| Wednesday, March 6, 2019 |
| New narratives festival to focus on corporate communication, changing avenues for communication | |
 | For the second year, Mississippi State's Department of Communication will host the New Narratives Festival and Conference to focus on the changing landscape of communication. Steve Soltis, a retired corporate communications professional with more than 20 years of experience working for Coca-Cola and UPS, and a member of the advisory board for the Department of Communications, spoke Monday to the Starkville Rotary Club about the festival. This year's festival is scheduled for March 22-23 at the Mill at MSU. MSU Professor and Head of the Department of Communications John Forde said Soltis helped create the idea for the New Narrative Festival about three years ago. This year's festival, Soltis said, will focus on communicating through times of transition and disruption. He said new competitive forces, technologies and regulatory pressures cause an almost constant state of disruption. The festival will include speakers such as MSU President Mark Keenum and celebrity chef Robert St. John. |
| MSU Shackouls Honors College offering summertime C.S. Lewis course abroad to high school teachers, counselors | |
 | Expanding on the success of its University of Oxford study abroad program for undergraduate students, Mississippi State University's Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College is offering a non-credit "C.S. Lewis and The Inklings of Oxford" course for professionals in secondary education. Up to 12 interested high school teachers and counselors from across the Magnolia State can participate this June in a five-day educational experience at one of the world's most prestigious universities. In addition to hotel accommodations, the trip includes tours of the Kilns, C.S. Lewis's home in Headington; Magdalen College, where Lewis was a don; and Blenheim Palace, along with walking tours of Oxford and the Trout, Lewis's favorite country inn. Guest lectures by Oxford academics and a group meal in an Oxford college dining hall are included, and transportation from London-Heathrow airport to Oxford City Center also will be provided. For additional details, contact Chris Snyder, honors college dean and professor of history, at 662-325-2522 or csnyder@msstate.edu. |
| Ethics Commission OKs hire of Oktibbeha supervisor's brother-in-law | |
| A long-simmering disagreement over the Oktibbeha County's hiring of a supervisor's brother-in-law in the road department spilled over into public discussion during an argument at Monday's board meeting. The disagreement focused on Stafford Robinson, a sign technician in the county's road department. Robinson, hired on Oct. 16, 2017, is District 5 Supervisor Joe Williams' brother-in-law, by way of being his wife's brother. Williams raised the issue during Monday's meeting, citing a Mississippi Ethics Commission advisory opinion on whether he could vote on matters related to Robinson's employment. The opinion, which board attorney Rob Roberson received and informed supervisors of at a meeting in December, says "the sibling of a supervisor's spouse is not considered a 'relative' as defined in Section 25-4-103(q), Miss. Code of 1972 and the supervisor can vote on matters affecting the county employee without violating Section 25-4-105(1)." |
| Plan for voucher-like education scholarship accounts is dead | |
 | A program that uses public school funds to send children to private schools will see no expansion or other modifications -- for now. One day before the legislative deadline to pass bills out of committee, House Education Chairman Rep. Richard Bennett, R-Long Beach, declined to take up Senate Bill 2675. Originally, the bill would have expanded ESA access to all students, but the Senate amended it to simply extend the law by four years to 2024. When reporters asked Bennett if he might revisit the bill on Tuesday, he replied: "It's dead." The Legislature created the Mississippi Education Scholarship Account (ESA) program in 2015. Students with special needs who apply to the program can receive $6,500 per year from the state to attend private schools. Bennett said it is "bad policy" to pass a bill that goes beyond the term of the next administration. This year Mississippi will vote on all statewide offices in November, including legislative seats. |
| Employee sex offender bill advances | |
 | Sen. Sally Doty's bill that would require employers to notify parents or guardians of minors who are working with sex offenders passed out of committee and will go to the full House for consideration. If it's passed there it will go to the governor's desk. It does not apply to employees who only have incidental contact with children in the workplace. A convicted sex offender who volunteers for an organization and has contact with minors must notify the group of the conviction, according to the bill. An employer acting in good faith in making notification to parents or guardians would not be held liable if they failed to do so. "Protecting our children and other vulnerable persons such as the elderly and disabled is my No. 1 concern, but I also understand the role and importance of stable employment for rehabilitation of anyone convicted of a crime," Doty told the Clarion Ledger. |
