| Thursday, July 26, 2018 |
| 'Maroon Goes Green' How Mississippi State is making campus eco-friendly | |
 | Mississippi State's campus is becoming greener. It's a part of ongoing sustainability efforts and projects. It's called "Maroon Goes Green." "We've signed a document saying that we will be carbon neutral by 2042, and so we're working to reduce our waste and increase our energy efficiency to help make that goal," said MSU Sustainability Coordinator, Christine Lashley. In order to reach the goal, Mississippi State is doing things to save energy and increase recycling across campus. "For the last 10 years, we have been on an energy efficiency effort and we've seen the university avoid about $50 million in natural gas and electricity costs, due to using technologies and undergoing initiatives that help us reduce our energy usage on campus," said MSU Associate Director of Engineering Services, J.D. Hardy. That includes high-tech lighting and climate control solutions. |
| Starkville-Oktibbeha Superintendent Eddie Peasant recognized as outstanding administrator | |
 | A prestigious award has gone to Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Superintendent Eddie Peasant. On Monday, Peasant was presented with the 2018 Outstanding Administrator award by Mississippi Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (MACTE), selected by Mississippi State University. Peasant was presented with the award by MSU College of Education Dean Richard Blackbourn at the MACTE Excellence in Education Awards Ceremony in Vicksburg. MACTE is an association of 15 both public and private institutions training teachers in Mississippi. "He has been a good partner to Mississippi State," Blackbourn said. "We are working closely on many issues, but one that's of great interest of course, is the Partnership School. We're working on it closely, so we've got a great partnership with him and other people in the district, and we were very excited to have the opportunity to recognize him for his hard work." |
| Reward increases in shooting of pregnant dolphin in Waveland | |
 | When gentle waves off the Mississippi Coast pushed a dead bottlenose dolphin onto the beach in Waveland in April, nothing seemed amiss and there were no signs of harm. But veterinarians have since learned the female carrying a full-term calf died of a gunshot wound. And now, animal agencies have increased the reward to $11,500 for identification of the shooter. A beachgoer saw the dolphin April 30 between Buccaneer State Park and Clermont Harbor, said Mobi Solangi, executive director of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport. He said it appeared "freshly dead" but didn't have any obvious signs of the cause of death. IMMS workers put the dolphin in a freezer for safekeeping until veterinarians from Mississippi State University could make the 250-mile drive from Starkville for a necropsy. |
| Neshoba County Fair returns with political speeches, late-night concerts, cabin hospitality | |
 | The last week of July is approaching quickly, marking an unofficial regional holiday -- the beginning of the 129th Neshoba County Fair. The sun is hot, power poles are crowded with political signs, and fairgoers are slowly trickling in, ready for another year of "Mississippi's Giant Houseparty." Over the years, the fair has been called a family reunion, a fraternity party, a gospel concert, or a combination of all three, but one thing it has solidified its presence as is the state's premier political stump, and this year will be no different, according to Vice President of the Fair Association C. Scott Bounds. This year's fair will commence on Friday, July 27, with a flurry of activities from midway rides to agricultural exhibits to rodeos. |
| Neshoba County Fair kicks off Friday | |
 | The Popes, Ladds, Johnsons and Watkins have watched Neshoba County Fairgoers walk or ride past their cabin near the main gate for five decades. From the porch of Cabin 111, Dorean Pope of Philadelphia has a perfect view of Gate 2, what many Fairgoers know as the "main gate." The 129th edition of the Neshoba County Fair will open on Friday for eight exciting days of entertainment, arts and crafts, political speeches, harness and running horse races and much, much more. Cabin 111 is just one of over 600 cabins and 575 campers that will soon be filled with people excited to take part in Mississippi's Giant House Party. The Harper and Morgan Rodeo will be at the grandstand on Friday and Saturday nights beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday will begin with the Heart of Dixie Triathlon which begins at Lake Tiak O'Khata in Louisville at 6:30 a.m. and will end at the Grandstand. An arts and crafts flea market will take place on Founders Square from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. The Thacker Mountain Radio Show gets underway Saturday at 8 p.m. |
| Retailers, shoppers await tax-free weekend | |
 | With summer winding down and the next academic year set to begin in about two weeks, shoppers will be packing stores for back-to-school deals. The National Retail Federation projects total spending for K-12 schools and colleges combined to reach $82.8 billion, down slightly from last year's $83.6 billion. This weekend will be especially busy in Northeast Mississippi, as the eighth-annual sales tax holiday begins Friday at 12:01 a.m. and ends Saturday at midnight. The sales tax break is applied to clothing and shoes that are priced less than $100 each. Qualified items include clothes, coats and shoes that aren't for special activities. For a complete list, visit the Mississippi Department of Revenue website at dor.ms.gov. |
