| Monday, August 6, 2018 |
| Mississippi State to house Phi Beta Kappa chapter | |
 | After 40 years of trying, Mississippi State will soon house a chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. The organization voted to grant the chapter Friday at Phi Beta Kappa's 45th Triennial Council in Boston. "Really from Day 1 of his tenure as president, Dr. Keenum has tried to partner with the faculty, staff and students to create a academic environment that is conducive to Phi Beta Kappa status," MSU Chief of Communications Officer Sid Salter said. "As he closes in on the 10th anniversary of his tenure as president, (Friday) that partnership bore fruit in Boston." Salter also credited Professor Robert West, who has led the application effort since 2007, with the accomplishment. West called the vote an honor for MSU. "This has been an effort on behalf of our students, especially undergraduates majoring in the liberal arts and sciences," he said in an email to The Dispatch. |
| Mississippi State University to get Phi Beta Kappa chapter | |
 | Mississippi State University will become home to a chapter of the prestigious academic honor society Phi Beta Kappa. The university announced that the society's governing board made the decision Friday. MSU President Mark E. Keenum said the university has been seeking a Phi Beta Kappa chapter for 40 years. "The granting of a Phi Beta Kappa chapter to Mississippi State is a testament to the outstanding faculty and administrators who have been working toward this most significant achievement," Keenum said in a news release. MSU is creating a $1 million endowment to support the new chapter. MSU's application effort has been led since 2007 by Robert West, a professor in the Department of English who was inducted into the honor society as a student at Wake Forest University. |
| Mississippi State to get chapter of Phi Beta Kappa | |
 | Mississippi State University will now be home to a chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. The nation's oldest and most prestigious academic honor society announced on Friday it has awarded a chapter to MSU after a rigorous, multi-year review. Only 10 percent of U.S. colleges and universities shelter PBK chapters. "The granting of a Phi Beta Kappa chapter to Mississippi State is a testament to the outstanding faculty and administrators who have been working toward this most significant achievement," said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. Keenum noted that for decades Mississippi State's top students have competed successfully for distinguished scholarships and fellowships. "It is most appropriate that our exceptional students will now be eligible for consideration of Phi Beta Kappa membership, and we look forward to the induction of our inaugural class of scholars in the spring of 2019," Keenum said. |
| MSU granted Phi Beta Kappa chapter after 40-year effort | |
 | Mississippi State University on Friday became the third institution of higher learning in the state to be receive a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. "It has been a 40-year journey for us to reach this milestone," President Mark E. Keenum said. MSU's first application was submitted in 1979 by Morris "Bill" Collins, the founding director of the Stennis Institute of Government. Nancy Hargrove, now a Giles Distinguished Professor Emerita of English, led the 1982 submission. Leslie Bauman, now professor emerita in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, led application initiatives in 1985, 1988, 2000 and 2003. Since 2007, the application effort has been led by Robert West, a professor in the Department of English. Mississippi State is creating a $1 million endowment to support the university's new PBK chapter. For additional information about the Phi Beta Kappa Endowment, contact Vice President for Development and Alumni John Rush at 662-325-9306 or john.rush@msstate.edu. |
| Mississippi State fundraising tops $100M for fifth straight year | |
| Alumni and friends helped Mississippi State University mark its fifth consecutive year of over $100 million raised in gifts and pledges of future support -- reaching more than $102.5 million for the just-ended fiscal year 2018 from individuals, corporations, foundations, trusts and estates. The fiscal year also catapulted the university's ongoing Infinite Impact campaign to reach $855 million. The campaign began quietly in mid-2010 and has yielded record giving years for the university since that time, reaching its initial $600 million ahead of schedule and moving forward with a $1 billion target. "Because of continued awareness of Infinite Impact and the growing generosity of supporters, our university is continuing a steady path toward our campaign goal," said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. "Loyal alumni and friends are the difference makers for our university and their shared belief in our goals becomes the catalyst for our future endeavors." |
| MSU Extension promotes steps to reduce lead in water | |
| Practical actions that can reduce lead in drinking water are highlights of a recently concluded multi-state project. Jason Barrett is an assistant Extension professor in the Mississippi State University Extension Center for Government and Community Development. He partnered with the Environmental Defense Fund and groups in Illinois, Michigan and Ohio for a pilot program testing lead in child care facilities. Based on the results, Barrett offered suggestions for reducing exposure to lead. Allow faucets to run for at least 5 seconds to clear water left in the pipes overnight. Use water from the cold tap for cooking. Flush hot water heaters once a year according to the manufacturer's instructions to drain accumulated lead particles. |
