| Monday, July 15, 2019 |
| New permit options, parking spaces on the horizon for Mississippi State | |
 | As Mississippi State continues to strive to meet growing parking demands, MSU Parking and Transit Services is offering a new parking permit options for students this fall. Commuter students will be able to purchase a "any valid permit" zone permit that allows for parking in the outlying Any Valid Permit areas of campus. The permits will be less expensive than other commuter permits designated for specific zones. Parking permits for the upcoming school year went on sale July 10 for staff, and go on sale July 17 for commuters and July 24 for residents. "This new permit option for outlying areas not only gives a lower priced permit option, but it will help ensure that students with permits for more centrally-located commuter lots are able to find parking in their designated zone," said Director of Parking and Transit Services Jeremiah Dumas. "Also, the outlying parking spots are convenient to SMART shuttle stops, giving students the option to ride into the center of campus." |
| Summer Scholars On Stage: a different summer camp at Mississippi State | |
| Mention of summer camp often evokes visions of swimming, zip lining or s'mores. At Mississippi State's Summer Scholars On Stage, however, the emphasis is on writing, music, acting and production during three intensely creative weeks. Almost 60 gifted and talented teens who have completed seventh through 12th grade, from across the Southeast and beyond, have teamed with playwrights, choreographers, musicians, drama teachers, counselors and technical theater staff to write, stage and produce "The Pitch." The original three-act musical comedy will be presented at 7 p.m. Friday, July 19 and at 1 p.m. Saturday, July 20 at McComas Hall on the MSU campus. With 58 people, the entire free performance will take approximately two and one-half to three hours, with intermissions between each act. The event is appropriate for all ages. The musical focuses on three book pitches with very different motifs, said Joe R. Underwood, director of Summer Scholars and MSU professor emeritus of Counseling and Educational Psychology. Going from blank page to full production in three weeks is a major undertaking. |
| MSU-Meridian receives grant to train teachers in first state-run residency program | |
 | Mississippi State University-Meridian is playing a pivotal role in a new teacher training program that is the first state-run initiative of its kind in the United States. With first-year funding of more than $198,000 from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, MSU is welcoming 12 teacher assistants from the Jackson Public Schools this fall for participation in the Mississippi Teacher Residency program, administered by the Mississippi Department of Education. The free, two-year program is designed to recruit underserved students to complete a Bachelor of Science in elementary education, which then makes the new college graduates eligible to teach any subject in kindergarten through 6th grade; English, mathematics, science and social studies in 7th and 8th grade; and special education in kindergarten through 8th grade. |
| Farmers keep an eye on Tropical Storm Barry | |
 | It's not just emergency management agency directors keeping an eye out on Tropical Storm Barry, farmers also have concerns. Trent Barnett with the MSU Extension Service said high winds could damage corn crops. Flooding could also be a problem for low lying areas. Barnett said the crops, including sweet potatoes, should be able to handle heavy rains. "Due to the stage of development we are in, we should be okay as long as the plant is not underwater. If we were later in our growing season, then we would really be concerned with that root development. If we can just keep the water off those plants," said Barnett. If the crop is underwater for more than 24 hours, Barnett said that's when damage would become a concern. |
| Mississippi State and Starkville reach new deal for campus fire protection | |
 | Mississippi State University and its host city are reaching a new agreement about fire protection. The Commercial Dispatch reports that, under a previous agreement, the university compensated Starkville for fire service with fees and an agreement to buy the city a firetruck every 15 to 20 years. Under the new agreement, the university will pay higher fees but won't be required to purchase firetrucks. Starkville Fire Chief Charles Yarbrough says the new contract gives the department more resources and flexibility. |
| Sturgis prepares for annual bike rally | |
| Rodney Lincoln and Billy Blankenship expect a big turn-out for this year's Sturgis Bike Rally next month. By a large margin, it is the town's biggest event. "We're a small town. We don't have much, but what we have is genuine," is the way Blankenship, the town's mayor, put it. Sturgis, located on Highway 12 west of Starkville, has a population of about 200, according to the 2010 census. But on the third weekend of August each year, motorcycle enthusiasts descend on the town for the weekend rally, which includes plenty of food, merchandise, music and people-watching. The Sturgis Bike Rally is scheduled on Aug. 16-18 at Diane Jackson Memorial Park. This is the 20th year the town has held the rally, but as Lincoln, who serves on the bike rally's board of directors, and Blankenship admit, an event that will draw thousands next month used to draw tens of thousands. For his part, Blankenship still considers the rally a success. Even though the crowds aren't what they once were, the rally remains an important asset for the town, he said. |
