race in Alabama, and Rick Saccone, who lost the special House election in Pennsylvania last month. The scars from those races have made Mr. Trump reluctant to weigh in on the race that Senate Republicans most want his imprint on right now: the contest to replace Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi. The president met this month with Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, the Republican appointee there and the favorite of the party establishment. |
| Fundraising intensifies ahead of fall elections | |
| With both candidates looking toward November, U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly, R-Saltillo, maintains a fundraising lead over Democratic challenger Randy Wadkins. Mandatory reports recently filed with the Federal Elections Commission show that from Jan. 1 to March 31, Wadkins earned about $33,840 in donations. Since he began campaigning, the Democratic challenger has received about $87,500 in contributions. As of the end of March, Wadkins had just under $34,000 remaining in cash on hand. With no contested Democratic primary, Wadkins is free to spend or sit on cash as he sees fit with an eye already on the general election contest. During that same three-month period, Kelly raised almost $132,000. Since this election cycle began he has received about $510,000 in campaign donations and as of the end of March he had about $125,000 in cash on hand. |
| Mississippi reaps millions from voter lists and driver records | |
 | The state of Mississippi is making millions off your personal information. Just how many millions is hard to figure. The Department of Revenue said fees charged to obtain public records are reported by the Legislative Budget Office and posted online. Which is true. Sort of. Take the Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol, the division responsible for producing driving records that are used by insurers to help set rates, employers to screen out the bad eggs, private investigators and a fairly long list of other people and uses. It charges $11 a record and there are about two million licensed drivers. While a lot of people nationwide got into a dither because personal information from Facebook was used to target ads and manipulate voters, states have been selling personal data for years. |
| DeSoto group in D.C. for annual trip to meet with lawmakers | |
 | DeSoto County Supervisors along with members of the DeSoto County Regional Utility Authority and mayors and aldermen of several cities were in the nation's capital this past week to discuss pressing concerns with U.S. lawmakers. "We always present issues that we would like to have their input on," Walls Mayor Patti Denison said Friday. "U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker and Rep. Trent Kelly have always been very helpful and we met with U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson and Rep. Steven Palazzo," added Denison of the state's other lawmakers. Thompson serves the Mississippi Delta region and Palazzo serves the 4th District in Mississippi's southern region. "There are several issues which are countywide," Denison said. "Infrastructure is always a big issue." |
| Today is Confederate Memorial Day; yes, it's still a state holiday in Mississippi | |
| Monday is Confederate Memorial Day in Mississippi, but not all of Mississippi will stop to observe the holiday. The state offices that responded to the Sun Herald's inquiry said they will be closed with the exception of one. The office of Gov. Phil Bryant will be open, according to a spokesman. That's a bit ironic since Bryant signed the proclamation giving agency or department heads permission to close. But they aren't required to be closed. The Mississippi Development Authority will be closed, for example, but some staff will be working in the office and others will be at an announcement in north Mississippi, a spokesman said. But the discretionary nature of the holiday seemed lost on others, who sent copies of the proclamation to the Sun Herald as their answer to the question "will your office be open or closed?" |
| College degrees awarded by public universities in Mississippi up in 2018 | |
| The number of Mississippi college students to take that memorable walk across the stage with graduation ceremonies in full swing is up from last year. Mississippi public universities are expected to award 11,326 bachelor's, master's, specialists and doctoral degrees during spring commencement exercises compared to 10,685 degrees last year. "I am extremely proud of our students and universities for raising the bar in degree production," said Glenn Boyce, commissioner of Higher Education. "Earning a degree makes a tremendous difference in the lives of the graduates and having a more educated workforce has an incredible impact on the state's economy by enabling Mississippi to attract and retain business and industry." |
| Pathway Cords for USM Commencement | |
| The University of Southern Mississippi announced that more than 500 students have earned Pathway cords that they will wear during the university's Spring 2018 Commencement on Friday, May 11, at Reed Green Coliseum on the Hattiesburg campus. USM's Center for Pathway Experiences administers the Pathway Cord Program as part of the school's University Quality Enhancement Plan, Eagles Engaged. The cords symbolize that a student has completed a "pathway experience," which can be an internship or fieldwork related to a student's career goals. Qualifying students must also complete the Reflection and Evaluation application on the center's website. |
