| Friday, February 22, 2019 |
| Alcorn, Mississippi State partner to launch a dual degree program | |
 | Alcorn State University and Mississippi State University are partnering to launch a dual degree program. Alcorn Interim President Dr. Donzell Lee and MSU President Dr. Mark E. Keenum signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the program which will allow students to earn bachelor's degrees from both universities. Keenum says the new program will provide a range of benefits for both students and the poultry industry. It is the state's largest agricultural enterprise topping $3 billion in value last year alone. "This is an opportunity for two leading land-grant institutions to work together to prepare even more professionals and leaders for one of our state's most important industries. Mississippi State offers one of only six poultry science programs in the nation, and our graduates have a 100 percent job placement rate, with many of them considering multiple offers." |
| Lime pulling out of Starkville, Mississippi State | |
 | Lime is withdrawing from the Starkville market, and according to officials, is citing Mississippi State University's decision to not allow scooters on campus as its reason for leaving. Mayor Lynn Spruill and Jeremiah Dumas, director of Parking and Transit Services at MSU, both confirmed they received letters from Lime on Tuesday announcing the intention to pull out all of its services. Lime had a fleet of about 200 vehicles in Starkville and MSU, including 25 electric scooters it added in the city in January. In a Dispatch report Sunday, Dumas said the university's contract with Lime doesn't allow for scooters and there have been concerns -- such as people hitting cars on campus, riding the scooters improperly and leaving them in the wrong places -- since Lime deployed scooters in the city. Dumas said MSU will need time to consider its next steps -- whether that's potentially partnering with another company or changing its stance on scooters. "It's too early to say," he said. "I think, obviously, there's still a desire on our end to have some sort of alternative transportation available. I think we'll take a step back and reevaluate everything. We'll start having those internal discussions soon." |
| MSU-Meridian to host popular stock seminar | |
 | A popular seminar on choosing financial stocks will be hosted by a Mississippi State retired accounting professor whose investments made more than $1 million over a 10-year period. Paul Allen, an MSU-Meridian professor emeritus, will host Part One of a two-part seminar, "Choose Stocks Wisely," on March 20 and Part Two on April 17 from 3-5 p.m. downtown at MSU's Riley Campus computer lab. Based on his book, "Choose Stocks Wisely: A Formula That Produced Amazing Returns," Allen will outline the investment choices that enabled him to take $50,000 in 2003 and grow it to more than $1.3 million by 2013. "The concepts behind my successful strategy are based on the principles I often shared in my financial accounting classes I taught at MSU-Meridian," Allen said. |
| OUR OPINION: Partnership opens career path for students | |
 | The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal editorializes: One of the great challenges today's education system faces involves preparing students for the demands of an evolving workforce. That includes imparting the skills for jobs that are becoming increasingly global and digital. It means better informing pupils at an earlier age about career opportunities and setting them on a path that readies them for meaningful employment. And it requires collaboration between the education and business communities to identify needs and eliminate gaps. And that's what is particularly exciting about a new partnership between a telecom company and a public university. C Spire and Mississippi State are partnering on a pilot program designed to produce more students with the knowledge and skill set to become software developers, a field that is in particular demand in Mississippi and across the country. ... The innovative partnership is a great example of school districts, higher education and corporations working together to fill a need for our state. |
| Brandon Gann enters Oktibbeha sheriff's race | |
| A former Starkville Police Department officer has entered the Oktibbeha County sheriff's race. Brandon Gann announced his filing to run on Wednesday. Gann, who has 10 years of law enforcement experience, is running as a Democrat. He'll face off against current Sheriff Steve Gladney, who's held the position since defeating former Sheriff Dolph Bryan in 2011, in August's Democratic party primary election. Gann, a Starkville native, worked as a Mississippi Highway Patrol trooper for two years and was an officer with SPD for eight. He said he left law enforcement four years ago and now runs two businesses -- Gann's Party Inflatables and Bulldog Lawncare. "I've always, ever since I was a kid, wanted to be a sheriff," Gann said. |
| Petition push: Local Libertarians rallying support for restaurant tax referendum | |