| 'Because it is hard': Jackson County men played role in sending man to the moon | |
 | In September 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered his famous speech in which he said this country would accept the challenge of putting men on the moon, and other challenges, "not because they are easy, but because they are hard." But the task of completing the hard work inherent in sending men to the moon would require the efforts of thousands of people, stretched between multiple facilities, mostly across the southeastern U.S. Three of those people -- Michel Streiff, Barry Zuber and Charlie Munn -- would ultimately make their home in Jackson County. But a half-century ago, they were young men working to make Kennedy's goal of putting man on the moon a reality. Fresh out of Mississippi State University, Streiff arrived at the Marshall Space Center in Huntsville, Ala., in January 1966, where he would be one of 4,800 Boeing engineers assigned to implement and analyze all of the procedures necessary to launch the Saturn V rocket and Apollo capsule. |
| Mississippi's hand in space travel far from over | |
 | Re-Entry Mississippi's launch event welcomed Randy Galloway, deputy director of the John C. Stennis Space Center, as a guest speaker to talk about the center's importance to Mississippi, NASA, the Apollo mission and the future of space travel going forward. SCC is the nation's premier propulsion testing facility for not only NASA but also for the Department of Defense and private contractors. Galloway, a native of Kemper County, has worked at Stennis since 2003 and has served in the position of deputy director since 2015. "I feel a lot of commonality with the message and the work ethic that was imbued in all of you," Galloway said to the audience of Mississippi Delta Chinese who gathered for the event, which honored their historic work in the space program. |
| 'Finish the pumps': Governor points finger at Washington as Barry dumps on the Delta | |
 | Gov. Phil Bryant had a strong message to send to leaders at the nation's capital Sunday as he toured the Yazoo Basin in Warren County as Tropical Depression Barry continued to dump rain. "There is something somebody can do, but it's in Washington, D.C.," he said in an interview shared on MEMA's Facebook page. "We should have had pumps installed on the edge of the backwater." Bryant said the water is at nearly 100 feet in the Yazoo backwater. He called on the Environmental Protection Agency to revisit a 2008 veto of the proposed Yazoo backwater pumps project. "If we had had pumps like the rest of the country has, we could bring this some 5-7 feet down," he said. Bryant conducted interviews with The Weather Channel and other media outlets to talk about Barry's impact in the backwater areas. About 540,000 acres in the south Delta have been under water since February and parts of Warren County have been flooded since May, he said. |
| Where's the meat? Mississippi law takes aim at plant-based foods | |
 | In the frozen foods section at Kroger are refrigerated cases full of ready-to-serve meals, ice cream, cakes, breads, seafood, meats and other consumable products, clearly labeled with signs hanging in the aisles. But things might get a little complicated with a new Mississippi law that opponents say infringes on their free-speech rights. On July 1, a law went into effect prohibiting producers of plant-based foods from using terms like "meatless meatballs," "vegan hot dog" or "vegan burger." The Plant Based Foods Association, the Virginia-based Institute for Justice and the Illinois-based Upton's Naturals Company, which makes vegan-based products and sells them in many states, including Mississippi, argued against the ban, insisting there is no confusion among consumers. Mike McCormick, the president of the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, said, "This bill will protect our cattle farmers from having to compete with products not harvested from an animal." His remarks were made in January when the bill passed in the Mississippi state House. |
| 'We've built an army': Tate Reeves is unapologetic and unbothered by critics | |
| A local band was about halfway through the Chris Stapleton version of "Tennessee Whiskey" when Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves hopped out of a blacked-out, state-owned SUV assigned to his Mississippi Highway Patrol security detail and made his way toward the annual "Fire on the Mountain" festival. Many of the 200 or so attendees of the festival stared at the platoon of campaign staffers trailing Reeves as he made his way past the stage and toward vendor booths around the perimeter of the park. Reeves, who was on his third stop of a 13-hour campaign day around northeast Mississippi on June 29, is not known as a particularly masterful retail politician, but most at the festival received him warmly as he shook hands and greeted each with, "Hey, I'm Tate." Politicians running for governor attend dozens of festivals just like these in election year summers, and Reeves knows the circuit better than anyone. The Blue Mountain festival was one of three such events he attended that day. |
