| Monday, June 25, 2018 |
| MSU's College of Architecture, Art and Design appoints Angi Bourgeois as new dean | |
 | A highly respected faculty member and administrator in Mississippi State's Department of Art has been named the new dean of the university's College of Architecture, Art and Design. Effective July 1, Professor Angi Elsea Bourgeois will lead CAAD after serving nearly two years as the head of its Department of Art, home to the Magnolia State's largest undergraduate studio art program. She succeeds the college's founding dean Jim West. An MSU faculty member since 2002, Bourgeois has taught a variety of art history courses and climbed the academic ranks with a promotion to professor coinciding with her appointment as art department head," reads MSU's announcement. She was re-elected to a two-year term in January as secretary for the Italian Art Society, an international scholarly organization that she joined in 2004. |
| Mississippi State University Pre-Nursing Students Now Eligible for Early Entry to BSN Program | |
| Mississippi State University (MSU) and the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) have partnered to create an early entry program that allows MSU pre-nursing freshman students to be admitted to UMMC's Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. MSU's Freshman Early Entry (FEE) program allows students to earn 65 credit hours during their freshman and sophomore years before completing their nursing degrees at the University of Mississippi School of Nursing. Students can apply to the early entry program in the fall of their freshman year or through regular entry after completing their pre-nursing curriculum. The program offers MSU pre-nursing students the opportunity to engage in professional relationships with UMMC nursing faculty and upperclassmen. |
| After 45 years, educator Charlotte Tabereaux looks forward to retirement | |
 | At the end of this month, Tabereaux is stepping down as education director and Any Given Child Liaison at the MSU Riley Center for Education and the Performing Arts in Meridian. The veteran educator started working for the center in 2005 before it opened in 2006. "They wanted me to go ahead and work with the schools and with school children," she recalled. "I wrote study guides for teachers so the children would have a nice educational experience." Prior to working in Meridian, Tabereaux, who earned a doctorate in education at MSU in 2002, was involved in education in many states, both in the classroom and in administrative positions. "MSU and particularly the Riley Center have benefitted from Charlotte's 45 years of experience in education," said Terry Dale Cruse, administrative director and head of campus for Mississippi State University's Meridian campus. |
| Mississippi State partners with Georgetown University for rural investment workshop | |
 | It was a day filled with networking opportunities for local businesses during Mississippi State's Rural Investment workshop. Several businesses and entrepreneurs had the chance to pitch their business models to investors from all across the country. Organizers say the purpose of the workshop is to show investors the potential of small businesses in rural areas, and to connect businesses to those investors. "I think it's beneficial to both parties, also it's beneficial for us at the universities to see what's happening out in the private sector, both on the investment side and on the business side, so it helps us to be more relevant in our academic mission here at the university," said Steve Turner with Mississippi State University. MSU partnered with Georgetown University to put on Thursday's workshop. |
| Rains have challenged row crop weed control | |
 | There's always something for farmers to monitor or manage, and in many row-crop fields across the state, weed control is the big concern of the moment. Jason Bond, weed scientist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said rains that keep machinery out of the fields allow time for weeds to grow rapidly. "The longer a weed is there, the greater impact it has on the growth and development of the crop," Bond said. "A smaller weed is easier to control with herbicide. When you have a herbicide-resistant weed, you automatically have fewer herbicide choices, and timing becomes even more critical." Trent Irby, Extension soybean specialist, said adverse weather conditions like frequent rains or windy conditions created many problems this planting season. |
| 'Airplane rule' applies to selfless caregivers | |