| New MSU Bulldogs celebrate | |
 | Photo: Mississippi State University-bound students Hunter Kelly (second from left) and Seth McLemore, both of Quitman, ring their new cowbells presented as gifts at the 2018 Send-off Party sponsored by the Clarke County Chapter of the Mississippi State University Alumni Association. Kelly, a forestry/wildlife major, and McLemore, a journalism major, are both graduates of Quitman High School and Meridian Community College. Kelly is the son of Mitchell and Chrissy Kelly. McLemore is the son of Christal McLemore. The new Bulldogs, who also received MSU T-shirts, are shown with Lisa Riley, Chapter president, and Steve Hampton, vice president. Approximately 30 MSU alumni and friends attended the Clarke County event at ClarkCo State Park near Quitman. MSU Send-off parties are held statewide in an effort to provide incoming freshmen and transfer students an opportunity to gather with future classmates from their area while alumni and friends send them off with well-wishes to MSU! For more information about the Clarke County Chapter of the MSU Alumni Association, contact Lisa Riley, 601-480-6052 or email rileydawgs@gmail.com. |
| More than $1.44M awarded in multimodal grants | |
| Commissioner Mike Tagert announced more than $1.44 million in grant awards for multimodal projects in Mississippi's Northern Transportation District, including $23,018 to Starkville-Mississippi State University Area Rapid Transit for a vehicle match: $23,018 for two 24/25 passenger ADA buses. The Mississippi Transportation Commission recently approved the Mississippi Department of Transportation to award the grants to regional and municipal airports, ports and public transit systems throughout north Mississippi. "MDOT's responsibilities include maintaining and improving the state's highways and interstates, but also focuses on providing a safe intermodal transportation network for airports, ports and waterways, railroads and public transit," Tagert said. "Each of these modes of transportation play a vital role in transporting people, goods and services that promote economic growth and development throughout Mississippi." |
| Oktibbeha County road manager faces barrage of harassment complaints | |
| A former Oktibbeha County Road Department worker has filed a federal lawsuit against the county and its road manager Fred Hal Baggett. It claims, among other things, Baggett once said the worker looked like a "black savage Viking." Justin Denson, 29, is a former sign technician who worked for the road department from April 2015 to November 2017, according to the complaint filed July 9 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi-Northern Division. Denson accuses Baggett of making several racially charged statements toward him and retaliating to the employee's complaints by firing him. Both Denson and Baggett are black. Baggett, who has been road manager since July 10, 2017, also faces a harassment complaint from a second employee, Casey Harrison, whose attorney has formally notified county supervisors by letter of his grievances. |
| Analysis: 1 woman's prayer could shape Mississippi politics | |
| Amid the red dirt and hubbub of the Neshoba County Fair last week, Debbie Hood sat on a wooden bench and quietly contemplated a reporter's question: Is she ready for her husband to run for Mississippi governor next year? She is the wife of Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood, who's in his fourth term as the state's top legal officer. While her husband is a longtime prosecutor who's comfortable in front of big crowds, Debbie Hood is an intensely private person. Jim Hood has been sounding like a potential gubernatorial candidate for a long time, but like many politicians, he is skilled at evading direct questions about his plans. His standard reply is to say his wife is praying about whether he should run for governor and he's waiting for her to get comfortable with the idea. The answer appears to have the benefit of being true, but it also fuels speculation that keeps his name on people's minds and extends the drama leading up to an announcement. |
| Sen. Michael Watson plans run for secretary of state | |
| State Sen. Michael Watson, a Republican from Pascagoula, says he's planning to run for secretary of state in 2019. "I am seeking the office of secretary of state because I believe my experience as a senator, attorney and small business owner has prepared me to effectively manage that office," Watson said on Friday. Watson's confirmation comes after Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann reaffirmed at the Neshoba County Fair that he will not seek re-election to that post in 2019 -- but will be "higher on the ballot." Hosemann, secretary of state since 2008, is widely expected to run for lieutenant governor next year. Watson is one of the more conservative members of the state Senate. At times he has been at odds with Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves' Senate leadership, taking a more conservative stance on spending, borrowing or other issues. Watson also, in 2011, backed Reeves' Republican primary opponent now-Mayor of Gulfport Billy Hewes III. |