| Trump is rattling sabers in cyberspace -- but is the U.S. ready? | |
 | The Trump administration is sending aggressive messages about the United States' willingness to hack its adversaries --- alarming lawmakers and experts who fear he's provoking a global cyber-conflict that the U.S. may not be prepared to face. A U.S. cyberattack last month on Iranian military and intelligence targets was one of the most prominent signs of the new approach, which followed a reported effort to implant hostile computer code in Russia's electric grid and a temporary takedown of a notorious Kremlin-backed troll operation last fall. To supporters, the tactics are a sign that the U.S. may finally be getting out of its defensive crouch in cyberspace --- as advocated by hawks like National Security Adviser John Bolton. But the moves also lay the potential groundwork for a tit-for-tat wave of cyberattacks that could inflict significant damage on bystanders. Targets such as banks, hospitals, oil companies and electric utilities in the U.S. and elsewhere have already proven vulnerable, as seen in recent criminal hacks that have paralyzed entities such as Baltimore's city government. |
| Lyndsay Cumberland takes on new role at The W | |
| A veteran alumni relations professional is assuming additional duties at Mississippi University for Women. Lyndsay Cumberland, who has served in alumni relations since 2011, is now director of Alumni Relations and Donor Engagement, effective July 1. She is a 2007 paralegal studies graduate of The W. "This new position reflects Lyndsay's continued growth in her position and her ability to engage at all levels with our alumni," said Andrea Stevens, executive director of Development and Alumni. "She will be a strong asset in continuing to involve alumni in the life of the university." Cumberland said that she is excited to build on relationships that she has established over the past eight years. The W currently has alumni chapters in over a dozen cities, she said. |
| Richard Howorth, Jake Gibbs headline Ole Miss' 2019 Alumni Hall of Fame Class | |
| A former mayor and an Ole Miss football legend are just some of the University of Mississippi's five newest members into its Alumni Hall of Fame. The school announced its Class of 2019 inductees on Tuesday, eight people being recognized for their service and accomplishments. This year's class will be inducted during Homecoming Weekend on Oct. 4 and 5. They will be introduced during halftime of Ole Miss's football game against Vanderbilt. Inductees into the Alumni Hall of Fame are: Kimsey O'Neal Bailey (BSPh 94) of Aberdeen; Donald R. Cole (PhD 85) of Oxford; Jake Gibbs (BSPHE 61) of Oxford; Duncan M. Gray III (BA 71) of Oxford; and Richard C. Howorth (BA 72) of Oxford. |
| Learn to spike, taper, fade in new East Mississippi Community College barbering program | |
| For the first time, East Mississippi Community College will offer a program that qualifies students to take the Mississippi Board of Barber Examiners' test. Students enrolled in the new Barbering program on the college's Golden Triangle campus will begin attending classes in the fall term that begins in August. "It is going to be a great program and there is a big demand right now for both cosmetologists and barbers," said David Long, who heads both EMCC's Cosmetology and Barbering programs. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Employment of barbers, hairstylists and cosmetologists is projected to grow 13 percent from 2016 to 2026, faster than the average for all occupations. Population growth will lead to greater demand for hair care services." EMCC has offered a career certificate in Cosmetology for years and Long said the decision was made to expand the department to include a separate track for Barbering to meet a growing demand for the services. |
| Former Auburn President Steven Leath to make $4.5 million in profitable separation agreement | |
 | Auburn University will pay former President Steven Leath a total of $4.5 million over three years as part of his separation agreement with the university, according to documents obtained by AL.com. When Leath and Auburn mutually parted ways in June, his annual pay was increased from $625,000 to $1.5 million for three years. He received the first installment on July 1 and will do so again each of the next two years on July 1. If he had stayed as president, Leath would have received $1.88 million over the same three-year period. The agreement also allows Leath to continue living in the President's Home in Auburn until the end of July. "Auburn and Dr. Leath together agreed to part ways," Brian Keeter, Auburn's executive director of public affairs, told AL.com. "The board is grateful to Dr. Leath for his dedication to Auburn and wishes him and Mrs. Leath all the best." |
| Governor's involvement in U. of South Carolina presidential search could threaten accreditation | |
 | S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster's involvement in the University of South Carolina's presidential search could threaten the school's accreditation, an official said Friday. Accreditation matters because it provides legitimacy to a school's programs and allows colleges to apply for federal funds. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, which accredits USC, does not allow "external" forces to influence the school's board of trustees. Although McMaster is, by law, ex officio chairman of the board, if he uses his powers of a governor, rather than his powers as a board member, to influence policy, it could threaten accreditation, association president Belle Wheelan said. "While the governor is a member of the board, he has no more of a role than any other member of the board," Wheelan said. |