 | Flight attendants instruct passengers to take care of themselves before helping others with oxygen masks for several good reasons that also apply to other caregivers and situations. "Let's face it; if you collapse or worse, you can't help anyone," said Alisha Hardman, family life specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. "Most of us want to help loved ones first, but self-neglect is one of the least helpful and most detrimental actions caregivers can commit." Hardman said caregiving has physical and emotional components that can take a toll on the providers. An additional layer of family and friends monitoring the caregivers is important. MSU Extension health specialist David Buys said when people are in high-stress situations such as serving as a caregiver, it is often easier to just grab the quickest food and not focus on healthy meals. |
| Help pollinators with a few simple steps at home | |
| Pollinators are important to flowering plants and the food supply, but dwindling numbers of some of these creatures, including monarch butterflies and bees, have captured the public's attention. Many people want to help. But what can homeowners do to support these important pollinators? Jennifer Buchanan, senior curator at the Mississippi State University Crosby Arboretum in Picayune, shared her tips for creating a pollinator-friendly garden. Insects are not the world's only pollinators. Birds and small mammals, such as mice and bats, also transfer pollen from plant to plant. "There are lots of categories of pollinators that go beyond just insects," said Buchanan. "Hummingbirds don't need host plants, but they do need a safe place to raise their young and a source of food. Be mindful of which species you want to attract, and choose a variety of plants based on their needs." |
| City introduces traffic calming devices | |
 | The city of Starkville is continuing its tactical urbanism push through the use of traffic calming devices on both Willow Road and Critz Street. Mayor Lynn Spruill said the reason for introducing the devices in the different neighborhoods, is to slow down speed traffic on Critz Street and to reduce cut through traffic on Willow Street. The devices are disguised as planters, so community members who live in the neighborhood can plant flowers to beautify the area. "That was the whole intent, is you've got something that is temporary, that can be evaluated, can be adjusted, shifted or removed all together if it doesn't work, or if it doesn't solve the concerns of the neighborhood," Spruill said. Due to the temporary nature and ease to move the devices, Spruill said they have already made adjustments to make the devices more effective. |
| Starkville lands $1 million sewer grant | |
| A grant the city of Starkville began seeking several years ago is coming through at just the right time. Aldermen approved the acceptance of a Mississippi Environmental and Infrastructure Protection and Development Program grant, funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, during their meeting Tuesday. The grant will provide a total of slightly more than $1 million, with a 75-25 percent match -- the grant will pay about $750,000 and the city will pay about $250,000. Mayor Lynn Spruill said the grant will give funding for sewer infrastructure work. She said work to get the grant started under Mayor Parker Wiseman. "It's a perfect example of how the continuation of activity from one term comes to fruition in another term," she added. "Were it not for Mayor Wiseman, this probably would not have happened." |
| New building puts ERDC key managers all under one roof | |
| All of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center's key administrators are now housed under one roof. In March, 263 people began moving into ERDC's new $51 million, 142,000-square-foot headquarters building in the center of the facility's campus. Three months later, 12 different divisions, including ERDC's major command staff division and executive offices are under the same roof for the first time in the organization's history. "Most of those offices were in other buildings," said Mike Channell, director of ERDC's installation and support division. "It (the new building) consolidated ERDC command into one single building." It also includes the offices of health services, safety, security, equal employment opportunity, contracting, internal review, the director of public works, public affairs and resource management, and the office of counsel. |
| Michael Guest: 22 years in district attorney's office prepared me | |
| Michael Guest, the district attorney for Madison and Rankin Counties, has made the jump from local politics to state politics in his run for Mississippi's Third Congressional District, campaigning on conservative issues such as limited government and immigration reform. "I believe that in most cases less government is better," Guest said. "It's not just about passing less laws but also passing more important laws. Rarely do we go back and remove laws, remove old regulations." Guest stressed the need to focus on fixing the state's infrastructure, ranging from the pipes in Jackson to roads in bridges across the state. "It needs to be brought up to standard," Guest said. "We have to address the needs of our aging infrastructure." |