| Intra-GOP Squabbling Dominates Senate Speeches at Neshoba County Fair | |
 | "Tough crowd," Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant muttered to himself, just before taking the stage at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Miss., on Thursday. He had just watched the state's two incumbent U.S. Senators -- Republicans Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker -- speak before a hostile, jeering crowd that included dozens of supporters for conservative State Sen. Chris McDaniel, who is running to unseat Hyde-Smith in November's elections. "I'm darn glad to say I appointed a United States senator that's a rancher and not a lawyer, and she's doing one hell of a job," Bryant said during his speech, defending his appointment of Hyde-Smith, while prodding McDaniel, who has a law practice in Laurel. Twenty minutes earlier, boos and heckling had overwhelmed Hyde-Smith's speech, lasting for the duration of her time on stage. Hyde-Smith is not the only politician McDaniel has accused of being insufficiently conservative. In a January 2016 Facebook post, McDaniel wrote that then-candidate Trump was "absolutely not" a conservative -- a quote a placard-wielding opponent revived during McDaniel's speech Thursday. |
| Medgar Evers home added to African-American Civil Rights Network | |
| Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has added the Mississippi home of Medgar and Myrlie Evers to the African-American Civil Rights Network, which was created by federal law this year. Medgar Evers was the Mississippi NAACP's first field secretary beginning in 1954, and led voter registration drives and boycotts to push for racial equality. He was assassinated in June 1963 outside the family's ranch-style home in Jackson. His widow, Myrlie, is still living. She was national chairwoman of the NAACP from 1995 to 1998. In May, the National Park Service unveiled a bronze plaque showing the Evers' home is a national historic landmark. The Interior Department approved the landmark designation in 2016 and announced it in 2017. The department is now taking public comments on making the home a national monument. |
| Where Do Confederate Monuments Go After They Come Down? | |
 | Van Turner has a secret: He knows the whereabouts of the controversial Confederate statues removed last year from two parks in Memphis, Tenn. "They have to be kept in a secretive location," said Turner on a recent afternoon, standing in a park overlooking the Mississippi River where one of the statues -- of Confederate President Jefferson Davis -- once stood. "For fear of someone trying to go in and get them." Turner, a Shelby County commissioner, has been hiding the Jefferson Davis statue since it came down in December, along with a statue of Confederate Gen. and slave trader Nathan Bedford Forrest and a bust of Confederate Capt. Harvey Mathes. They're among the more than 45 Confederate monuments that have come down in at least 27 cities across the country since last summer, when white supremacists rallied in Charlottesville, Va., to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. |
| President Admits Focus of Trump Tower Meeting Was Getting Dirt on Clinton | |
 | President Trump said on Sunday that a Trump Tower meeting between top campaign aides and a Kremlin-connected lawyer was designed to "get information on an opponent" -- the starkest acknowledgment yet that a statement he dictated about the encounter last year was misleading. Mr. Trump made the comment in a tweet on Sunday morning that was intended to be a defense of the June 2016 meeting and his son Donald Trump Jr.'s role in hosting it. The president claimed that it was "totally legal" and of the sort "done all the time in politics." But the tweet also served as an admission that the Trump team had not been forthright when Donald Trump Jr. issued a statement in July 2017 saying that the meeting had been primarily about the adoption of Russian children. Donald Trump Jr. made the statement after The New York Times revealed the existence of the meeting. |
| Marty Brock interim dean of MUW's College of Business and Professional Studies | |
| Marty Brock, chair of the Department of Business and professor of management information systems at Mississippi University for Women, has been named interim dean of the College of Business and Professional Studies, effective Aug. 1. As interim dean, she will supervise three departments, including the Department of Business, the Culinary Arts Institute and Legal Studies. She has served as chair of the business department since 2012 and as professor of management information systems since 2017. She was associate professor of MIS for three years and assistant professor for four years. A resident of Caledonia, she joined The W in 2006 as instructor and director of instructional technology and became instructor and coordinator for the Center for Teaching Excellence three years later. Prior to joining The W, Brock was an Extension instructor at the Mississippi State University Extension Service. |
| Willie Price Lab School at UM earns national accreditation | |