| As a first- and second-grade teacher, Frieda Hallman doesn't have much time to cook. She eats out pretty much every day, a habit that she believes could cost her more than she's willing to pay when the 2-percent restaurant sales tax takes effect March 1. That's why she is working with five other members of the Libertarian Party of Lowndes County to circulate a petition calling for a referendum -- a public vote -- on the sales tax. The 2-percent restaurant sales tax will only be collected in the Columbus city limits at businesses where annual prepared food and beverage sales are at least $100,000. However, city residents have the option to force a referendum on the tax by delivering a petition to City Hall no later than 5 p.m. Feb. 25. That petition must include signatures from at least 2,000 city residents who are registered voters. If the tax is forced to a vote, it would require 60-percent voter approval to pass. Food and drink costs aside, Hallman and Libertarian Party of Lowndes County chairman Danny Bedwell also take issue with the fact that the tax was brought to the Legislature before city residents got to have a say. |
| Ken Burns' Country Music film getting Meridian, Philadelphia screenings | |
| Producers of Ken Burns' upcoming 16-hour documentary series, Country Music, have scheduled two screenings of exclusive clips of the film for Mississippi audiences and question and answer sessions in Philadelphia and Meridian. The film, due for release on public television in September, features Mississippi artists such as Jimmie Rodgers, Elvis Presley, Marty Stuart, Charley Pride, Tammy Wynette and Bobbie Gentry, among others. The Philadelphia session is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. March 28 at the Ellis Theater and the Meridian session is scheduled at 10:30 a.m. March 29 at Peavy Headquarters, according to a news release from the promoters. The Philadelphia session will include country music artists Marty Stuart, Philadelphia native and found of Congress of Country Music, and Connie Smith. A performance by Marty Stuart, Connie Smith, and The Fabulous Superlatives will precede the film screening, and Stuart and Smith will join the filmmakers during the audience Q&A following the screening, according to the news release. |
| Ole Miss interim chancellor gives statement regarding Mississippi Stands rally | |
 | With the Mississippi Stands march taking place in Oxford and on Ole Miss' campus on Saturday, the university's interim chancellor Larry Sparks sent a letter to faculty, staff and students on Thursday about regarding the event. "The university's administration condemns racism, bigotry, and hatred," the letter began. "These concepts run contrary to our values, our principles, and our mission to educate. Our educational mission and our stewardship of this physical campus call us to work toward eliminating prejudice and discrimination. While some may disagree with how this should be done, we remain steadfast in our commitment to this goal." On Wednesday the university held a public forum to discuss the march and other topics ranging from gun laws and the future status of the confederate monument that is at the center of this weekend's march. During the discussion the chancellor's absence was brought up, though officials in attendance noted Sparks was in Jackson for the monthly board meeting with the Institutions of Higher Learning. Some asked if there would be a statement put out by Sparks or the university condemning the march before Saturday. |
| UPD responds to concerning 'social media activity' ahead of protests | |
 | The University Police Department released a statement late Thursday night saying they are aware of recent social media activity that has "heightened anxiety" regarding the Students Against Social Injustice "Students Over Statues" march scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday. "Related security measures have been taken, and safety remains our first priority," the statement read. The statement came after Billy Sessions, leader of Confederate 901, made a video cursing at several minority student organizations. In the video, Sessions also said quite a few members of his group were going to "visit Lamar Hall at 3 p.m.," which is the time of SASI's protest. |
| U. of Mississippi updates gun policy eight days before Confederate groups march on campus | |
| Protesters and other campus visitors with enhanced concealed carry permits will be allowed to bring firearms onto the Ole Miss campus this weekend. The university announced this week that it recently completed the process of bringing its weapons policy into compliance with the state's law on gun permits. At Wednesday's forum regarding this weekend's Confederate protest, university officials fielded questions from students about this update to school policy. "Mississippi has very liberal gun legislation," said Erica McKinley, the university's chief legal officer and general counsel. "It is a rather unfortunate, and frankly damning, coincidence that when we realized and got aligned on that policy, we issued it when we did." |
