| Monday, June 3, 2019 |
| Catfish, rice, Navy ships: Cochran spending leaves legacy | |
 | Former U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran was a master of the federal budget process, quietly shrugging off criticism about pork-barrel spending while directing billions of dollars back to his home state. Through federal spending in what has long been one of the poorest states in the nation, Cochran leaves a legacy that's visible in many ways, including catfish on dinner plates and Navy ships on the seas. Several buildings in Mississippi bear his name, including a research park at Mississippi State. There's even a variety of rice named "Thad," in his honor. The USA Rice Federation said the name was given by employees at MSU's Agricultural and Forestry Experimentation Station. Cochran also leaves a legacy of people in leadership positions. The current president of Mississippi State, Mark E. Keenum, worked for Cochran for 18 years, with 10 of those as the senator's chief of staff. "He provided extraordinary leadership and walked with giants, yet remained humble and true to his Mississippi roots," Keenum said Thursday. "Sen. Cochran had a tremendous influence on my life. He taught me how to respect people, how to listen, how to make decisions based on facts and then to move forward." |
| Marine life expert provides insight into issues created by spillway opening | |
 | The alarming number of dead animals on Mississippi beaches continues growing. The latest figures show 114 dolphins and 145 turtles have washed ashore dead on the Mississippi coastal beaches so far this year. Marcus Drymon is a fisheries ecologist and studies sharks for Mississippi State University. This week while doing research on the water, Drymon discovered multiple irregularities. "Immediately we got those readings back, and I would say that's not normal. This is not what we expect to see in this part of the world in late May," Drymon said. Specifically, one of the biggest irregularities is the salinity level and not just in the Mississippi Sound. Drymon said he found significantly low levels as far south as 10-15 miles off the shore. "I was surprised that there was such a large lens of fresh water that far off shore," Drymon said. "It's hard to wrap your mind around how much water is coming out of that spillway, but it's an incredible amount, and it has the ability to make its way out of the Mississippi Sound and create these lenses of fresh water farther off shore than you would expect." |
| Mississippi State Doctoral Student Receives Sociology Award | |
 | Sociologists for Women in Society, a nonprofit organization that supports feminist sociological research and activism, recently awarded Laura Jean Kerr, a doctoral student in Mississippi State University's department of sociology, with its 2019 Beth B. Hess Memorial Scholarship Award. Kerr will accept the award during the August 2019 SWS awards reception in New York City. Her dissertation at MSU is about food insecurity among community college students in Mississippi, a release from the university says. Food insecurity refers to not have reliable access to a sufficient amount of affordable and nutritious food. Kerr's research involves measuring how common food insecurity is among students, examining its relationship to academic progress or attainment and looking into potential policy solutions, the release says. |
| Raleigh Ringers Internationally-acclaimed handbell choir coming to MSU Riley Center | |
 | After hearing the internationally-acclaimed handbell choir the Raleigh Ringers in concert while living in Raleigh, North Carolina, Meridian resident Lisa Young knew she wanted to bring them to Meridian. "This is an extremely talented group who put on a phenomenal show," said Young, who has coordinated an upcoming concert featuring the choir at the MSU Riley Center. "I want to share this amazing group and experience with the community and introduce Meridian to these wonderful people." The concert will be held on Saturday, June 8, at 7 p.m. Under the direction of founder David M. Harris, the Raleigh Ringers have performed across 39 states and internationally since its inception in 1990. According to Harris, the group of 18 ringers provides top-notch, professional performances with unique interpretations of sacred, secular and popular music, including famous rock 'n' roll tunes arranged just for handbells. "This concert will be a full blown show that will delight and amaze everyone who comes," Young said. |
| Furniture manufacturers, retailers eye impact of tariffs | |
 | Hassell Franklin doesn't like tariffs or the effect they have on his business and customers. But the result, he hopes, will be worthwhile. "There's an old adage -- it's difficult to produce gain without pain," said Franklin, the founder and chairman of Franklin Furniture Corp. in Houston, one of the nation's largest suppliers of recliners and motion furniture. President Donald Trump announced last month that the U.S. would levy a 25-percent tariff on another $200 billion of Chinese imports, and a swath of furniture-related components are affected this time. Franklin supports the Trump administration's and other economic experts' view that China has been stealing intellectual property rights and dumping goods in the U.S. market to undercut domestic businesses. And Franklin thinks it's long past time that something was done to level the playing field. "But it is painful for the consumer," Franklin admitted. |
| Money leaders to speak at funeral of former US Sen. Cochran | |
