| Friday, July 12, 2019 |
| Ticks spread plenty more for you to worry about beyond Lyme disease | |
 | Jerome Goddard, an Extension Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology at Mississippi State University, writes for The Conversation: When it comes to problems caused by ticks, Lyme disease hogs a lot of the limelight. But various tick species carry and transmit a collection of other pathogens, some of which cause serious, even fatal, conditions. In fact, the number of tick-borne disease cases is on the rise in the United States. The range where various species of ticks live in North America may be expanding due to climate change. Researchers continue to discover new pathogens that live in ticks. And new, invasive tick species keep turning up. In my career as a public health entomologist, I've been amazed at the ability of ticks to bounce back from all the ways people try to control them, including with pesticides. Ticks excel at finding new ecological niches for survival. So people and ticks frequently cross paths, exposing us to their bites and the diseases they carry. Here are some of the lesser-known, but growing, threats from ticks. |
| Mississippi State to Operate Teacher Training Program in Meridian | |
| The W.K. Kellogg Foundation recently gave Mississippi State University's Meridian campus a $198,000 grant to operate a new teacher-training program that is the first state-run initiative of its kind in the United States, a release from MSU says. The nonprofit National Center for Teacher Residencies developed the Mississippi Teacher Residency program, and the Mississippi Department of Education will administer it. MSU-Meridian will train 12 teacher assistants from Jackson Public Schools in fall 2019. The MTR program will also train teacher cohorts from Sunflower County, Gulfport and Ocean Springs later this year. The two-year program is free and will allow participants to earn a bachelor's degree in elementary education. Graduates will be eligible to teach any subject in kindergarten through sixth grade; English, mathematics, science and social studies to seventh and eighth grade; and special education in kindergarten through eighth grade. |
| Questions linger about annexation's effect on minority voting strength | |
 | Among the criticisms of the city of Starkville's annexation plan was its potential effect on black voting strength. During the board of aldermen's July 2 meeting, several references to that issue were raised during the public hearing held on the annexation plan. Based on data provided by Mike Slaughter, the consultant the city has hired to put the annexation plan together, as of the 2010 Census, there were 6,495 more white residents of voting age than blacks of voting age within the current city limits. The annexed area would add 646 white residents of voting age and 232 black residents of voting age, increasing the overall disparity of white-to-black residents of voting age by 414 potential white voters to 6,909. The overall percentage of black residents of voting age after annexation would decrease by 0.2 percent overall. The question is how much of an impact that will have on black voting strength. Chris Taylor, a former president of the Oktibbeha County NAACP, doesn't think annexation will have much of an impact at the voting booth. |
| Job training program coming to J.L. King Center | |
| A couple of weeks into its new funding campaign, the J.L. King Center is $25,000 short of the $60,000 it needs to continue operations through the end of the 2020. Even so, momentum is building, said Alison Buehler, one of the architects of the center's new funding plan. "It's really kind of cool what's happened," said Buehler, director of the Homestead Education Center which partners with J.L. King Center. "East Mississippi (Community College) has raised enough money to open one program that we're really excited about. So there's definitely some momentum as we go forward." On Aug. 15, EMCC will welcome the inaugural 15l-person class for its new Gateway Program. "All (the center) is responsible for is the utilities," Buehler said. "EMCC is paying for everything else." The program is designed to help young people between the ages of 17 and 21 prepare for and acquire above minimum-wage jobs through eight weeks of classes, followed by a job-placement program. |
| East Mississippi could see flooding, high winds from Tropical Storm Barry | |
 | While East Mississippi won't see a direct hit from Tropical Storm Barry, residents should still expect to see some rain and wind. Felecia Bowser, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson said Wednesday's forecast changed with the storm moving eastward towards southern Louisiana, after it was originally expected to make landfall in east Texas. Bowser said East Mississippi will get 1 to 3 inches of rainfall, while residents in the western part of the state can expect the biggest impact from the storm. In Meridian, residents could see 4 to 7 inches of rain, which could lead to flash flooding. Bowser said that with storms like Barry, there is a possibility of tornadoes and winds up to 60 miles per hour. |
| Up to 10 inches of rain expected from Barry | |
