| Tuesday, July 24, 2018 |
| Board approves Starkville parking ordinance change | |
 | Starkville will soon put a new residential parking ordinance into effect after the change received approval from aldermen at last week's meeting. Aldermen approved the ordinance after several rounds of public feedback. The approved ordinance is largely the same, with some minor differences, as the proposal that was introduced when the city began mulling the matter in late May. City Community Development Director Buddy Sanders said the ordinance will take effect 30 days after Tuesday's meeting. Ward 5 Alderman Patrick Miller, who led the push for the new ordinance after receiving feedback from his constituents at a town hall meeting, said he was pleased to see it approved. "I think it's going to be great for protecting our property owners in the city of Starkville," he said. "It's something that will increase property values and do a lot in the future to protect our neighborhoods." |
| Former parks head indicted in embezzlement case | |
| Former Starkville Parks Director Herman Peters has been indicted for his role in an embezzlement case that rocked the department late last year. A grand jury indicted Peters for conspiracy to defraud the state on July 6. He was served his indictment and processed at the Oktibbeha County Jail on Monday. He's out on $5,000 bond, according to jail personnel. Starkville aldermen fired Peters on Jan. 2 after placing him on unpaid administrative leave in late December. Starkville Police Department arrested Peters on Jan. 18, along with three other former parks employees. Police also arrested Schronda Eddins, Anthony Stevenson and Marion Watson that same day. Diane Evans, a former parks and recreation administrative assistant, was arrested on Dec. 29. |
| Former Starkville Police Department officer indicted for aggravated assault | |
| A former Starkville Police Department officer has been indicted for aggravated assault after a June 2017 officer-involved shooting. An Oktibbeha County grand jury indicted Gary Wheeler, 25, in June. Wheeler was served with the indictment Monday morning and processed at the Oktibbeha County Jail. He's out of jail on $20,000 bond, according to jail personnel. Wheeler, according to circuit court documents, was indicted for shooting Zyterrious Gandy with a pistol on June 3, 2017. The indictment says Wheeler showed "extreme indifference to the value of human life," and caused "serious" bodily harm to Gandy. The shooting happened during an early morning pursuit after Gandy allegedly robbed the Sprint Mart at the intersection of Highway 12 and South Montgomery Street. Officers responded to the store at about 4:30 a.m. and began pursuing a vehicle, driven by Gandy, down South Montgomery Street to South Wedgewood Road. |
| Walmart shooting suspect indicted for capital murder | |
| The suspect in a fatal January shooting at the Walmart in west Starkville has been indicted for capital murder and aggravated assault. An Oktibbeha County grand jury indicted 41-year-old William Thomas Chisholm, of Kosciusko, for the charges in June. Chisholm, who was arrested in January following the shooting, is being held in the Oktibbeha County Jail without bond. Chisholm was charged with capital murder after a Jan. 13 shooting at the Walmart on Highway 12 West in Starkville. The shooting happened in the store's eye center, where Chisholm killed 42-year-old Shauna Witt, an optometrist from Maben. Police arrested Chisholm in the store parking lot after the shooting. |
| John B. Arnold indicted for attempted kidnapping, escape charges | |
| A Starkville man has been indicted for a quartet of charges for attempted kidnappings and an attempt to escape from jail from mid- to late-February. Grand jurors indicted 45-year-old John B. Arnold Jr. for two counts of attempted kidnapping and one count each of attempted escape and simple assault on a law enforcement officer. Starkville Police first arrested Arnold on Feb. 16 for attempted kidnapping after he tried to check a child out of Sudduth Elementary School without the parents' permission. He posted $100,000 bond for that charge. However, it was revoked and he was arrested again on Feb. 20 for attempting to contact one of the child's family members, in violation of Oktibbeha County Justice Court Judge Marty Haug's instructions with his bond. |
| Starkville-based Broadcast Media Group documentary pilot wins a Silver Telly | |
 | Broadcast Media Group, Inc. of Starkville won a Silver Telly Award for a documentary pilot produced in 2017, bringing the company's international production awards total to 25. "SideMen: Muscle Shoals" a documentary pilot produced for award-winning guitarist Crash Hamilton, was selected from a large group of submitted work from across the United States and around the world. A panel of more than 200 industry professionals judged the international competition with over 12,000 entries. "This project was so much fun to produce," said Robbie Coblentz, president of Broadcast Media Group. "To work with world-class musicians like Crash Hamilton and the Swampers was a professional highlight." |
| Mississippi Power's Eddie Kelly retiring, saying farewell to Meridian | |