| Willie Price Lab School, located on the University of Mississippi campus, has been accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. NAEYC is an organization that recognizes top standards in early childhood education, and Willie Price is one of only 24 programs in Mississippi to achieve this designation. Sarah Langley, who serves as director of Willie Price Lab School and spearheaded the school's path to accreditation, said the two-year process has completely changed many aspects of the school and the way teachers approach early childhood education. According to the school's assistant director Alyce Krouse, Willie Price's curricular transformation was equally matched by a physical transformation. "We literally had to break this place down and rebuild it," Krouse said. |
| New Meridian CC President Thomas Huebner talks about challenges, opportunities for growth | |
| Thomas Huebner has a lot on his plate as the new president of Meridian Community College. The veteran educator, who recently completed a three-year tenure as president of East Mississippi Community College, is succeeding Scott Elliott, who led the college for 20 years before announcing his retirement earlier this year. As he continues to settle in as the school's president, he sat down this week with The Meridian Star's editorial board to offer his thought on the future of MCC. What follows is part of that conversation, edited for clarity and space limitations. |
| 'A different way of doing high school': GTECHS will have full slate of students this fall | |
| Alexis Turner and Eli Box have a lot in common. They are both focused and goal-oriented. Both are thoughtful, articulate teens with definite plans what they want to do with their lives. They are both high school seniors at Golden Triangle Early College High School, two of the 54 students who will become the school's first graduating class next spring. As soon as Monday, hundreds of students in the Golden Triangle will begin their senior years of high school, but for the seniors at GTECHS, their final year in high school is not only a personal milestone, it is a validation of an experiment in education that began three years ago. "We were kind of like the guinea pigs," Turner said, reflecting on her three years at the school. |
| U. of Alabama honors former chancellor Ray Hayes at graduation | |
 | Former University of Alabama System Chancellor Ray Hayes on Saturday received a doctorate of humane letters awarded by the board of trustees in honor of his 12 years of service to the system. "I am deeply honored to receive the honorary doctorate from the University of Alabama," Hayes said. "It has been a privilege to serve the UA System as chancellor, and I look forward to my continued work in behavioral health and other initiatives that will positively impact our students, their families and the citizens of Alabama." Hayes announced plans in June to step down at the end of July as chancellor to focus on working on projects, including behavioral health and health care initiatives. The board decided to award Hayes a doctorate of humane letters and named him a chancellor emeritus in June following the announcement of his plans. |
| Official addresses grads at LSU -- a school her grandparents couldn't attend | |
 | Higher Education Commissioner Kim Hunter Reed, the granddaughter of an educator who never had a chance to attend LSU because of her race, urged the school's summer graduates Friday to share their talents so more state residents have access to education. "It is community building at its best and we need more of that in our great state of Louisiana," Reed said. "The baton now passes to you, graduates," she said. "Become an education champion in this state and for this institution so that the door is open for future Tigers." Reed, the state's first black person to serve as higher education commissioner, was the commencement speaker for summer graduation ceremonies at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. A total of 607 degrees were awarded during the school's 296th commencement. |
| U. of South Carolina students return to empty home after 'misunderstanding' by student housing complex | |
 | A University of South Carolina student's start to the new semester is "the weirdest," he says. After some time away from campus spent with family, Paul Billinson and his roommates at the Palmetto Compress student housing development came back just after midnight on Friday to find their apartment emptied of all their belongings. The rent was paid through the summer and all the bills were in order, according to Jerry Colletti of New York, one of the students' fathers. One of the students was at the apartment two weeks ago before he left to visit his parents. "They opened the door, and there was nothing in there," Colletti said Friday. "They slept on the floor last night. No blankets, no nothing. No pillows, no toothbrush, no nothing." It turned out, though, that burglars weren't responsible. Rather, the management at Palmetto Compress took the blame for the mistake and promised to make things right. |
| Symposium at Texas A&M promotes diversity in scientific fields | |
 | No matter the obstacles or setbacks, Texas A&M College of Medicine faculty members want to make sure women and underrepresented groups understand the medical and scientific fields need them. "Medicine and science are very much male-dominated fields, and very much majority-culture fields, and I truly believe that the best science occurs and the best health care occurs when we include people from all backgrounds," said Carrie Byington, dean of the College of Medicine. Byington served as the keynote speaker Thursday at the College of Medicine's third Research Career Symposium for Women and Underrepresented Groups, which has taken place every two years since it was established in 2014. In total, 65 registrants traveled from throughout the region and the A&M and University of Texas systems to attend the two-day event. |
