| Thursday, May 31, 2018 |
| MSU President Mark Keenum: American farms cannot take another hit | |
 | In an opinion piece Mississippi State University President Mark E. Keenum wrote for The Hill, he wrote, with the possibility of new trade tariffs striking a sensitive chord in rural America, farmers are increasingly concerned about global competitiveness and the threat of a possible trade war affecting their bottom line. Hopefully, Congress will be able to pass a farm bill this year that can offer innovative research programs to help our farmers, lessen government dependence and tackle coming environmental challenges to maintain a competitive advantage in a global market. |
| Oktibbeha close to waste service decision | |
 | Oktibbeha County leadership is trying to determine if it would retain any equipment from Golden Triangle Waste Services, as supervisors continue to weigh a possible change in waste service providers. During the board of supervisors' May 21 meeting, District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery moved to start the process of changing providers. Montgomery's motion drew a second from District 4 Supervisor Bricklee Miller. However, supervisors tabled the matter when Board Attorney Rob Roberson asked supervisors to let him look at contracts with GTWS, including the service's original charter, to determine if the county can retain any of the equipment it's paid for. The ongoing discussions about Oktibbeha County's waste service has highlighted tensions between the county and GTWS. |
| SiliconSouth Project to promote tech opportunities in Meridian | |
 | The SiliconSouth Project will host a tech, education and business showcase in November at The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience. While a date has not been set, the purpose of the showcase is to promote tech literacy and entrepreneurship in Meridian. "One of the reasons we chose Meridian is because of the presence of [Mississippi State University] and East Mississippi Community College," Ben Minnifield, STEM evangelist and strategic business developer, wrote in an email to The Meridian Star. "Both institutions have computer science curriculums that introduce students to computational thinking. The showcase will be presented by Minnifield and Cynthia Skinner, both of the LeMont Scott Group; Sarah Lee of the department of computer science and engineering at MSU; and Ward 5 City Councilman Weston Lindemann. |
| What will it take to win the Mississippi U.S. House race? | |
 | With a crowded field, Tuesday's primaries for Mississippi's 3rd Congressional District are likely to come down to geography and name recognition. Republican candidates Sally Doty, Morgan Dunn, Michael Guest, Whit Hughes, Perry Parker and Katherine Tate face off in the GOP primary. Michael Aycox and Michael Evans face off on the Democratic side. A runoff on the GOP side is expected, with winners of primaries moving on to a Nov. 6 general election. A little-known Reform Party candidate, Mathew Holland, is also running. The district has been considered by some as a metro Jackson-area seat, with Madison, Rankin and Hinds counties potentially counting for more than 40 percent of the vote in a GOP primary. But the district contains other populated areas and covers 24 counties. "What does somebody have to do to win? Right now, it's getting their name out," said Pete Perry, a longtime Republican politico. |
| 3rd District: Democratic hopefuls invoke Sonny Montgomery in primary race | |
| Two Democrats who announced their intention to run for Mississippi's 3rd Congressional District seat say they plan to build upon the legacy of a long-time representative: G. V. Sonny Montgomery, who served as a U.S. representative for the area from 1967 until 1997. Michael Aycox and Michael Ted Evans, both from East Mississippi, will face off in the Tuesday, June 5 primary, attempting to win voters in a district that stretches from Meridian, through Rankin County and onto Natchez. Republican Gregg Harper announced this year he would not seek reelection. Six Republicans, also, have announced their candidacy and hopes to succeed Harper. Evans, a 42-year-old former firefighter and poultry farmer, represents the 43rd District, which covers parts of Kemper, Lauderdale, Neshoba and Winston Counties, in the Mississippi House of Representatives. Aycox, a 30-year-old disabled veteran, has worked for the past decade with the Newton Police Department. He is currently an investigator. |
| Sally Doty behind in funds, but still confident; campaign's $110K puts her 5th in funding | |