 | After more than 35 years with Mississippi Power's parent company, Southern Company, Eddie Kelly is retiring at the end of this week as the division manager for Mississippi Power's Meridian Division. "This last five-year stretch in Meridian has been one of the best times I've had working with the company," said Kelly, 61. Kelly's last day with the company is Friday. From there, the Gulfport native plans to sell his home in Meridian and return to the Mississippi Gulf Coast -- possibly Bay St. Louis. "Eddie is a born leader -- whether it's in service to the communities we serve in East Mississippi, to our state, or most importantly, to our country," said Mississippi Power CEO Anthony Wilson. "He has been a driving force in the revitalization of downtown Meridian, the elevation of minority businesses in the region and nurturing win-win relationships like our partnership with MSU-Meridian." |
| MDOT grant to fund Lowndes County port extension | |
| The Lowndes County Port Authority has received a more than $450,000 grant from Mississippi Department of Transportation to expand the West Bank Port location. The project, which will cost approximately $476,317, will add a 250-foot crane rail extension, allowing operators to offload two barges simultaneously, increasing the capacity of raw materials to be off-loaded and taken to Steel Dynamics, Inc., according to a press release the Port Authority released last week. MDOT will provide $466,317 in grant funding for the project, leaving the remaining $10,000 for the Lowndes County Port Authority to fund. "We're very fortunate that MDOT allows this grant every year," said Will Sanders, director for the Port Authority. "Without these types of funds, we would not be able to continue these economic development projects every year." |
| Neshoba County Fair: Political speaking overview | |
 | The Neshoba County Fair is considered to be the political forum for the State of Mississippi. This year more than 20 political speakers will come to the fair to make their speeches at the pavilion in Founders Square. Candidates from the races for U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate will be speaking, along with people running in local and state elections. Fair organizers say this is a unique way for the people to listen to the politicians and get to know them in a relaxed environment. "They are more accessible. The public can have the opportunity, if they want to, to walk up to these officials and talk to them about issues or about things that may be on their mind politically," says vice- president and program director of the fair board, Scott Bounds. |
| PSC's Brandon Presley looks to electric cooperatives to solve state's rural digital divide | |
 | Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley believes access to high speed internet in rural areas is as important now as was providing electricity in the early 20th century. "It is the No. 1 request that comes to the PSC," Presley said. "It is what I get asked about everywhere I go. "I stop into a country store to get a Coca Cola, and the first thing I am asked is when are we going to get internet." Presley, a Nettleton Democrat, believes Mississippi's 25 rural electric power cooperatives can play a vital role in providing high speed internet to underserved areas. As chair of the PSC, which provides oversight and regulations to Mississippi utilities, he said internet access is a major issue for him. |
| How much money have Mississippi special U.S. Senate candidates raised? | |
 | Appointed Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith out-raised her opponents for November's special election to replace Thad Cochran by well over $1 million from April 1 through June 30. Hyde-Smith raised nearly $1.6 million for the period. Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mike Espy raised more than $308,000 and Republican state Sen. Chris McDaniel raised $272,000. This includes loans of $111,000 and $55,000, respectively, that Espy and McDaniel loaned their own campaigns. No report was available for a fourth, little known candidate, Democrat Tobey Bartee. The race could play a big role nationally in the partisan battle for control of the Senate. For Hyde-Smith, raising lots of campaign cash could serve another purpose: landing an endorsement from President Donald Trump. Raising substantial campaign funds is reportedly one of the benchmarks the Trump White House set for Hyde-Smith as prerequisite for a potential endorsement by the president. |
| Mississippi lawmaker seeks investigation of prison escape | |
 | A Mississippi lawmaker is asking the attorney general's office to investigate the recent prison escape of a convicted murderer, saying there was a two-hour delay in notifying the public that put people in harm's way. Republican Sen. Dennis DeBar of Leakesville said the escape of Michael F. Wilson was "very traumatic" for people who live near South Mississippi Correctional Institution. Wilson, also known as "Pretty Boy Floyd," escaped July 5 from the prison in Greene County. He was captured July 7 in Ocean Springs, about 70 miles south of the prison. Electronic billboards around the state flashed Floyd's picture and warned he could be dangerous. The senator said he thinks the Mississippi Department of Corrections "may not conduct a fair and impartial review" and may not release findings to the public. |
| Appropriations, Trade Policy Keep K Street Swamped | |