| Leaders of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, one a Republican and the other a Democrat, will speak at the funeral of former Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, a Republican who led the committee for several years and was known for working across party lines. Cochran was 81 when he died Thursday at a veterans' nursing home in Oxford. One funeral will be at 11 a.m. Monday in the state Capitol in Jackson, with Republican Gov. Phil Bryant speaking. Cochran will lie in state until that evening in the Capitol rotunda, and the public may visit. Another service will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Northminster Baptist Church in Jackson. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby and Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy will speak. Shelby is a Republican from Alabama. Leahy is a Democrat from Vermont, and he and Cochran traveled the globe together. "Thad Cochran was a devoted public servant, a lion of the Senate, and one of my dearest friends," Leahy said in a statement Thursday. "Despite our political differences, I knew Thad held the interests of the people of Mississippi -- and the country -- close to his heart." |
| He was a hardworking gentleman: memories of Thad Cochran | |
 | When Rep. Becky Currie was getting her feet wet in politics as a Teen Age Republican, she campaigned alongside Thad Cochran to help him win a seat in Congress in 1972. Currie, of Brookhaven, admired the man for decades, continuing to learn from him as he went from the House to the Senate. She is saddened by his death Thursday, but grateful for the times their paths crossed over the years. "He was the quiet gentle giant," she said. "Sometimes I wish had Thad Cochran's temperament to be quiet at times. He was just a guy who very quietly carried a really big stick, got things done. He worked both sides of the aisle when needed, but had one of the most conservative records in the Senate." When Cochran retired last April, Gov. Phil Bryant appointed Cindy Hyde-Smith, who was the state's agriculture commissioner, to fill his seat. Hyde-Smith said Cochran was vital to Southwest Mississippi. |
| State, DeSoto County reacts to Cochran passing | |
 | The state of Mississippi and DeSoto County were saddened Thursday when it was announced that retired U.S. Senator Thad Cochran had passed away at the age of 81. Cochran passed away peacefully at his home in Oxford, said a release from the Senator's office. On Friday, flags were lowered to half staff in respect to the man who served Mississippi for more than 40 years until health forced him to retire in 2018. Ellen Jernigan, a longtime Republican activist who is a former Hernando alderwoman and former county party leader, this week fondly remembered Cochran for his support of the county and its needs. "He helped DeSoto County and North Mississippi more than we will ever know," Jernigan said. "He really cared about Mississippi and he worked really hard for Mississippi. Back in the 90s when good things started to happen for Mississippi, he and Trent Lott were right there in the trenches for us." |
| Analysis: Mississippi says mental health demands exceed law | |
| There's a man, 68 years old when a federal government expert met him, who at the time had been admitted to one of Mississippi's state mental hospitals 46 times in his life. That man is an exemplar of the case the federal government will seek to make during a bench trial that's scheduled to start Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves in Jackson. Federal prosecutors will tell Reeves that the state of Mississippi is violating a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court decision called Olmstead, which found that "unjustified" confinement in a mental hospital violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. "The evidence at trial will make clear that individuals with serious mental illness can be appropriately served in the community," wrote Deena Fox, a lawyer for the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. The state may not contest many of the facts to which experts testify. Instead, Mississippi's defense boils down to: All those things may be true, but you still can't legally make us change. |
| State candidate Jay Hughes holds Cleveland town hall | |
| Mississippi representative Jay Hughes visited Cleveland on Tuesday as a part of his statewide campaign for lieutenant governor. Hughes has represented District 12, which includes Oxford, since 2015 and presented a town hall forum with a small group of residents at a local restaurant. Hughes said he serves in the Democratic Party but emphasizes his ideas are what he's promoting. "When people ask me if you're a Democrat or a Republican, it's a trick question, I swear," Hughes said. "That doesn't define who I am. What defines who I am are the morals and the values that I got at home and at church, and through life experiences." Hughes said he had specific reasoning for visiting Cleveland and other rural areas. "Cleveland is a key city, and it's important to me," said Hughes. "I don't care if I have five people or 50 people that show up at these town halls. I want to know what Cleveland is, what the Delta is, and what matters to them." |
| Want to know a deputy had to say about Mississippi lawmaker's arrest? Here's your chance | |
 | When state Rep. Douglas McLeod and his wife blamed the media for "misrepresentations" and "fabrications" about the lawmaker's arrest for domestic violence, the Sun Herald pulled additional records. In the criminal affidavit signed by George County Deputy Robert Karg, the allegations are clear: The Republican lawmaker is accused of the misdemeanor offense because he "purposely caused injury to his wife." The deputy wrote that the lawmaker's wife, Michele McLeod, "advised that she was hit in the face by her husband." The document said she had a "bloody face and nose at the scene." McLeod was arrested on a charge of domestic violence by simple assault after deputies responded to a May 18 call for help from inside the couple's house on Bexley Church Road in rural George County, the sheriff's department confirmed. So far, McLeod and his wife have not said what "misrepresentations" and "fabrications" they are talking about. The Sun Herald reached out to attorney Chris Dobbins, who is now representing McLeod in the criminal case, but did not hear back Friday. |