 | Brookhaven state senator Sally Doty ranks near the bottom in fundraising among the nine candidates running for Congress this year, with her cash-to-date totals representing around 8 percent of all the money raised so far in the race. According to campaign contribution reports through May 16, Doty has collected $110,761 in the competition to represent Mississippi's 3rd Congressional District, with her spending pot only a fraction of the $1.4 million given to six of the nine candidates. The relatively small campaign account has put her at a disadvantage in advertising around the district's 24 counties, but she's hoping smart spending and name recognition -- she's the only candidate with legislative experience -- will carry her places cash can't go. |
| David Baria understands the long odds he faces in U.S. Senate race | |
 | David Baria describes himself as practical -- no Don Quixote tilting at windmills. The Bay St. Louis Democrat concedes he faces long odds against incumbent U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, a Tupelo Republican, in the November general election. And before the general election, there is the uncertainty and potential landmines of Tuesday's party primary election where Baria faces entrepreneur and venture capitalist Howard Sherman, husband of accomplished actress Sela Ward of Meridian, and fellow state House member Omeria Scott of Laurel and three lesser-known candidates. "I know this is not an easy undertaking," Baria said recently in his Jackson law office after a day of campaigning. But Baria points out overcoming long odds is what he must do almost daily in his profession. |
| Democrats narrowly retain state House seat in Delta special election | |
| Democrats retained a House seat in a special-election runoff held on Tuesday. In a special election to fill the seat left vacant by Rep. Robert Huddleston, who retired abruptly earlier this year, Tracey Rosebud earned 1,429 votes, or 53 percent, while conservative Blake Ferretti garnered 1,275 votes, or 47 percent, according to unofficial vote counts from Tuesday. Rosebud will caucus with the House Democrats and the Legislative Black Caucus. Rosebud is black and from Tutwiler; Blake Ferretti is white and from Cleveland. Although the runoff was officially nonpartisan, Democratic groups supported Rosebud while conservative groups backed Ferretti. |
| New chairman of the NEH a Mississippi native | |
 | on Parrish Peede, the new chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, is a native of Mississippi who moved to Washington D.C. 15 years ago when President George W. Bush appointed him to a position at the National Endowment for the Arts. "Virginia has been my state of residence since and is where my wife Nancy and I raised our daughter," Peede said "But when the Trump White House asked me to write down the state to be affiliated with on my official nomination before the U.S. Senate, I did not write the Commonwealth of Virginia. Rather, I wrote: "Jon Parrish Peede of Mississippi." "The agency has bipartisan support in the U.S. House and Senate," Peede said. "Approximately 40 percent of NEH funding goes directly to our state partners, including the Mississippi Humanities Council led by Stuart Rockoff. I can't say enough great things about the state's humanities team, and its commitment to reaching every county. |
| Episcopalians Meet to Discuss Healing the Racial Divide | |
 | More than 100 Episcopalians from across Mississippi are in Canton, to talk about racial reconciliation. One of the guest speakers is Katrina Browne from Pennsylvania. She produced a documentary about her ancestors in Rhode Island, after discovering they were the largest slave trading family in U.S. history. Browne says she and members of family retraced the Triangle Trade Slave Route from Rhode Island to Ghana to Cuba and it was life changing. Mississippi Bishop Brian Seage says the nation is facing growing challenges surrounding race. Anita George, a retired educator spearheaded the event. She says they're committed to diving into the issue of race and being open about how they feel. |
| Deadly attacks feared as hackers target industrial sites | |
 | The hacking threat to critical infrastructure in the United States and beyond is growing larger, with nation states and other malicious actors looking to gain a foothold in sensitive technologies to conduct espionage and potentially stage disruptive or destructive attacks. Dragos, a firm that specializes in industrial cybersecurity, has released new research asserting that a hacker group responsible for deploying highly sophisticated, destructive malware to an industrial plant in the Middle East last year has begun to expand its operations beyond its initial targets. Concerns about cyber threats to critical infrastructure from nation states like Russia have been mounting in Washington, particularly in light of twin attacks that knocked out power in Ukraine in 2015 and 2016. |
| Delta State seeks to lease defunct golf course to developers | |
 | A Mississippi university is asking developers for ideas about what to do with the school's defunct golf course. The Bolivar Commercial reports that Delta State University has issued a request for proposals, aiming to pick a developer sometime this summer. The university closed the Derrall Foreman Golf Course in 2017, saying the course cost too much to operate in the face of state budget cuts. As the school was doing so, the Legislature enacted a law letting Delta State lease the land for up to 50 years. College Board trustees must approve any lease. |
