| Wednesday, December 10, 2025 |
| Rod Paige, nation's first African American to serve as secretary of education, dies at 92 | |
 | Rod Paige, an educator, coach and administrator who rolled out the nation's landmark No Child Left Behind law as the first African American to serve as U.S. education secretary, died Tuesday. Former President George W. Bush, who tapped Paige for the nation's top federal education post, announced the death in a statement but did not provide further details. Paige was 92. Under Paige's leadership, the Department of Education implemented No Child Left Behind policy that in 2002 became Bush's signature education law and was modeled on Paige's previous work as a schools superintendent in Houston. The law established universal testing standards and sanctioned schools that failed to meet certain benchmarks. Roderick R. Paige was born to two teachers in the small Mississippi town of Monticello of roughly 1,400 inhabitants. The oldest of five siblings, Paige served a two-year stint the U.S. Navy before becoming a football coach at the high school, and then junior college levels. Within years, Paige rose to head coach of Jackson State University, his alma mater and a historically black college in the Mississippi capital city. There, his team became the first -- with a 1967 football game -- to integrate Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, once an all-white venue. After serving as education secretary, Paige returned to Jackson State University a half century after he was a student there, serving as the interim president in 2016 at the age of 83. |
SPORTS
| Football: Thompson And Jones Earn Coaches' All-SEC Honors | |
 | On Tuesday, the Southeastern Conference announced its 2025 Coaches' All-SEC Teams, with both Brenen Thompson and Kelley Jones representing Mississippi State on the third team. This is the second straight season that State has had an All-SEC receiver after not having one since 2016. It's also the second consecutive season with an All-SEC defensive back/corner. Thompson, who earned third-team honors as a wide receiver, concluded the regular season with 53 receptions, 948 yards and six touchdowns. He averaged 17.89 yards per reception and 79.0 yards per game. His 948 yards tied for the second-most in the SEC and are tied 21st nationally, while his 17.89 yards per catch average ranked fourth in the SEC and 19th nationally. He leads the SEC in receptions of 40+ yards (9) and is tied for 1st in receptions of 50+ yards (4). Jones, who earned third-team honors as a defensive back, has had a breakout season in 2025. Jones, who started just four games in the previous two seasons, started all 12 games at corner this year. He set career marks in tackles (30), pass breakups (11) and interceptions (2). His 11 pass breakups are tied for the most in the SEC while tying for 14th nationally. Mississippi State's 2025 season will continue Jan. 2, 2026, at 7 p.m. CT when the Bulldogs take on Wake Forest at the Duke's Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, N.C. |
| Mississippi State Brings Home Elite Recruiter And Mississippi Native Kevie Thompson | |
| Mississippi State football has added one of the state's most respected defensive minds and recruiters to its staff, as head coach Jeff Lebby announced Monday the hiring of Kevie Thompson as the Bulldogs' Assistant Defensive Backs Coach/Nickels. A Raleigh, Mississippi, native with deep ties across the state, Thompson returns home after spending the 2025 season at Oklahoma State as a defensive coach. Widely regarded for his recruiting acumen, player development track record and long-standing relationships throughout Mississippi, Thompson brings more than a decade of defensive coordinator experience at the university, junior college and high school levels. A fixture in Mississippi high school football early in his career, Thompson spent two seasons as defensive coordinator at Starkville High School, helping guide the Yellow Jackets to a 24-5 record, a Class 6A North State championship and a Region 2-6A title from 2017–18. His 2017 defense allowed just 11.8 points per game and produced 36 turnovers and 40 sacks. He also coached in the 2018 Bernard Blackwell All-Star Game. Thompson began his coaching career at his alma mater, Raleigh High School, in 2010. He later held roles at Madison Central High School and Taylorsville High School, where he mentored players such as longtime NFL veteran Donte Moncrief and 2012 Mississippi interceptions leader Isaiah Pugh. |
| Volleyball: Mangelson Earns AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention | |
| Mississippi State outside hitter Lindsey Mangelson was tabbed as an AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention, announced by the AVCA this morning. "I am so proud of Lindsey," said head coach Julie Darty Dennis. "She has put in the work and is so deserving of this recognition. We know we have more work to do, but this is such a great place to start for year one of Lindsey's career here. Hail State!" Mangelson adds All-Region Honorable Mention to her long list of accolades from her freshman season. In addition to the AVCA award, she was also named to the All-SEC Second and Freshman teams, as well as earning two SEC Freshman of the Week awards this season. In her freshman season, the Fishers, Indiana, native led the team in points scored, points per set, kills, kills per set and total attack attempts. While the team was in season, she was consistently one of the top freshmen both in the NCAA and SEC offensively. By the end of State's season, Mangelson was the top freshman in attacks per set and points per set in the NCAA. |
| Notre Dame AD still upset with ACC and CFP committee, calls for expansion to 16-team playoff field | |
| Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua thinks there's a simple solution to politicking for College Football Playoff spots: expansion. He was still upset Tuesday about the selection committee's decision to bypass the Fighting Irish from the 12-team playoff field and the public campaigning by the Atlantic Coast Conference to get full-time league member Miami a spot. He then called a 16-team format the perfect number. "It should be 16 teams in my opinion, with five automatic qualifiers and 11 at-large teams," Bevacqua said as he fielded questions for nearly 40 minutes. "What I like about 16 is it creates more opportunity, more narratives around schools and yet it preserves the integrity and importance of the regular season." Bevacqua did not back off the complaints that have permeated college football ever since the CFP participants were revealed Sunday. But two days after Notre Dame decided to skip the bowl season altogether, he also tempered his words. Big 12 Conference Commissioner Brett Yormark, speaking at the Sports Business Journal's Intercollegiate Athletics Forum in Las Vegas, criticized Bevacqua and Notre Dame. "I didn't like Notre Dame's response," Yormark said. "I think it was very egregious. I think (Bevacqua) was totally out of bounds, and if he was in the room, I'd tell him the same thing. You have to accept it." |
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