| Faculty call for new search as trustees consider secret approach in South Carolina | |
 | Amid an increasingly chaotic search for a new president, the University of South Carolina's Faculty Senate sharply rebuked the Board of Trustees -- members of which say they could move forward with choosing a new candidate entirely in secret. The board reopened the search in April after the favorite candidate, Robert Caslen, a retired three-star army general and former West Point superintendent, drew protests and division on campus. According to the Post and Courier, Caslen drew criticism for comments blaming sexual assault on binge drinking, a lack of a research background, and for being one of the top choices to be President Trump's national security adviser. Caslen was one of four candidates recommended by the search committee that the board passed over in favor of beginning a new search. |
| U. of Arkansas media relations manager Steve Voorhies to retire next month | |
| It was an unusual announcement. "Steve Voorhies, known by colleagues for his snide comments, snarky answers, overly picky and sometimes actually vicious editing, says he will retire effective Aug. 31." Voorhies, 69, wrote the parody news release to let people know of his impending retirement. After being tweaked by his co-workers, it was emailed to a Listserv of university communicators on July 10. For the past 13 years, Voorhies has been the media relations manager for the university relations office at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Before that, he was a television reporter, construction worker and cook. "Coworkers were caught off guard by the news, as well as by Voorhies' level of education, which he took great pains to conceal," according to the faux press release, which was obtained through a request under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. Originally of Babylon, N.Y., Voorhies earned a bachelor's degree in English in 1971 from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. |
| Book by UGA Law professor takes hard look at outmaneuvered plaintiffs | |
 | Brooke Melton died on her 29th birthday. Her Chevy randomly shut off in the middle of the highway a little before 8 p.m., and she crashed into a creek in Atlanta. A couple hours later, her parents were notified by the hospital that she couldn't be saved. It's a startling opening for a book titled "Mass Tort Deals: Backroom Bargaining in Multidistrict Litigation." But for Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, the Fuller E. Callaway Chair of Law at the University of Georgia, putting faces to the massive lawsuits frequently blasted across papers and other news media is what makes the information accessible. In "Mass Tort Deals," Burch sheds light on some of the country's biggest legal cases in the past two decades and provides new empirical data on some of the most well-known proceedings and the lawyers that lead them. In sum, Burch found reason to worry. Although private settlements typically did not reveal what plaintiffs received, some that did showed that plaintiffs made out with a relatively paltry settlement -- if they received any compensation at all -- while their lawyers were pocketing up to triple the amount in fees. |
| U. of Louisiana colleges are pushing folks to return and complete their degree | |
 | Brikinya McZeal is about to start taking college classes again, lured back to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette 15 years after leaving by a new state push to boost the woeful number of adults in Louisiana with a college degree and the skills needed in a changing workforce. McZeal, 35, plans to take 12 hours online during the fall semester to go with the 47 she already has in hopes of earning a degree in business management. What got her attention is a new program called Compete LA, which is targeting the 1 in 5 adults in Louisiana -- 653,000 -- who went to college but left without a degree. The aim of the push is to make returning to college easy, including academic "coaches" and other hands-on assistance that can knock down barriers for otherwise college-bound adults put off by the red tape. |
| U. of Missouri Sunshine Law practices go on trial | |
 | The question of whether the University of Missouri used an $82,000 estimate for copies of public records to discourage a Sunshine Law request will go to trial this week in Boone County Circuit Court. The trial before Circuit Judge Jeff Harris is scheduled for two days beginning Tuesday. Before that, Harris will preside Monday over a final pretrial conference, but a settlement doesn't seem likely. The Beagle Freedom Project sued the University of Missouri Board of Curators and records custodian Paula Barrett over the cost estimate. The animal rights organization filed a request on Dec. 26, 2015, for records of 179 dogs and cats used in research. Barrett estimated that fulfilling the request would cost $82,222. The lawsuit claimed the university was using the high cost estimate to prevent the public from having access to public records. |
| Siemens, U. of Missouri strike $133M deal to support research | |