| David Baria touts legislative experience, Democratic credentials | |
| David Baria isn't running the moderate Democratic playbook. Across the South, an array of Democrats running for offices tout conservative credentials on key issues and distance themselves from the national party and its leadership. Baria isn't doing that in his campaign to win the chance to take on incumbent U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, a Republican. "I reject labels so I'm going to run the type of campaign that I want to run, and I hope that people find it refreshing," Baria said after a recent campaign stop in Tupelo. "I'm talking about the issues that I think resonate with people. I'm going to run the kind of campaign where I lay it out on the table." In a state that Donald Trump won with almost 58 percent of the votes, Baria says he will serve "as a hedge against the president." |
| Howard Sherman brands himself an outsider, entrepreneur | |
| Howard Sherman is all in. A entrepreneur with California roots and almost no name recognition in the state when he announced a run for the U.S. Senate in Mississippi, Sherman has loaned his campaign significant amounts of money and toured the state touting his ideas, including an ambitious 100-day plan. For his efforts, Sherman hopes to best a well-connected insider to Democratic politics in a primary runoff and win the right to challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker this fall. "Mississippi is one of the most under performing assets I've ever seen in my life. Incredibly rich with potential," Sherman said in a recent interview, touting a vision to improve the state he has adopted as home. Residency questions have dogged his campaign, but the Democratic Party's state executive committee declined to hear a challenge to Sherman's ballot eligibility. |
| Sherman, Baria on Tuesday ballot | |
 | Howard Sherman, an entrepreneur and venture capitalist and the husband of actress and Meridian native Sela Ward, will square off against David Baria, a trial lawyer from the Mississippi Gulf Coast and state lawmaker, in Tuesday's Democratic runoff primary election for U.S. Senate. In an interview with the DeSoto Times-Tribune on Friday, Sherman appealed to DeSoto County voters. "I love that part of the country up there," Sherman said. "They honored my wife and anyone who honors my wife, I honor and appreciate them." Ward was honored at the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi's Crystal Ball gala this past year for Ward's efforts to establish Hope Village in Meridian for abandoned, neglected and abused children. Sherman is a co-founder of that project. |
| Howard Sherman: I believe the state is ready to move forward | |
| Howard Sherman, an entrepreneur from California married to actress Sela Ward, of Meridian, faces state house Rep. David Baria in the Democratic primary runoff and hopes to unseat U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker in November. Sherman and Ward have been full-time Lauderdale County residents since June of 2016, since the high school graduation of their daughter. "We are very engaged in the community," Sherman said in a previous interview, citing his and Ward's efforts with the MSU Riley Center, the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience and Hope Village, "So this whole notion of birther-ism, that I wasn't born here... we've impacted this community." Hope Village, an agency established by Sherman and Ward that provides services to neglected and abused children and their families, "is really an extension of our family," Sherman said. |
| Amid social media confusion, Mike Espy remains neutral; calls Baria, Sherman good candidates | |
| Mike Espy has made it clear he is not endorsing a candidate in Tuesday's U.S. Senate Democratic primary runoff, but will support the winner in the November general election. Both David Baria and Howard Sherman, who are vying for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination, have tried to align themselves with Espy. Espy, who in the 1980s became the first African American from Mississippi elected to the U.S. House since Reconstruction and then served as the Agriculture secretary in the Clinton administration, also will be on the ballot in November -- in a special election to replace Thad Cochran who resigned from the Senate earlier this year. Sherman and Baria are vying to face Republican incumbent Roger Wicker of Tupelo in the regularly scheduled Senate election. |
| Chancery judges appeal Supreme Court ruling on guns in courthouses | |