| For the U.S. and China, it's not a trade war anymore -- it's something worse | |
 | What started out two years ago as an effort by President Trump to wring better terms from China on the nuts and bolts of foreign trade now threatens to become a far wider and more ominous confrontation. The conflict continues to be framed as a "trade war" between the world's two biggest economies -- as Washington and Beijing pursue an escalating series of tariff hikes and other retaliatory measures. Even as Trump moved Thursday to open a new, potentially damaging trade war with Mexico, however, the conflict with China has widened beyond the original trade-based issues. Beneath the surface, a new tone has begun to emerge since trade talks broke down in early May and Trump ratcheted up tariffs on imported goods from China, an action met with retaliatory duties from Beijing. Officials on both sides of the Pacific have begun to portray the U.S.-China relationship in nationalistic and emotion-charged terms that suggest a much deeper conflict. |
| U.S. Requiring Social Media Information From Visa Applicants | |
 | Visa applicants to the United States are required to submit any information about social media accounts they have used in the past five years under a State Department policy that started on Friday. Such account information would give the government access to photos, locations, dates of birth, dates of milestones and other personal data commonly shared on social media. "We already request certain contact information, travel history, family member information, and previous addresses from all visa applicants," the State Department said in a statement. "We are constantly working to find mechanisms to improve our screening processes to protect U.S. citizens, while supporting legitimate travel to the United States." "This is a dangerous and problematic proposal, which does nothing to protect security concerns but raises significant privacy concerns and First Amendment issues for citizens and immigrants," Hina Shamsi, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Security Project, said on Sunday. |
| New provost chosen for Mississippi University for Women | |
| Mississippi University for Women has named a new provost and vice president of academic affairs. A search committee has chosen Scott Tollison, who was one of three finalists. He has served in the job on an interim basis since last year. The College Board must approve him for the job. His starting date would be July 1. University President Nora Miller says in a news release that Tollison's experience and skills have prepared him for the job. Tollison earned an undergraduate degree and a master's degree in business information systems from Mississippi State University. He earned his doctoral degree from MSU in 2009. |
| High school scholars arrive for Governor's School at MUW | |
 | Approximately 60 high school scholars from 30 school districts across the state will be on the campus of Mississippi University for Women for the annual Mississippi Governor's School residential honors program. The program that begins today will run through Saturday, June 15. This year's theme is "The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Humanity's Newest Leap." "Students attending the Mississippi Governor's School share a common desire to explore academic and intellectual topics and to engage in creative pursuits at a level and pace not always possible during the regular school year," said Melinda Lowe, director for Outreach & Innovation and coordinator of education. Each summer, MGS brings together high potential learners from across the state of Mississippi for a two-week residential collegiate experience that blends cultural, academic, social and recreational components into a rich and natural learning environment. MGS was established in 1981 at The W by the administration and faculty and by Gov. William F. Winter. |
| Girls State meets at U. of Southern Mississippi | |
| More than 300 Mississippi teenagers are learning about federal, state and local government during American Legion Auxiliary Magnolia Girls State. The gathering for rising high school seniors is taking place Sunday through Friday on the University of Southern Mississippi campus in Hattiesburg. Scheduled speakers include Attorney General Jim Hood, state Treasurer Lynn Fitch, state Sen. John Polk of Hattiesburg and state Rep. Jeramey Anderson of Escatawpa. Hood and Anderson are Democrats. Fitch and Polk are Republicans. |
| William Carey names Cassandra Conner administrative dean of Tradition campus | |
 | William Carey University recently announced that Dr. Cassandra Conner has been named administrative dean of its Tradition campus, succeeding Jerry Bracey, who will retire in August. A native of Gulfport, Conner has been academic dean of the Tradition campus since 2011, coordinating programs and assisting students with their academic needs or concerns. She is also an associate professor in the WCU School of Education, teaching courses in elementary education, literacy and educational leadership. Before joining WCU, Conner retired as an administrator in the Mississippi public school system, where she served as teacher, principal and, ultimately, director of curriculum and instruction and director of technology for the Harrison County School District. |
| Co-Lin has highest community college grad rate | |
