| Tuesday, November 10, 2026 |
| MSU to honor America's veterans at annual recognition ceremony |
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| Mississippi State University will honor U.S. veterans during its annual Veterans Day ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 11. MSU President Mark E. Keenum will be the featured speaker for the ceremony, which begins at 11 a.m. on the Drill Field and is free and open to all. The university's G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Center for America's Veterans helps coordinate the annual event, which is part of a week-long recognition honoring all who have served. MSU's Army and Air Force ROTC cadets also will participate with a mixed color guard representing both programs. Following the ceremony, attendees are invited to the Colvard Student Union Art Gallery for a reception and viewing of the "Student Salutes: A Visual Tribute to MSU Veterans." The week-long recognition culminates when the MSU football team faces Auburn in the annual Military Appreciation Game at Davis Wade Stadium on Nov. 14. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. | |
| Chapman Navy Veteran Jason Hernández '98 on Leadership |
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| Chapman University alumnus and Navy veteran Dr. Jason I. Hernández '98 served aboard the battleship USS Missouri during the first Gulf War before building a career in human resources. Today he is chief human resources officer at Mississippi State University. This Veterans Day, he reflects on what the Navy taught him about leadership and why the connections he made at Chapman still matter to him. Hernández enlisted in the Navy in 1987 and served on the USS Missouri as a damage controlman. His job covered shipboard firefighting, flood control, and chemical, biological, and nuclear defense. During the first Gulf War in 1990 and 1991, he saw how much a crew depends on teamwork and preparation in high-pressure situations. After his military service, Hernández enrolled at Chapman in 1995 and earned a Bachelor of Science in environmental science with a minor in biology. He played football, served in student government, and joined Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, which became a large part of his college life. More than 30 years after leaving the Missouri, Hernández still credits the Navy with giving him discipline, confidence, and a path to college. That foundation carried him through 12 years leading global HR at FedEx Freight, a role as chief human resources officer at Centerstone and, in 2026, a move into higher education at Mississippi State. | |
| Mississippi Press roast of Mike Chaney to benefit journalism scholarships, internships |
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| Mississippi Press will roast Vicksburg resident and Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney on Nov. 19 at a benefit for journalism internships and scholarships. Chaney, Mississippi's 11th Commissioner of Insurance and State Fire Marshal, has certainly given his friends and colleagues plenty of material over a long career in public service. First elected to the position in 2007, he is now serving his fifth term. Before becoming commissioner, Chaney spent 15 years in the Mississippi Legislature, serving in both the House and Senate. His career has earned several honors, including induction into the Insurance Hall of Fame at Mississippi State University, a Distinguished Service Award from the University of Mississippi's Risk Management and Insurance program, and recognition as a Healthcare Hero by the Mississippi Business Journal. He is also a veteran of the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam. Chaney and his wife, Mary, have three children and eight grandchildren. | |
| Johnny Moore shares his vision for Rust College's next 100 years |
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| Johnny M. Moore envisions a future where Rust College becomes the heart of Holly Springs. It's one of several ambitions Moore has as president of the historically Black college, which is celebrating its 160th anniversary this month. The celebration also included Moore's inauguration Friday as Rust's 13th president. But realizing Moore's vision will require revitalizing the small, private liberal arts college, which has experienced declining enrollment, rising tuition and leadership turnover in recent years. A decade ago, Rust enrolled more than 1,000 students. By the 2024-25 academic year, enrollment had fallen to 467 students. Tuition has increased from $9,900 in 2022-23 to more than $13,000 in 2023-24. And just 12% of students who entered Rust in 2018 graduated within six years. Addressing those challenges will require adapting Rust's academic programs and providing students with more support to earn a degree, Moore said. One of Moore's priorities is to expand career and workforce opportunities for Rust students, including those who may not need the traditional four-year college degree. | |
| Student-aged voters helped turn Texas blue. U. of Texas shifted even further left |