 | Work on appropriations bills and consternation over new tariffs helped keep K Street in business this year, as the midterm elections begin to cast a shadow over the Capitol. Some of the biggest spenders on federal lobbying reported a slight dip in what they shelled out during the year's second quarter versus what they posted during the first quarter. And some multi-client lobbying firms posted flat, or fewer, fees. But overall, the political and policy uncertainty of the Trump era has continued to fuel business in the swamp, even as campaign season is poised to hit full swing in the coming months. Certain sectors and companies, such as Facebook, posted record tabs for federal lobbying, while Congress put the spotlight on them. The Trump administration's agenda to roll back myriad regulations has also spurred client interest, as has opposition to the president's tariffs, including those for steel and aluminum. |
| Trump Weighs Stripping Security Clearances From Officials Who Criticized Him | |
 | President Trump threatened on Monday to strip the security clearances of top former officials who criticized his refusal to confront Russia over its election interference, signaling a willingness to use the powers of the presidency to retaliate against some of his most outspoken detractors. The suggestion marked an unusual politicization of the security clearance process by a president who has routinely questioned the loyalties of national security and law enforcement officials and dismissed some of their findings -- particularly the conclusion that Moscow intervened in the 2016 election -- as attacks against him. "It is intended to punish and intimidate his critics and is shameful," said Jeffrey H. Smith, a former general counsel for the C.I.A. He compared it to the so-called red scare of the 1950s, when J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who helped develop the atomic bomb, had his security clearance revoked because of fears over his associations with Communists. |
| Trump stokes Iran tensions with threats of dire consequences for Tehran | |
 | Tension between the United States and Iran escalated Monday after President Trump appeared to threaten military action in a bellicose tweet and Iranian officials vowed to resist any attempt to destabilize their country. The president issued his warning in an all-caps, late-night tweet to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday, renewing speculation about a direct confrontation between the Trump administration and its chief adversary in the Middle East. Trump's message exposed the disjointed nature of his administration's strategy on Iran, as officials across the government continue to put economic and political pressure on Tehran despite the president's sudden hint at a military strike. |
| Tennessee Could Be A Bright Spot For Republican Women In 2018 | |
 | In an election year shaping up to be a good one for Democratic women candidates, Republican women could see their numbers drop after November. But one state where GOP women might find success is in Tennessee. Rep. Marsha Blackburn will go up against former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen in one of the year's most critical and competitive Senate races. Rep. Diane Black is running for governor, though she first has to win a very competitive primary next week. A win by either woman this fall would be historic for Tennessee, which is one of only seven states that's never had a female senator or governor. But both women have broken gender barriers. During college, Blackburn became one of the first female saleswomen for Southwestern Company, a door-to-door book company that attracted many conservatives. She was rejected when she first applied because she was a woman, but the company finally hired her, though with a catch -- she had to live at home in Mississippi with her parents, while the male salesmen were allowed to travel between cities. |
| 'Unite the Right' anniversary: White nationalists want to rally in D.C. -- and Charlottesville | |
 | When hundreds of neo-Nazis and white supremacists held a rally a year ago in Charlottesville, Virginia, the demonstration turned into a riot that left one woman dead and shocked the nation. For the August anniversary, the torch-carrying, swastika-bearing protesters want to repeat their demonstration in Charlottesville and in Washington, D.C. But those who are part of the increasingly visible far-right sentiment in America now face divisions within their own movement and seem unlikely to rally in the same large numbers as last year. Jason Kessler, who organized last year's event under the banner "Unite the Right," was denied a permit to gather in Charlottesville this year, but he will fight that decision in a court hearing Tuesday. In Washington, Kessler's permit application for an Aug. 12 rally received initial approval and details are being worked out. |
| Honda announces $54.8 million expansion in Alabama | |
 | Honda is announcing another expansion at its Talladega County, Alabama, factory, a little more than a year after its last one. The automaker is pumping another $54.8 million into the plant, adding more than 50,000-square-feet to its Line 2 operations. The project is expected to be finished in early 2021. The company said the project will "improve vehicle manufacturing flexibility, strengthen the efficiency for future models and prepare for future technologies." Honda Manufacturing of Alabama employs more than 4,500 people and has invested more than $2.6 billion in its plant, which annually produces more than 340,000 vehicles and engines. The news also continues a series of major automotive announcements for Alabama. Since late March of 2017, Alabama has announced seven vehicle production projects, totaling more than 5,400 jobs and encompassing more than $3.3 billion in investments. |