| The three 14th District chancery judges have filed an appeal with the Mississippi Supreme Court, asking the high court to reconsider a June 7 ruling that overturned the judges' order to ban guns in courthouses while court is in session. Chancery Judge Jim Davidson confirmed Friday that he, along with fellow District 14 judges Dorothy Colom and Kenneth Burns, filed the appeal on Wednesday. "Under Rule 40 of the appellate procedure, we have to file a motion for a rehearing within 14 days of the ruling, which was (Wednesday)," Davidson said. "The rules say we can't rehash the arguments, but we can bring up points we feel the Supreme Court missed, didn't understand or was mistaken about. We have about 10 points we feel weren't discussed or weren't discussed enough. That's what we are basing the appeal on." |
| Analysis: Jim Hood's fear comes true as Entergy says law ends suit | |
 | The leader of Mississippi's largest privately owned electrical utility said in February that a new law wouldn't automatically kill a lawsuit by Attorney General Jim Hood, but Entergy Corp. now argues that the law, which doesn't even take effect until July 1, does put an end to the suit. That's just one prong of the company's argument to U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves, seeking to end a suit in which the Democrat Hood alleges the utility overcharged customers. Entergy Mississippi, a unit of the New Orleans-based company, continues to argue that even before the law, the dispute should have been handled by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or at least the Mississippi Public Service Commission. But citing the law seems to confirm Hood's fears that Entergy was using its lobbying muscle to cut off the lawsuit, despite denials. |
| Mississippi governor won't recall troops from Mexican border | |
| Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is rejecting a call to bring back Mississippi National Guard troops from the Mexican border. The state's Legislative Black Caucus sent the Republican governor a letter on Friday urging him to recall troops, citing President Donald Trump's policy of family separation. The lawmakers say Trump's executive order this week may "pause" separation of families, but urge Bryant to "reject the inhumane policy of jailing children." Bryant says he regards the letter as "political grandstanding" and says the guard's "critical mission" should continue. |
| Supreme Court sends case on North Carolina gerrymandering back to lower court | |
 | The Supreme Court on Monday sent back to a lower court a decision that Republicans in North Carolina had gerrymandered the state's congressional districts to give their party an unfair advantage. The lower court will need to decide whether the plaintiffs had the proper legal standing to bring the case. The Supreme Court recently considered the question of partisan gerrymandering in cases from Wisconsin and Maryland. The court has never found a map so infected by politics that it violated the constitutional rights of voters. But the justices did not rule on the merits of the issue. The court said plaintiffs in Wisconsin did not have the proper legal standing and that the Maryland case was in too preliminary a stage. |
| UPD responds to armed robbery near The Inn at Ole Miss | |
 | The University Police Department responded to a strong-armed robbery near The Inn at Ole Miss at approximately 4 a.m yesterday. The robbery was reported to have occurred at approximately 3 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. UPD said the robbery suspects are three African American males, which were identified by the victim. Ole Miss marketing and brand strategy director Ryan Whittington said the robbery is under investigation by UPD and encouraged people to contact UPD if they have any information relating to the incident. "The strong-arm robbery reported at approximately 4 a.m. on Saturday, June 23 is under investigation," Whittington said. "The victim, who is not a student and did not sustain serious injury, is safe and recovering. |
| Oxford-University Transit to add five new buses to fleet | |
| Oxford-University Transit will soon welcome five new 30-foot heavy duty low floor transit buses to its fleet. Adding the buses will be a great benefit for the community, according to OUT Superintendent Ron Biggs. "The five that we're putting the request for proposal out for will be new buses that will replace a couple of the buses we have," Biggs said. "The demand for reliable public transportation is high, so we want to meet that need." OUT buses serve thousands of people every year, transporting them across the University of Mississippi campus and the city of Oxford. However, Biggs said OUT doesn't operate without its fair share of obstacles. The city is in the midst of annexing 12 square miles, adding 3,600 people to the population. Biggs said he hopes the new buses will help OUT expand its services and meet new challenges head-on. |
| East Mississippi CC students soaring in aerospace manufacturing programs | |