| Will teacher pay gap between Mississippi, Southeast widen? | |
 | As lawmakers crunch numbers for a teacher raise, the gap between starting teachers' salaries in the Magnolia State and its Southeastern peers stands to widen as other states invest in teachers. Mississippi teachers make on average earn $44,659, according to the Mississippi Department of Education, while the average teacher in the Southeast makes just shy of $51,000. A proposal on the table from the Mississippi Senate would increase teacher salaries by $1,000 over the next two years. By 2020, first-year teachers would receive a minimum base pay of $35,390, if the legislation becomes law. Teacher groups have noted that the proposed boost still trails the Southeastern average, a baseline that some advocates see as a gold standard for teacher salaries. Out-of-state districts recruiting from Mississippi's teacher colleges have long topped in-state offers. It's a scenario that school leaders from rural school districts have previously told Clarion Ledger results in an exodus of aspiring educators. |
| How grassroots efforts are trying to solve the teacher shortage crisis | |
| Mississippi is dealing with a dire teaching shortage. In seven Delta districts last year, at least 19 percent of teachers were uncertified to teach and in some cases the rate of teachers lacking certification was as high as 34 percent. In several districts, the percentage of uncertified teachers has doubled since 2013-14. After years in which little action was taken to address the teacher shortage crisis here, Mississippi has recently taken some steps to help more candidates qualify to become teachers. In July 2018, the state hired a full-time employee to focus on teacher recruitment and retention. The new staffer helped expand Praxis preparation programs across the state, and secured a $4.1 million grant to create new pathways for teachers to get licensed. |
| U. of Alabama production breathes fresh life into satirical play | |
 | The currently-running "The Drowsy Chaperone" could be seen as an act two. Theatre Tuscaloosa performed it, same script, same music, same basic comedic beats, same choreographer and even the same lead actor, Gary Wise, as agoraphobic old-style-musical-fan The Man in Chair, a little under eight years ago, in 2011. It was sweetly satirical then, both an ode to musical theater and jab at some of its conventions, and it's much the same now. But that's not a full or fair assessment, as the University of Alabama Department of Theatre and Dance production features an otherwise new cast and crew, inflating this unlikely hit back to goofy, thoroughly enjoyable light and life. And Stacy Alley added director to her list of jobs, along with again choreographing the high-flying tap and other dance moves. |
| LSU's DKE chapter closed after alum saw wounds on grandson pledging, demanded investigation | |
 | A grandfather who saw hazing wounds on his grandson while the LSU student was swimming demanded the investigation of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity that led to its closure last month and the subsequent arrests of nine members accused of hazing. Emails exchanged among at least 200 DKE alumni last month and obtained by The Advocate show that the man who reported the hazing allegations to the DKE national fraternity came forward to defend his grandson after another alumnus suggested that the allegations "did not happen at all." The Advocate generally does not identify alleged crime victims without their permission. The grandfather, who joined DKE at a different university more than five decades ago, said his grandson, an LSU student, was swimming in his pool over the winter holidays when he noticed wounds and bruises that were obvious signs of hazing. The grandson was uncooperative, the grandfather said, but the grandfather started to talk to friends who were familiar with LSU's DKE chapter, who told him pledges were being doused with gasoline. |
| U. of Florida investigates use of funds for building projects | |
 | As the president of the University of Central Florida resigned this week in connection with misuse of state money for campus buildings, the University of Florida confirmed it has launched an internal investigation into the possible misuse of millions in public money. UF officials sent a prepared statement Wednesday afternoon, but would not elaborate on the investigation's length or scope. "The University of Florida takes very seriously its role as a steward of public funds and a recipient of the public's trust," the statement reads. "Therefore, the university swiftly and aggressively addresses allegations of business practices that do not support university and/or state laws, regulations and policies." An anonymous whistleblower sent a complaint to the governor's office as well as the Florida Department of Education. The whistleblower, using an anonymous email account, also sent the complaint to The Sun. According to the complaint, Norbert Dunkel, then-UF's associate vice president for auxiliary services, and Nancy Chrystal-Green, then-director of student activities and involvement, misused more than $3 million, to construct a $1.8 million building for the Center of Outdoor and Recreation Education and $1.3 million to clear 3 acres of woods to prepare three Greek housing lots. |