| If Tropical Storm Barry maintains on its present course, Warren County residents can expect heavy rain, high wind and the possibility of tornadoes, according to information from the National Weather Service. "We can expect 6-10 inches of rain and tropical storm force winds," Warren County Emergency Management director John Elfer said, "and there will be a slight chance for tornadoes." Elfer's comments came at a meeting of city and county officials and first responders Thursday. The projected heavy rains mean more water for the Yazoo Backwater Area, which has been flooded since February. It also means more homes in the Eagle Lake community could be flooded. "We've been through this before," Elfer said. "This is the first time we've been through it with backwater flooding." Peter Nimrod, chief engineer for the Mississippi Levee Board, said one advantage for the Yazoo Backwater Area is the re-opening Thursday of the Steele Bayou Control Structure. |
| On the Coast, Hancock County likely to take brunt of Tropical Storm Barry | |
 | Tropical storm, flash flood and storm surge watches remain in effect for Harrison, Hancock and Jackson counties as Tropical Storm Barry moves closer to making landfall. Barry could become a hurricane Friday night or early Saturday morning when the center of the storm is near the Louisiana coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. Western Hancock County and southeastern Louisiana could see between 10 and 20 inches of rain, with up to 25 inches in isolated areas. New Orleans took a hit of heavy rains and widespread flooding earlier this week, and the city could see at least 12 inches of rain as Barry pushes inland, according to the Associated Press. Friday morning, 139 streets had minor and heavy water on the roads in Hancock County, and 52 streets were impassible, according to EMA Director Brian Adam. |
| Delbert Hosemann says Corps should change rules, open Morganza spillway | |
 | Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann has called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to open the Morganza Spillway by whatever means necessary. Hosemann said he has been meeting with the Corps to get them to open the Morganza Spillway on the Mississippi River to relieve the effects of the Bonnet Carre spillway on South Mississippi. Hosemann said the strict interpretation of the wording in the statute governing the Corps' operation "has caused Mississippi economic harm." The standard set by the 1935 statute that governs the opening of Morganza has not been met, so the Corps said they can't open that spillway. Hosemann argued that the law governing the Bonnet Carre Spillway has repeatedly been violated by opening it more than once every five years. He wants to give the Corps more latitude in operating the spillways or change the statute. |
| Faith and Family: St. Mary welcomes new priests to parish | |
 | St. Mary Basilica welcomed a new pastor and parochial vicar on July 1 and both are young Mississippi natives who said they are happy and proud to be in Natchez. The Rev. Scott Thomas, 35, said he was surprised and excited to learn on Holy Week that he would be the new pastor at St. Mary Basilica in Natchez in place of the Rev. David O'Connor, who retired at the end of June after 22 years as pastor of St. Mary Basilica. The Rev. Mark Shoffner, 32, said he, too, was excited to move to Natchez as parochial vicar, which is similar to an assistant pastoral position. The appointment, Thomas said, is especially good for him because he grew up in Jackson and spent most of his life and career in Mississippi. St. Mary Basilica is the home to Mississippi's first Catholic Diocese that was established in 1837 and construction began on St. Mary Basilica in 1842. Thomas, whose desk bears a Mississippi State University Cowbell, said he studied international business at MSU for a couple of years before deciding to enter the priesthood. |
| Sanderson Farms' Dr. Amy Batal oversees the diet for 510 million chickens per year | |
 | Dr. Amy Batal, is known as "the mastermind behind Sanderson Farms' innovative feed formulas." Batal is an integrated poultry nutritionist who is the corporate nutritionist for Sanderson Farms, which processes 510 million chickens per year. Batal decides what ingredients they need to feed the chickens to get the best nutrition possible. "I work to meet all the nutrient requirement for our birds to have the best health and get optimal performance," said Betal, who is married with five children. Batal said she has always been interested in animal production. She grew up in Southern California and went to college at California Polytechnical State University in San Luis Obispo where she got a bachelor's degree in animal science. She received a master's degree in poultry nutrition at Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, before earning a Ph.D. in poultry nutrition at the University of Illinois. It is important that the feed not only be nutritious, but cost-effective and sustainable. Batal said the ag industry has always impressed her at how sustainable it is. |
| Cheikh Taylor, Lisa Wynn raise more than $7,000 in June | |
 | Incumbent House of Representatives District 38 Rep. Cheikh Taylor and Democratic challenger Lisa Wynn both met the Wednesday filing deadline for June for campaign finance reports with the Mississippi Secretary of State's office. The two candidates combined raised $7,470 during the June reporting period, with Taylor reporting $5,500. Of Taylor's money raised last month, all of his contributions were listed as itemized, bringing his total for the aggregate year-to-date to $11,500. Wynn reported $1,970 in non-itemized contributions in June, while reporting $2,180 spent during the reporting period. She also outspent her opponent in June, as Taylor reported spending $1,050 in non-itemized contributions. |