| Delta State faculty will receive pay raises | |
| Despite the very small funding increase at Delta State University, faculty will be receiving raises this upcoming year. "Thank you for what you all do, sometimes subtly in recruiting people to your discipline because sometimes that phone call, text, or email that's what it will take. That special touch from a chair, professor, dean, to say 'hey we really want you in this program. 'We appreciate all you do about that," DSU President Bill LaForge said in a forum on Thursday afternoon. "We're going to have a pay raise this summer. The IHL policy says an increase must be either meritorious, market or equity investment, or due to staff or faculty promotion. So those of you who are being promoted will get an adjustment there. "We are not doing market or equity adjustments this year. It's all going to be merit based and performance evaluation driven. Performance evaluations that have been done will be the key," said LaForge. This decision was voted on by the university cabinet with input from the faculty senate president. |
| Forums address leveling out of budget issues for Delta State | |
| Delta State University President Bill LaForge hosted three forums for staff, students and faculty to discuss tuition increases among other budgetary concerns and changes on campus. Like all other universities in the state, there will be a tuition increase for the students. LaForge explained the budget was increased from the legislative side rather than cut like the previous year, however the increase was very small. "Our budget has two main revenue sources, state dollars that come to us through taxpayers. They are legislative dollars that come to us through IHL, our governing board. This year the status of that is basically flat funding, even funding. It's a very small percentage. Under one percent increase, it was divided out and our share was about $137,000. I'm not sniffing at that, that's fine. We're happy to be up instead of down like last year when we had a five percent cut last year after four midyear cuts," he said. |
| JSU Named Military-Friendly School | |
| Military marketing company Victory Media named Jackson State University as a military-friendly school in its 17th-annual Military Friendly Schools list. The list sources data from federal agencies and student veterans to determine schools that provide good opportunities for veterans and their spouses. More than 1,400 schools participated in the 2018 survey, and 941 schools earned the designation. The 2018-2019 Military Friendly Schools list will be published in the May issue of G.I. Jobs magazine. |
| SGA diversity office proposed at U. of Alabama | |
 | The University of Alabama's Student Government Association president is proposing to create an executive SGA diversity office that would mirror the existing post in the university's administration. SGA President Price McGiffert will propose an amendment to the SGA constitution to add a vice president of diversity and inclusion to the executive council, which would require a campus-wide referendum by students during homecoming in the fall. An amendment must be passed by a two-thirds vote of the SGA Senate and in a referendum by two-thirds of the students voting on the measure. McGiffert, who was elected in March, said inclusion is part of the college experience. "We also want everyone to feel like this is home, to want to come back," he said. |
| New degrees in Auburn's College of Liberal Arts aimed at filling in workforce | |
 | Auburn University's College of Liberal Arts is offering two new undergraduate degrees beginning this fall, and one of the degrees is the first of its kind in the state. The law and justice degree will be the first in Alabama and one of only a handful in the country. Designed to better prepare students for law school by using an interdisciplinary approach, the program will offer courses in political science, philosophy, communication and journalism. The College of Liberal Arts is also adding a bachelor of science in neuroscience degree, which will become one of only two programs of its kind in the state. Administered by the Department of Psychology, the neuroscience degree emphasizes the psychological, social and biological foundations of behavior and prepares students for medical school or other health-related careers. |
| A $200M 'community:' Check out the new U. of Kentucky Student Center | |
 | What can you buy for $200 million? Well, when it comes to the renovated University of Kentucky Student Center, just about anything and everything, from a three-story atrium that mimics the falling water and limestone gorges of Raven Run to rooftop gardens, fire pits and high-tech meeting rooms. And just in case you forget where you are, UK logos and wildcat paws are emblazoned on walls and elevators floors and even on your morning waffles in the new state of the art cafeteria. When it opens Monday, the 378,000 square-foot behemoth will push UK ahead in the higher education facilities arms race to attract new students and please the current ones. On Friday, Paul Maloney, vice president of stores for Barnes and Noble, was finishing up last minute details over some coffee. "This is a state of the art student center," he said. "At this point, it is second to none in the country." |