| Crosswalk planned to connect UMMC, stadium parking lot | |
| A crosswalk is in the works to help University of Mississippi Medical Center workers safely cross State Street. About 25,000 cars travel State Street every day, which forces hundreds of hospital workers and students to dodge speeding cars to get to and from UMMC. The Mississippi Department of Transportation will soon begin construction on a new $1.5 million traffic project at UMMC. The new crosswalk will be open in about three months and will have new safety features. The existing crosswalk will be restriped at Back Yard Burger and a new traffic signal will be added on the other side of the hospital on Woodrow Wilson at Peachtree Street. |
| James Meredith, Man Who Integrated Ole Miss, Chosen for Alumni Hall of Fame | |
| The University of Mississippi is honoring the man who integrated the campus in 1962. James Meredith of Jackson is one of five people being inducted into the Ole Miss alumni hall of fame during homecoming in October. The list of honorees also includes longtime U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran of Oxford, who retired in April. Meredith sued to gain admission as the first black student at Ole Miss and was escorted by federal marshals amid violence that erupted on campus. |
| Northeast Mississippi Community College honored as 'Great Place To Work' | |
 | It's another honor for Northeast Mississippi Community College, this time from The Chronicle of Higher Education. That national publication released its rankings, and NEMCC made the list for its teaching environment. NEMCC President Ricky Ford says it's important to foster and encourage a positive and morale-boosting work environment. "One of the things we try and do here at Northeast is provide an atmosphere that's conducive to learning for students, but it's also conducive for people to want to come to work and provide great working environment, great working hours and also support from the administration so we try to do all of that , and we're proud of that and proud to be selected to this," said Ford. |
| Starkville Bridges donates $22.5K to EMCC for veterans' scholarships | |
| A $22,500 donation by the nonprofit organization Starkville Bridges to East Mississippi Community College will provide scholarships to eligible U.S. military veterans who served on foreign soil. Starkville Bridges President Lynn Phillips-Gaines presented a $22,500 check from the organization to EMCC Executive Director of College Advancement Marcus Wood on July 19. The money will be used to establish a scholarship fund that will provide up to $1,500 per semester to qualified veterans who are enrolled in technical programs offered through EMCC's Manufacturing, Technology and Engineering Division. MTE Division Veteran Scholarships will be available to qualified veterans enrolled in one of the following programs: Automation & Control, Automotive, Computer Networking, Computer Programming, Database Administration, Diesel Mechanics, Drafting & Design, Electrical, Electro-Mechanical, Industrial Maintenance, Mechatronics, Network Security, Precision Manufacturing & Machining, or Welding Programs. |
| Northwest Mississippi Community College responds to tuberculosis case | |
| Northwest Mississippi Community College is cooperating with the Mississippi Department of Health following a possible tuberculosis exposure at the college's Oxford campus. The college released a statement on Friday, July 20, saying the administration is committed to doing everything they can to "ensure the health and safety" of students. "This week, the college was informed that a limited number of students, less than 50, may have had contact in the late spring with an individual who later tested positive for active TB," the statement said. According to Liz Sharlot, communications director at MSDH, all people who may have been exposed by the second case have been contacted and have either tested or set up a time to do so. "People don't need to freak out. Whoever has been exposed to the two confirmed cases has been contacted," Sharlot said last week. "The only way to contract TB is through prolonged, daily exposure." |
| U. of Arkansas Names New Vice Provost For Planning | |
 | Colleen Briney, who has had a 35-year career with the University of Arkansas, has been appointed as vice provost for planning, effective Aug. 1. She succeeds Kathy Van Laningham, who retired in May. Briney is the associate vice chancellor for business affairs in the Office of Business Affairs. She started working for the UA in 1983 in the Office of Financial Affairs, as property accounting supervisor and associate controller. Briney has also held financial positions in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food & Life Sciences, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the Sam M. Walton College of Business and the College of Engineering. She has served as associate vice chancellor for business affairs since 2015. |
| After years of steering clear, U. of Florida poised to study hemp | |