| Columbus resident Teresa Brooks recently completed the Composite Manufacturing course at East Mississippi Community College and is enrolled in the college's Avionics and Cabling program. Both courses last between 10 and 12 weeks and teach students skills needed by area aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus Helicopters Inc., Stark Aerospace and Aurora Flight Sciences. Brooks already works in the industry. In May, she was hired by Stark Aerospace, where she works as a wiring technician. "It is really interesting work," Brooks said. "Some of the stuff we learned in the Avionics and Cabling class are things that have been integrated at Stark Aerospace." Some classes in the program are taught by employees of Stark Aerospace, using when possible the same materials and equipment the maker of unmanned aerial systems and sensors uses on the shop floor. "When we bought our tooling for the Avionics and Cabling class, we used one of the company's inventory lists to get the same items they are using," EMCC Workforce Project Manager Jim Huerkamp said. |
| U. of Alabama professor set to direct episode for TV drama | |
 | A University of Alabama professor will direct an episode of a drama that will air this fall on Oprah Winfrey's television network. Rachel Raimist, a UA professor of journalism and creative media, will helm an episode of "Queen Sugar," which films in New Orleans. The show, which focuses on three siblings who inherit an 800-acre sugarcane farm from their recently deceased father, was created by Ava DuVernay. DuVernay directed the 2014 historical drama "Selma" and this year's "A Wrinkle in Time" for Disney. "Episodic television is a particularly difficult medium to 'break in' to as a woman of color director," Raimist said in a UA news release. "To be called by Academy Award winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay and be invited to direct an episode of her show is a career defining moment for me." |
| Auburn offers new degree to provide students with wildlife expertise | |
 | Students who enjoy the outdoors may want to explore Auburn University's new degree program that provides the education and skills needed for careers in hunting and fishing industries. "The degree will help develop Auburn students as future leaders in outdoor enterprises nationally and internationally," Auburn President Steven Leath said. Auburn's board of trustees approved the new wildlife enterprise management degree at its June 8 meeting. Official enrollment will begin in fall 2019 pending approval by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education this December. Students will take classes across the Auburn campus, primarily in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, College of Human Sciences and the Harbert College of Business. |
| Auburn University appoints liaison to grow community relations | |
| Looking to build on its relationship with surrounding communities, Auburn University has appointed a community liaison. Jon Thompson, formerly the director of special events for the office of the president, will take on new responsibilities with the title of executive director of city/community relations, special events and estate operations. "Engagement and outreach, especially in our home community, are among our top priorities," Auburn University president Steven Leath said. "Jon is well respected in the area and has many local ties. He will further enhance our relationships with local officials, citizens and businesses." Thompson, who has been employed with the university for eight years, said he believes this new role is a great opportunity for him, the university and local communities. |
| Tuition-free college? Louisiana teachers will be eligible under revived state programs | |
 | The state is re-launching two programs that will allow teachers to enroll in college classes tuition free. The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Louisiana Board of Regents signed off on the plans last week. The state Department of Education soon will offer applications for the assistance, with the first tuition-free classes available for the fall semester. Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell, the Legislature's top advocate for science, technology, math and engineering classes, said better educated teachers will improve the state's dismal record for producing high school seniors ready for the high-demand fields. Only 14 percent of students are academically prepared to tackle college science, engineering and other classes, she told the boards. |
| UGA partners with food bank to promote healthy eating | |
 | Teaching people to grow, cook and eat healthy foods is the key goal of a partnership between the State Botanical Garden of Georgia at the University of Georgia and the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia. Camaria Welch, a graduate student in the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences, has created a curriculum of lesson plans and activities to help people understand the connection between nature and food, and how to develop healthy eating habits. During a summer camp at the garden, Welch used the curriculum, called Bee Smart Eat Smart, to help 5- to 10-year-olds plant seeds, decorate aprons and read books such as "Blueberries for Sal" by Robert McCloskey. They also did arts and crafts and participated in theater, acting out skits dressed as fruits and vegetables. |