| Local bills still alive in State Legislature | |
 | Several legislative measures on a list of priorities for Natchez and Adams County are still alive despite having died in Senate committees and could see action by the week's end, a local state lawmaker said. Some measures introduced in the Senate this year by Sen. Bob Dearing, D-Natchez, including a bill to fund repairs and renovations to the Margaret Performing Arts Center, funding for the Belwood Levee project at the Natchez-Adams County Port and funding for a Proud to Take a Stand Civil Rights Memorial in Natchez all died in Senate committee. However, House of Representative versions of those measures are still alive, said District 94 State Rep. Robert L. Johnson III, D-Natchez. Johnson said his measures, introduced in the House Ways and Means Committee originally called for $4 million to fund the Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center repairs and renovations and a separate bill to provide $38,000 funding for the Proud to Take a State Civil Rights Memorial to be built on the grounds of the Natchez City Auditorium to memorialize the wrongful imprisonment of hundreds of protest marchers in Natchez in 1965. |
| Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith cosponsors the modernizing Agricultural Transportation Act | |
 | U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today announced her support for legislation to give the agriculture sector a greater voice in setting policies on transporting livestock and agriculture commodities. Hyde-Smith is an original cosponsor of the Modernizing Agricultural Transportation Act (S.600), which would establish a working group within the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop Electronic Logging Device (ELD) and Hours of Service (HOS) policy and legislative reforms for transporting livestock and other agricultural commodities. "The goal of this legislation is to allow the agricultural sector to make real-world, commonsense recommendations on shipping livestock and commodities safely," Hyde-Smith said. "I believe this working group will result in greater flexibility and fewer federal regulatory burdens on farmers and ranchers." |
| U.S. and E.U. Are Headed for a Food Fight Over Trade | |
 | After a White House meeting last July, President Trump and Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, stepped into the Rose Garden and proclaimed they had a trade deal or, at the very least, the makings of a future pact. Eight months later, it is increasingly obvious that the two leaders had nothing close to that level of agreement. American and European negotiators are at odds over what to include in a prospective trade deal, ratcheting up trans-Atlantic tensions and jeopardizing talks before they even begin. Trump administration officials insist that any deal must address the agricultural trade barriers that the president says put American farmers at a disadvantage, in part because such an agreement would be more likely to win congressional approval. European officials counter that agriculture was never on the table -- not last July, and not now. |
| Trump to visit Alabama areas devastated by weekend tornadoes | |
 | President Donald Trump announced he will travel to Alabama on Friday, where tornadoes killed at least 23 people on Sunday. "Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the devastating storms in Alabama, Georgia, and the surrounding states, and especially to the families of those who have tragically lost their lives," he said at the start of an event at the White House. "I'll be heading to Alabama on Friday," Trump said. "It's been a tragic situation, but a lot of good work is being done." Trump tweeted Monday he has ordered federal emergencies agencies to give the Yellowhammer State "A+ treatment," drawing criticism from Democrats and others who say he has shortchanged Puerto Rico following devastating hurricanes there. |
| Ole Miss Student Senate votes unanimously on resolution to remove Confederate statue | |
| The Ole Miss Student Senate unanimously voted yes on a resolution to remove a Confederate statue from the Ole Miss campus at a meeting Tuesday night. This discussion to relocate the monument comes more than a week after a peaceful pro-Confederate rally in Oxford. Students at that meeting say their vote to relocate the statue of a Confederate soldier is a move toward the future of students and visitors at the University of Mississippi. The resolution calls for the monument to be moved to an existing Confederate cemetery on campus. "We're going to be on the right side of history," said senator-at-large Juan Ramon Riojas. "We're working toward making Ole Miss a place that anyone and everyone can be proud of proud to send their kids to proud that their brothers and sisters can go to." |
| Hinds CC a training ground for USACE drone technology | |