| Copiah-Lincoln Community College ranks above all other Mississippi community colleges when it comes to graduating students, according to a national report published recently. In the newly released 2018 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System report, Co-Lin ranks highest in graduation rates of all Mississippi community colleges. Co-Lin's overall graduation rate was 45 percent in 2018, up 25 percent from the 2017 IPEDS report. This rate is the highest graduation rate the college has seen in a number of years. "The continued improvement of our graduation rate is a testament to the hard work being done by our faculty and staff at the college," said Tiffany Perryman, director of institutional effectiveness. The graduation rate calculation includes all full-time, first-time, degree/certificate seeking students. |
| Co-Lin names new Natchez Literary Celebration coordinator | |
 | Copiah-Lincoln Community College announces Emily Edwards Williams of Natchez will serve as the new coordinator for the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration. Williams earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Mississippi University for Women. She currently works at Co-Lin's Natchez Campus as the Learning Resources Coordinator where she handles interlibrary loans, assists students, and manages continuing education classes and the Summer Kid's College program. As NLCC Coordinator, Williams will oversee conference events, guests, and hospitality. Prior to Co-Lin, Williams served as the General Manager for Natchez Pilgrimage Tours. The NLCC is one of the most popular conferences involving literature, history, film, and culture in Mississippi. |
| State grants fraction of tax breaks sought for U. of Kentucky's Coldstream Research Park | |
 | State officials approved a much smaller tax break than University of Kentucky officials had sought for new developments at Coldstream Research Park that are expected to include housing, office space and hotels on the sprawling site off Newtown Pike. UK had requested $32 million in tax rebated to help pay for infrastructure improvements to build a new hotel, multifamily housing, retail space, offices and a laboratory at the 735-acre research park. The money would be a partial rebate of property, sales and withholding taxes over 20 years, in what's known as a tax increment financing district. TIFs are used to help spur development by returning some of the increased tax revenue generated by a project to developers. Although TIF districts were originally created as a tool to entice developers to build in blighted urban areas, Kentucky lawmakers have added numerous other allowable uses, including public university research parks. |
| U. of Florida report outlines commencement ideas | |
 | University of Florida officials released a report Friday outlining the school's plans for improving commencement, which has drawn fire at times since a 2018 event when a graduation marshal manhandled students walking across the stage. The 31-page report is the result of six months of work by UF President Kent Fuchs' commencement task force, created in August. "The main thing is to show that we are listening to student feedback," said UF spokesman Steve Orlando. "We want this to be a big celebration." Twenty recommendations in the report may be put in effect, pending a vote at the next UF commencement committee meeting. The school's response to the goals' feasibility was also included. Students now have more of a say in commencement speakers by filling out an online form. Nominees must have strong UF connections, have made notable contributions to society and have the ability to deliver a positive message. In a similar vein, the recommendations included that UF look into landing major celebrities as possible speakers. |
| What did white nationalist Rick Tyler pay UT-Knoxville to rent space? | |
 | White nationalist Rick Tyler paid $661 to the University of Tennessee-Knoxville to hold his event on campus earlier this week, according to his rental contract with UT. Tyler's event was not sponsored by UT or any university-affiliated organization, interim Chancellor Wayne Davis said in a statement. The university has a building use policy that allows non-affiliated organizations to rent space on campus and state laws prevent the university from discriminating against groups based on their views. When Tyler's event began on Tuesday night, nine people were seated in the Alumni Memorial Building auditorium. Within minutes, Tyler, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2016 under the slogan "Make America White Again," kicked out several attendees for protesting his event |
| New survey shows fewer female students than male are at ease sharing uncomfortable views in classroom | |
 | Far more male college students than female students feel comfortable sharing their views in the classroom when they think they have a minority opinion, a new survey has found. The creators of the report, Gallup, said that the gender gap is indicative of how women "interact" in higher education, despite being a majority on most campuses. The topic of whether men, particularly white men, dominate classroom conversation has come under scrutiny before. Earlier this year at Dickinson College, a student's essay in the campus newspaper accusing white men of weighing in on issues which they had little knowledge ignited a nationwide debate. "From a cultural perspective, a university can inspire students to feel comfortable by creating a culture in which students' unique strengths, viewpoints and opinions are embraced," Stephanie Marken, executive director of education research at Gallup, wrote in an email. |
| Virginia Tech Has 1,000 More Freshmen Than Expected; It's Offering Some of Them Cash to Defer | |