| Meridian CC presidential search: Huebner emphasizes partnerships as keys to success | |
| Thomas Huebner, the final candidate in the search for Meridian Community College's new president, spoke about his affinity for Lauderdale County and the value of partnerships during a forum Wednesday at the college. Huebner, who is serving as president of East Mississippi Community College in Scooba until June 30, has worked at William Carey College and Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Huebner resigned at EMCC in order to focus his efforts toward the MCC position and allow the board at EMCC to start the replacement process. He is the fifth and final candidate with four others having held forums beginning in April and running through this month. The post is being vacated by long time President Scott Elliott, who is retiring. |
| U. of Alabama team makes strong showing in NASA contest | |
 | Fresh off another top place finish in a NASA robotics competition inspired by future Mars missions, the University of Alabama's Astrobotics teams is already thinking about how to improve its robot for next year. "I think the robot performed very well, exactly as we expected it," said Max Eastepp, a junior majoring in electrical and computer engineering and the team leader. The UA team won first place in six of the nine awards and swept the technical categories areas at the NASA Robotic Mining Competition. The team competed in the contest at Kennedy Space Center in Florida from May 14-18. UA teams have previously placed first in in 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Banners for previous years hang above the sandpit in Hardaway Hall, where the team tests its robots. |
| U. of Florida appoints its first chief diversity officer | |
 | The University of Florida has named its first chief diversity officer, according to a statement Tuesday, appointing an official to support and lead the school's inclusion efforts. Antonio Farias, vice president for equity and inclusion and Title IX officer at Wesleyan University, will start his job as chief diversity officer and senior adviser to the president July 9. His salary will be $280,000 per year. "Marinating in the UF and Gainesville culture is my number one priority," Farias said, adding that UF is a large environment with many voices to listen to. Farias, 52, said he wants members in the university community to have a sense of belonging, excellence and authenticity. In fall 2017, 57 percent of UF students were white, 15 percent were Hispanic or Latino, 7 percent were black and 7 percent were Asian. |
| David Williams Helping Vanderbilt Progress With 'Intentionality' | |
| When noted academic executive David Williams II joined the leadership team at Nashville's Vanderbilt University in 2000, few realized at the time Williams would become an essential member of the university's brain trust charting and navigating its steady progression toward becoming a model of the nation's evolving diversity in higher education. "This is not the place I came to 18 years ago, I never had any idea it (Vanderbilt) would change," Williams said in a recent Tennessee Tribune interview. "Vanderbilt is doing this quietly," he said, acknowledging the institution's steady approach toward its status as a minority majority institution, one in which an institution has a wide variety of ethnic and cultural groups in its population, yet no racial or ethnic group constitutes a majority. Indeed that is a long way from Vanderbilt's clear standing as a historically white institution with deep roots in the South. |
| UGA research shows female CEOs face subtler bias | |
 | Even when female CEOs break through the glass ceiling, the boards overseeing them often reflect a subtler sexism that affects relationships and, ultimately, performance, according to new research from the University of Georgia. "We spend a lot of time thinking about why females aren't represented in the C-suite, but very rarely do we turn the corner and say, but what is it like when they get to the top?" said Abbie Griffith Oliver of UGA's Terry College of Business. "The women who are in the executive suite, who have been successful, who broke that glass ceiling, what's it like for them now that they're there?" In a study published in Strategic Management Journal, Oliver and her co-authors found that female CEOs are more frequently subjected to "benevolent sexism" from their companies' boards of directors. |
| Texas A&M AgriLife Research director stepping down June 1, joining faculty | |