| Hinds Community College is playing a vital role in building skills for Army employees working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Recent revisions to USACE policies require pilots and operators of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), or drones, be licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration. An initial step toward that licensure, a Remote Pilot Certificate (Part 107), involves a theory class that provides an in-depth review of all applicable FAA regulations and operational requirements to fly small UAS for commercial purposes. Students enrolled in the formal UAS program at Hinds are trained in the piloting, construction, design and practical mechanics of multi-rotor and fixed-wing drones. The aircraft have revolutionized airborne data collection in the past decade. In 2015, a 2+2 agreement was established between Hinds and Mississippi State University for students in the program to earn credentials and become job-ready. |
| DKE gameday banners were a constant source of drama inside LSU, new records show | |
 | No one was safe from mockery when LSU's Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity members sat down to craft their gameday banners. Shot during the 1970 Kent State massacre? Of Asian descent? Diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease? All fair game, according to DKE. Each of those groups -- and many others -- became the butt of the now-disbanded fraternity's infamous public messages at one point or another on autumn Saturdays. Until nine fraternity members were arrested last month on hazing counts, the gameday barbs were how many of the LSU community best knew DKE. The banners were also a constant source of consternation for those charged with keeping the fraternity in check, according to records The Advocate received in response to a public-records request. While arrest reports allege that DKE pledges were doused in gasoline, burned with cigarettes and urinated on during the fall 2018 semester, the banners were a more contentious issue between LSU administrators and DKE alumni at the time, emails show. |
| Jogger who was choked unconscious at LSU lakes says attacker is 'not worthy of ... forgiveness' | |
| As a former New Orleans prosecutor and current East Baton Rouge Parish assistant district attorney, she has sat countless times in court listening to crime victims give heart-rending impact statements at the sentencing of persons she prosecuted. But on Feb. 26, the 35-year-old prosecutor found herself in the unenviable position of delivering her own victim impact statement in a Baton Rouge courtroom as the Brusly man who violently attacked her in 2013 sat just a few feet away after admitting his guilt. Akeem Markees Yarbrough, 27, pleaded guilty to second-degree battery in the Nov. 21, 2013, assault on East Lakeshore Drive at the LSU lakes and was sentenced to five years in prison. He also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a firearm on a police officer in an Oct. 11, 2017, road-rage incident that ultimately led to Yarbrough's arrest later that month in the attack on the prosecutor. |
| U. of Florida names fastest-growing Gator-led companies | |
 | Construction completed under the management and design of Scorpio, a Gainesville construction company, can be seen around Gainesville. Scorpio has worked on the University of Florida's Normal Hall, Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium and is working on its third sorority house. Owner and founder Domenic Scorpio -- yes, his company bears his Horoscope-esque name -- founded the company in 2010. Scorpio said the business began with his dream to own a company, and now it consistently draws million-dollar construction management contracts and is growing rapidly. In fact, Scorpio was one of the companies named to UF's 2019 Gator 100, a list of the fastest-growing UF-graduate owned or led businesses. The ranking was put together by comparing the companies' compound annual growth rates, which is used to determine year-over-year growth over a specific period of time. |
| Gov. Bill Lee promises a lot more money for U. of Tennessee | |
 | Gov. Bill Lee promised big bucks for higher education and the region's technology corridor Tuesday night during his first State of East Tennessee address in Knoxville. "Technical skills and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education are particularly important here in East Tennessee," Lee told his audience at the University of Tennessee's Clarence Brown Theatre. "We can do more, and we plan to do more." The speech came a day after Lee's first State of the State address, which focused on education, criminal justice reform and health care, and the same day UT officials hailed his proposed budget for its recommended boost in funding -- more than $643 million for the university. Lee cited UT's partnerships with technology contractors in Oak Ridge and said he hopes to see more such programs blossom. |
| Authorities: Driver had photos of unconscious women in car | |
 | Authorities say a Northport man preyed on college women by posing as an Uber driver and taking photos of them passed out in his back seat. A Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's deputy stopped Tommy Wayne Beard several miles from the University of Alabama campus at 2:30 a.m. Saturday and found a young woman unconscious in his vehicle. Beard, 61, later admitted to posing as an Uber driver after investigators found several photos of other unconscious women in his car, said Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit commander Capt. Gary Hood. The woman, who lives just off the UA campus, told investigators she remembered leaving a downtown bar, but didn't remember getting in Beard's vehicle. Investigators are looking for any other women who may have accepted or paid for a ride from Beard. "Beard later admitted to investigators he was not actually an Uber driver but was portraying himself as one," Hood said. "Beard stated he had purchased an Uber sign for his vehicle and was picking up people and giving them rides." |