| National journalist, UGA grad Deborah Roberts to deliver Commencement address | |
 | ABC News correspondent and UGA alumna Deborah Roberts will give the University of Georgia's spring undergraduate Commencement address in Sanford Stadium. Loch Johnson, Regents Professor of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia, will deliver the spring graduate address on the same day, May 10, at Stegeman Coliseum, UGA announced on Thursday. Since graduating from UGA in 1982 with a degree in broadcast news from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Roberts has risen through the ranks of television news, received numerous awards and been a regular reporter and contributor for programs such as "Dateline NBC," "20/20," "Nightline," and "Good Morning America." Johnson was a driving force in the creation of the School of Public and International Affairs in 2001. In 2012, the fourteen universities that comprise the Southeast Conference selected him as the inaugural recipient of its now annual prize: "The SEC Professor of the Year." Johnson will retire at the end of the spring semester after more than 40 years at UGA. |
| Case against U. of Arkansas professor goes to drug treatment court | |
| A criminal case against a University of Arkansas, Fayetteville professor has been moved to a drug treatment court. Justin Murphy Nolan, an anthropology professor, will have felony drug charges dismissed if he successfully completes drug court requirements, according to a transfer order filed Thursday in Washington County Circuit Court. Nolan, 47, is on paid administrative leave from the university, UA spokesman Steve Voorhies said. A day after his arrest in April, Nolan stepped down as chairman of the university's Department of Anthropology. He joined the UA faculty in 2002, according to information from the university's website. Court documents show Nolan was charged with two felony counts and two misdemeanor counts of possessing a controlled substance, as well as a felony count of using a communication device "in furtherance of committing felony controlled substance transactions." |
| Scientists rally around Vandy prof whose tenure bid appeared to hit roadblocks as Me Too activism grew | |
 | BethAnn McLaughlin is a hero to many women in academe, especially those in science. She founded a nonprofit called #MeTooSTEM to draw attention to the harassment of women in academic science, much by prominent men who are considered leaders of their fields. She has urged members of the National Academy of Sciences to resign unless all harassers are removed from its ranks. McLaughlin also had notable success -- where others have complained for years and achieved nothing -- in taking on Rate My Professors last year. As McLaughlin's activism has grown, some of it has struck close to home. A faculty committee that had endorsed her tenure bid reversed itself, Science reported. |
| Texas A&M sees its highest spring enrollment yet | |
 | Texas A&M University has 64,882 students enrolled for the spring 2019 semester, a record for spring enrollment. That number includes 59,741 undergraduate and graduate students at the College Station main campus, which is also a spring semester record. In spring 2018, 64,523 students were enrolled. A&M posted a record enrollment of 69,367 students for the fall 2018 semester to remain the largest university in Texas and among the national leaders in student population size. Texas A&M has 50,557 undergraduate students and 6,833 masters-level students. Another 4,905 students are in A&M doctoral programs, with 2,494 professional students and 93 people in post-doctoral programs. |
| U. of Missouri Caucus hoped to lead to better relations between university and lawmakers | |
 | An army of lawmakers has banded together to promote the University of Missouri system and advocate for funding. The University of Missouri Caucus was unveiled at the state capital Thursday, including more than 100 state legislators who have attended one of the four UM System universities or support the campuses, said state Rep. Greg Razer, D-Kansas City. Razer is helping to spearhead the effort with state Sen. Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia. "We want to make sure there is a united group of voices that are helping to tell the story of the UM System," Rowden said. UM System President Mun Choi pointed out the significance of the caucus' creation. "Think back two years ago and ask yourself, would this have been possible?" Choi said. "We went through the issues related to November 2015; people lost confidence in the university," he said, referring to the student protests and related issues of Fall 2015. Choi said it was through the efforts of many university officials that the relationship with state leaders has improved. |