 | After nearly 10 years in the position, Texas A&M AgriLife Research Director Craig Nessler is stepping down from his post. He won't be going far, though -- Texas A&M AgriLife announced Wednesday that Nessler will be a faculty member in Texas A&M's department of horticultural sciences beginning June 1. Nessler was named director of AgriLife Research in 2009. "AgriLife Research simply has the best people anywhere, and it's been a pleasure to lead this great team and its statewide research activities that continue to make a difference in the daily lives of Texans and those across the nation," Nessler said in the press release announcing his change in positions. During his tenure, the agency has ranked No. 1 for five consecutive years in National Science Foundation agriculture expenditures for research. Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp has appointed Patrick Stover, vice chancellor and dean of agriculture and life sciences at Texas A&M, as acting director of the agency. |
| U. of Missouri celebrates $141,000 donation from State Farm | |
 | The University of Missouri received a $141,000 gift Wednesday from State Farm as part of the university's "Mizzou: Our Time to Lead" campaign. The money will go toward five programs, with the largest donation being a $58,000 grant to the Fire Rescue Training Institute. In total, State Farm has donated $1.3 million to the campaign, said Tom Hiles, MU's vice chancellor for advancement. Hiles believes the donation will affect not just the university but all Missourians. Most of the donated money will go to outreach programs, such as training for Missouri emergency responders, educating parents about teen drivers, reducing crashes among older drivers and recognizing substance-impaired drivers. The remaining $40,000 will focus on advancing Missouri's curriculum in risk management and counseling students on how to properly handle their finances. |
| GOP lawmaker and former community college leader weighs in on the endowment tax | |
 | Bradley Byrne came to the U.S. Congress after a stint as the leader of Alabama's community college system. But the Republican's signature higher education bill so far backs a priority of many private institutions: the repeal of a new tax on college endowments. Byrne says the legislation, which he co-authored with Representative John Delaney, a Maryland Democrat, reflects his view on the proper role of the federal government in higher education. "I have the same concerns that other members of Congress have," he said in an interview. "I'm just a little bit differently informed about it because I come from inside. I don't want to punish people in higher education. I want to find ways, in a positive sense, to motivate them to do what they should be doing anyway and to do it better." |
| Higher-Ed Groups Warn Against Visa Restrictions for Chinese Students | |
 | Two higher-education associations released statements on Wednesday opposing the U.S. State Department's move to limit the length of student visas for some Chinese citizens. The planned directive, as reported by news outlets such as Bloomberg News and The New York Times, means that the time allotted in the United States would be reduced for some Chinese citizens, and would be applied on an individual basis. The changes were part of a White House attempt to combat the alleged theft of American intellectual property by China. In a news release the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities urged the federal government to craft policies that do not potentially limit foreign students' ability to attend American colleges and universities. |
| Walmart Offers Employees New Perk: Cheap Access to College | |
| Walmart is offering its employees a new perk: affordable access to a college degree. America's largest private employer, which in the past has helped its workers get their high school or equivalency degree, hopes the new benefit will help it recruit and retain higher quality entry-level employees in a tight U.S. labor market. The company is teaming up with Denver-based startup Guild Education to offer employees the chance to obtain a bachelor's degree in business or supply-chain management. It will cost a dollar a day at one of three nonprofit universities with online programs that have had success working with adult learners: the University of Florida, Brandman University and Bellevue University. It plans to eventually expand to more types of degrees. |
| UF Online-Walmart offer workers' education plan | |
| Workers at Walmart will soon have another way to save money and live better. The University of Florida Online is partnering with Walmart through a platform called Guild Education to offer subsidized bachelor's degrees in business administration to Walmart and Sam's Club associates. Associates who enroll in the program will pay $1 a day for their schooling, the statement said. Walmart will cover the cost of tuition, books and fees to eliminate the burden of student loan debt. "We are thrilled if we can expand access to the University of Florida," said UF Online Director Evangeline Cummings. UF Online began in 2014, and currently has about 2,700 students enrolled. Cummings said because of the partnership, that number could rise, but she had no estimates of how much. |