| Texas A&M engineering students showcase projects that offer solutions to companies, creators | |
 | Texas A&M engineering students filled Kyle Field's Hall of Champions on Friday for the annual Engineering Project Showcase, where dozens of judges from companies and institutions such as NASA evaluated the merit of what the soon-to-be engineering graduates brought to the table. A large portion of the 200-plus teams displaying their projects had been instructed at the beginning of their senior year to either come up with a capstone project or to accept an assignment from a professor and sponsoring company. Many groups of the undergraduates chose commissioned ventures from sponsorships. Some teams' products are already in the process of having patents secured, according to John Hurtado, associate dean in the College of Engineering. Three senior electrical engineering classmates in charge of the project "Drone Defense" created something that can be used by the U.S. military to disable enemy drones. |
| Open forums begin Monday for U. of Missouri provost candidates | |
 | The five finalists to become the University of Missouri's next provost will participate in open forums beginning Monday, search committee co-chairs Joi Moore and Marshall Stewart wrote in an email sent Wednesday to faculty, staff and students. The names of the finalists will not be revealed until 5 p.m. the day before each forum, when their resume and other information will be posted at the search committee's web page. The first forum will be held at 11:30 a.m. Monday in the Columns Ballroom of the Reynolds Alumni Center. The committee is asking for participants in the forum to share their thoughts on the candidates through the search committee web page. |
| Unpacking homework | |
| Angela Farmer, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Mississippi State, writes: "While most educators attest to the value of having students practice developing proficiency in novel concepts by giving homework, there appears to be tremendous disparity in both the volume as well as the type of homework given. The general guideline in the United States, supported by both the National Parent Teacher Association as well as the National Education Association, is the 10 minute rule. Simply put, students should have no more than 10 minutes of homework per grade level. A first grader should have 10 minutes whereas a fifth-grader should have around 50 minutes. However, according to an April 19, 2018, article from Education Week entitled 'How Much Homework is Enough?' this rule is clearly open to interpretation. |
| White space the solution for rural broadband? | |
 | Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: "White space surrounding rural folks across Mississippi may be the solution to closing our digital divide. Huh? Well, 'white space refers to the unused broadcasting frequencies in the wireless spectrum,' according to techrepublic.com. Huh? Okay, it's basically unused TV channels. Turns out TV channel frequencies below 700 Mhz function sort of like 4G so they can be used, with the right technology, to deliver broadband internet. Gov. Phil Bryant has joined nine other governors in requesting the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reserve 'at least three white space channels in every U.S. market' to enable better access to broadband internet for rural areas. This means they don't want the FCC to auction off these frequencies but instead keep access to them open and free." |
| Toyota expansion could lead to further expansion | |
| The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Dennis Seid writes: "It wasn't the big 'second-phase' expansion officials have been hoping for since the plant opened, but last week's announcement that Toyota Mississippi was adding 400 jobs was by no means a disappointment. With the 1,500 team members already on board at the plant, plus another 400-500 contract workers, employment will reach 2,400 within a year. ...Now let's not put the cart before the horse, which we're all guilty of. If you remember, even before the first slab of concrete for Toyota Mississippi put laid, people were talking about a 'second phase,' which would be a mirror-image expansion of the plant. That hasn't happened, obviously, but the space if still available." |
| Will Mississippi have sports wagering in casinos by football season? Don't bet against it | |
| The Clarion-Ledger's Geoff Pender writes: "While state leaders continue their decades-old hemming and hawing over a lottery, folks could be legally betting on sports and horse racing in Mississippi casinos by this coming football season. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule as early as next week on whether states can allow sports betting. If it rules they can allow it, Mississippi is, to borrow the words of former state House Gaming Chairman Bobby Moak, 'ready to run the ponies.' In a move that still astounds me, state lawmakers in 2017 sneakily legalized sports betting without most folks realizing it. And in a move that further astounds me, they didn't come back this year and undo it." |
SPORTS
| Bulldogs battle, win SEC tennis | |