| Bill Waller Jr.: 'I have never in my life seen somebody raise money like one of my opponents' | |
| Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, vying to win the election for governor later this year, has nearly 10 times as much cash on hand than does his two Republican opponents for the stretch run to the Aug. 6 primary election. Campaign finance reports recently filed with the Secretary of State's office highlight the difficulty both former Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. and freshman state Rep. Robert Foster of DeSoto County face in the final weeks of the primary election competing against Reeves. Reeves, a two-term lieutenant governor who has been prepping for years to run for the open governor's post this year, has $5.8 million in cash on hand as of the end of June reporting period. Waller has $538,663 and Foster has $7,128. While Waller has not been running television ads as long as Reeves or as many as Reeves, he is now on television, but not in the important and expensive Memphis market. "I have been at this a long time," said Waller, whose father was governor in the early 1970s. "I have never in my life seen somebody raise money like one of my opponents." |
| Koch network backed group to spend on Mississippi legislative races | |
 | A national conservative super PAC known for promoting less taxes and more school choice has turned its attention to Mississippi's down-ballot elections. For the first time, AFP Action, the political arm of the Koch network-backed Americans for Prosperity, will spend money on Mississippi's legislative races. The PAC is not allowed to coordinate messaging with candidates, but the group announced endorsements Friday for five Republicans and a Democratic incumbent running for House and Senate seats. Five of the candidates -- Sen. Juan Barnett, D-Heidelberg; Rep. Joel Bomgar, R-Madison; Rep. Dan Eubanks, R-Walls; Rep. Steve Hopkins, R-Southaven and Rep. Jason White, R-West -- are incumbents. The group is also supporting first-time candidate Jeremy England. The Republican from Jackson County is running for the Senate seat of Michael Watson, who is seeking a post as Secretary of State. |
| Will denying female reporter access help Robert Foster at polls? | |
| Robert Foster has sought out these sorts of moments. When the Republican Mississippi gubernatorial candidate told reporter Larrison Campbell she couldn't join him alone on the campaign trail because she is a woman, he was criticized by Campbell and others as being sexist. But instead of apologizing, Foster, a state representative from DeSoto County, saw an opening about a month before the Republican primary. He portrayed the refusal as being about his "values" and loyalty to his wife. He wrote he was following "the Billy Graham Rule, which is to avoid any situation that may evoke suspicion of compromise of our marriage." Foster, 36, paid to boost social media posts about the issue. He sent out fundraising emails on the controversy Wednesday going after the "liberal media," and another Thursday, asking for support to maintain his "momentum." He appeared on CNN, and was scheduled to go on Fox News on Thursday night. "It's really gone viral, is the only word to describe it," Foster told the Clarion Ledger. He said "never in my wildest dreams" did he expect his stance would drum up so much attention. |
| Congressman Guest questions trade matters preventing Mississippi ag products from going to EU | |
| Recently in the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, Energy, and the Environment, Congressman Michael Guest (MS-03) pressed policy experts on trade matters that prevent hardworking Mississippi farmers and ranchers from sending their agricultural products to the European Union. Mississippi's Third District is one of the most diverse agricultural districts in America, with row crops, livestock, aquaculture, and horticulture throughout the district. Unfortunately for most of those farmers, existing trade restrictions with the European Union has kept their products out of Europe. The European Union has banned U.S. poultry since 1997 and most U.S. beef since the 1980s, and it has denied markets for other U.S. agricultural commodities, lacking any scientific evidence behind the decisions. The European Union has continued to exclude U.S. agriculture from ongoing trade negotiations. |
| ICE will now house detainees in a second Mississippi prison | |
 | Some detainees are already protesting as a second Mississippi prison holds undocumented immigrants for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE spokesperson Bryan Cox told The Clarion Ledger Wednesday that Adams County Correctional Center started housing detainees in June due to the "situation at the Southwest border." Natchez Inc. Executive Director Chandler Russ told The Natchez Democrat that their numbers may grow to 660 detainees this month while federal inmates are relocated. The U.S. Marshal Service meanwhile said it was housing "approximately 575 prisoners" as of February at the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility. |
| President Trump drops bid to add citizenship question to 2020 census | |