| U. of Memphis starts work on $33M land bridge, parking garage | |
| Unifying the University of Memphis campus with a soaring pedestrian bridge, a 1,140-space parking garage, amphitheaters, plazas and pedestrian mall converted from a street is a big job requiring big numbers. How about 388 construction piers that would extend over two miles if lined end to end? Or 3,000 tons of aggregate stone to build those piers? Or 200 tons of structural steel? Or 667 truck loads (10,672 cubic yards) of concrete? Or 227 tons of rebar? Or 989 truck loads of precast concrete? That sizes up the $33.5 million construction job that Flintco started this month on the south side of the main campus. "The garage foundations are going in now and the precast structural columns and T- spans are being made at a pre-cast plant outside of Atlanta now," Tony Poteet said in an email. He is the U of M's assistant vice president for campus planning and design. |
| Roaring Protests of Commencements Past Make Way for a More Subdued Stand | |
 | On commencement day at Northern Michigan University, some students protested the speaker, Gov. Rick Snyder, and his handling of the water crisis in Flint. While some students outside the event carried signs against him, students inside the hall simply -- and silently -- turned their backs on him as he spoke. Protests at college commencements are almost a rite of spring, and this graduation season is no different. Some of the demonstrations this year have shapeshifted into actions more subdued than those of just a few years ago. Some are small events within larger ceremonies. And silence as a protest tactic is being used to make a point without ruffling too many feathers. n a moment of heightened political turmoil in the nation at large, including on college campuses, commencement protests seem oddly quieter than in some years past. |
SPORTS
| Konnor Pilkington, Bulldogs set for Tallahassee Regional | |
| Ron Pilkington and his wife Mitzi had taken Konnor -- their brand new baby boy, their first child -- from his birthplace in Pascagoula to Seattle, where Konnor would spend the first year plus of his life. Konnor was still in the first year of his life in a Seattle town home when Ron casually rolled a baseball across the floor. "He took off after it. And he was real little, months old," Ron Pilkington said. "It was weird." Konnor Pilkington's life since then has been further evidence of a baseball natural. Pilkington is likely to start Mississippi State's first game of the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, 11 a.m. Friday (ESPNU) against Oklahoma (36-23). |
| Mississippi State ace Konnor Pilkington aims to get Bulldogs past Oklahoma | |
| A weathered hat. Brown boots. A t-shirt. Jeans. Konnor Pilkington was dressed in his usual ensemble when he met with reporters earlier in the week. It was a typical interview for Pilkington, too; he is accommodating yet reserved, thoughtful with his words yet concise. That is, except for those few seconds when he abruptly and uncharacteristically started using his hands while he spoke. It was the third time Pilkington was asked about any possible adjustment he has made recently. It's clear something had changed: In his last two starts, Pilkington allowed five earned runs in 11 innings (4.09 ERA), struck out 12 and hit locations with more consistency. In the previous three starts, Pilkington allowed 18 earned runs in 14 1/3 innings (11.30 ERA) and struggled with command. Pressed for more details about the turnaround and while fielding the inquiry, Pilkington used his hands as he spoke to stress a point. |
| Mississippi State's Marshall Gilbert gets his wish | |
 | Marshall Gilbert received only one junior college scholarship offer out of high school. It was during his freshman year at John A. Logan College, the aforementioned juco in Illinois, that Gilbert made a list of around 65 schools he was interested in playing baseball for and began emailing those programs one-by-one with his schedule and stats. "It's kind of surreal because I listed them in order of where I wanted to go," Gilbert said. "Last semester, I was going back through the notes on my phone and saw this list and No. 1 was Mississippi State. That gave me chills a little bit because this is actually a dream come true." "Being here is just like back home but it's 20 degrees warmer and a little more humid," Gilbert said. "The atmosphere here is crazy but the people here are what made it the most interesting place for me. As soon as I got here, everybody was really open. The people here are awesome and that's what really did it for me. |
| Hot and cold: Which Mississippi State team will show up to the NCAA Tournament? | |