| U. of Missouri music program receives major gift | |
 | The Mizzou New Music Initiative will have more scholarships and other opportunities for students with the receipt of a $2.5 million gift from the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation, a long-time benefactor, the University of Missouri stated in a news release Thursday. The donation will support two full-tuition scholarships annually in the School of Music and undergraduate scholarships will be endowed with $600,000 in new funding, $300,000 from the donation and $300,000 set aside by the university to match it. In addition, the funding will support graduate assistants, send student composers to the Missouri International Composers festival and support faculty and staff. The Sinquefield Charitable Foundation has supported several School of Music initiatives over the years, including the Sinquefield Composition Prize, and Jeanne Sinquefield personally donated $10 million toward construction of a new building to house the school. |
| College groups raise access concerns over Alexander accountability plan | |
| The rules that hold most colleges accountable for the debt their students leave campus with are widely regarded as broken. A Government Accountability Office report last year found that colleges easily game standards applying to loan default rates. Policy shops and lawmakers, meanwhile, have spent years debating the right approach about the degree to which institutions should be on the hook for poor results on student loans. Senator Lamar Alexander, the Tennessee Republican who chairs the Senate education committee, this month released the latest gambit to overhaul federal accountability for colleges. He proposed in a speech at the American Enterprise Institute that a single accountability system measuring students' progress paying back their loans should apply to all colleges and majors. It's a simple concept, but policy makers would quickly run into complications drafting such a rule, representatives of college groups say. So far, the proposal is getting tepid responses from those groups, who say it could hurt access and create new administrative challenges on campus. But they could be facing a tougher political environment to oppose accountability outright. |
| As Students Struggle With Stress and Depression, Colleges Act as Counselors | |
 | Students and institutions are grappling with issues like the surge in school shootings and trauma from suicides and sexual assault. But it's not just the crises that have shaken this generation -- it's the grinding, everyday stresses, from social media pressures to relationship problems to increased academic expectations. More than 60 percent of college students said they had experienced "overwhelming anxiety" in the past year, according to a 2018 report from the American College Health Association. Over 40 percent said they felt so depressed they had difficulty functioning. As students have encountered more mental health problems, they have sought help in record numbers. Between the fall of 2009 and spring of 2015, the number of students who visited campus counseling centers increased by more than 30 percent, while college enrollment climbed just 5 percent, according to a 2015 report by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health. |
| Every Sunday, These Historians Go to the Movies -- All in the Name of Digital Community | |
 | Have you ever, while watching the movie Julie & Julia, drawn comparisons between Julia Child's struggle to find the right publisher and the mercurial marketplace of academic publishing? You probably haven't. But historians have. The comparison is one of many under the Twitter hashtag #HATM. The abbreviation stands for Historians At The Movies and was created by Jason Herbert, a doctoral candidate at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities who now lives in Florida where he studies indigenous people and ecology. Every Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, Herbert and other historians, plus people who just enjoy history, watch the same movie. They tweet along, sharing insight, tidbits, and punchlines. They prepared for the 2019 Oscars by watching Roma, a Best Picture nominee. On Sunday they'll live-tweet the awards ceremony -- which will be fun and a break from the norm, Herbert says. Since the hashtag kicked off in July 2018, the weekly ritual has cultivated quite the following. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State wears Ole Miss out in front of sizable road crowd | |
| Ole Miss came out swinging against one of the best basketball teams in the country. The Rebels had a game plan, and they executed it almost as well as they possibly could have for longer than most inside the Pavilion on Thursday night expected them too. But when they looked up at the scoreboard at the end of their game against bitter rival Mississippi State, they saw more points by "MSU" than they did by "Ole Miss." Fourteen more points, to be exact. MSU 80, Ole Miss 66. As well as head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin's team played, it still didn't stand much of a chance against the No. 6 Mississippi State Bulldogs (24-2, 12-1 SEC) in front of a prevalent contingent of maroon-clad fans who entered enemy territory. |