| Gov. Phil Bryant: First Lady is armed and ready for burglars | |
 | Mississippi's governor has a warning for burglars: His wife is armed and waiting. Republican Gov. Phil Bryant tweeted Tuesday night: "Had a burglary at our little farm in Copiah County. Asked the First Lady not to go down until we find the perpetrators. Her response: I'm taking my AR down and waiting on their (expletive)!!!!" Bryant and his wife, Deborah, own nearly 19 acres in Copiah County, about 50 miles southwest of Jackson. The governor's spokesman referred questions Wednesday to the Copiah County sheriff, who did not immediately return a call. |
| US Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith pledges support for Supreme Court nominee | |
 | U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) pledged to advocate for the confirmation of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Hyde-Smith met with Kavanaugh on Wednesday. "I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Judge Kavanaugh. His qualifications are excellent, and he has a genuine concern for our country, and for upholding the Constitution and rule of law," Hyde-Smith said in a news release. Kavanaugh's visit comes as the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to conduct confirmation proceedings. Kavanaugh currently serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and would fill the seat vacated by retiring Justice Anthony M. Kennedy if confirmed. |
| Hundreds of Mississippi kids without therapies amid state contract delay | |
| Hundreds of Mississippi's most vulnerable children have missed early intervention therapies this month because of an administrative hang-up between the Department of Health and the Department of Finance and Administration. These children are enrolled in Mississippi's First Steps, a federally mandated program that provides a variety of therapies to children under three who've been diagnosed with disabilities and developmental delays. New contracts with therapists should have taken effect July 1, the first day of the new fiscal year. But the Department of Health still hasn't processed hundreds of its contracts and has asked the program's therapists to hold off on providing services until they do. The Department declined to provide a date for when that might be. But therapists said even a few weeks of delays can set these children back months. |
| Sam Andrews takes over as Mayor George Flaggs Jr.'s new assistant | |
| Vicksburg native Sam Andrews has been named Mayor George Flaggs Jr.'s new executive assistant, replacing Brian Boykins, who is leaving the mayor's office Aug. 24. A graduate of St. Aloysius High School and Mississippi State University, Andrews has a bachelor's degree in marketing and communications, and received the Student Executive Council's Dr. Mark E. Keenum Presidential Award at Mississippi State. In a written release about Andrews' appointment, Flaggs said he will focus on communication, represent the mayor at speaking engagements when needed, and help coordinate meetings and have other interoffice responsibilities. He will also have a role in coordinating relationships with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. |
| Farm groups go on anti-tariff blitz after Trump offers trade aid | |
 | Farm groups are going on the offensive with a multimillion-dollar advertising and advocacy campaign against President Donald Trump's tariffs just days after the administration rolled out a $12 billion bailout for farmers harmed by a mounting trade war. The launch of the campaign also comes as Trump is due to be in Iowa and Illinois on Thursday, where he is likely to reassure farmers growing increasingly anxious over trade retaliation that has targeted soybeans, pork and other major farm commodities. "Agriculture is a giant and it takes a while to wake it up, but when it wakes up you better watch out," said Brian Kuehl, executive director of Farmers for Free Trade, which is organizing the campaign. The nonprofit group, which is backed by the American Farm Bureau Federation and major commodity groups like the National Pork Producers Council, is investing $2.5 million in the four-month campaign aimed at showcasing how the tariffs are causing pain among U.S. farmers and manufacturers because of Trump's trade policies. |
| Farmers prefer Trump do trade deals than hand them cash | |
| Many farmers remain critical of President Donald Trump's tariffs and the damage done to commodity prices and markets but were appreciative Tuesday that he offered to provide some cash to help offset their losses. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a $12 billion three-part plan that would borrow money from the U.S. Treasury to pay producers of soybeans, sorghum, corn, wheat, cotton, dairy, and hogs. The USDA also will buy the surplus of commodities that would otherwise have been exported and distribute them to food banks and other nutrition programs. That will cover fruits, nuts, rice, legumes, beef, pork and milk. "This is a short-term solution to allow President Trump time to work on long-term trade deals to benefit agriculture and the entire U.S. economy," said Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. Farmers said they would rather have Trump settle the trade disputes with China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union and get free trade flowing again. |