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| Politics became personal for many University of Texas students this fall. In September, Bo French, the conservative candidate for the Texas Railroad Commission, described a crowd of South Asian UT students cheering for the Longhorns as "a problem" facing Texas. UT did not condemn the racist language --- a marked turn from past administrations that spoke out when outside groups posted white supremacist posters on campus and after the killing of George Floyd in 2020. But on Tuesday, UT voters had their own opportunity to rebuke French, with 96% of voters in the university's precinct casting ballots against the Republican. Ultimately, 142 voters in the precinct supported French and 144 voted for Republican Ken Paxton, who lost his bid for U.S. Senate to Democrat James Talarico. More young voters swung left in Texas than any other age demographic this year: Texans ages 18 to 29 moved 49 points left from 2024 to 2026, according to the New York Times. Though UT students and faculty have long had a reputation for leaning left, the 2026 midterms showed that in the precinct where UT's campus is located, voters shifted even further in favor of Democrats. There, 95.5% of voters backed Talarico, a 15 percentage-point shift from 2024, when 80% of voters supported Democrat Kamala Harris for president. | |
SPORTS
| Hubbard Joins 2,000-Point Club In MSU Win Over Jackson State |
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| Josh Hubbard has now reached rarified Mississippi State air and the Bulldog superstar helped move State to 3-0 in the process. Hubbard became just the fourth MSU player to score 2,000 career points in the Bulldogs' win over Jackson State on Monday night at Humphrey Coliseum. Hubbard joined State legends Jeff Malone, Bailey Howell and Quinndary Weatherspoon in the Mississippi State men's hoops 2,000-point club as the Bulldogs tamed the Tigers 98-57. Hubbard finished the game with 14 points. He entered the evening needing just 13 points to hit 2,000 and he crossed that mark early in the second half. With Mississippi State already firmly in control, a Hubbard jumper at the 17:10 mark of the second half put MSU up 55-31 and made him only the 29th Southeastern Conference player in history to reach 2,000 career points. Mississippi State is now one of only two SEC schools with four or more players on that list. Only Tennessee has more players that've eclipsed 2,000. | |
| Hubbard scores 14, surpasses 2,000 in his career as Mississippi State beats Jackson State 98-57 |
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| Josh Hubbard scored 14 points and surpassed 2,000 in his career to lead Mississippi State to a 98-57 victory over Jackson State on Monday night. Hubbard hit a jumper with 17:10 to play for his 2,000th point, and then split a pair of free throws with 15:16 remaining that stretched the Bulldogs' lead to 64-36. He also shot 3 of 6 from long range, pushing his program high to 320 made 3s. Tristan Reed scored 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting off the bench for Mississippi State (3-0), which shot 58% from the floor and outrebounded Jackson State 49-21. RJ Johnson added 12 points for the Bulldogs. Kimani Hamilton chipped in with 11 points and Thomas Bassong scored 10. Reed and Bassong each had eight rebounds. Reserve Mike Williams made six 3-pointers and scored 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting for Jackson State (1-2). | |
| CFP expanding to 24 teams, big conference title games eliminated in $1.7 billion ESPN deal |
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| The CFP is only getting bigger. ESPN agreed to a five-year deal with the postseason tournament valued at about $1.7 billion that will expand the field to 24 teams starting in 2027, ESPN reported Monday. It's a move that keeps the Worldwide Leader as the CFP's broadcast partner and will also eliminate the Power Four (Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Big 12) conference championship games. The CFP selection committee plans to continue to rank its top 25 teams with inclusion in mind. It's also considering expanding its weekly rankings to 30 teams to reveal which programs are on the bubble. "Opening the Playoff to more programs, more student-athletes and more fan bases across the country is great for college football," Mark Keenum, chair of the CFP board of managers, said in a statement. "We look forward to seeing this expanded format come to life next season." The college football regular season will begin the week before Labor Day in what has been deemed "Week Zero," and will conclude on Thanksgiving weekend. | |
| Inside the 24-team Playoff plan's winding 15-month journey from unpopular to unanimous |