| The University of Missouri landed the first major corporate supporter for its high-profile precision health project Friday with the announcement of a relationship with Siemens Healthineers worth $133 million over the next 10 years. The German firm, a spin-off of tech conglomerate Siemens, will provide state-of-the-art equipment, infrastructure and support to UM System schools and projects. In exchange, MU Health will purchase new technology and replacement equipment from the company. After presenting the deal at an event in the MU Health Patient-Centered Care Learning Center, UM System President Mun Choi said the partnership is not a straight equipment donation. "It's going to be a purchase from us," Choi said. "But Siemens and the university are going to make joint investments on research and innovation projects." Siemens Healthineers, the UM System and MU Health also established the Alliance for Precision Health, with the parties committing up to $40 million. |
| Number of Latinx presidents not consistent with growth of Latinx student population | |
| Despite the fact that the number of Latinx students has grown significantly over the last couple of years, Latinx administrators continue to find difficulty in advancing to the top positions in higher education. While 19 percent of all students enrolled at universities in the United States are Latinx, only 4 percent of college or university presidents were Latinx as of 2016, according to data from the American Council on Education. The percentage of Latinx presidents remained unchanged between 2001 and 2016, while the number of black university presidents rose from 6 percent to 8 percent. This gap is particularly prevalent in places like Texas, said Excelencia in Education CEO Deborah Santiago. There isn't one Latinx president in the University of Texas system despite the larger population of Latinx students in the state over others. Santiago said seeing more Latinx administrators would be beneficial for Latinx students. |
| Mississippi's meat law meets new level of meat-headedness | |
| The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Dennis Seid writes: Mississippi has a beef with purveyors of plant-based "meat" products, it seems. In a law that went into effect July 1, "A plant-based or insect-based food product shall not be labeled as meat or a meat food product." According to supporters of the law, which includes the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, the law was passed in order to protect consumers from those meat-free products made from, well, not cows, chicken or pigs. I don't know about you, but I've never had a problem distinguishing a veggie burger from a beef burger, at least not at a grocery store. Now as a kid going through school, those hamburgers and the meat in the spaghetti were questionable in the cafeteria. That's when "mystery meat" really was a mystery. But today's packaging in the stores makes it quite clear what you're getting. |
| Course changes needed for Mississippi? Yes or no? | |
 | Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: Happy with the way things are going in Mississippi and want to stay the course? Then Tate Reeves is probably your choice for Governor. Stay the course is pretty much his campaign message. Not so happy with the way things are going? Well, if you want a conservative Republican to guide course changes, then Bill Waller or Robert Foster should be your choice. Each would take a somewhat different approach to those changes, Waller guided by his longtime Supreme Court and National Guard background and Foster by his agribusiness and recent legislative background. If you're fed up with Republican control, then a Democrat, most likely Attorney General Jim Hood, will be your option. Of course, governors are not the only political leaders who can cause course changes. |
| Reeves accuses Hood of gas tax flip-flop, AG says he has to clean up lieutenant governor's infrastructure mess | |
| Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: The campaign of Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves is accusing Attorney General Jim Hood of flip-flopping on the issue of whether the gasoline tax should be increased to help pay for the state's road and bridge needs. ... For much of the campaign, Reeves has spent his considerable campaign resources trying to tie Hood to national Democrats, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. But the issue of increasing the gasoline tax is turning into one of the defining issues of this year's campaign for governor as numerous candidates lament the poor conditions of roads and bridges and look for ways to fund improvements. |
SPORTS
| AD John Cohen: Mississippi State athletics defined by 'greatness' | |
| These are heady days for Mississippi State's sports teams, and John Cohen sees even bigger things ahead. Never before has MSU been in the national conversation on so many fronts. The football team consistently goes to bowl games and turns out high draft picks; the women's basketball team has become a perennial national title contender; and the baseball program is as strong as it's ever been, which is saying something. And those teams tell only part of the story. Cohen, the baseball coach turned athletics director, rattled off a list of Bulldog achievements on Wednesday. He mentioned Anderson Peters, the reigning NCAA champion in javelin; Nuno Borges, the nation's top-ranked men's tennis player; and Teaira McCowan, the third overall pick in this year's WNBA draft. "I've spoken to our incoming freshmen who are in summer school, and I speak to them about the fact that they are among greatness," Cohen said. "... It's fun when you can say 'Mississippi State' and 'the best' in the same sentence." It's quite a different vibe on campus than it was even 10 years ago. |