 | President Trump said Thursday he is dropping his administration's effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, a reversal that comes days after he demanded his team push forward after the Supreme Court blocked the move. Trump said that he would instead issue an executive order requiring federal agencies to provide the Commerce Department information on citizens and noncitizens in the United States, a process he said would provide a more accurate count. "Today, I am here to say we are not backing down on our effort to determine the citizenship status of the United States population," Trump said during remarks in the Rose Garden of the White House, flanked by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Attorney General William Barr. "I'm proud to be a citizen," Trump continued. "You're proud to be a citizen. The only people that are not proud to be citizens are the ones who are fighting us all the way about the word 'citizen.'" |
| Alexander Acosta Steps Down As Labor Secretary Amid Epstein Controversy | |
 | Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta is stepping down after criticism over his role in a non-prosecution deal reached years ago with a well-connected businessman accused of sex crimes. Acosta appeared on Friday at the White House with President Trump and announced his resignation, according to a pool note circulated to correspondents. Trump said Acosta had called him to convey his decision and the choice to step down had been Acosta's, according to the pool note. Top Democrats in Congress had called for Acosta's removal in the wake of new charges against multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. Epstein is accused of sexually abusing underage girls as young as 14, some of whom he allegedly recruited in what prosecutors called an alleged sex trafficking network. |
| MDE Grant Brings Universities and School Districts Together | |
 | Three universities are recipients of grant money from the education department and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to fund a special education teacher residency program. Leslie Griffin is Delta State University's Dean of College Education and Human Services. She said Delta State, which is part of the program, will be working put teachers into the Sunflower Consolidated County School District -- but keep them there. Funders also hope to attract more diverse students into the teaching profession. Brandi Sumrall with Mississippi State said students will be able to see themselves reflected in their educators. "When you have a diverse pool of people you are graduating each year, then you have a better way to form those relationships and form those relationships in the classroom and with their school in their culture and climate," she said. |
| 'He changed our world': Friends and family remember David Sansing's legacy | |
 | Family, friends, faculty and former students were moved to tears on Wednesday as loved ones gave their accounts of historian and professor emeritus David Sansing at his memorial service in Paris-Yates Chapel. Sansing impacted the state of Mississippi and helped shape its historical understanding through chronicling the history of the University of Mississippi and the state as a whole. Ronnie Agnew, Executive Director of Mississippi Public Broadcasting and a 1984 UM graduate, spoke at the service on behalf of Sansing's former students. Agnew said that as an African American and son of sharecroppers, he often felt uncomfortable at the changing university, but Sansing's encouragement allayed his unease. "Ronnie Agnew ... you belong," Sansing told Agnew when he was a student at the university. "This school is just as much yours as anybody's." Sansing's textbook "A Place Called Mississippi" is still used in high schools across the state. Agnew credited Sansing for being unparalleled in chronicling the history of the university and the state of Mississippi. "I do believe that history will show that Dr. Sansing was without peer for telling Mississippi's complicated history," Agnew said. |
| Pot research: Ole Miss growing more marijuana for federal research | |
| The U.S. government is growing the largest crop of research marijuana in five years, responding to interest in varieties with high levels of THC and CBD. The government is the only source of pot for nearly all research in the U.S., while it still considers it illegal and dangerous. Scientists have asked for weed that more closely matches what's sold in states that have legalized medical or recreational marijuana, the National Institute on Drug Abuse said in an email Thursday to The Associated Press. The federal agency said it plans to grow 4,409 pounds this year at the University of Mississippi, which holds the sole federal contract for producing marijuana. That's enough for 5 million joints, although the government provides the marijuana in different forms. |
| New license plate scanning system being tested at Ole Miss | |
| The way parking permits are purchased or used could be changing in the coming years at Ole Miss. The University's Department of Parking and Transportation is testing a new system that involves an automatic license plate recognition system. The new system would improve efficiency and could be more user-friendly, according to a release from the University. If Ole Miss decides to implement the new system, it would cut down costs at an estimated $100,000 a year, as well as eliminate the need for hangtags or window decals. "I think that it can definitely be beneficial to use a tag scanning system to move towards a more technological method, especially when the university can potentially save thousands of dollars per year and reduced the amount of resources required to develop the product," Michael Lawrence, a journalism major at Ole Miss, said. Moving towards a hangtag-free system will depend on faculty, staff and students to update their tag numbers. |
