| Friday, April 25, 2025 |
| Magnolia Mornings: MSU grads appointed to key roles at USDA | |
 | Two Mississippi State University alumni are new appointees to key roles within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the university announced on Thursday. Kelsey Barnes, a 2015 agricultural education, leadership and communication graduate, has been appointed senior advisor to the USDA Secretary for Rural Development, Biofuels, and Research, Education and Economics. Two-time MSU grad Bailey Archey, who earned her bachelor's degree in animal and dairy sciences and her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine before also serving as a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, has been appointed a policy advisor in USDA's Marketing and Regulatory Programs mission area, focusing on issues within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. |
| Mississippi State alumni appointed to key USDA leadership roles, credit MSU for a strong foundation | |
| Two Mississippi State University alumni are new appointees to key roles within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Kelsey Barnes, a 2015 agricultural education, leadership and communication graduate, has been appointed senior advisor to the USDA Secretary for Rural Development, Biofuels, and Research, Education and Economics. Meanwhile two-time grad Bailey Archey, who earned her bachelor's degree in animal and dairy sciences and her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine before also serving as a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, has been appointed a policy advisor in USDA's Marketing and Regulatory Programs mission area, focusing on issues within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. "Kelsey and Bailey were outstanding students during their time at MSU, and we are so proud of their accomplishments," said Keith Coble, vice president of MSU's Division of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine. "Their success is a testament to their dedication and determination. We're honored to have played a role in their journey and to have them both as part of our MSU family." |
| Do robots dream of the dog they never got? MSU students put on seven short plays with robots as the stars | |
 | The sound of gears clicking and whirring echoed through the classroom as robot sisters Sammy and Kenzie took center stage on a distant planet. "Our transmission is completely shot," Sammy said, her voice tense. "We have no communication with Earth. The engines are completely blown. We almost just died from a gas leak. We only have two weeks of supplies. We won't survive here." "But Earth clearly knows what happened, so they'll come for us eventually," Kenzie said, her metallic frame shifting to face her sister. "You remember when Mom said we would eventually get a dog?" Sammy asked. "We never did," Kenzie replied. This was the opening scene of "Houston, We Have a Problem," a 10-minute play directed by students Helen Carter and Jordan Walters. It was one of seven original performances showcased during the premiere of A Human, a Robot, and a Stage, a trial-run interdisciplinary course at Mississippi State University. The course, a collaboration between MSU's Shackouls Honors College and the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, combined robotics with performing arts. |
| MSU Criminology Professor Speaks to Columbus Community Leaders | |
 | The criminal justice system looks different depending on the angle you're viewing it from. That was one of the messages from a Mississippi State University criminology professor. Speaking to a group of business and community leaders in Columbus, Raymond Barranco said people's perspectives on the system are often influenced by their experience with it. Those who work in it view it differently than those who come into contact with it, or from those who have no direct contact at all. He also spoke about the importance of informal controls on crime, getting to know those around you, and just getting involved in the neighborhood. "One of the biggest predictors of crime is single-headed households. And, it's not because single parents are bad parents. It's because just having two sets of eyes versus one set of eyes on, not only your kids, but the neighborhood, as well, makes a big difference, so you know when we're talking about the community needs to be involved, and the community needs to do a better job of trying to help prevent crime. Having more adults, more role models around is going to make a big difference," said Barranco. |
| Community connections key to crime prevention | |
| Everything you know about crime, why it happens and how it can be stopped is probably a carefully filtered illusion. That's the argument Mississippi State University sociology professor Raymond Barranco presented Thursday to the Exchange Club of Columbus at Lion Hills Center. Only about 20% of the population has had direct, firsthand experiences with the criminal justice system, he said. That means everything the remaining 80% believes they know about crime and the criminal justice system is secondhand knowledge. "If you don't have to deal with it, then you assume that it kind of works the way that it's supposed to because you haven't experienced it yourself," Barranco said. "Whereas someone who's been through it probably doesn't think that it works exactly the way it should." The problem comes when communities have vastly different perceptions of what is real and what isn't, Barranco said. If half of the community claims everything is fine in the criminal justice system while the other half believes the system is broken, it's hard to land on an agreeable solution. |
| Wounded K9 'surrounded and supported' by fellow officers while treated at MSU vet school | |
| K9 Tank, who was wounded during a shooting involving Capitol Police, is recovering after he was treated at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Tank was injured by shrapnel after Capitol Police say 31-year-old Demontez Anderson opened fire on an officer near I-55 and McDowell Road on April 10. The police dog was taken to the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine, where according to a Facebook post, "he was assessed quickly by Drs. Mulligan and Kettleman, along with the clinic's talented group of veterinary technicians." "Tank was surrounded and supported by all of his fellow officers while he was receiving care," MSU CVM said in the post. "Tank and his family received quite the send-off after his stay, and a well-deserved police escort for the drive home." "We are super thankful Tank is okay and for his service to the community," the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine said." |
| Mississippi State, Department of Public Safety sign forensics agreement | |
| Mississippi State University and the Mississippi Department of Public Safety have formally agreed to work together on forensic investigations, including recovery of human remains, exhumations, surface scatter and burial recoveries, as well as identification of human skeletal remains. MSU President Mark E. Keenum joined Public Safety Commissioner Sean J. Tindell for a Memorandum of Agreement signing in Jackson April 17. Keenum said the university's areas of expertise uniquely position MSU to support the Department of Public Safety's forensic science needs. Keenum said the Mississippi State Chemical Laboratory is located on the Starkville campus, which is also home to the Forensic Lab and Skeletal Histology Center, a working forensic anthropology lab led by Assistant Professor Jesse Goliath and housed in MSU's Cobb Institute of Archaeology. Goliath, a fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, is a nationally recognized leader in forensic sciences with extensive experience working with law enforcement. |