 | The University of Florida used to have a hands-off approach to Cannabis sativa, the plant cultivated for recreational and medical marijuana. But the Florida Legislature changed that last year, when it authorized state land-grant universities (UF and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University) to begin researching industrial hemp, another product of the plant. Next month, UF will host three workshops for those interested in hemp, whether it be future growers or those who want to be a part of the industry when it begins to grow. "What we need to engage in is a multi-level educational engagement," said Rob Gilbert, chairman of the agronomy department at UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. UF/IFAS is researching industrial hemp and focusing on three things: hemp varieties that grow across Florida, the development of management practices and ways to mitigate the risk of hemp posing an invasive threat to state agricultural crops. |
| Aggie family trains former Texas A&M research dog to help teen with muscular dystrophy | |
 | When Austin Stelly, a 14-year-old from Arnaudville, Louisiana, met College Station resident Kyle Cox while the two were receiving treatment at a Cincinnati hospital, he fell in love with Cox's service dog, Amber. Just being around Amber brightened Stelly's day and made the teen -- who, like Cox, has Duchenne muscular dystrophy -- long for his own four-legged helper. "He said, 'Mom, I'm feeling better, and I'm really interested in getting a service dog,'" Trina Stelly said. But while the Stellys applied to nonprofits offering service animals only to not make the cut for various reasons, Kyle Cox, 22, and his mother, Kristen, were training one of Texas A&M's former research dogs to one day live with Stelly and help him with his daily tasks. On Friday, Stelly -- who thought he was headed to Waco to visit the Magnolia Market -- was surprised with Astro, who greeted him by jumping up on his wheelchair. |
| U. of Missouri guns to work lawsuit to start Wednesday | |
 | In the final filings before a hearing Wednesday on whether University of Missouri employees can bring their guns to work, attorneys for the university took aim at the legal reasoning of Attorney General Josh Hawley's main argument in support of a law professor who initiated the suit. A major part of the case involves the meaning of a statute intended to allow state employees to have concealable weapons in their locked cars while they are on the job. Attorney Logan Rutherford wrote on behalf of UM that the state incorrectly views a provision barring criminal prosecution for having the gun in the car as a statutory right that overrules university regulations. "This is of course quite wrong," Rutherford wrote. In reply, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Bremer wrote that it is Rutherford, not the state, who is seeking to find something in the law that is not there. |
| Three years after protests, educators plant seeds for 'black history renaissance' at Missouri | |
 | James S. Rollins, known as the father of the University of Missouri, owned 34 slaves. Not all 4 million slaves were freed under the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. Between 1877 and 1950, white mobs lynched 60 black Americans in Missouri. When Ashley Woodson, associate director of the MU Carter Center for K-12 Black History Education, shared facts of this kind with history teachers, many were astounded. Some were hearing them for the first time. Most were uncertain how to approach such topics in the classroom. It's not surprising, but it's something Woodson and her colleague, LaGarrett King, the founding director of the newly launched Carter Center, are working to change. Drawing on years of professional and personal experiences, the center's founders say a better understanding of the history of all Americans is key to creating a more equitable society. |
| Betsy DeVos Will Join Turning Point USA, Conservative Campus Group, at Conference | |
 | Secretary Betsy DeVos of the U.S. Education Department will appear alongside Charlie Kirk, the controversial founder of Turning Point USA, as part of the group's High School Leadership Summit, taking place this week in Washington, the Education Department announced on Monday. Turning Point USA is a right-wing group that has caused an upheaval among campus conservatives, with some criticizing it for undermining conservatism at colleges writ large. It has also faced allegations of racism in its ranks. DeVos will be joining a lineup that includes conservative lawmakers like Rep. Kevin McCarthy, majority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives; Sen. Orrin Hatch, Republican of Utah; and former Trump staff members like Sean Spicer and Anthony Scaramucci, as well as right-wing personalities like Turning Point's Kirk and Candace Owens. The billionaires Mark Cuban and Peter Thiel are also on the list. Other members of the administration -- Jeff Sessions, the attorney gerneral, and Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations -- are also slated to speak. |
| Researchers say proposed EPA rule would throw out good science | |
 | Higher ed associations and scientific societies in recent weeks have joined a chorus of opposition to a proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule that would limit the use of science for crafting regulations where all underlying data aren't publicly available. The proposal fits into a decades-long debate over what data should be made public from research that informs government policy making. More recently, arguments for data transparency have been wielded by critics of environmental regulations, such as Representative Lamar Smith, the outgoing chair of the House science committee who has been a vocal opponent of new environmental regulations. The agency says the proposal, which was announced in April, would ensure it pursues its public health mission in a manner the public can trust and understand. But university and medical groups that back scientific research say the rule would prevent EPA from using the best research available. |