| U. of Tennessee trustees end terms with approval of $1.2B budget, presidential bonuses | |
 | In the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees' final meeting on Friday -- a gathering System President Joe DiPietro found "bittersweet" -- the 26 members wrapped up business with several big-ticket agenda items that included awarding DiPietro bonuses totaling more than $168,000 and approving a $2.42 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The two-and-a-half hour long meeting trailed three committee meetings that spanned Thursday and Friday, with a tone that swayed from informational to emotional to at times humorous. DiPietro, who credited trustees for "unpaid hours" of work and "steadfast support," turned sentimental with his parting words to trustees in his presidential address, telling them, ""I pray that you'll be well, do good work and promise that we'll both keep in touch." Vice Chair Raja Jubran responded with emotion of his own, noting, "I find myself speechless." A new complexion of board members will take over starting in July. |
| System president: U. of Missouri will appeal ruling in union case | |
 | University of Missouri System President Mun Choi on Friday said UM would appeal a Boone County judge's ruling recognizing graduate assistants as employees. Judge Jeff Harris ruled in favor of the Coalition of Graduate Workers, which sued the University of Missouri in May 2016 after MU leaders refused to recognize the group as the official bargaining organization representing graduate assistants. Harris wrote that graduate workers are employees based the state constitution, common law principles and the ordinary meaning of the word "employee." The ruling directs the university to recognize and bargain with the Coalition of Graduate Workers as the exclusive bargaining agent of graduate workers. "We appreciate the graduate students," Choi said. "Our primary belief has not changed and that is graduate assistants are not employees. It is our intent to appeal." |
| Student-Debt Forgiveness Is a Wonderful Boon, Until the IRS Comes Calling | |
 | Students seeking relief on their college and graduate-school debt could be sitting on a hidden tax bomb: Billions of dollars in one-time bills from the Internal Revenue Service for any debt they get forgiven. The tax bills are a feature of the "income-driven repayment plans" that have been offered by the Education Department since 2007. One version of these plans allows borrowers to set their monthly student-loan payments at 10% of their discretionary income. The balances often grow over time because the payments aren't big enough to cover accruing interest. Private-sector workers pay for 20 or 25 years. At the end of that period, any remaining balance would be forgiven. Under federal tax rules, that disappearing debt is considered part of a borrower's income for that given year, and taxed as such. Those delayed tax bills are piling up. |
| Post-secondary search should begin early | |
| Angela Farmer, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Mississippi State, writes: "When it comes to an educational pathway for a student, the kindergarten through high school journey is fairly well mapped. Rather one selects a public or private school, typically the choices are limited to one's geographic area. However, when it comes time to begin the selection process for post-secondary work, the landscape changes drastically. Not only does it extend beyond the town or immediate region, it extends beyond the state and even sometimes beyond the country. ...Given the magnitude of the decision matrix, it is critical that parents begin working with their child early in their high school or even middle school years to try to select and deselect institutions." |
| Electing champions for military assets important to Mississippi | |
 | Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: "'The defense authorization act is one of the most consequential bills that Congress considers each year,' wrote Sen. Roger Wicker in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. 'I championed several provisions in this year's bill to advance our defense strategy and support the role that Mississippi plays in our national defense.' Mississippi bases, guard and reserve units, and defense industries do play important roles in our national defense. These military assets also provide good jobs. Having champions in Washington is absolutely critical to their survival. Mississippi voters should consider this in upcoming elections. In the 1991, 1993, 1995, and 2005 BRAC rounds, the base closure process, the late Congressman G. V. 'Sonny' Montgomery, former Senators Thad Cochran and Trent Lott, former Congressman Gene Taylor and then Congressman Roger Wicker played significant roles in protecting Mississippi assets." |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald hoping to make his mark as one of nation's elite in senior season | |