| Missouri nonprofit backs effort to alter Title IX process at universities | |
 | A Missouri nonprofit that can accept confidential donations is pushing legislation that would extend the appeals process for sexual assault complaints within college and university Title IX offices. The nonprofit, Kingdom Principles, was formed Aug. 15 by Richard McIntosh, a lobbyist in Jefferson City, according to records on file with the Secretary of State's office and the Missouri Ethics Commission. An advocacy group working to push the legislation, the Missouri Campus Due Process Coalition, states on its website that it is "paid for by Kingdom Principles." McIntosh directed questions about Kingdom Principles to Joe Larkin of Victory Enterprises, the political consulting firm that registered the domain for the Missouri Campus Due Process Coalition. Larkin did not respond to the Missourian's request for comment. Opponents of the bill have been vocal about their concerns that opening an accuser up for cross-examination by an attorney would dissuade victims from reporting cases. |
| Report: Top universities in U.S. targeted by Chinese hackers | |
 | Chinese hackers are ramping up their efforts to steal military research secrets from U.S. universities, new cybersecurity intelligence suggests. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Hawaii, Pennsylvania State University, Duke University and the University of Washington are among 27 institutions in the U.S., Canada and Southeast Asia to be targeted by Chinese hackers, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The Chinese hackers targeted institutions and researchers with expertise in undersea technology as part of a coordinated cybercampaign that began in April 2017. Some of the institutions mentioned above may have been compromised in the attacks, though none have confirmed this publicly. Cybersecurity intelligence company iDefense, which conducted the research, is due to publish a report on its findings later this week. Inside Higher Ed has not viewed the report. China is not the first country to target U.S. universities with a coordinated cybercampaign. Last year nine Iranian hackers were charged for their role in a phishing scam that ran from 2013 to 2017 and attempted to steal the passwords of hundreds of thousands of professors. |
| New study of NIH funding says women get smaller grants than men | |
| "Publish or perish" is a law of academe. In the sciences, that law might as well be, "Get funding or perish." And funding is harder and harder to get, with federal research dollars on the decline. Yet in this Darwinian climate, it's not exactly survival of the fittest, according to new research that says women get smaller grants than men. The study, published in JAMA, looks at National Institutes of Health grants from 2006 to 2017. Female first-time principal investigators received a median grant of $126,615, across all grant and institution types during that period. First-time male grantees, meanwhile, got $165,721. The difference is just about $40,000 -- arguably enough to make or break a project, or a career. While some comparisons of grants by scientists' genders don't take into account that some scholars are more senior or have more of an impact, this study controlled for numerous factors. It also compared only people who received their first grants and were thus at similar points in their careers. |
| Hate Groups And White Supremacists Spread Their Message With Flyers | |
 | At first, you might not realize the flyer was put there by a white supremacy group. The poster, in shades of black, white and teal, features George Washington on horseback. The accompanying text reads: "European roots, American greatness." Flyers like this, posted across the country by American neo-Nazi and white supremacist group, Identity Evropa, are popping up far more than they used to. According to a new report by the Anti-Defamation League, white supremacy propaganda increased by 182 percent in 2018 compared to the year before. The increase in flyers and other propaganda reflects a relatively new strategy for hate groups, the ADL says. While college campuses remain a primary target, most of that increase occurred off of college campuses, with 868 incidents in 2018, up from 129 the year before. The alt-right also uses banners to promote its message, the ADL said, counting 32 instances of white supremacist banners hung in high-visibility locations such as highway overpasses. |
| Analysis: Republicans in strong position to hold, maybe increase, legislative majorities | |
| Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison writes: Republicans are in a strong position to at least maintain their majorities in the Mississippi Legislature -- based on the outcome of Friday's deadline to quality to run for county, regional and state offices. And, if everything goes their way in the November general election, Republicans could even increase on the three-fifths majorities they currently hold in the House and Senate. In the 52 member Senate, there are 24 seats where Democrats are not running candidates. By contrast, there are 14 seats where Republicans are not running candidates. In the 122 member House, there are 42 seats where the Republicans have no candidate against the Democrat and 54 seats where the Democrats are not putting up a candidate against the majority party. The final day of qualifying brought some bad news for Democrats. |
| GOP secretary of state primary may raise some interesting election law issues | |
 | Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: One of the more interesting political eleventh-hour developments as the 2019 March 1 qualifying deadline approached came in the Mississippi Secretary of State's race with the surprising entry of incumbent Republican Southern District Public Service Commissioner Sam Britton into that GOP primary against incumbent Gulf Coast State Sen. Michael Watson. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan, Vic Schaefer named top SEC player, coach | |
| Days after winning their second straight SEC championship together, Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan and Vic Schaefer were selected as the SEC player and coach of the year by both the Associated Press and league's coaches. McCowan led the league in rebounds (13.4), field goal percentage (65.4) and blocks (2.4) while also averaging 17.3 points. The senior center is the Bulldogs' first SEC Player of the Year since LaToya Thomas claimed the honor in back-to-back seasons in 2002-03. McCowan was also the only unanimous first team AP All-SEC selection. She was also named Defensive Player of the Year and to the All-Defensive team along with senior teammate Jazzmun Holmes. Joining McCowan on the All-SEC first teams was teammate Anriel Howard, a graduate transfer from Texas A&M. For Schaefer, it was his third time to win SEC Coach of the Year. He also earned the honor in 2015 and 2018. He guided the fifth-ranked Bulldogs to a 27-2 overall record and went 15-1 in conference play this season. |
| How Mississippi State won its second baseball game in a row over a ranked foe | |
 | Mississippi State had a ranked opponent come into Dudy Noble Field on Tuesday night, and once again the Bulldogs completely shut down the opposing lineup. The eighth-ranked Bulldogs beat No. 25 East Carolina 4-1 to improve to 11-1 on the season. Here's how it happened. Junior catcher Dustin Skelton said it last week: no matter who Mississippi State puts on the mound and no matter what inning it is, he feels confident the Bulldogs will string outs together and put zeros on the scoreboard. They did it again against East Carolina (8-5). Mississippi State went through six pitchers. Normally when a team has to go through that many, it's a sign that somebody got roughed up and had to be relieved. That was never the case. Junior Keegan James started the game but only pitched two innings. He's State's Sunday starter, so head coach Chris Lemonis didn't want to use his arm too much. He didn't need to anyway. |
| Joe Moorhead, Bulldogs open spring practice Tuesday | |
| Spring football practice has arrived in Starkville for the second year of the Joe Moorhead era at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs, fresh off a No. 25 final national ranking and a New Year's Day bowl berth, will go through spring drills Tuesday and Thursday afternoon to kick off the first week at the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex. State has spent the past two months conditioning under the direction of new head strength and conditioning coach Cory Bichey, who served in the assistant role during the 2018 campaign and owns six years of Southeastern Conference experience. Moorhead also tabbed five new assistant coaches who bring excellent resumes to Starkville. Moorhead's group will practice twice this week, take off for spring break and then return for four consecutive weeks of spring ball that culminates with the annual Maroon and White Game as part of Super Bulldog Weekend on Saturday, April 13. Kickoff is 1 p.m. and admission to Davis Wade Stadium is free. The practices are closed to the public. |
| Joe Moorhead conducts first practice of spring | |
| Although temperatures in the low 40s didn't exactly reflect it, spring was in the air around Mississippi State's Seal Football Complex on Tuesday. Second-year coach Joe Moorhead and his Bulldogs held the first of 15 spring practices inside the Palmeiro Center to get away from the chilly weather but still had a solid return to the field. "I thought it was a good Day 1," Moorhead said. "I think our strength and conditioning staff did an excellent job where our guys came out and were flying around." Five early enrollees took the field with MSU on Tuesday as did five new assistant coaches conducting their first practice. Moorhead has spent the past few months, weeks and in linebacker coach Chris Marve's case days getting his new staff up to speed with the team's offensive and defensive schemes. "I think the new guys hit the ground running from a coaching staff perspective," Moorhead said. "They bring a lot of energy, a lot of excitement and a lot of expertise. It was a great to see those guys and thought Day 1 in helmets only was very much a success." |