| Overshadowed by all the abnormality of Mississippi State's regular season -- not having a stadium for the fall and early weeks of the season, Andy Cannizaro's resignation, etc. -- was a peculiar pair of facts when presented together: Mississippi State went 11-5 against top-25 RPI teams. Mississippi State also went 20-20 against everyone else. The same team that swept No. 1 Florida to lock up an NCAA Tournament spot in the final series of the regular season was the same squad that lost to McNeese State (24-33), Memphis (20-36) and Nicholls (28-32). Or was it? So now here we are. Mississippi State heads into the Tallahassee regional as a No. 2 seed with a game against Oklahoma (36-23) at 11 a.m. Friday and a weird reputation for being able to beat any team in the country while also just as vulnerable to losing. |
| With Walker and Murray questionable, DeRenzo could continue to play a big role for Sooners | |
 | Domenic DeRenzo expected bigger things for his career to this point. As a freshman, DeRenzo earned Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America honors after starting 33 games at catcher and belting eight home runs. But an elbow injury late in his freshman year led to Tommy John surgery. The last couple of years since has been a struggle for the junior from Pittsburgh to find a regular role in Oklahoma's lineup. But with a pair of Oklahoma's outfielders banged up, DeRenzo's role could be magnified this weekend when the Sooners play in the Tallahassee Regional. Oklahoma, the No. 3 seed, opens the regional at 11 a.m. Friday against No. 2 Mississippi State. |
| Joe Moorhead pushing to build on Dan Mullen's success at Mississippi State | |
| Coach Joe Moorhead entered a good situation at Mississippi State, where Dan Mullen left behind a potential 10-win team and one better than he inherited at UF. The Bulldogs return 16 starters, including nine on an offense led by quarterback Nick Fitzgerald. Moorhead appreciates the efforts of the former staff, but he wants to build beyond what Mullen and Co. created. "I think we walked into a situation where Coach Mullen and his staff did a very good job elevating the program," Moorhead said. "I like our talent on the roster, and I think we've assembled a very good coaching staff. The challenge is what can we do to elevate the program from good to great." |
| Mississippi State's Elgton Jenkins earns spot on Remington Trophy watch list | |
| Elgton Jenkins became the first Mississippi State player to earn a spot on a preseason watch list on Wednesday. Jenkins was selected to the Remington Trophy watch list, which is presented annually to the nation's top center. The rising senior from Clarksdale has appeared in 36 games and drawn 21 during his career. Jenkins started all 13 games for the Bulldogs last season at center. The 6-foot-4, 315-pounder is the first MSU player picked to the preseason watch list for the Remington Trophy since Jamaal Clayborn in 2016. |
| SEC meetings: Want a beer at an SEC game? Don't get your hopes up | |
 | SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey surely was ready for the question. It's become almost an annual tradition for the conference's stance on alcohol sales in stadiums to be discussed at the SEC spring meetings, and Tuesday was no different. "There has been ongoing dialogue," Sankey said after the first day of the meetings when asked whether there has been further discussion within the league about the matter. "That's not a topic that exists only when the newspaper articles are written two weeks before Destin every year. But that hasn't produced change at this point among our membership." Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne said Wednesday that there has been "very little" dialogue about the topic this week. Added Florida AD Scott Stricklin: "I don't see us opening up (alcohol sales) across the stadium anytime soon, as a league." |
| Gus Malzahn calls 20 headset limit 'a joke,' will hurt college football | |
 | Gus Malzahn took his strongest stand regarding a rule change in four years on Wednesday over of all things, the NCAA's limit on the number of headsets football staffs can use during games. Earlier this month the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved limiting teams to 20 headsets on game days, of which 15 will be for the coaching staff, four will be for players and one will be for someone for non-coaching activities, such as charting plays. Malzahn is vehemently against the rule change and the SEC as a whole is as well. "The 20 headset rule is a joke," he said at SEC Spring Meetings on Wednesday. "There's no doubt about it. I think that's got the ability to hurt our game. That's a really big deal and that came about just to try to affect the staff sizes. Any rules that's put in place because of something else is not good. |
| SEC begins to prepare for 'new dynamic' of states legalizing sports gambling | |