| Fierce competition continues in student housing market | |
 | With less than two weeks before almost 30,000 University of Missouri students descend on Columbia, fierce competition that sent one housing property into foreclosure this year continues unabated, with offers of as many as three months of free rent dangled in front of prospective tenants. The pressure on landlords is twofold -- a continuing decline in enrollment and more aggressive marketing of residence halls. The rebound is coming but it won't be this fall. MU officials patted themselves on the back in May when application numbers showed the first increase in first-time freshmen since 2014, when a record 6,515 enrolled. That class began graduating in May, however, and the estimated 4,700 who will arrive for classes that begin Aug. 20 will probably not be enough to prevent total enrollment to fall below 30,000 for the first time since 2008. Officials are predicting enrollment to stabilize in 2019 or 2020 and increase, albeit slowly, thereafter. |
| As Colleges Distance Themselves From Papa John's Founder, Ball State U. Sticks With Him | |
 | Ball State University announced on Friday that it was standing by the founder of the Papa John's pizza chain, an alumnus and donor with extensive ties to institutions of higher education whose use of a racial slur during a conference call has caused many of them to sever ties with him. "Higher education plays a unique role in the support of free speech and the exchange of ideas that lead to better understanding," Rick Hall, chair of Ball State's Board of Trustees, said in a statement. "In that pursuit, it does not mandate perfection." John Schnatter, who founded Papa John's in Indiana, earned his bachelor's degree from Ball State in 1983 and went on to endow the university's John H. Schnatter Institute for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise. Hall acknowledged that Schnatter's use of the slur was "insensitive and painful," but said that it was private conduct, taken out of context, and that the donor had apologized. "In our experience with John," Hall said in his statement, "he has never expressed racist views." |
| Colleges and Universities Woo Once-Overlooked Transfer Students | |
| Transfer students -- whose challenges have often been ignored in higher education -- are feeling a surge in popularity as colleges and universities are increasingly wooing them. "This was a group that was always taken for granted," said Todd Rinehart, vice chancellor for enrollment at the University of Denver. But last month, the University of California system announced that it has accepted more transfer students than ever before. And in a move that is perhaps more symbolic than substantive, Princeton University has, for its 2018 class, accepted 13 transfer students, the first such students it has enrolled since 1990. "At this moment in time, transfer students are receiving the most positive attention from higher education that they ever have," said Janet Marling, executive director of the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students at the University of North Georgia. |
| The Sex Talk: The conversation that is not happening about campus sexual assault | |
 | Sexual assault on campus isn't an easy conversation to have because it is not an easy topic to unravel. About 3 million students on campus this fall will be sexually assaulted during their college years. Countless stories make it clear: The system of how colleges and universities currently investigate and adjudicate these crimes is broken. The elements that surround campus sexual assault -- consent, rape culture, alcohol, fear -- are confusing and devastating and ever-changing. And the story of sexual assault on campus changes depending who is talking about it and who gets hurt. We set out to hear from all sides. This is what we learned. (Warning: Contains strong language and graphic content.) |
| Major selection paves path to future success | |
| Angela Farmer, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Mississippi State, writes: It is nearly time, once again, for students across the nation to begin the fall semester at their university or community college of choice. As the air fills with the excitement of students returning to class or beginning their college adventure, there are some pressing concerns that must be addressed. More important than dorm room decor, parking space proximity, or number of friends in certain classes is the real reason students return to class. Ultimately, they aspire to graduate. After the graduation music ends, the business of adulthood begins. With this reality comes the need to put one's knowledge and skills into practice, specifically, to find a job. There are several facets which comprise major selection that will lead, hopefully, toward gainful employment. |
| Perhaps we don't care what the truth is? | |
 | Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: Do Americans want to be deceived? In 2012 Marquette University ethics professor emeritus Dr. Daniel McGuire penned an amazingly contemporary piece entitled "The Loneliness of the Truth Teller" for the Huffington Post. ...Has that ever been more true than today? Whether our powerful president's lies or our powerful news media's fake news, the "truth is lost to sight." The truth is lost to sight so easily for two reasons. First, as Dr. McGuire says, because our sorry human nature loves to have it so. But also because it is buried beneath the piles of blogs, tweets, posts, pronouncements, and newscasts that distort everything to fit their own agendas. Yes, we still have truth tellers, but you can't find them beneath the piles of verbal manure. Former CBS host Bob Schieffer, author of "Overload: Finding the Truth in Today's Deluge of News," said, "We can't knock down every lie as it comes out, there's just too much." |
SPORTS
| Joe Moorhead pleased with Mississippi State's effort and retention | |
| Joe Moorhead conducted his first fall practice at Mississippi State late Friday afternoon. But the Bulldogs' first-year head coach may not be able to tell much until the team dons full pads on Wednesday. "It was kind of like a gym class, you have on helmets on in t-shirts and shorts," Moorhead said. "We had a bunch of freshmen swimming from an assignment standpoint. But the great thing was guys came out and gave tremendous effort. There was a lot of retention from the spring until now and that shows that the guys were watching film and doing things on their own during the summer." |
| Motivational quotes help Mississippi State's Joe Moorhead find success | |
| Through the years, Michael Nebrich has not been able to forget the quotes. Nebrich played quarterback for Joe Moorhead for four years at two different schools, for his final season as a UConn assistant and his first three as Fordham's head coach. He has seen Moorhead as an assistant proving himself to a new head coach, he's seen Moorhead trying to establish himself as a head coach and he's seen Moorhead build his program to a higher level. In each instance, Moorhead has peppered his players with quotes, giving his players something to think about through the words of someone else. "Don't tell me how rough the waters are, just bring the ship to port," was one. "Excuses are the nails that build a house of failure," was another. "He'll throw stuff out there that you have to sit back and say, 'What the heck did he just say?' but you think about it an hour later and you say, 'All right, that was pretty good,'" Nebrich said. This is just one window into what it is like to play for Moorhead, which Mississippi State's football players will come to know all about in the coming weeks as MSU opened preseason practice Friday. |
| Nick Fitzgerald full go in Bulldogs' fall practice | |
| Friday was another milestone made on the road to recovery for Nick Fitzgerald. Mississippi State's senior quarterback opened fall camp without any restrictions stemming from a broken ankle suffered on the second drive of the Egg Bowl last Thanksgiving. The only visible remnant remaining from the injury was Fitzgerald's heavily taped right cleat. Fitzgerald was so anxious in his return that he decided to test his surgically repaired ankle on his initial rep of the fall. "The first rep I pulled the ball on a drill and took off full speed," Fitzgerald said. "That felt really good." Trainers and coaches will keep a close eye on Fitzgerald throughout fall camp and limit his snaps if needed but he will not take a hit until the Bulldogs' season opener against Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 1. |
| Defense a priority during Mississippi State's second fall practice | |
| Mississippi State hit the field once again Saturday evening. Here are three takeaways from the Bulldogs' second practice of the preseason. 1. The defensive line is the most talked about unit on the team. 2. The secondary has the burden of keeping up with the standard set by the defensive line. 3. On Friday, senior quarterback Nick Fitzgerald said he thinks the tight ends will have an increased role in the passing game this season. "I think they're excited because they're going to be more first and second reads instead of check downs and afterthoughts," Fitzgerald said. |
| Anriel Howard can make immediate impact on Bulldogs | |
| The Dispatch's Adam Minichino writes: Rebounding drills should be plenty of fun for the Mississippi State women's basketball team this season. The news Thursday that Texas A&M forward Anriel Howard would transfer to MSU wasn't a surprise. It was rumored to be in the works for several months after Howard decided in March to explore options at other schools. As a graduate transfer, Howard will be eligible to play for MSU immediately, which figures to be a big bonus for MSU coach Vic Schaefer. The Bulldogs' seventh-year head coach faces the challenge of replacing the leadership and production of senior guards Roshunda Johnson, Blair Schaefer, Victoria Vivians, and Morgan William. Schaefer, Vivians, and William were part of the winningest class in program history. They played an integral part in pushing MSU to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA championship game. All four guards also had a hand in making the Bulldogs one of the nation's highest scoring teams and most proficient from 3-point range. |
| Scott Foxhall excited to work with Bulldog pitchers | |