 | Virginia Tech has a big problem that other colleges would love to be wrestling with: a supersized incoming freshman class about 1,000 students larger than anticipated. So the university is offering cash inducements for some students to defer enrollment, but it says that deferment is only one strategy in its arsenal and that by late August it will be ready for the Class of 2023, no matter its size. "It's a challenging but essentially good problem to have," said Mark Owczarski, assistant vice president for university relations. And a fluky one when the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center just released figures showing that public-sector postsecondary enrollment declined 1.9 percent this past year, part of a longer-term slide. Although it's hard to pinpoint one cause for this surge amid gloomy national trends, Owczarski said all evidence points to the university's planned Northern Virginia Innovation Campus in Alexandria as a major, if indirect, draw. |
| A University's Policy Center Consistently Advocates Against Regulation. A Consumer Advocacy Group Thinks It Knows Why. | |
| Is a George Washington University center that studies regulatory policy just a "cog in Charles Koch's master plan?" That's the claim in a new report released on Monday by the nonprofit consumer-advocacy group Public Citizen, which says that the university's Regulatory Studies Center has a suspiciously consistent message when it comes to regulations: They're bad. Public Citizen -- which often makes pro-regulatory arguments -- analyzed the public comments the center's researchers submitted on proposed government regulations. (Government agencies solicit comments from the public when they propose new rules.) The organization found that the vast majority of the researchers' comments were anti-regulatory. Public Citizen also looked into five of the center's funding sources, including the Charles Koch Foundation, a major donor to universities that backs libertarian causes. |
| Debate strategy puts lid on issues | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: Important issues in the Republican primary for governor are getting short shrift. The second Republican gubernatorial debate is scheduled for June 7 at Southwest Community College in Summit. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves will again be a no-show. He skipped the first debate held April 2 at Mississippi State University too. His absence kept the first debate off television and, apparently, will keep the Summit one off too. That appears to be a Reeves campaign strategy. His opponents, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller and state Representative Robert Foster, have little money to use paid advertising to increase their name identification and compare themselves to Reeves. So, why should Reeves give them free airtime in televised debates? |
| Reclusive Cochran from 2014 election was an anomaly: 'He was an icon of a different era' | |
| Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: For the final week of the watershed 1978 Mississippi campaign for the U.S. Senate, Biloxi Sun Herald reporter Lloyd Gray and Jackson Clarion-Ledger reporter Jo Ann Klein traveled and reported on the campaign of Republican candidate Thad Cochran. They traveled in the same vehicle with Cochran and his wife Rose, stayed in the same motel/hotel and often, but not always, ate meals together. Occasionally Cochran would stress a comment was off the record, but in general the reporters had near total access to Cochran's successful effort to be the first Republican to win statewide office in Mississippi in the modern era. Gray of Meridian, now executive director of the Phil Hardin Foundation after a long journalism career, said Cochran "had no fear" of dealing with the media. Gray said he could not imagine that kind of transparency "happening today with any politician" and added that it was unusual even for that time period. "He was an icon of a different era, but even for that era he was a different sort," Gray said. |
SPORTS
| Bulldogs reach fourth-straight super regional | |
| Postseason baseball will be returning to the new Dudy Noble Field for a second straight weekend. No. 3 Mississippi State swept through the Starkville Regional and secured the Bulldogs' fourth-consecutive super regional appearance with a 5-2 victory over Miami on Sunday night. "I thought our guys were really good," said MSU coach Chris Lemonis. "Everyone was locked into the game. It was two of the better teams in the country, and they were fighting it out. Fortunately for us, we came out on top." The Diamond Dogs will have to wait another day to find out their super regional opponent. Stanford and Fresno State will play an elimination tonight at 9 p.m. CT and the super regional schedule will be released after all regionals are concluded. |
| Mississippi State baseball moves to NCAA Tournament's Super Regional round | |
 | All Mississippi State needed was another trip through the batting order. Miami freshman pitcher Slade Cecconi had a perfect game going through three innings. Mississippi State batters couldn't touch his fastball. Cecconi struck out five of the first nine Bulldog batters he faced. Mississippi State senior center-fielder Jake Mangum, who hadn't gotten a hit in his last 17 at-bats, stepped back into the batter's box trying to become the Bulldogs' first base-runner of Sunday evening's Starkville Regional Final at Dudy Noble Field. That, he was. Mangum dribbled a patented-infield hit back to the mound, and Cecconi couldn't handle it. His single started a fourth-inning rally in which Mississippi State scored three runs. It ultimately stood as the break-through frame that powered Mississippi State to a 5-2 victory in the final game of the NCAA Baseball Tournament's Starkville Regional. |
| Bulldogs beat Miami, advance to 4th straight Super Regional | |