| South Carolina Trustees Paused a Controversial Presidential Search. Then the Governor Stepped In. | |
 | In his eight years as a trustee of the University of South Carolina, Charles H. Williams said he'd never gotten a call from the governor about university business. So Willliams was surprised when Henry McMaster, South Carolina's Republican governor, called him last Friday, the day after the Fourth of July, telling him who to hire as the next university president. "I flatly told him," Williams said. "I said, 'I'm not going to support him.'" It was a strange request because the Board of Trustees had already decided to extend its search after considering the governor's pick, Lt. Gen. Robert L. Caslen Jr., a former superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point. But still, according to Williams, McMaster wanted the trustees to vote on Caslen and threatened to call the vote himself if the board chair did not. A few days later, the board chairman did, and a vote was scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m. On Thursday afternoon, the South Carolina newspaper The State reported that a judge had ordered the vote be postponed, because the trustees had not been given enough notice before the meeting. |
| U. of South Carolina faculty rebuke governor's role in search, expresses 'no confidence' in Caslen | |
 | A group representing University of South Carolina faculty unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in presidential candidate Robert Caslen Thursday afternoon. At the same time, more than three dozen Faculty Senate members voted to criticize Gov. Henry McMaster's pressure to force a vote on Caslen by the Board of Trustees. The faculty voted about an hour before Friday's Board of Trustees meeting was canceled. One board member told The State that the meeting was cancelled after a judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing a vote on the president. The university's Faculty Senate erupted in applause when the group passed a motion of no confidence in Caslen, a former superintendent at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The applause roared louder when the body voted to criticize the process of a forced vote for Caslen. The resolution also contended that the process could undermine the university's accreditation and irreparably damage the school's reputation. |
| Matthew Naquin belligerent, ordered Max Gruver to chug alcohol at hazing incident, students testify | |
 | An LSU student testified Thursday he saw Matthew Naquin order Phi Delta Theta pledge Max Gruver to take a 10-second chug of hard liquor the night the 18-year-old Gruver died following a 2017 hazing ritual at the campus fraternity house. Kwabena Kumi, however, told jurors at Naquin's negligent homicide trial that Naquin wasn't the only Phi Delta Theta member who made Gruver drink at the so-called "Bible study" initiation the night of Sept. 13, 2017. Gruver was pronounced dead the next morning. "All of the guys up there made him drink," said Kumi, of Natchez, Mississippi. LSU student Zachary Castillo, who was arrested on a hazing charge in the case but not indicted by a grand jury, testified he was one of the Phi Delta Theta members who had a bottle of liquor that night and gave pledges alcohol. He said he may have given alcohol to Gruver. Castillo, of New Orleans, estimated there were six to 10 bottles of 190-proof liquor at the ill-fated hazing event. He testified under a grant of immunity from prosecutors. |
| Angela Burkham named to new Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service post | |
 | Angela Burkham has been appointed executive associate director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Burkham is the agency's interim state program leader for family and community health. She also oversees programming for 41 counties surrounding Amarillo and Lubbock. Burkham will start her new position in College Station on Sept. 1. She will oversee administrative, budgetary and human resources operations for the state agency. Burkham has worked as a family and consumer sciences county agent, a district-based 4-H specialist, a statewide volunteerism specialist and regional program director for 4-H. She has received numerous awards, including the agency's Superior Service award for leadership and the Vice Chancellor's Award in Excellence for diversity. |
| New research shows reducing borrowing can hurt students' success in college | |
 | The student debt crisis has become ubiquitous in headlines and even in the mouths of some lawmakers. New research, though, suggests that if many students are taking out unnecessary loan debt, others aren't borrowing enough to support their pursuit of a degree. The studies found that community college students who borrow more have stronger academic outcomes than those who took out fewer loans or reduced their borrowing. As both federal officials and college administrators raise concerns about overborrowing, the new research points to the possible downsides of messaging that could make low-income students averse to loan debt. Andrew Barr, an assistant professor of economics at Texas A&M University, who co-wrote the study involving Community College of Baltimore County, said the findings show more nuance is necessary in discussions of student loan debt. |