| Mississippi State won its second men's tennis SEC championship of the dual-match era, upsetting top-seeded Texas A&M 4-3 on Sunday afternoon. The ninth-ranked Bulldogs (20-2) avenged their only regular-season SEC loss, 5-2 to the host Aggies on April 13. Texas A&M (22-5) was ranked No 5 nationally. Junior Trevor Foshey, playing at No. 6 singles, won an epic battle with A&M's A.J. Catanzariti, who served twice for the match before Foshey rallied. In the tiebreaker, Fisher fended off two more match points. He won 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(6). "It's perfect that it came down to Trevor -- a guy who has always been a leader for us," said MSU coach Matt Roberts. He's led the team to 20 or more wins four times in five seasons. The Bulldogs' first dual-match league crown came in 1996. |
| Bulldogs win SEC title in men's tennis | |
| Mississippi State head men's tennis coach Matt Roberts said Saturday after the ninth-ranked Bulldogs' win over No. 10 Florida that, if a match came down to one court to clinch a match, he had full confidence in every player in his lineup. On Sunday, junior Trevor Foshey proved him right, delivering an epic three-set victory to hand second-seeded State a 4-3 upset of fifth-ranked and top-seeded Texas A&M for the 2018 Southeastern Conference Championship crown. The Bulldogs improved their record to 20-2, while the Aggies slipped to 22-5. It was only State's second SEC tournament title since the event went to a dual match format in 1990, the other coming in 1996 when MSU won four matches in four days to claim the league crown in Fayetteville, Ark. It was the fifth SEC crown of any kind for MSU men's tennis -- the two tourney titles as well as regular season crowns in 1965, 1967 and 1993. |
| Mississippi State men's tennis rallies to capture SEC title | |
 | Mississippi State head men's tennis coach Matt Roberts said Saturday after the ninth-ranked Bulldogs' win over No. 10 Florida that, if a match came down to one court to clinch a match, he had full confidence in every player in his lineup. On Sunday, junior Trevor Foshey proved him right, delivering an epic three-set victory to hand second-seeded State (20-2) a 4-3 upset of fifth-ranked and top-seeded Texas A&M (22-5) for the 2018 SEC Championship crown. Sunday's win was State's 20th of the season, now having achieved that mark three times in Roberts' four seasons as the Bulldog mentor. "Mississippi State is on the rise. We have so many great things going on right now, in every sport. Everyone works very hard. Our fan base is unbelievable. It's just amazing to be able to do this for our fans and I'm really happy with where we're at as a team," he said. |
| Mississippi State Tennis Wins SEC Championship | |
 | Mississippi State head men's tennis coach Matt Roberts said Saturday after the ninth-ranked Bulldogs' win over No. 10 Florida that, if a match came down to one court to clinch a match, he had full confidence in every player in his lineup. On Sunday, junior Trevor Foshey proved him right, delivering an epic three-set victory to hand second-seeded State (20-2) a 4-3 upset of fifth-ranked and top-seeded Texas A&M (22-5) for the 2018 SEC Championship crown. "That's Mississippi State tennis right there," Roberts said. "That's our culture. We're all about accountability and growing into good men. We're all about doing things the right way with a lot of class, so it's perfect that it came down to Trevor -- a guy who has always been a leader for us." MSU will now await its fate for the 2018 NCAA Team Championship. Selections will be announced this Tuesday, May 1, at 4:30 p.m. CT on NCAA.com. |
| Miscues prove costly in Bulldogs' series loss | |
| Four errors and a couple of base-running blunders proved costly for Mississippi State in its bid for a series win against No. 22 Texas A&M. The Aggies capitalized on the miscues to claim a 7-4 victory in the Sunday rubber game. Rowdey Jordan had both a fielding and throwing error in left field and Marshall Gilbert fired two throws into center field on Texas A&M steal attempts. Also, Elijah MacNamee was caught trying to take second base on a ball in the dirt during the second inning that cost the Diamond Dogs a run and Justin Foscue was caught trying to stretch a single into a double down by a run in the fifth that would've given State runners at the corners with two outs. "That part was disappointing," said MSU interim head coach Gary Henderson. "They're playing hard, that's not an issue, but we've also got to be able to play intelligently with some poise and be able to keep our composure when it matters. We certainly were not at our best today in that regard." |
| After pitching, fielding woes, Mississippi State drops series to Texas A&M | |
| Mississippi State's blueprint for success this season included strong starting pitching coupled with good fielding, and the Bulldogs didn't get either on Sunday in a critical game for their postseason chances. Mississippi State's loss on Friday was understandable; it's going to happen. This one? Not so much. For a team desperate to make a postseason push, it was the wrong time for four errors, two throws from the catcher that sailed into center field on stolen base attempts, one passed ball and one balk. Mississippi State lost to Texas A&M, 7-4, in the rubber game of a three-game series at Dudy Noble Field. The Bulldogs (24-21, 9-12 SEC) are now 12th in the conference standings with three more SEC series left. Those are three-game sets against Alabama (5-16 SEC), Kentucky (10-11) and first-place Florida (16-5). |
| State miscues prevent baseball victory over Texas A&M | |