| New Mississippi State pitching coach Scott Foxhall is feeling like a fortunate fellow these days. Foxhall was hired from N.C. State late last month and inherits a staff with several experienced arms that have gone through the rigors of pitching in the Southeastern Conference as well as deep postseason play. "My initial thought is I'm excited," Foxhall said. "There's a lot of talent and some guys coming back that have been there before and done it and are ready to take the next step maybe into a leadership role and get better at their craft than they were before." Ethan Small is back from the weekend rotation and the Diamond Dogs are also expected to have closer Spencer Price at the back end of the bullpen after missing the 2018 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Also returning are veteran arms include Denver McQuary, Riley Self and Keegan James among others. |
| Cowboys QB Dak Prescott reiterates stance on national anthem | |
| Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and son Stephen Jones have made it clear this summer that their players will be expected to stand on the sidelines for the national anthem this NFL season. Their statements came on the heels and seem to override the NFL's new policy regarding the anthem, which would allow players to remain in the locker room if they so choose. The demonstrations by players that preceded the policy, of course, were to protest and bring awareness to social injustices in the United States. Which brings us back to Dak Prescott, the star quarterback for America's most valuable football team. On Sunday, Prescott reiterated his position that has drawn criticism from some. |
| Rare Thursday opener will make for busy day at Texas A&M | |
| A day of classes and research at the Texas A&M University campus will be capped by the season-opening football game at Kyle Field on Aug. 30, making for a packed schedule that residents will likely see the effects of during their commutes that day. The last time A&M hosted a non-Thanksgiving Thursday night regular-season game was in 2005, when the threat of Hurricane Rita pushed up a game against Texas State. The university is preparing for "two typical days in one" again more than a decade later, which includes plans for parking and alternative transportation options. Early release at 1 p.m. has been approved for "nonessential" personnel, according to a memo sent Friday to A&M faculty and staff. Classes and university business will go on as scheduled. "The idea has always been we're not gonna cancel class. We're a Tier One educational institution doing lots of research; we're not gonna cancel anything," said Texas A&M Transportation Institute Research Fellow Tim Lomax. "We are gonna need people to be a little flexible, and to accommodate that flexibility we've got a whole bunch of transportation options." |
| Kentucky baseball set to move into $49 million facility next month | |
| Doug Flynn said he appreciated aspects of the University of Kentucky's soon-to-be former baseball home at Cliff Hagan Stadium. But the former Wildcats infielder from Lexington explained why a new park was necessary: He played at the Cliff when it opened in 1969. "It was time," said Flynn, who coached a team comprised of retired Major League Baseball players this week in the Bluegrass World Series at Slugger Field. "And if you're going to keep up in the SEC, you have to do it." Kentucky is on schedule to move into the $49 million facility near Kroger Field next month, UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart said Friday. "We hope to be in that stadium, probably mid-late September, in total," he said. "We may move in in bits and pieces, with coaches and team and then probably be on the field in mid-to-late September. We're hopeful of that." |
| Auburn hires Monique Holland as senior associate athletics director | |
 | Auburn University has named Monique Holland its senior associate athletics director for student-athlete experience at Auburn, athletics director Allen Greene announced Friday. Holland, who spent the previous nine years as Executive Senior Associate AD for Administration and the Senior Woman Administrator at SMU, has previously served as a Division I Athletics Director and was an Academic All-American basketball player at Alabama State. At Auburn, Holland will have oversight of sport administration, AuburnYOU (the Athletics Career Network and Life Skills Programs), sports performance (strength & conditioning, athletic training, sports nutritionist and sports psychologist) and academics. Holland will also be Auburn's Deputy Title IX coordinator and Senior Woman Administrator. |
| Ohio State Suspended Its Head Football Coach. Does That Show Universities Are Taking a Stronger Stand on Domestic Abuse? | |
| Urban Meyer isn't the first college football coach accused of mishandling a response to domestic-abuse reports involving one of his assistants. In 2016, Mike MacIntyre, the head coach at the University of Colorado at Boulder, faced similar criticism for failing to notify the proper authorities when a woman reported being physically and emotionally abused by an assistant coach. But while the Boulder coach was ordered to donate $100,000 toward a group that combats domestic violence and remained on the job, Meyer was immediately suspended with pay just as pre-season practice was about to kick off. Given the damage done to universities over high-profile scandals involving officials accused of looking the other way, it's not surprising that some, like Ohio State, are taking quicker, more decisive action today, says Peter F. Lake, professor of law at the Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy at Stetson University. |
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