| South Carolina won five games last season under coach Will Muschamp by seven points or less. The SEC East's second-place team finished 9-4 overall, but would more Gamecock fans be upset if Muschamp opted not to kick a late field goal with a victory all but assured if they had placed a legal bet on his team? "They're usually pissed any way," Muschamp said smiling this week as he joined the league's other football coaches at the SEC's spring meetings at the Sandestin Beach Hilton. The Supreme Court's decision earlier this month struck down the ban that kept most states from having sports betting, clearing the way for legalized sports wagering in what already is a multi-billion dollar industry. "I've not seen any restrictions from some states on restricting college sports gambling," SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said. "We need to prepare and have conversations about ground level issues." |
| More marquee games could be on the way for Alabama | |
| University of Alabama director of athletics Greg Byrne has added two marquee nonconference football series to the Alabama football schedule in the coming decade -- and he may not be finished. "We still have a period between (2024 and 2027) where we're talking about some different scenarios," Byrne said at the SEC Meetings on Wednesday. "I'm sure neutral games will be part of those years. Will they be all four? I don't know yet. Depends on how some conversations go." Neutral-site games have been a fixture on the Alabama schedule since Nick Saban became head coach at UA in 2007 and have been successful for Alabama, both in on-the-field results -- since losing to Florida State in Jacksonville, Alabama has reeled off eight consecutive wins in neutral-site season openers. |
| Neyland Stadium renovation 'on track,' AD Phillip Fulmer says | |
| The Neyland Stadium renovation project "is on track" and "in a good place," Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer said Wednesday at the SEC spring meetings. No date has been set for the start of construction. Fulmer said he should know more about the project's timeline after a meeting in a couple of weeks. "Be clear, we're on task to do it," Fulmer said of the project. UT's Board of Trustees athletics committee approved project plans in November for a two-part stadium renovation set to cost $340 million. Phase I of the project, focusing on the stadium's south end, was slated to cost $180 million and be funded by fundraising campaigns, athletic department revenues, partnerships and debt financing. |
| What will happen to Cliff Hagan Stadium? AD Mitch Barnhart ponders more UK upgrades | |
 | Kentucky's new baseball stadium is just months away from completion. Mitch Barnhart has discussed getting started on renovations and upgrades at Memorial Coliseum. But what is next on the UK athletics director's list for facilities? Here are a few he mentioned in a sit-down last week. When baseball makes its move to Alumni Drive, Barnhart is pondering what to do with Cliff Hagan Stadium. "We're probably looking to put tennis in there, so that's on my mind along with Memorial," Barnhart said. And the other soon-to-be former baseball facilities? "Renovations to Shively now that baseball's exiting out of that, doing some work in there for our track program," Barnhart said. "Things like that. Not big projects, but things that are important to us." |
| Vanderbilt baseball coach Tim Corbin paid $2.3 million in 2016, per tax return | |
 | Vanderbilt baseball coach Tim Corbin earned $2.3 million in 2016, according to the university's newly-released federal tax return. Corbin, the program's all-time winningest coach, received a $1.2 million bonus in the 2016 calendar year. Football coach Derek Mason was paid $162,500 in bonuses in 2016, the year Vanderbilt played in the Independence Bowl. Men's basketball coach Bryce Drew was paid a $750,000 bonus, which could have been a signing bonus for his initial contract in 2016, but a university spokesman declined when asked to confirm that. "Vanderbilt University operates a Division I Athletics program that is part of the Southeastern Conference, and our highly-regarded head coaches are compensated accordingly, and in line with peer institutions," a university statement said. |
| Texas, Texas A&M ADs plan to renew Longhorn-Aggie football rivalry... but when? | |
| Texas A&M athletic director Scott Woodward and his University of Texas counterpart, Chris Del Conte, are busy guys. SEC spring meetings began Tuesday in Destin, Fla. Big 12 meetings began Wednesday at Irving's Four Seasons Resort. This weekend, however, the Texas and Texas A&M baseball teams will be in the NCAA regional in Austin, which could put Woodward and Del Conte in the same place at the same time, which for the millionth time would stoke the question: What are the chances of Texas A&M and Texas scheduling a renewal of one of college football's greatest rivalries? As everyone knows, the schools haven't met on a football field since Nov. 24, 2011. |
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