| A recent surge of clutch hitting and sharp defensive plays disappeared on Sunday for Mississippi State trying to take another Southeastern Conference series. The Bulldogs had four errors to help the visiting No. 18 Aggies (32-12, 11-10 SEC) and MSU left nine runners on the base paths. A&M took full advantage to take the rubber match with the 7-4 win at Dudy Noble. "We took a step back playing good ball," State center fielder Jake Mangum said. "We should have played better. There are things that we all could have done better. We've just got to move forward. We've won five of our last seven against really good teams. If we play our best game, we can beat anybody." MSU (24-21, 9-12) snapped a string of consecutive home series wins against top 25 opponents in which they took at least two out of three games. MSU heads to Tuscaloosa this weekend for a pivotal three-game series against Alabama starting on Friday. |
| Mississippi State's Gerri Green relishes community enrichment | |
| On this Wednesday, the final day of classes before the last set of final exams he will take as an undergraduate, Gerri Green was in a navy suit strolling around Mississippi State's football complex. Most students like Green would be taking on their own academic endeavors, but here he was, providing a moment of inspiration for the younger generation of students. To a fan base, Green has become known as a terror on the edge, playing his hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker position to 38 tackles, 11 for a loss, last season and a solidified spot on the starting line next season. To the Starkville community, he is one of its most consistent and appreciated mentors. Green spent a day this week giving students at Quad County Alternative School a tour of the Lew W. Seal Jr. Football Complex, one of many of his community outreach projects. "Anytime there's community service, anything I can go to, it's an opportunity and I try to go," Green said. |
| Lamar Peters returning to Mississippi State for junior year | |
| Ben Howland received some big news on Sunday as point guard Lamar Peters announced he would be returning to Mississippi State's backcourt for his junior year. Peters was the first Bulldog underclassmen to declare for the NBA Draft on April 4 but did not hire an agent. The 6-foot, 185-pounder from New Orleans started 21 of 34 games for MSU this past season averaging 9.6 points and 4.5 assists. For his career, Peters has started 38 of 64 games scoring 10.1 points and averaging four assists. Peters and Nick Weatherspoon have both announced their return while Quinndary Weatherspoon and Aric Holman remain in the NBA Draft although neither have hired agents. |
| Schedule never slows for Mississippi State women's basketball coaches | |
| The parades have ended. The meals at the banquets have been served. The seniors have put the next steps to their lives in motion. For Vic Schaefer, the operation of the Mississippi State women's basketball team is in the process of renewal. MSU's re-birth for the 2018-19 season started well before a 61-58 loss to Notre Dame in the national title game on April 1 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Since Arike Ogunbowale's game-winning 3-pointer with 0.1 second remaining, Schaefer, his coaches, and his players have been going "non stop." "It just never ends," Schaefer said earlier this week. "We had recruits in over the weekend. Recruiting never ends, so we have been involved with that and getting our kids back in the routine with class schedules and catching up on assignments we have missed and classes we have missed." |
| Ole Miss AD Ross Bjork open to NFL model for future spring games | |
| Weather did not work in favor of Ole Miss on April 7, date of the Grove Bowl spring football game. Even as mid-30s temperatures, rain and wind affected attendance of roughly 1,000 -- no official number was given -- other factors were already in motion that subtracted from the "game" experience. Some of the Rebels' most significant players were limited by injury of coaches' fears of them becoming injured. Quarterbacks were not "live." There was no title sponsor as there has been in recent seasons. Ole Miss vice chancellor for athletics Ross Bjork said he is not opposed to considering change. Bjork believes the college game could possibly benefit from the NFL model. NFL teams during training camp will often compete against one another in a controlled setting, something less than their full-scale exhibition games. "They hit each other, they practice against each other, but it's a controlled environment," Bjork said. "I'd like to take a look at something like that and maybe the proceeds go to charity. I think it's a conversation we need to have while also maintaining the health and safety of the team." |
| Ole Miss quarterback transfer Shea Patterson eligible to play this season at Michigan | |
 | Ole Miss quarterback transfer Shea Patterson is eligible to play this season at Michigan, the schools announced Friday. Patterson transferred to Michigan following last season, and applied for a waiver to be eligible in 2018 without sitting out a year, reportedly claiming he was misled regarding Ole Miss' impending NCAA sanctions. After Ole Miss officials reportedly agreed not to continue fighting Patterson's transfer waiver, the NCAA approved it this week. The schools released a joint statement on Friday. A true junior, he is expected to be the Wolverines' starting quarterback this fall. |
| Tension rises among players, Paul Mainieri as LSU comes up short against Ole Miss | |