| It's been seven months since Nick Fitzgerald sat in the locker room at Davis Wade Stadium on Thanksgiving night, unable to help his team in its game against rival Ole Miss. As doctors put a cast on the Mississippi State quarterback's right leg, he watched a replay on his cellphone of the play that severely dislocated his ankle and ended his junior season. Fitzgerald, much like everybody else who saw it, couldn't stomach to watch it a second time. "Since then, I've pretty much steered clear of it," Fitzgerald said on Friday at the Manning Passing Academy. "It's not that I'm scared to look at it. I just don't like to see anyone in sports get injured, so I don't want to see anything that gruesome." Fitzgerald, limited in the spring, said he's back now. |
| USM Athletic Director Jon Gilbert looks back on calendar year | |
 | It's been over a year since Southern Miss hired Jon Gilbert as its athletic director on January 24, 2017. Golden Eagle athletics have been trending up since then. USM recently added beach volleyball to its repertoire and will break ground on a new indoor volleyball facility this week. Gilbert is especially proud of the USM's performance on and off the field. The Eagles boasted a 2.94 cumulative grade-point-average this academic year. "I've been excited," Gilbert said. "Number one, the community is exactly what I thought it would be. The people here, they care about athletics. They care about the institution as a whole. We've received a tremendous amount of support from our president, Dr. Rodney Bennett. He's been an advocate for our athletic department, which is really important. |
| Long-term contracts give Auburn coaching 'continuity' | |
| Allen Greene didn't come to Auburn with a set plan to sign all the university's top coaches to long-term extensions. Five months into his tenure as athletics director, though, that is exactly the case: The leaders of the Tigers' football, men's and women's basketball, baseball and softball programs are all under contract until at least 2022. "It was just a set of circumstances that presented themselves all at these times," Greene said Friday. "This was all just all stuff that kind of came in, so we were being very much reactionary." This month, Auburn announced it has extended men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl and women's basketball coach Terri Williams-Flournoy through 2023, and baseball coach Butch Thompson through 2024. "I think from an administrative standpoint, continuity is important," Greene said. |
| College World Series: Hogs rotation set vs. Beavers with Blaine Knight on mound | |
| Oregon State's pitching rotation, pristine and clean heading into the College World Series, has turned into a jumble during the Beavers' run-scoring binge through the loser's bracket with top arms Luke Heimlich and Bryce Fehmel struggling in two starts each. The Arkansas Razorbacks have gotten three solid starts from Blaine Knight, Kacey Martin and Isaiah Campbell and are in perfect order with better-than-normal rest heading into tonight's best-of-3 championship series at TD Ameritrade Park. Advantage Razorbacks from a pitching standpoint. Knight (13-0, 2.88 ERA), the right-hander from Bryant who returned for his junior year for precisely this moment, will open the series tonight at 6. |
| After CWS exit, Florida goal to replace core, sustain success | |
| Florida's fourth straight College World Series appearance ended short of the ultimate goal, repeating as national champions. The Gators still accomplished plenty during the 2018 season. Florida won an SEC regular season title and made it back to Omaha while finishing with a 49-21 overall record. UF was 41-11 through its first 52 games and was ranked No. 1 in major polls for most of the season before going 8-10 in its final 18 games, which included its season-ending loss to Arkansas on Friday night in the CWS semifinals. Now comes the hard part. Florida must replace the core of players who helped put together a remarkable four-year run, in which the Gators went 205-74 while reaching at least the CWS semifinals in three of the last four seasons. |
| Oregon State Out to Finish Redemption Tour Against Arkansas | |
| Oregon State has won 109 of 127 baseball games over two seasons with mostly the same cast of players. The Beavers see winning a national championship as the only way to validate their body of work. "Ultimately," Beavers coach Pat Casey said Sunday, "nobody cares how many games you win unless you win the last one." Standing between Oregon State (53-11-1) and the title is Arkansas (47-19) in the best-of-three College World Series finals starting Monday night. The Beavers have been on a redemption tour in 2018 with an everyday lineup including all but one player from last year and a pitching staff that returned two weekend starters. Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn is in awe of what the Pac-12's Beavers have accomplished. |