| Alabama's Doug Jones co-sponsors Senate bill to stave off Trump's auto tariffs | |
 | A day after criticizing President Trump's plan to implement tariffs on foreign-made cars, trucks and auto parts as "the worst," U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., teamed up with a Republican senator from Tennessee on a bill that would delay the tariffs by prompting a study on the auto industry. "His tariffs are not leading to more manufacturing jobs in Alabama; instead they have manufactured a crisis that threatens to permanently harm our businesses and our farms," Jones said in a floor speech Wednesday. Alabama's junior senator said 500,000 Alabama jobs, or one in four jobs in the stat, are tied to global trade. "Those jobs are needlessly at risk today," he said. The bill sponsored by Jones and Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander would delay the implementation of the tariffs until the International Trade Commission studies the impacts of the tariffs on American jobs. |
| Sharp Increase In Gun Suicides Signals Growing Public Health Crisis | |
 | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's best data, from 2006 through 2016, show that roughly 218,000 Americans ended their lives using a firearm over that period. "I believe we have a major public health crisis that we're not doing nearly enough about," said Jennifer Stuber, policy director of Forefront Suicide Prevention at the University of Washington, which works to educate people in gun culture about the risks of firearm suicide. Paul Nestadt, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins who studies suicide at the School of Public Health, agreed. "As I looked into suicide more and more it became very clear that access to lethal means, specifically guns, was one of the most important risk factors that we could address," he said. Another important finding in Nestadt's research and other studies shows that the people most at risk of gun suicide tend to be white men in America's small towns. That means they're the people most deeply attached to gun culture. |
| MVSU professor appointed to FLHCF board | |
 | A Mississippi Valley State University professor was recently appointed to the board of a local organization devoted to eradicating cancer, particularly in the Mississippi Delta. MVSU Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Dr. Mark Dugo has joined the board of directors for the Fannie Lou Hamer Cancer Foundation. The Ruleville-based non-profit was founded and is led by MVSU alumna Freddie White-Johnson (82'). Its mission includes preventing cancer in the Mississippi Delta by increasing awareness and establishing a public agenda for the prevention of cancer. Dugo brings to the organization a wealth of knowledge in the areas of health disparities and the underlying causes of cancer. |
| Governor approves state takeover of Noxubee County School District | |
| The Noxubee County School district will lose local control and be placed under state leadership, Gov. Phil Bryant announced Wednesday. The announcement came via the governor's Facebook page, where he wrote, "I believe this to be in the best interest of students, and the most effective way to set the District on a path toward academic and financial health." The state board of education will replace the local school board. Superintendent Roger Liddell will be replaced by George Gilreath, a temporary interim superintendent, and Rodriguez Broadnax will ultimately serve as the interim superintendent. Under this model, the Noxubee County will have an interim superintendent until the district earns an accountability grade of C or higher for five years. |
| White House bars U. of Alabama graduate from open press event | |
| A CNN correspondent said she was barred from attending an open press event at the White House on Wednesday because of questions she asked President Donald Trump earlier in the day. Kaitlan Collins and her employer, CNN, say the White House denied Collins access to Trump's Rose Garden event with the European Commission president because officials found her earlier questions "inappropriate." Collins, a University of Alabama graduate, had served as a representative of the television networks during an earlier pool spray in the Oval Office. She and a handful of other reporters peppered the president with questions, including many focused on his former lawyer, Michael Cohen. |
| Auburn's Ace Atkins: From football hero to best-selling crime novelist | |
| It's about a 15-minute drive from crime novelist Ace Atkins' home in rural Lafayette County, Miss., to the downtown office he shares with a bunch of lawyers on Oxford's historic town square. The second-floor perch affords Atkins a bird's-eye view of Oxford's celebrated City Grocery restaurant, the upstairs bar of which is an occasional late-afternoon gathering spot for Oxford's ever-expanding but close-knit circle of writers. "I can see the bar from outside my window," Atkins says. "It's kind of a beacon to get my work done before happy hour." It has apparently proven to be great motivation for the prolific Atkins, who has just published his 23rd book, "The Sinners." Atkins, who played college football at Auburn in the early 1990s and moved to Oxford 17 years ago, knows the country roads and dark alleys of North Mississippi better than some cops. |