 | LSU was well on its way to an impressive series victory against a top-five division rival Saturday afternoon -- until the beer started flying in the seats beyond the right-field wall at Swayze Field. Thomas Dillard started that party, the kind that is unique to Ole Miss, when he ripped a full-count fastball from Caleb Gilbert for a three-run go-ahead homer in the seventh inning. The monster homer, Dillard's 10th of the year, capped a five-run inning and propelled the Rebels to a 9-8 win to clinch the weekend series against LSU. "He's strong, and he got a hold of it," Gilbert said. "It's a deflating game. It's the worst. At the point in the season where we are, it's the biggest heartbreak." The wild game had one last turn. Nick Coomes watched a 95-mph fastball to strike out for the second out, and LSU coach Paul Mainieri went ballistic. He sprinted from the dugout and got in plate umpire Morris Hodges' face. Mainieri was quickly ejected, but stayed put for several seconds to continue his argument. |
| Jeremy Foley: amateurism in college hoops worth saving | |
| Florida athletic director emeritus Jeremy Foley said he understood the responsibility of serving on the College Basketball Commission. Foley came away awed at the communication and leadership skills of Condoleezza Rice, the former U.S. Secretary of State under George W. Bush who chaired the committee. "Her incredible ability to grasp the issues and separate what's important and not important and to ask questions, it was a real lesson in leadership for me," Foley said. Foley also said there was a clear consensus among all 12 who served on the committee --- despite growing public sentiment that college basketball players should be paid, amateurism was worth saving. "Not one person in the room felt we should stray from the intercollegiate model," Foley said. |
| Missouri athletics officially cuts ties with tutor at center of academic investigation | |
| The Missouri athletic department has officially disassociated with former tutor Yolanda Kumar, according a letter from the department she posted to social media this week. MU announced in November 2016 it was looking into potential academic rules violations after Kumar wrote on Facebook that she took exams and completed courses for athletes as an intercollegiate academic tutor with the university. Kumar said she took the tests and completed the courses under pressure from her supervisors. Missouri and the NCAA launched a joint investigation in November 2016, and in January 2017, Missouri hired attorney Mike Glazier to spearhead its side of the investigation. The letter Kumar posted to Twitter this week, which came from athletic director Jim Sterk, was dated April 19. It said that Missouri's investigation concluded Kumar provided impermissible benefits to athletes -- something Kumar admitted to in an interview with the Tribune in March 2017 and with the NCAA during its investigation. |
| Tennessee AD Phillip Fulmer lauds football coach Jeremy Pruitt | |
 | Phillip Fulmer watched closely in the past few months as Jeremy Pruitt settled into his role as Tennessee's new football coach. Less than five months after Fulmer stood in the Tennessee locker room and introduced him, he is highly impressed with Pruitt -- and even more confident in the hire he made as his first act as the Tennessee athletic director. "You think you've got the right guy when you go and do the interviews, the second interviews and check with everybody," Fulmer said Friday. "But five months later, I'm certain we got the right guy. Now, I've got to do my job and support him every way that I can and give him the tools to do his job." |
| Auburn defeats Alabama to win 2018 SEC men's golf championship | |
| The Auburn men's golf team took down Alabama, 3-2, to win the 2018 Southeastern Conference Championship. It is the first league title for the Tigers since 2002. "I'm really proud of the guys, not only the five that were with us but the whole team and those cheering in the locker room back home," head coach Nick Clinard said. "This win is for all 12 of them." In a tight battle between the teams all day, the championship was decided on the 18th hole of the final match. Freshman Wells Padgett stepped up and sank a 20-foot putt to clinch his point and the championship. With the conference title, the Tigers have clinched an automatic berth into the NCAA Regionals. The 2018 Selection Show is set to take place Wednesday, May 2 at 4:30 p.m. CT on The Golf Channel. |
| Beer, wine sales in works for 3 Oklahoma State sports venues | |
| The concessions company Sodexo Operations is working to sell beer and wine to the public at Boone Pickens Stadium, Gallagher-Iba Arena and the Cowgirls Soccer Complex. The company has filed notices in Maryland with the intention of applying for alcoholic beverage licenses at the three venues. Oklahoma A&M's Board of Regents approved a pilot program for beer and wine at OSU baseball and softball games last year, which made it possible for OSU President Burns Hargis to allow beer and wine for fall sports. The university has not approved beer and wine for fall sports yet. "We have not made a decision at this point," OSU Communications Director Gary Shutt said. "We're still continuing the pilot programs. It's just a step that Sodexo has to take so they would have the authority in place if beer and wine were approved for those venues." |
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