| Missouri men's basketball saw nearly $2.1M increase in ticket sales during 2017-18 season | |
| Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin was sitting with Michael Porter Jr., as he watched 13 players get picked ahead of him in Thursday's NBA Draft. Porter, who was once in the discussion for the top pick, was selected No. 14 by the Denver Nuggets. Porter's back injury, which limited him to 53 minutes of playing time at Missouri, scared off NBA general managers. "I don't think it was a question of talent, because everybody knew he had extreme talent," Martin said, in a local teleconference Friday morning. Despite playing in just two full games, and losing both of those in the Southeastern Conference Tournament and NCAA Tournament, the impact Porter had on the Missouri program was obvious. Not even Martin, who himself sent a jolt of energy back into the program when he was hired as the head coach in March, could take credit for the recognition Porter brought to the program. |
| Softball not 'on the radar' for Vanderbilt, the only SEC school without a team | |
 | The SEC's collective ascent in softball has reached new heights in the past two seasons as the conference saw all of its members reach the NCAA Tournament. The lone exception, of course, is Vanderbilt, which does not have a softball team. With as much success as the league is having in softball, Vanderbilt is not looking to join its SEC brethren anytime in the near future due mainly to the difficultly in building a facility on campus in Nashville. "Every year or every two years we go back and look at what we have and what we would like to have," Vanderbilt athletic director David Williams said. "I think 13's worked well for the league since the last two years all 13 have played in the postseason and this year Vandy won the women's bowling national championship," SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said. |
| Taking an early look at the favorites for SEC women's basketball in 2018-2019 | |
 | For the past half-decade in SEC women's basketball, it's been pretty much all South Carolina -- four consecutive tournament titles, four regular season crowns and a 71-9 conference record in that span. But as summer workouts rev up and more and more transfers announce their new schools, it's becoming increasingly clear that there is no far-and-away league favorite heading into the 2018-2019 season. A large reason for that is graduate transfer Anriel Howard. After news broke that Howard, a rebounding and double-double machine, was potentially leaving Texas A&M, it didn't take long for USC and Mississippi State to become the frontrunners for her services. But she won't be announcing a decision until August, and while that decision may tip the balance between Starkville and Columbia, there are still several other teams with realistic chances at topping the conference come March 2019. |
| Lane Kiffin: Security wanted me to wear bulletproof vest at Neyland while with Alabama | |
| Lane Kiffin said during a recent interview on ESPN's "Marty Smith's America The Podcast" that security recommended he wear a bulletproof vest when he made his return to Neyland Stadium in 2014 as Alabama's offensive coordinator. Kiffin wasn't having it. "I'm like, 'C'mon on, guys. This is football,'" Kiffin told Smith. "They're like, 'No, really.' "They had security with me the whole way, even walking on the field and stuff like that, but I'm like, 'I'm not wearing a vest, guys, all right?. That's a little bit over the top.'" Kiffin said he received some heckling from Vols fans, but "it was all in good fun. "That speaks of Tennessee's fans, how passionate they are," he said of the heckling. Kiffin described UT's fans as "awesome now," even if they were "weren't real good right when we left." |
| College scandals put sports doctors under new scrutiny | |
| Allegations of sexual abuse carried out over decades by team physicians at Michigan State and Ohio State are sending ripples through university athletics departments, with some schools exploring whether more oversight is needed for figures in such powerful positions. The scandals involving former Michigan State team doctor Larry Nassar, who was also a physician for USA Gymnastics, and Richard Strauss, a former Ohio State doctor, reveal how the trust and intimacy granted to team physicians can also provide cover for sexual predators. Groups that represent team doctors say it's hardly the only profession shaken by sex scandals, and they largely blame the recent cases on a couple bad seeds. Still, the fallout has left some doctors and colleges scrutinizing their practices. |
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