| Clemson's massive, $212 million complex on track to open by move-in | |
 | Clemson University's massive, seven-building complex is on track to open by the first day of school, a university official said Friday. Douthit Hills will house 780 students, a dining hall and ground-level shops, according to the university's website. On Friday, construction equipment was still visible around and inside the glass windows of the $212 million complex's main building, referred to as "the Hub." Shelves at the ground-level market were assembled, complete with signs, but sat empty. Employees at the adjacent Starbucks worked around light fixtures that had yet to be hung to put finishing touches on the coffee shop. But Clemson spokesman Joe Galbraith said it will be ready to go before classes start August 22. |
| Why Russian Spies Really Like American Universities | |
| If the charges against Maria Butina are accurate, she's only the latest in a long line of Russian agents to go undercover on U.S. campuses. Dating back to the Soviet era, Russian spies have sought to take advantage of academia's lax security, collaborative, global culture, and revolving door with government. Russian intelligence understands that today's professor of international relations may be tomorrow's assistant secretary of state, and vice versa. Although cyber-spying and hacking offer opportunities to glean secrets at less personal risk, the traditional strategies of human espionage persist, and sending a spy to school is prominent among them. In that respect, little has changed since 1938, when Semyon Markovich Semyonov became the first Soviet agent to enroll at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. |
| Leaders advise business officers on how best to contain campus crises | |
| It takes most colleges and universities a generation or several to build their reputations. How long does it take to potentially tear one down? Less than an hour, in many cases. In the case of the Citadel, the answer was 14 minutes, which was the length of an entire event -- some of which was captured in photographs that went worldwide in a matter of moments -- in which a group of student cadets sang Christmas carols while wearing pointy white pillowcases with eyeholes on their heads, evoking the Ku Klux Klan. Fortunately for them, as a group of current and former Citadel administrators explained at a session here at the annual meeting of the National Association of College and University Business Officers, they hadn't been sitting idly by as protests roiled peer institutions. But officials at the Citadel didn't just talk about how they might handle such a crisis; as a military-oriented institution, the college used a distinctly disciplined, regimented approach to crisis management, its leaders explained. Its key elements: Transparency. Core values. And practice -- lots of it. |
| 'Roadgate' has promise as issue in governor's race | |
 | Longtime Mississippi journalist Charlie Mitchell writes: As things stood, there was no red meat on the table if, as expected, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves squared off with Attorney General Jim Hood in next year's contest to be governor of Mississippi. Without "roadgate," Reeves would tar Hood as a Democrat (a cuss word to most white Mississippians) and claim Hood is a clone of Nancy Pelosi. Hood would campaign low-key and point out that Reeves, as a Republican, is no friend to working people. That all changed with one news story reported excellently by Jackson media. |
SPORTS
| Xaria Wiggins ready to contribute for Mississippi State women's basketball program | |
| Xaria Wiggins is serious about basketball. The fact that Wiggins started to work with personal trainer Nadine Domond, a family friend, on her basketball skills when she was 6 years old tells you all you need to know about her commitment to the sport. Wiggins started training at such an early age in part because she wanted to be like her sister, Alliyah Floyd, who went on to play basketball at Elizabeth City State (N.C.). Wiggins' father, Major, also played basketball at North Carolina Wilmington, so it's easy to see why she is motivated to be the best she can be. "I want to follow in their footsteps," Wiggins said. Wiggins is part of the Mississippi State women's basketball team's Class of 2018. |
| Mississippi State women to face Texas in 2018 SEC/Big 12 Challenge | |
 | Reigning SEC champion and back-to-back National Finalist Mississippi State will travel to Texas as part of the 2018 SEC/Big 12 Challenge, the two league offices announced on Monday. The teams will face off at the Frank Erwin Center on Sun., Dec. 2. Time and television availability will be announced at a later date. The contest will be the third between the teams in the last four years. Vic Schaefer's squad won the last meeting 79-68 in Starkville in 2016 to even the overall series record at two wins apiece. Schaefer's Bulldogs are coming off a program-record 37-2 campaign in 2017-18. State recorded the second-longest win streak in SEC history (32-straight wins) and put together a perfect 16-0 league mark en route to claiming the program's first SEC title and a second-straight appearance in the national championship game. |