| For the fourth season in a row, and with its fourth different head coach in that time period, Mississippi State is headed to the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs handed Miami a 5-2 loss in the Regional Championship game, finishing up a perfect weekend and punching their ticket to advance in postseason play. Peyton Plumlee gave State a solid five innings to get the win, and Jake Mangum finally broke out of his slump with a 3-4 night with a couple of runs scored. State improves to 49-13, and will await the winner of the Stanford Regional, who will travel to Starkville for the next round. |
| How Mangum, Mississippi State have made it to four-straight NCAA Baseball Super Regionals | |
| What's college baseball in June without Mississippi State senior center-fielder Jake Mangum? College baseball fans across the country will remember what that's like in 2020. For now, they have to deal with his presence for at least one more weekend. The MSU Bulldogs clinched a berth in their fourth-straight Super Regional series with Sunday's 5-2 win over the Miami Hurricanes. Mangum, of course, has been a key contributor for State in all four runs to the Supers. But going into the Miami game, Mangum was having an awful Regional performance at the plate by anyone's standards -- not just the lofty ones he has set for himself during his record-breaking collegiate career. He was a combined 0-for-9 against Southern and Central Michigan. And yet, he still found a way to make sure Mississippi State got back to a place it is all so familiar with. Mangum went 3-for-4 and scored two of the team's five runs en route to a victory. It all started with a tapper back to the mound in the fourth inning that he beat out for an infield single. |
| Part of the team: 13-year-old Bulldogs fan builds relationship with MSU baseball team while battling cancer | |
| It's easy to mistake 13-year-old Andrew McCall's bedroom in Philadelphia, Mississippi, for a trophy case. The walls and shelves are littered with memorabilia ranging from signed posters to a basketball autographed by Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. The altarpiece of McCall's room is his dresser, on which his prized Mississippi State possessions reside. Stacked in a pyramid display are 19 signed baseballs. Nestled behind a few personal awards and a collection of cowbells is a Dallas Cowboys helmet with Bulldog legend Dak Prescott's signature. A ring from the 2017 national runner-up MSU women's basketball team also rests proudly at the front of the crowded surface. "I'm going to need to get something else to put (the memorabilia) on since it's starting to tilt," said McCall, a lifelong MSU fan. The centerpiece is a red, leather MSU baseball glove -- a present from senior center fielder Jake Mangum. While visually striking, it is the story and relationships behind how he got it that are far more impactful than the mitt itself. "I'm just a kid playing baseball," Mangum said. "And the fact that what I do helps him every day is something that I still can't believe." |
| Mississippi State's Thomas, Peters Win USTFCCCA South Region Awards | |
 | After anchoring Mississippi State's javelin program for the past two years, sophomore Anderson Peters and assistant coach April Thomas have earned regional award recognition from the USTFCCCA. Thomas was named the South Region Men's Assistant Coach of the Year for her work with the Bulldogs' javelin trio that holds the top three marks in the NCAA this year. Peters added South Region Co-Field Athlete of the Year to his already impressive resume. Both are MSU's first award winners in their respective categories. "I'm just ecstatic for April," interim head coach Chris Woods said. "It's an awesome accomplishment for Coach Thomas, and Anderson is extremely well-deserving as well." Thomas coached Peters, Tyriq Horsford and Curtis Thompson to a sweep of the SEC podium, scoring 24 of State's 57 points at the conference meet, then followed that with a clean sweep at the NCAA East Prelims. #JavU boasts 28 of the top 30 throws in the NCAA this year while holding spots No. 1-23. |
| Ally McDonald Earns Top 10 Finish at U.S. Women's Open | |
| Former Mississippi State All-American Ally McDonald secured a Top 10 finish in the U.S. Women's Open with a final round 71 on Sunday at the Country Club of Charleston. McDonald, who entered the day in 12th, finished at -2 for the tournament to take 10th. It was her second Top 10 of the year and the fifth of her career. McDonald posted rounds of 72-72-67-71. On Sunday after bogeying the first, she carded 12 straight pars. McDonald eagled the par-5 15th and played her final four holes at -2. She finished in the top three in driving accuracy for the week at 89 percent, including hitting 13 of 14 fairways in the final round. She was tied for fifth in greens in regulation. McDonald, a native of Fulton, was a two-time first-team All-American at Mississippi State from 2011-15. |
| SEC Schools Can Finally Sell Alcohol at Stadiums. But That Doesn't Mean They Will | |
| Pop the bubbly, and uncork the wine. Pour the spirits, and crack open the brews. Alcohol is coming to an SEC stadium near you -- maybe. In a vote of the university presidents and chancellors Friday, the SEC lifted an archaic ban on stadium-wide booze sales, granting autonomy on that decision to each member school. The pressure mounting on unwilling and apprehensive Southern presidents -- even from their athletic directors, Why aren't we doing this too? -- was too much to avoid during this year's annual SEC meetings in Destin. But it was not a unanimous decision, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey suggested in a news conference announcing the move Friday afternoon from the Hilton Sandestin beach resort. In an indication of that, several schools have already decided they will not serve stadium-wide alcohol starting this football season. Auburn won't sell, 247Sports.com reported, and Alabama issued a statement announcing its intentions not to sell. Mississippi State president Mark Keenum suggested to Sports Illustrated that his school would abstain in 2019, too (state law in Mississippi is a complicated issue, and we'll get to that later). |