| LSU receives $200,000 to fund new nuclear engineering scholarship | |
 | Louisiana State University has been awarded a $200,000 federal grant to support a new scholarship program for students minoring in nuclear power engineering. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will give LSU funding for two years from the NRC's Scholarship and Fellowship Education Grant Program to expand the school's Nuclear Power Engineering Scholarship program. An executive summary submitted to the NRC by LSU mechanical engineering professor Manas Gartia stated the scholarship program began in 2017. LSU's scholarship program will support a total of 16 undergraduate students in the nuclear power engineering minor for two years, Gartia stated. Eight students will each receive $10,000 a year in an effort to prepare them for a career path in the nuclear industry or academia to meet the national nuclear workforce demand. Gartia stated 53 students have opted for the nuclear engineering classes over the last two years, and two of those students joined the U.S. Navy Nuclear Program. |
| Mars-water discovery intrigues U. of Arkansas scientist | |
| A water pond spotted beneath the surface of Mars marks a turning point in the search for life on the red planet, scientists say. "It could be really significant and alter the way we are trying to find life on Mars," said Vincent Chevrier, a University of Arkansas, Fayetteville assistant research professor at the school's Arkansas Center for Space and Planetary Sciences. Chevrier, not a part of the study that announced the findings Monday, said liquid water had previously been discovered on Mars on a "very small scale" and not always at the same locations. Italian researchers said evidence gathered from the radar signals of an orbiting spacecraft suggests a 12-mile-wide reservoir buried near the planet's south pole, The Associated Press reported. |
| U. of Florida workers without benefits fear layoffs | |
 | As the University of Florida human resources department develops a policy for temporary hourly workers at the end of the summer, employees and advocates are uncertain of what the future holds. An OPS worker, classified in "other personnel services," holds a temporary position that does not come with the same benefits a permanent employee gets, like paid vacation, sick time, administrative leave and paid holidays. The Alachua County Labor Coalition has been putting pressure on UF for several months to improve OPS workers' conditions. When Hurricane Irma hit last September, UF was closed for three days, causing OPS workers to lose their paid wages because they were unable to work. Full-time, permanent positions were paid for the time off. The coalition advocated for the workers and tried to get a resolution passed because of the issue. OPS workers' lack of benefits is "a long-standing and consistent practice" of the state university system, said Jodi Gentry, UF vice president of human resources. |
| U. of Tennessee board to discuss chairman election | |
| The University of Tennessee's newly retooled board of trustees is set to discuss the election of a board chairman. A university news release says that the Nashville meeting will take place Aug. 1 at the Nashville Public Library. The agenda includes electing a board chairman, adopting bylaws, appointing committees and committee chairmen and authorizing the appointment of student and faculty trustees. Gov. Bill Haslam successfully pushed to shrink the board. The board used to be 27 members, of which 24 were voting and three were non-voting. It is now 12, of which 11 are voting members and one is non-voting. |
| Lawyers take shots over U. of Missouri gun ban | |
 | As he opened his argument against the University of Missouri's ban on bringing concealed weapons to campus, attorney Eddie Greim made sure to remind Circuit Judge Jeff Harris how he ruled in the recent case on graduate worker unions. In his June decision, Harris wrote that the "plain and ordinary meaning of the word" employee in the Missouri Constitution's section on collective bargaining covers graduate assistants. "That decision provides the right framework for this," Greim said. For about three hours, Harris listened as attorneys for the university, the state and law professor Royce Barondes, who initiated the lawsuit in 2015, argued about the meaning of the word "prohibit" in the statute and constitutional law on guns. At the end of the hearing, Harris said he would rule as soon as he could but gave no specific timeline for his decision. |
| Russian trolls attacked 2016 election, and Clemson researchers have tweets to prove it | |
 | When U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina launched his bid for president in 2015, he was blasted by plenty of Twitter users. Long after the end of the 2016 election, those tweets and roughly 3 million others live on in a Clemson University database of tweets from Twitter accounts identified by U.S. officials as belonging to Russian trolls who attempted to influence U.S. politics. Compiled by communications professor Darren Linvill and economics professor Patrick Warren, the trove of election-related tweets shines light on how the trolls -- Russians with fake social media accounts who tried to stir up unrest -- operated. The team's research already has identified patterns in how the users of more than 3,000 fake accounts tried to influence U.S. voters, according to an academic paper now undergoing peer review. After months of studying the Twitter trove, the real work of analyzing the Russian strategy "is only getting started," Linvill said. |