| What Mississippi State must answer at SEC Media Days | |
| The 2019 college football season is still a month and a half away, but fans get an annual taste of what the season has in store when Southeastern Conference coaches and players take part in SEC Media Days starting Monday. Mississippi State sends head coach Joe Moorhead, junior linebacker Erroll Thompson, senior offensive lineman Darryl Williams and redshirt senior tight end Farrod Green to Hoover, Alabama, to speak at the event. These are five of the biggest topics Moorhead and his players must address in preparation for the upcoming season: How does Joe Moorhead feel about Year 2? Who is the starting quarterback? What should we expect from passing game? How much will defense regress? Can tight ends be more involved? |
| SEC Media Days to offer perspective for Mississippi State football | |
| The purgatory of offseason storylines and circumstantial prognostications on the Mississippi State football team are reaching their end. Monday, SEC Media Days kick off in Hoover, Alabama as the head coaches and selected players from each team in the conference will descend on the Hyatt Regency Birmingham-Wynfrey Hotel to answer burning preseason questions as they break their radio silence. For MSU coach Joe Moorhead, the event is his second go-around as he enters year two with the Bulldogs. Joining Moorhead in Hoover are junior linebacker Erroll Thompson, senior offensive lineman Darryl Williams and senior tight end Farrod Green. Williams and Thompson will serve as the offensive and defensive captains, respectively, for this year's squad. Moorhead and the MSU contingent will speak with gathered media from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. |
| SEC Media Days: 5 Mississippi State Questions | |
| Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead will take to the SEC Media Days podium on Wednesday afternoon, accompanied to Hoover by tight end Farrod Green, center Darryl Williams and linebacker Erroll Thompson. Here are five questions Moorhead will likely be asked during the media circus: 1. Who will be your starting quarterback? 2. How will graduate transfers fit in? 3. How do you replace three NFL first-rounders on defense? 4. Will the offense be more consistent in 2019? 5. How much weight have you lost? |
| How a summer in Maryland continues to define former Mississippi State star Hunter Renfroe | |
| Along the right field wall of Shirley Povich Field are six numbers -- 5, 7, 11, 21, 40 and 42. The Nos. 5, 7, 21 and 42, immortalized in the summer home of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League's Bethesda Big Train, refer to former professional ball players Hank Greenberg, Cal Ripken Sr., Roberto Clemente and Jackie Robinson, respectively. The No. 40 commemorates Hugh Adams -- the Big Train's all-time leader in seasons played. Lastly is the No. 11 -- a nod to Bethesda legend and former Mississippi State outfielder Hunter Renfroe. A proven commodity on the summer collegiate baseball circuit, the Big Train own eight league championships in the team's 20-year history. In all, 168 players from the program have gone on to play professional baseball, while 16 have made the major leagues -- Renfroe, a 2013 first round draft pick of the San Diego Padres, included. It's been nearly seven years since the 6-foot-1, 220-pound slugger suited up in Bethesda and six years since he appeared at MSU. But it's here in the roughly 800-seat ballpark just outside Washington, D.C. -- far removed from the bright lights of Petco Park in San Diego or the enthralling atmosphere of Dudy Noble Field in Starkville -- that Renfroe's mythological status grows larger by the day. |
| Jackie Sherrill's day in court against NCAA begins Monday | |
| Former Mississippi State football coach Jackie Sherrill will finally have his day in court as his lawsuit against the NCAA will be heard beginning today in Madison. Sherrill has long taken issue with the alleged NCAA rules violations assigned to him in a notice of allegations received by MSU in October of 2003. The NCAA mentioned Sherrill in three alleged violations, two of them involving offers of impermissible benefits. It said Sherrill made impermissible offers to Ben Wallace, the stepfather of recruit Chris Spencer, who would eventually sign with Ole Miss and also to Rev. Joseph Scott, the grandfather of recruit Jo Jo Scott. The NCAA also charged Sherrill with unethical conduct by not adhering to what it says is an accepted standard of behavior for coaches at member institutions. The NCAA sought and was granted a change of venue for a suit originally filed in Oktibbeha County. It wound slowly through the courts until the 2018 election of Judge Dewey Arthur, who recently set the trial date. |
| Garrick Hodge joins Dispatch as sports editor | |