| SEC lifts ban on stadium-wide alcohol sales | |
| On those hot, steamy days in The Swamp or those sweaty afternoons at McKethan Stadium, Florida fans now may have the option of chilling out with a cold one or two. At the SEC spring meetings Friday in Destin, the SEC lifted its ban on stadium-wide alcohol sales, with restrictions. The effective date is Aug. 1, less than a month from the start of the University of Florida's 2019 football season. Each school can decide whether it will sell alcohol -- just beer and wine --- at all of its athletic venues. UF athletic director Scott Stricklin told members of the media before the ban was lifted that he will need to have conversations with others on campus before he can say whether alcohol will be served in The Swamp this fall and at all other Florida athletic events. |
| SEC lifts ban on in-stadium alcohol sales, effective this fall | |
 | The SEC on Friday announced it has lifted its ban on in-stadium alcohol sales, leaving it up to individual schools whether they want to serve beer and wine at athletic events. The revised policy goes into effect Aug. 1, meaning fans could buy alcohol at SEC events beginning this fall. Previously, only select off-campus events involving SEC teams such as the conference championships and bowl games allowed alcohol sales. Plans at Auburn and Alabama regarding alcohol sales remain unclear. Auburn president Steven Leath said earlier this week that he and athletics director Allen Greene would need to discuss logistics if they choose to implement alcohol sales at Tigers athletic events. "It may have opened the door, but I think Allen and I are gonna sit down tonight and have a little further discussion of it," Leath said. "Because it's still in the process, so to speak." Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne said even less on the subject, only that his school was not "leading the charge" regarding in-stadium alcohol sales. |
| SEC lifts ban on alcohol sales at athletic events | |
 | The Southeastern Conference announced Friday that it would revise its existing limitations on the availability of alcoholic beverages at athletics events, giving Alabama and other member institutions the autonomy to determine its own policy regarding beer and wine at football, basketball, baseball and softball games as well as other sports. However, an official statement from UA on Friday afternoon said that the university did not see changes in its current policy at this time. "This new policy allows each campus to decide what is right for them," said the release from UA. "These guidelines will be helpful as we move forward and have future conversations. We have one of the best game-day atmospheres in the country, and we don't envision making changes at this time." Members of the SEC Working Group included Stuart Bell, President of the University of Alabama, Michael Sagas, Faculty Athletics Representative at the University of Florida; Hunter Yurachek, Director of Athletics at the University of Arkansas; Sarah Reesman, Senior Deputy Athletics Director at the University of Missouri; and Troy Lane, Chief of Police at the University of Tennessee. |
| Bottoms up: SEC gives OK for alcohol sale in stadiums, arenas; LSU reviewing new policy | |
 | The Southeastern Conference's version of the 18th Amendment has been repealed. SEC presidents and chancellors voted here Friday on the final day of the SEC Spring Meetings to lift the league's longstanding policy prohibiting stadium-wide alcohol sales. Though LSU president F. King Alexander did not take part in Friday's vote -- he returned to Baton Rouge for Friday's Board of Supervisors meeting -- the school long has been a proponent of changing the rule. Athletic director Scott Woodward expressed hope Thursday that "for LSU's standpoint we get a liberalization of the policy and see if we can serve it (alcohol) to our fans." Still, LSU did not announce immediate plans for stadium-wide alcohol sales. A statement from LSU senior associate athletic director Robert Munson said: "In light of the vote (Friday), we are reviewing the new policy in consultation with the conference and the university in order to do what is best for LSU and our fans." |
| SEC votes to allow alcohol sales at sporting events | |
 | Just a couple days after Georgia revealed it would have limited alcohol sales at football games for those in the Magill Society, the SEC gave University of Georgia officials more decisions as to how to handle alcohol sales. The presidents and chancellors of the SEC voted Friday at the SEC meetings to let individual universities set alcohol policies inside their athletic facilities, overturning a ban on alcohol sales it had for its member institutions. As of Friday afternoon, Georgia president Jere Morehead and athletic director Greg McGarity indicated that they will analyze how the university will handle the sale of alcohol during sporting events. "UGA intends to carefully evaluate the new SEC rules on alcohol," Morehead said. "However, my sense, from talking to other Presidents, is that most institutions will move very slowly and thoughtfully in making any changes due to our collective desire to maintain a family friendly atmosphere and guard against underage drinking." |
| SEC revision opens door to alcohol sales at sporting events | |