| Bulldogs handle physical Rebels | |
| The No. 6-ranked Mississippi State women won 80-66 over Ole Miss on Thursday night – a final margin that was expected though perhaps the journey to get there was not. First-year Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin wanted to make sure she created stress for the heavily favored Bulldogs, and MSU's 6-foot-7 center Teaira McCowan was the focus of that aggression. A crowd of 4,125 watched as McCowan finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds, in line with the 16.8 points and 13.6 rebounds she averages. She found obstacles in her path all night. It was the other players who did the bulk of the damage when MSU pulled away in the second half. Anriel Howard led MSU with 21 points, and Jordan Danberry added 20. "It was a grind tonight," MSU coach Vic Schaefer said. |
| No. 6 Mississippi State dominates in the post to drub Ole Miss at home | |
| A clever game plan, which included forward La'Karis Salter playing point guard at times, kept Ole Miss in striking distance of No. 6 Mississippi State through one half. Game planning aside, the Bulldogs are No. 6 in the nation for a reason, and exploited the Rebels for 44 points in the paint as they dominated Ole Miss 80-66 at the Pavilion Thursday. Crystal Allen and Mimi Reid lead Ole Miss in scoring with 29 and 11, respectively, as the team would only trail by eight going into halftime. This was due, in large part, to coach Yolette McPhee-McCuin's plan to play Salter in the backcourt. Playing Salter at the top of the key exploited Mississippi State's defensive plan to play man-to-man. Bulldog star Teaira McCowan was assigned to guard Salter, and played Salter at the top of the key. "La'Karis thinks she's a point guard anyway," McPee-McCuin said. This took McCowan out of the paint and allowed Ole Miss to grab 15 defensive rebounds in the first half. On offensive, however, McCowan would record a double double in the first half with 13 points and 10 boards. She would finish the game with 15 points and 12 boards. |
| Mississippi State baseball announces schedule change for Southern Miss opener | |
 | With the threat of inclement weather in the forecast, the Mississippi State baseball program has announced that the series opener versus Southern Miss on Friday will now start at 2 p.m. at Dudy Noble Field. The Bulldogs and Golden Eagles will open the series with a 2 p.m. first pitch on Friday, Feb. 22, with the remaining schedule featuring single games on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Tickets for the weekend series versus Southern Miss, along with all of MSU's home games, can be purchased through HailState.com/tickets. |
| State seeks redemption vs. Southern Miss | |
| Mississippi State players haven't forgotten the mortifying way they started last season. The Diamond Dogs were swept and outscored 23-6 on opening weekend at Southern Miss. A day later, MSU head coach Andy Cannizaro resigned amid an off-the-field scandal. However, the Bulldogs were able to atone from their swooning start and finished the year as a semifinalist at the College World Series. This weekend, No. 14 Mississippi State (4-0) seeks some redemption as it hosts the Golden Eagles (3-0) for a three-game series. "It's one of those things where you have to put it in the past and look forward to the next game and be great where your feet are," said MSU pitcher Keegan James. "We've been through a lot and this team has grown. This team is just as close and maybe even more close than last year." Today's first pitch is slated for 2 p.m. -- moved up two hours in hopes of playing due to weather concerns. |
| Mississippi State, Southern Miss ready for in-state showdown | |
| Folks from Hattiesburg to Starkville and everywhere in between are hoping the rain holds off in northeast Mississippi this weekend. Should it stay dry, two highly-ranked baseball teams will go at it with bragging rights and more on the line. Mississippi State (4-0) is set to host Southern Miss (3-0) in a three-game series at Dudy Noble Field starting at 4 p.m. Friday. AccuWeather predicted a 50/50 chance of rain at the time of first-pitch as of Thursday afternoon. At the least, MSU head coach Chris Lemonis said a double-header is in play Sunday if Friday or Saturday's game gets washed out. Enough about precipitation. Let's talk baseball. Mississippi State and Southern Miss aren't just two of the best teams in the state; they're two teams with serious aspirations of making deep runs in the postseason. Both programs have the talent to do so, and they're putting that to the test against each other this weekend. |
| Jace Christmann earned admiration of Mississippi State fans | |