| Proposed Changes in Borrower-Defense Rules Would Make It Tougher for Defrauded Students to Get Debt Relief | |
 | It may soon get much harder for students who have been defrauded by their colleges or universities to seek and receive relief from repaying their federal student loans. The U.S. Department of Education on Wednesday released proposed regulations for student-loan forgiveness that many experts said would leave defrauded borrowers high and dry while making it easier for institutions to practice predatory behavior. The experts also said the rules would make it more difficult for students to get debt relief if their college or university closed abruptly. The regulations, which are now open for 30 days of public comment, cover what's known as "borrower defense," a type of student-loan forgiveness granted to borrowers who were misled by their college or whose college broke certain laws. |
| Temple admits it provided false rankings data for six more programs | |
 | The rankings scandal at Temple University keeps getting worse. This month, after an independent investigation, the university admitted that its Fox School of Business had for several years intentionally submitted false data to boost the rankings of its online M.B.A. program. The falsehoods were about standardized admissions tests, grades of new students, debt of graduates and more. The independent investigation hinted that the lies might have extended beyond the online M.B.A. On Wednesday, the university said that was in fact the case. The letter from Temple's leaders also pledged to cooperate with a growing number of investigations into the rankings lies. Among those investigating are the U.S. Education Department, the Pennsylvania attorney general and two accreditors. |
| Library of Congress Tees Up Strategic Changes | |
 | The Library of Congress is looking into the future and is on track to release a five-year strategic plan in October. The agency, which has struggled with management and planning in the past, updated lawmakers on their progress on Wednesday. The library will embark on a mission to focus on its users and providing improved services for the 1.8 million people who visit the library in person and more than 300 million digital users each year. The mission of the library is "to engage, inspire, and inform Congress and the American people with a universal and enduring source of knowledge and creativity," Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden told the House Administration Committee. The library has faced significant challenges bringing storage and technology into the modern era and planning for major projects. |
| State legislature more autocratic under Republicans | |
| Mississippi newspaper publisher and columnist Wyatt Emmerich writes: Since the Republicans replaced the Democrats as the dominant party in Mississippi a lot has changed in our state. The Republicans have been good at cutting but not so good at governing. A lobbyist friend of mine whom I respect as one of the shrewdest observers of state politics put it this way: The Republicans don't really like government, so they aren't very good at governing. Most people aren't good at things they dislike. The Democrats, in contrast, weren't very good at cutting and fiscal restraint, but they were better at managing the intricate details of government because they believed in the role of government in bettering society. They delved into the details and were more engaged in the actual functioning of the government. This is most clearly manifested in a fundamental change in the way our state legislature operates. |
SPORTS
| Joe Moorhead sizes up Bulldogs for a ring | |
| After Joe Moorhead was hired as Mississippi State's head coach in late November -- but before the official announcement -- he sent a text message to Bulldogs starting quarterback Nick Fitzgerald. "He said, 'Hey, this is Joe Moorhead, I'm going to be your new head coach,' " Fitzgerald recalled at SEC football media days last week. " 'For starters, I want you to clear off a spot on your mantle for the Heisman Trophy, and I want you to learn what your ring size is right now, because you're going to need it.'" But Fitzgerald found nothing false about the boldness of Moorhead's statements. "What he said wasn't fake," said Fitzgerald, a senior going into his third season as the starter after replacing Dak Prescott. "It was true confidence that he has in himself as a coach and the staff he brought in." |
| Mississippi State players recall insane night they almost ended Alabama losing streak | |
| The Alabama-Mississippi State rivalry hasn't created too many memories in the past decade. A string of 10 straight Crimson Tide wins will do that. The 2016 version was particularly demoralizing with a 51-3 final score in Bryant-Denny Stadium. That set the stage for last November's meeting in Starkville -- what became the closest threat to the Alabama streak that began after Nick Saban lost his first season in 2007. For three hours and 28 minutes, the Bulldogs held the Tide's undefeated record hostage. "Hard fought game," Bulldog linebacker Gerri Green recalled last week at SEC Media Days. "Lots of emotion for both sides." And the bells were rocking. "It was incredible," said Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald at media days. |