| Mississippi State meets Texas in SEC/ Big 12 Challenge | |
| Mississippi State's women's basketball team will participate in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge this year. The Bulldogs will travel to Texas to take on the Longhorns on Dec. 2 with time and television details to be determined at a later date. It will be the third time MSU has met Texas in the last four years. The Bulldogs won the previous contest 79-68 at home in 2016 to even the series mark at two wins apiece. |
| Last Chance U now first class in classroom | |
| One of Abby Jenkins' first interactions as East Mississippi Community College's new athletic academic advisor last year was a conversation she had with the football team during a meeting. In the year before her arrival, the Lions were winners of 11 games and the Mississippi Bowl, further solidifying East Mississippi's status as the National Junior College Athletic Association's premier program. Although the football credentials were impressive, Jenkins felt the team was capable of achieving academic milestones. So during that meeting, she offered a challenge to the team. "I stood there and said, 'How cool would it be to be able to say that you were the national champions on the field and in the classroom?'" Jenkins recalled. In June, East Mississippi was named the NJCAA's Football Academic Team of the Year after posting a 3.01 composite grade-point average. |
| U. of Alabama opens $15 million dining hall for athletes | |
 | It's been a three-year wait since the University of Alabama put its order in. Now, the new Alabama Athletics Dining Facility is ready to begin serving. The facility was officially opened on Monday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring head coach Nick Saban, director of athletics Greg Byrne, president Stuart Bell, director of performance nutrition Amy Bragg and student-athletes. The 25,000-square foot dining hall opened earlier this month and began serving meals to the football team. The project cost a little more than $15 million, said assistant athletics director Brandon Sevedge. "To my knowledge, there's no place with this kind of square footage and the ability to feed an entire athletic department this way," Bragg said. "We're very, very fortunate." The idea for the facility began when the NCAA passed legislation that allowed schools to provide unlimited meals and snacks to student-athletes in 2014. |
| Is it time for the SEC to think about changing its conference scheduling model? | |
 | SEC football teams have played eight conference games every season since 1992. Those opponents have been determined based on a 6-1-1 model since the league expanded to 14 teams in 2012 -- six games against the other members of a seven-team division, one against a permanent cross-division rival and one that rotates between the other six teams in the other division. That was the "clear preference" among the league's coaches when the SEC last reviewed scheduling in 2014, commissioner Greg Sankey said Monday at SEC Media Days. For some, it may no longer be. On Thursday, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn joined Alabama coach Nick Saban in advocating for a nine-game conference schedule. The argument against changing the SEC's scheduling model is that the current one has been so lucrative. |
| LSU coach Paul Mainieri explains why Tulane home-and-home series has 'run its course' | |
 | When it came to the annual home-and-home series with Tulane, LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri was finding it hard from his perspective to think of reasons for it to continue. Especially when LSU has made a practice during his tenure of having other in-state programs to play annually at Alex Box Stadium while playing at their ballparks generally every five or six seasons. "I keep hearing from all these other schools, 'How come you treat Tulane differently from us?' " Mainieri said Monday at his annual mid-summer media session. "I was finding it increasingly difficult to answer that question rationally." As a result, and for some other mitigating factors, LSU and Tulane will not play in baseball in 2019, the first time that has happened since 1936. Mainieri said ending the home-and-home series will give LSU greater flexibility in its non-conference schedule. |
| Coaching school: Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher stresses importance of relationships in building program | |
| Nearly everything Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher said came back to one thing: relationships. Fisher, speaking in front of the media at the Texas High School Coaches Association coaching school on Monday, stressed the importance of those bonds, whether it be with a potential player or fellow coach, when it comes to building a program. Fisher said players have been "tremendous" in adjusting to changes ahead of his first season at A&M and credits team leadership and the coaching staff with facilitating those changes. Figuring out how to motivate individual players is one of the biggest challenges in a new program for Fisher, who said he honored the commitments of all of the recruits who had pledged to A&M before he took over. While he looks for dependability and accountability in players, he knows some of that will develop during a player's time in college. |
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