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| On the first Saturday after news broke that college football was moving to a paradigm-shifting 24-team tournament, fans booed the mention of the idea on ESPN's "College GameDay." The public pushback was not a surprise to the people who made the decision. In August, the College Football Playoff conducted a balanced-sample fan survey through Nielsen Sports. Anyone with social media knew that plenty of people didn't want expansion, but now the conference commissioners would have scientific public polling to consider. According to data from the survey reviewed by The Athletic, the results were overwhelming: 63 percent of "avid fans" and 76 percent of "casual fans" wanted no expansion whatsoever. Given the choice of six size options between "no playoff" and "increase to a 24-team playoff," less than 10 percent of both the "avid" and "casual" fan groups favored a 24-team field. However, of the fans who preferred no expansion, 71 percent said in response to another survey question that they would not watch fewer games if the field got larger. Ultimately, the sport's leaders, in pushing through expansion to give meaningful postseason access to more teams, believe the fans will still show up for whatever new world the super-sized Playoff brings and perhaps grow to like it more. "We're aware of the fan sentiment and that many fans aren't in favor of expansion," CFP executive director Rich Clark said. "It was considered, but ultimately, we just need to make a spectacular playoff." A 15-month journey from a seemingly outlandish idea to reality was completed Monday when the College Football Playoff and ESPN finalized a new deal. | |
| SEC Commissioner responds to criticism from Big Ten coaches |
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| SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey appeared on The Paul Finebaum Show Monday afternoon, where he addressed some comments from Big Ten coaches. Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti and Illinois head coach Bret Bielema have both criticized how highly the SEC was favored in the College Football Playoff rankings. Cignetti inferred some ESPN bias in the CFP rankings, while Bielema said Illinois would be a top 15 team if they were in the SEC. While on The Paul Finebaum Show, Sankey responded to these comments and stood up for the SEC. "One of those head coaches canceled a non-conference game with one of our teams, so what I would say is, we're ready to schedule those non-conference games," Sankey said. "If you're concerned about us being overrated, there's a full regular season. We're pretty flexible in how we approach non-conference games. Let's not run to the microphone in a press conference and complain, let's find those opportunities because they're there." | |
| LSU graduate, now Alabama pastor, says Tigers' wasted '$40 million' after loss to Tide |
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| Chris Hodges, the founding pastor at Church of the Highlands and an LSU graduate, returned to the pulpit a day after the Tigers lost 31-13 to Alabama on Saturday. Hodges raised his hands and opened his sermon with a question for the congregation. "Don't you love Sundays?" Hodges asked. "Aren't they so much better than Saturdays, everybody?" The audience began laughing, as Hodges paused for a beat to smile himself. "I had the most beautiful purple sports coat picked out that I could not wear," Hodges said before he opened his jacket, revealing the crimson red on the inside of the coat he wore to service. "There you go. That's all you get! That's all you get! I don't want to hear anything else, alright? Let's move on. Help me, Jesus. Alright." As the church exploded in laughter, Hodges filled everyone else in on the joke. "If you're new to our church, I went to LSU, help me, Lord," Hodges said on Sunday morning. "Alright, $40 million down the drain, alright, here we go." The $40 million Hodges was referring to was the reported cost of this year's LSU football roster, through name, image and likeness funds. The Church of the Highlands is the largest church in Alabama, according to al.com, and has campuses throughout the state and Georgia. | |
| Tennessee players co-design a model of what collective bargaining could look like in college sports |
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| A group representing college athletes partnered with Tennessee basketball players to release the most detailed vision yet of what a collective-bargaining agreement in college sports could look like. The model for the term sheet released Tuesday by Athletes.org does not carry the weight of a signed agreement but is unusual in that it comes with the support of school leadership. It outlines guidelines for paying players, the transfer portal, academics and ways to enforce rules in an industry that pays millions to athletes under the guise that the money is for things other than playing sports. "We know what we want and how we want to move forward," said DeWayne Brown II, a freshman for the 11th-ranked Volunteers and one of three team organizers. "Working through the collective bargaining process has been great and I hope it's just a stepping stone for more college athletes to replicate our process with their own schools." A CBA that would offer some union-like protections is one of the most divisive issues in college sports, which has never had a union for athletes. Supporters of the CBA idea, including Tennessee athletic director Danny White, believe it's the most direct way to save an industry under increasing financial pressure in a world of $50 million football rosters. Opponents view it as a possibly illegal cash grab that could bankrupt the athletic departments that fund all their sports teams with revenue generated by football and basketball. | |
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