| In Lawsuit, Teachers Accuse Education Department of Botching Public-Service Loans | |
| The American Federation of Teachers accused the Education Department and its secretary, Betsy DeVos, of "gross mismanagement" of a loan-forgiveness program, in a lawsuit filed on Thursday in federal court. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, meant to encourage people to pursue careers in the public interest, has come under scrutiny for a rocky rollout. Thousands of people expecting relief on their student loans have remained stuck with high balances. The complaint alleges that blunders by the department and its mismanagement of student-loan servicers violate federal law and borrowers' due-process rights. The lawsuit asks the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to compel the department to overhaul its loan procedures and better explain its decision making. The plaintiffs also seek forgiveness of their loans. |
| Survey of business officers finds four-year publics see peril ahead | |
| Last year Inside Higher Ed's Survey of College and University Business Officers found four-year private college officials to be increasingly concerned about the viability of their institutions -- and more worried than their peers at other institutions. A year later, CBOs at private four-years, perhaps surprisingly, appear somewhat more optimistic. But their peers at four-year public colleges -- especially those that aren't flagship or major research universities -- feel the screws tightening. Inside Higher Ed's 2019 version of the survey, released today in advance of the annual meeting of the National Association of College and University Business Officers, suggests that CBOs at regional public colleges -- which a precently published Inside Higher Ed special report calls the "vast middle" of public higher education, positioned between research universities and community colleges -- are more pessimistic than their peers on multiple fronts. |
| Sundays make me want for Mondays | |
| Consultant and columnist Phil Hardwick writes for the Mississippi Business Journal: It is 7:32 a.m. on a beautiful Sunday morning in mid-summer. Birds are chirping, crepe myrtles and magnolias are in full bloom, the green pollen has long since stopped falling and the sun is shining. The back porch, the Sunday newspapers and the second cup coffee of coffee provide solace. And then it begins. Noise from a nearby lawn mower, weed trimmer, leaf blower or some device with a loud motor invades the neighborhood tranquility. It didn't use to be this way. With apologies to the Spanky and Our Gang, "Sundays will never be the same." |
| Changes coming at Lottery Corp? Bryant concerned about potential ethical issues | |
 | Alan Lange writes for Y'all Politics: This past weekend, the Vice Chairman of the newly formed Mississippi Lottery Corporation, Gerard Gibert, publicly socialized interest for a run against US Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, presumably in a Republican primary. At the Jacinto 4th of July gathering in Alcorn County, Gibert openly mused about a prospective US Senate candidacy, and was actually introduced to the crowd as a prospective US Senate candidate. What was, in essence, a stump speech sent off immediate warning bells with Governor Phil Bryant, and Bryant administration lawyers evaluated options during the holiday weekend. The concerns, communicated with Y'all Politics, was that Gibert, as someone who has been out front in public appearances for the Lottery Corporation, could knowingly or even unknowingly receive support for a political candidacy (announced or unannounced) through the vendor relationships that will be created from the state lottery. Gibert, in a statement, took exception to the Governor's concerns. Gibert has also publicly announced interest in serving as the Chancellor of Ole Miss in recent weeks. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State's Vic Schaefer encouraged by young team's efforts | |
| Just days ahead of Mississippi State's trip to Naples, Italy for the 2019 Summer World University Games, MSU women's basketball coach Vic Schaefer made his goal for the tournament clear: To win. "We made the decision very early on that this is not a foreign tour where you're going over there, playing a bunch of club teams that are not very good and you look like a million dollars and you win by 60 and everybody's happy and everybody plays 10-12 minutes per game and that's it," Schaefer said ahead of the trip. "We made the decision we're going to go over there and compete with the best and try to win it." Nearly three weeks since that stance in the media room below Humphrey Coliseum, Schaefer's squad heads back to the United States with a silver medal, a 6-1 record and a wealth of experience in tow. Though the Bulldogs were disappointed in falling short against Australia in the gold medal game 80-72 Wednesday, the youthful group left their mark on the competition. |
| Mississippi State's Joe Moorhead enlightens with 'Chalk Talk' | |