| Mississippi State's Jeffery Simmons selected to Outland Trophy watch list | |
| Mississippi State junior defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons was selected to the preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy, which is presented annually to the top interior lineman in college football. Simmons, a junior defenisve tackle, finished fourth on the team with 60 tackles. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound native of Macon also contributed 12 stops for loss, five sacks, forced and recovered two fumbles, blocked three kicks and totaled two touchdowns for the Bulldogs last season. Simmons was previously added to the preseason watch lists for the Bednarik Award and Bronco Nagurski Trophy. |
| Mississippi State's Jace Christmann in contention for Groza Award | |
| Jace Christmann was a pleasant surprise for Mississippi State last season that led to the walk-on earning Freshman All-SEC and Freshman All-American honors. On Wednesday, Christmann was picked to the preseason watch list for the Lou Groza Award. The Groza Award goes to college football's top kicker each year. The 6-foot, 200-pounder from Houston, Texas converted 12 of 14 field goal attempts with a long of 45-yards in 2017 and was perfect on all 42 extra point attempts. Christmann finished the year ranked fourth in the conference in accuracy. |
| Northeast Mississippi Community College legend Bill Ward dies at age 88 | |
| W.B. "Bill" Ward, who resurrected Northeast Mississippi Community College's football program and eventually became its winningest coach before serving as athletic director for over two decades, died at his home on Wednesday, July 25 at the age of 88. "Coach Ward was very loyal to Northeast and one of the biggest supporters of the college," said Northeast president Ricky Ford. "Personally, he hired me as a young coach to lead the Lady Tiger basketball program in 1981. I have been and will forever be grateful to him for that opportunity." Ward was handpicked by then-president Harold T. White to restart the football program at Northeast in 1968. The Booneville native served as head coach of the Tigers for 15 seasons following its rebirth. Ward became Northeast's full-time athletic director, in addition to his oohing duties in 1974 following the retirement of another legendary figure of the college, Bonner Arnold. |
| LSU and Baton Rouge area rank high nationally in drunk driving deaths: report | |
| A personal injury law firm in Seattle has devised a College Football Drunk Driving Map. It's based on a study of The Sporting News preseason Top 25 ranked teams and the average fatalities per 100,000 people caused by alcohol-impaired driving in the areas where the schools are located. The SEC had four teams ranked in the top 10, including LSU at No. 3 with 6.42 fatalities per 100,000 people caused by drunk driving. The University of South Carolina was ranked No. 1 nationally with 7.45 deaths. Alabama was No. 5 at 5.06 deaths and Auburn was No. 8 at 4.13. LSU athletic director Joe Alleva has been a proponent of the league allowing schools to sell beer at athletic events. In the last few years, he has gotten more support from his fellow SEC athletic directors. |
| For Auburn AD Allen Greene, expectations 'should be high' for 1st football season | |
| Allen Greene doesn't want to put added pressure on Gus Malzahn and his team ahead of the 2018 season. As a former student-athlete, the first-year Auburn athletics director knows coaches and players put enough pressure on themselves. That's not to say that Greene doesn't have a certain level of expectation for his first football season as the head of Auburn's athletics department. "I think the expectations are always high, and they should be high," Greene told AL.com last week. "Our entire athletic department puts a lot of energy into putting a good product on the field and making sure our fans are enjoying themselves right there on the Plains." Of course, there's more that Greene is looking forward to this fall than just the product on the field. After all, it will be his first football season on the Plains, and the Tigers' first-year athletics director said he is "excited to experience all these things for the first time." |
| Naval Academy names Ole Miss' Michael Paulus senior associate athletic director | |
| Naval Academy athletic director Chet Gladchuk announced Wednesday that Michael Paulus will be joining Navy Athletics as the senior associate athletic director for development. Paulus comes to Navy from Ole Miss, where he was the assistant athletic director for development. At Ole Miss, Paulus was a lead fundraiser for the Forward Together campaign, an initiative that resulted in a new $95 million basketball arena, a $50 million expansion to the football stadium, and more than $60 million in renovations and improvements for all Olympic sports facilities at Ole Miss. "I am thrilled to be joining the Navy family," said Paulus. |
The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