| What to know about Mississippi State's first spring football practice | |
| It didn't feel much like spring Tuesday afternoon. The sun was shining, but the practice fields outside the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex on Mississippi State's campus were empty. The sound of metal bats clanking against baseball echoed throughout the premises. The Bulldog baseball team -- players dressed in long sleeves and even sweatshirts in some cases -- was in the process of beating East Carolina 4-1, but the football team decided to take its first spring practice of the season inside the friendly, warm confines of the Palmeiro Center adjacent to Dudy Noble Field. It was too cold to practice outdoors. As much as it didn't feel like spring, the reality is this: spring football has arrived for Mississippi State, and head coach Joe Moorhead couldn't be more excited. "It's good to be back on the field," Moorhead said. "This is one of my favorite times of year, spring ball." |
| Students at Vols game protest Tennessee's response to blackface | |
| Protesting the University of Tennessee's handling of a blackface controversy, 40 to 50 students dressed in black occupied seats behind UT's goal Tuesday night at the men's game against Mississippi State. At the start of the game, they remained seated during the national anthem as other students, clad in orange and white, stood. Sitting or kneeling during the anthem has become a standard method of protesting racial injustice since 2016, following the example of football player Colin Kaepernick. During the first half, the assembled students employed a variety of chants aimed at Tennessee. "Hey, hey, ho, ho, racism has got to go," they chanted. "No justice, no peace, no racist, UT," they chanted another time. "What do we want? Expulsion! When do we want it? Now!" they yelled at halftime. "Which side are you on, UT? Which side are you on?" was another chant. Vice Chancellor for Student Life Vince Carilli said Monday afternoon the university was still deciding how to discipline students who appeared in blackface in a Snapchat image. |
| Auburn Athletics announces assistance efforts for tornado victims | |
 | Auburn Athletics will host two drives this weekend for supplies to assist in recovery efforts for tornado victim in Lee County. The school announced in the immediate aftermath that it would work toward finding the best way it could help. Donations will be accepted on Friday, March 8 from 4-7 p.m. CT and Saturday, March 9 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Gate 14 on the west side of Jordan-Hare Stadium and the McWhorter Parking Lot on the intersection of Samford Avenue and Biggio Drive, the school announced in a press release. Auburn head football coach Gus Malzahn and numerous Auburn football players assisted relief efforts at the Providence Baptist Church in Opelika on Monday. "Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the devastation in Lee County," Director of Athletics Allen Greene said in the release. "Auburn Athletics will collaborate with Auburn University leadership and local authorities to ensure that our relief and recovery efforts have maximum impact on those directly affected." |
| U. of Alabama athletics offers support for Lee County | |
 | The devastation across Lee County left by Sunday's tornado touchdown weighed over Coleman Coliseum across the state during Tuesday's Auburn-Alabama basketball game in Tuscaloosa. The arena held a moment of silence in observance of the devastation before tipoff, and the public address asked supporters to donate to the American Red Cross during a first-half timeout. At halftime, Alabama head football coach Nick Saban said that he and his team wish to support Lee County, the home of Auburn University. Alabama celebrated its football team's Iron Bowl win from this past fall then at halftime, awarding the Foy-ODK Sportsmanship Trophy to representatives of the football team in front of the arena, when Saban addressed the crowd. "We would like to join everyone in supporting all the people in Lee County that were affected by the tornado, and I'm sure we'll do that here at the University of Alabama," Saban said. |
| 3 get prison in college basketball recruiting scandal | |
 | Three men received prison sentences Tuesday in the widespread college basketball recruiting scandal that has tainted two dozen schools. Former Adidas executive James Gatto, business manager Christian Dawkins and amateur league director Merl Code were convicted in October of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for funneling illegal payments to families of recruits to Louisville, Kansas and North Carolina State. Gatto got nine months in prison; Dawkins and Code got six months each. Prosecutors say coaches teamed up with Gatto and others to trade hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to influence star athletes' choice of schools, shoe sponsors, agents and even tailors. NCAA President Mark Emmert has said an independent enforcement body to adjudicate major infractions cases could be in place by August. |
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.