 | The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Brad Locke writes: You ever have those dreams where you're back in college, sitting in a class, and you have no idea what the instructor is talking about? Maybe you didn't study, or you're in the wrong room, or you're just dumb. Well, that's kind of how I felt on Wednesday. I was sitting in Mississippi State's Seal Complex Team Room with several other media members, listening as Joe Moorhead gave us a crash course in the run-pass option offense. This "Chalk Talk" session focused on one running concept (inside zone) and one passing concept (over-under). On the two large projection screens were a pair of play diagrams, with the header "Gazelle/Giraffe." I wondered for a moment if perhaps I'd accidentally stepped into a zoology class. |
| SEC Media Days bringing $1 million back to Hoover, for now | |
 | SEC Media Days returns to Hoover this week after leaving the city last year for Atlanta. The gathering in Georgia was the first media days held away from the Birmingham area since 1985. The conference's annual kickoff event to mark the new football season is Monday through Thursday at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham - Wynfrey Hotel at the Riverchase Galleria. The hotel has hosted the event since 2001, except for last year when it was moved to the College Football Hall of Fame. The Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau estimates the event brings 1,500 journalists, fans, players, coaches and staff estimated to spend about $1 million on hotels, restaurants, retail and more in the area. Dallas, Houston, Orlando, Tampa, San Antonio, St. Louis, Nashville and Charlotte are all being considered as potential hosts for the 2020 SEC Media Days, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has said. At this time, there is no set rotation of cities that will host. |
| Arkansas trustees approve coaches, administrators, support staff salaries for fiscal year | |
| University of Arkansas trustees in a meeting Tuesday approved the maximum amounts that could be paid in salary and bonuses to 80 Razorback coaches, administrators and support staff in the new fiscal year. The approved amounts represent base salaries and conditional performance bonuses for the employees, but don't necessarily represent pay raises. Bonuses for coaches are awarded for competitive success and, in some cases, meeting graduation rate and academic progress goals for their athletes. Some coaches, like Razorbacks baseball coach Dave Van Horn, were approved for scheduled increases to their base salaries, per provisions in their contracts. Van Horn's team won a second straight SEC West Division championship and returned to the College World Series in 2019. |
| Georgia reports three NCAA secondary recruiting violations in football | |
 | Georgia reported three NCAA secondary recruiting violations in football during a period of more than seven weeks in March and April. All three involved recruiting visits and preceded two support staffers leaving the program who worked in the recruiting office. Director of on-campus recruiting Lukman Abdulai is no longer on the staff. Recruiting relations coordinator Dacia King was dismissed in April. Georgia has yet to comment or provide the reason behind them no longer being employed, but an unidentified staff member was kept from on-campus recruiting activities for 30 days for a violation the school reported on April 29 for an impermissible entertainment violation. An "institutional staff member provided sideline access to a visiting student-athlete for approximately two minutes" during the April 20 G-Day game, according to a description provided by the school in an open records request. |
| Best in College Sports: Michigan edges Kentucky to bring the 2018-19 award to Ann Arbor | |
| Which college program had the best overall athletic season in 2018-19? We here at CBS Sports decided to find out -- just as we do every year -- by crunching the numbers at the conclusion of the athletic year in order to present our annual Best in College Sports award. The result? Despite not winning a national title over the course of the campaign, Michigan (501.75 points) earned the honor of being named 2018-19 Bests in College Sports in one of the closest finishes since the inception of the award. Kentucky finished second with 494.25 points, while Oklahoma was third with 490.00 points. The Wolverines accomplished the feat with consistency across the board. |
| Youth sports tourism a home run when it comes to economic impact | |
| Some parents encourage their kids to get involved with sports as a way to keep them from spending too much time with their phones and electronic devices, or from getting into trouble. Sports are also helpful to help build self-esteem and combat childhood obesity. But the bottom line is that many kids love to play sports and it is a great way for families to spend time together. Youth sports also have a major financial impact. TD Ameritrade found that about 63 percent of American families whose kids are involved in sports spend from $100 to $499 per child per month on the sporting activities. Another 18 percent pay $500 to $999 per month and about 11 percent spend $1,000 to $1,999. And 8 percent report spending $2,000 per month or more amounting to $24,000 per year. One city that has invested big in youth sports tourism is Vicksburg. In February, the Sports Force Parks on the Mississippi in Vicksburg opened providing professional-level synthetic turf fields, on-site recreation and entertainment options, and high-quality concessions. |
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