| Growing up in Houston, Texas, Jace Christmann wasn't aware of Mississippi State's kicking struggles prior to his arrival in 2016. However, Christmann quickly learned of Bulldog fans' love-hate relationship with their placekickers depending on how the ebb and flow of the season was going. Since Christmann ascended as MSU's starting kicker two games into the 2017 season, fans haven't had too much to complain about. Christmann has made 80 percent (24 of 30) of his field goal attempts. "I had no idea about their struggles that they had went through," Christmann said. "For them to have confidence in me and them actually appreciate what I do means a lot." But that appreciation definitely had to be earned. Christmann arrived with little to no fanfare as a walk-on three years ago. Although he dressed for several games in 2016, Christmann never saw the field during his freshman season and very few fans were familiar with his name. "My (true) freshman year, people thought I was manager or an athletic trainer or something like that," Christmann said. |
| Bulldog beanie incident draws scrutiny | |
| After Duke star Zion Williamson's exploding shoe, it was the second biggest story of the sports night. The stuffed animal Bulldog thrown onto the floor of Stegeman Coliseum as Mississippi State's Quinndary Weatherspoon shot a free throw in a tied game with 0.5 seconds to go. He missed the foul shot, but the action by a fan ended up drawing a technical foul on Georgia in a 68-67 loss Wednesday. Weatherspoon had gone to the line after officials called a foul on Jordan Harris, which drew the ire of Georgia fans. The toy was a Bulldog beanie baby that is tossed into the crowd at basketball and gymnastic games, athletic director Greg McGarity said. "It causes you to maybe reconsider things of that nature," he said Thursday. "Somebody could throw a plastic bottle or a cup of ice. Where do you draw the line?" It's the first time McGarity can remember since he became athletic director in September 2010 that anything has been thrown on the floor by a fan. Mississippi State forward Abdul Ado held it in his right hand and tossed it to the side. |
| SEC baseball will use centralized video review beginning this season | |
| The Southeastern Conference will begin using centralized video review during the 2019 baseball season, the league office announced Thursday afternoon. During conference games, which begin March 15, a replay official in the SEC's Birmingham offices will oversee calls subject to video review. The official will then relay their decision to umpires at the game. The SEC is the first conference to use this system for baseball games. The conference used a similar system at the 2018 SEC Baseball Tournament. It already uses centralized video review for conference football and men's basketball games. |
| Tennessee basketball has no worries about Nike shoes after Zion Williamson blowout | |
 | The college basketball world locked in on Duke and North Carolina on Wednesday night, especially to see Blue Devils star Zion Williamson. But the Duke freshman left the game less than a minute in, suffering a knee injury when his Nike shoe blew out and the sole separated from the shoe. Tennessee, also a Nike school, says it has no worries about the company's shoes after the Williamson incident. "Student-athlete safety is keenly important to us always, but last night's incident in Durham has raised no concerns here," assistant athletic director for communications Tom Satkowiak said in a statement. Tennessee has had no communication with Nike since Wednesday night, according to an open records request submitted by the Knoxville News Sentinel. Top athletic department officials and Rick Barnes have not exchanged any written communication about Nike, shoes or Williamson following the incident at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium. |
| A Star's Shoe Breaks, Putting College Basketball Under a Microscope | |
| When the left sneaker of college basketball's biggest star split open on national television Wednesday night 30 seconds into the biggest game of the season, what spilled out was not only his foot but also questions about the future of a marquee player and about the huge influence shoe companies hold over big-time college basketball. The episode occurred in a game between the archrivals Duke and North Carolina. Zion Williamson, a Duke freshman, pivoted with the ball above the foul line, and the sheer force of his 285-pound frame and acrobatic versatility appeared to cut the shoe almost in two, as though severed by a sharp knife. For a quarter of a century, Nike has been paying Duke tens of millions of dollars to sponsor its teams, and to ensure that its athletes wear only footwear bearing the company's ubiquitous logo. The players receive enough shoes to carry them through the season, allowing them to serve largely as free human billboards. "All this does," Gabe Feldman, who directs Tulane's sports law program, said of Williamson's injury, "is put a magnifying glass on an issue that has existed for a long time." |
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