| Garrick Hodge has been named sports editor for The Commercial Dispatch. His first day was Monday. Hodge, 26, is a Zion, Illinois native with five years of professional journalism experience. Most recently, he was regional sports editor for the Columbia (Missouri) Daily Tribune where he also covered Missouri Tigers athletics. Before that, Hodge served stints as sports editor for the Minot Daily News (North Dakota) and assistant sports editor/sports reporter for the Daily Republic in Mitchell, South Dakota. He attended Western Illinois University. |
| SEC Media Days back on home turf in Hoover | |
| SEC Media Days is back in Hoover, Ala., starting Monday. So gentlemen, start your coachspeak. After the four-day event that includes 14 head coaches, 42 players and a thousand or so media types and others was held last year in Atlanta following 33 years in the Birmingham area, it is back in its familiar home of the Wynfrey Hotel through Thursday. That's in the backyard of the SEC league offices, but it could be on the move again in 2020 with an announcement coming by commissioner Greg Sankey this week. Nashville, Atlanta, Dallas and Hoover could be possible destinations for next year although Sankey joked about Amsterdam, Oslo or Dublin as sites. "The SEC is in an 11-state footprint now," Sankey said at the league's spring meetings. "We had an SEC men's basketball tournament in St. Louis that we viewed as a success. Ten years ago, no one would ever have imagined playing a men's basketball tournament in the building where the Stanley Cup finals (were held). ...Fans are attracted to Hoover, they're attentive and I think that can happen at other places and it should happen at different places from time to time." |
| U. of Kentucky's Mitch Barnhart to chair NCAA basketball Selection Committee | |
 | If two years from now Kentucky Coach John Calipari chooses to repeat his seemingly annual complaining about seeding, bracketing or other decisions surrounding the NCAA Tournament, he won't have far to go to meet with the chair of the Division I Men's Basketball Committee. He will only have to walk up one flight of stairs at the Joe Craft Center. UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart will be the chair in 2021, the NCAA announced Friday. "Being asked to serve in this role by my wonderful colleagues on this committee is one of the highest honors I've ever received," Barnhart said in a news release. "The 10 of us carry a huge responsibility, not just with the selection, seeding and bracketing of teams each year, which draws the greatest amount of attention, but also as a group charged with working with other constituents to manage the health of the sport of college basketball. |
| Students will buy tickets on phones with Florida Gators App | |
 | The University of Florida is attempting to "transform" the experience of football fans using a new app combined with improved Wi-Fi at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. On Aug. 1, the University Athletic Association will launch the Florida Gators App, by which fans can buy and hold their football tickets digitally and enter the stadium for games using their phone. For the 2019 season, only student tickets will be available through the app, but the plan is for all tickets to be digital for the 2020 season. Nikolai Soroko, a third-year student at UF and a season-ticket holder, likes the accessibility of being able to secure his tickets without having to go to the student ticket office. But he also sees a potential downside to the new system. "My biggest concern would probably just be getting into the stadium because already there's just a huge line," said Soroko. |
| Mizzou athletics releases fundraising figures | |
| Missouri athletics announced Friday that the Tiger Scholarship Fund raised $40.72 million over the past year, the third-highest fundraising total in the program's history. The 2016-17 year raised $50.4 million and 2011-12 came in second at $45.7 million. "We deeply appreciate the thousands of Tiger Scholarship Fund members who faithfully support Mizzou Athletics and have invested in our programs through their generous giving," Missouri athletic director Jim Sterk said in a news release. "Every dollar contributed to the Tiger Scholarship Fund makes a significant impact in the lives of our student-athletes while allowing us to provide an outstanding academic, athletic and social experience for them, and we are grateful for this outpouring of financial support." |
| C-USA officials confident as league anniversaries arrive in challenging time | |
| Conference USA was in a tough spot when Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick joined a host of league officials in making a decision that shaped the conference's future a few years ago. SMU, Houston and Central Florida were the first of seven schools to announce beginning in 2011 that they were leaving C-USA for what would become the American Athletic Conference. C-USA responded by going big. "Television markets were important," Hamrick said. "The second thing I felt we needed in most cases was larger institutions with large student bodies in areas with the potential to draw fans." C-USA added nine schools largely because they fit those parameters. The decision still resonates as the league reaches a pair of milestones in its history. "Conference USA added programs that bring value, whether it's their competitiveness, profile as an academic institution or in other ways," Southern Mississippi athletic director Jeremy McClain said. "That diversity has allowed the conference to grow and stabilize." |
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