| Southeastern Conference presidents and athletics directors on Friday lifted their alcohol ban at sporting venues, electing to let the league's member universities decide whether or not to sell alcohol at their home stadiums. In a statement, the University of Arkansas said it has not yet decided whether to sell alcohol in general-admission areas. The Razorbacks have sold alcohol in suite- and club-level areas at football games since 2014 and at baseball games since earlier this year. "SEC member institutions now have an opportunity to provide an amenity that is already readily available at many collegiate and professional sports events as well as other entertainment venues," said Hunter Yurachek, Arkansas' athletics director who was part of a five-member working group tasked with looking into alcohol guidelines at SEC venues. "The revised policy allows for institutions to increase game day options for fans, while also providing a framework of guidelines and educational programming regarding responsible consumption. In many cases across the nation, schools that initiated alcohol sales throughout the venue, saw declines in the number of alcohol-related incidents at their games." |
| SEC lifts alcohol ban at games: What's next for Tennessee | |
| SEC presidents made the highly anticipated call: Fans in general-seating areas -- not just luxury boxes -- can now buy alcohol at games. But, the rules aren't clear yet at Tennessee. Despite the decision Friday at the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Florida, it's up to university officials to set the rules on how and when beer and wine are sold at Neyland Stadium, Thompson-Boling Arena and other UT facilities. "We believe individual universities in the SEC should have the autonomy to make the decisions best for their campuses as it relates to selling alcohol at athletic events," said UT spokeswoman Tyra E. Haag in a statement to the News Sentinel. "UT is evaluating the best course of action for our campus, including reviewing necessary procedures and processes, to determine if and when we would initiate the sale of alcoholic beverages at athletic events." UT officials from the chancellor's office and the athletic department still have to come to an agreement about the limitations placed on alcohol sales before fans can get their hands on a cold one. |
| SEC removes ban on alcohol sales at sporting events | |
| The Southeastern Conference on Friday removed its ban on alcohol sales at sporting events but left the decision on how to proceed in the hands of each individual school. Many schools, including the University of Kentucky, already permitted the sale of alcohol in select areas of stadiums and arenas, but Friday's ruling opens the door to stadium-wide sales. The SEC was the only one of the five major conferences with such a ban in place. The University of Louisville, a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, has long allowed alcohol sales at its games. "The SEC has taken the right approach to this important issue by deferring to the individual, member institutions to make decisions about what is in the best interests of each university, their programs, and their fans," UK President Eli Capilouto said in a news release Friday. "Led by Director (of Athletics Mitch) Barnhart, UK will take the next several months to consider this issue. We will, as always, seek to do what is right for the university, our student-athletes, and the experience and safety of our fans." |
| Southeastern Conference approves alcohol sales at sporting events | |
 | Those attending Missouri football games starting in September at Memorial Stadium may be allowed to purchase alcohol. The Southeastern Conference announced Friday that each individual school has the authority to determine whether to sell alcohol at sporting events starting Aug. 1. Soon after the SEC confirmed the revisions, the University of Missouri released a statement saying that the school will begin discussing whether general alcohol sales will be allowed at Tigers' sports events. "We appreciate the Southeastern Conference developing a policy that provides us the authority to determine what is best for the University of Missouri regarding the sale of alcohol in public areas within our athletic venues," University of Missouri Chancellor Alexander N. Cartwright and Missouri Athletic Director Jim Sterk said in a combined statement. "Our guiding principle in any decision will be maintaining the safety of our fans, student-athletes and staff while creating an atmosphere that reflects our institutional values." |
| Auburn president: No plans to discuss football facility project | |
| Auburn is kicking the can down the road with its long-discussed process of constructing a football-only complex. The Auburn board of trustees are not scheduled to discuss the facility, and no such line item is on the agenda for the upcoming quarterly meeting set for June 7, Auburn University president Steven Leath told Auburn Undercover at the SEC's spring meetings. "This is a complicated process, like any big, complicated building," Leath said. "We've got to do a lot of due diligence of what would be involved, what would be the estimated cost, these kind of things. So, there's no decision if we're even going to go forward. It's still a due diligence period." It's believed the project, however, has reached a turning point behind the scenes, sources told Auburn Undercover earlier this month. |
| Referee harassment would be a crime under bill nearing OK by Louisiana Legislature | |
| Parents who threaten or harass referees at their children's sporting events in Louisiana would face new penalties under a bill nearing final legislative passage. The proposal by Rep. Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, would create the new crime of harassment of a school or recreation athletic contest official, authorizing penalties if the referee feels in "fear of receiving bodily harm" while officiating. Someone found guilty could face up to 90 days in jail, along with mandatory counseling and community service work. The bill also would create a new crime and penalties for entering or remaining at a school or recreation athletic event after being told to leave. |
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