| Mississippi School of the Arts' Colyer named Rural Teacher of the Year by MSU-William Carey University partnership | |
 | The Mississippi Rural Education Association is honoring Mississippi School of the Arts science teacher Lindsay Colyer as Rural Teacher of the Year. A collaboration of Mississippi State University's Social Science Research Center and William Carey University's Program of Research and Evaluation for Public Schools, the MREA serves as a professional organization for rural education leaders and advocates in the Magnolia State. It is a state affiliate of the National Rural Education Association. Colyer was selected from among four finalists, each representing one of Mississippi's congressional districts. The award recognizes and honors outstanding teachers who have significantly contributed to statewide rural education. "Each of the finalists has a palpable passion for their students and the communities they serve. The finalists represent the strength of Mississippi's rural schools," said Bradley Long, co-director of the MREA and SSRC project manager. |
| Starkville Dachshund Derby among world's biggest weenie dog charity events | |
 | When large crowds form in Starkville, it's usually for fall tailgates, baseball and football games. But, in the spring, tens of thousands of people flock to the college town to watch a different kind of sporting event: the Starkville Dachshund Derby. The third annual Starkville Dachshund Derby will take place on Saturday, May 3. Weenie dogs from throughout the nation are prepping for the big race. This year's derby will have 215 furry contestants all competing for the title of "Tito's Top Dog." All proceeds from the Starkville Dachshund Derby go to the Oktibbeha County Humane Society. In 2023, the inaugural Starkville Dachshund Derby brought in approximately 10,000 people and the event has grown in the three years since. Alden Thornhill, the event's founder, said he expects at least 60,000 attendees for this year's derby. Beyond the main event, guests of all ages can expect to find something to enjoy from food to live music and an arts fest. The event will host more than 110 food and art vendors and will include a kid's zone with bounce houses and pony rides, halftime entertainment and a visit from the Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile. Parking will be available at The Mill Conference Center and the MSU Bookstore with shuttle service to the festival. |
| Madison banker elected to the Executive Council of the Mississippi Young Bankers | |
| Madison banker Will Robbins has been elected to the Executive Council of the Mississippi Young Bankers, a section of the Mississippi Bankers Association. Since 1950, Mississippi Young Bankers has been active in providing leadership development activities, supporting financial literacy programs of the MBA and its member banks. MYB members are involved in administering scholarship programs for high school and college students, supporting the MBA Education Foundation, and advocating policy positions important to a strong banking industry. Robbins serves as Senior Managing Director, First Vice President for Renasant Bank, where he has been for thirteen years. He started with Renasant Bank in Tupelo before moving to Starkville and now works in Madison. Robbins received his Bachelor of Business Administration in 2012 and his Master of Business Administration in 2017 from Mississippi State University. |
| Facing another spillway opening, coastal Mississippi residents brace once again | |
 | About 12 miles upriver from New Orleans proper, The Bonnet Carre was built after the Great Flood of 1927 to protect the city from any future catastrophic flooding. It does so by siphoning water out of the Mississippi River, through Lake Pontchartrain, and then into the Mississippi Sound. In 2019, the Spillway was operated for the longest period ever -- more than 120 days -- and the Mississippi Sound was decimated. Marvin Ladner is a supervisor for Harrison County and chair of the Mississippi Sound Coalition. The group of fishermen, business owners and local governments was formed shortly after the 2019 double opening of the Bonnet Carre, when the immediate impacts on commercial fisheries and tourism were stark. Now six years later, the cascading impacts from that unprecedented period remain. According to an economic study conducted by the National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center, an institute at Mississippi State University, coastal Mississippi lost 300 jobs, more than $12 million in seafood sales and roughly $5 million in landings in 2019 alone. |
| Amtrak launching Mardi Gras Service route along Mississippi Gulf Coast this summer | |
| Amtrak will soon run along the Mississippi Gulf Coast for the first time in nearly 20 years. Agreements have been reached for twice-daily intercity train service along the Mississippi Gulf Coast between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. Starting this summer at an unspecified date, the new Amtrak Mardi Gras Service will offer morning and evening departures from both cities. The trip will feature stops in Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi, and Pascagoula along the way. Named after the popular "bead-throwing" event, which has deep roots in New Orleans, Mobile, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the train will serve to celebrate the area's culture. "Amtrak Mardi Gras Service is a natural choice for the name of the new trains that will reflect the region's distinctive culture," Amtrak President Roger Harris said. "Travel should be about more than just getting somewhere. Our goal is to have some of that festive Mardi Gras feeling on every trip, sharing the culture of the Gulf Coast region while connecting with the rest of the Amtrak network." |
| Nissan: Sedans out in Canton but SUVs are in for 2028 | |
| Nissan has confirmed to the Clarion Ledger that it plans to reinvent its plans for electric vehicle production at its Canton, Mississippi plant. That comes on the heels of reports saying the company intends to scrap development of two sedan EV models planned to be produced in Madison County. Nissan Americas chairperson Christian Meunier has previously said that "the sedan market is shrinking". After an internal memo made its way to the press, the automaker confirmed that shifting market conditions had forced it to reassess the EV projects originally planned for Canton. The company has been in flux in recent months. In response to inquiries from the Clarion Ledger, Nissan acknowledged changes are on the way. "Nissan is committed to delivering the right product, at the right time, in the right place, and at the right price. We are actively listening to market data and, most importantly, to our customers," Amanda Plecas, senior manager of Manufacturing and Communications for Nissan told the Clarion Ledger. "Both are signaling the need for us to reassess our EV offerings, prioritizing what our customers truly want -- SUVs over sedans. Production will now focus on three fully electric SUV models, including versions for both Nissan and INFINITI, with manufacturing starting around mid-2028. |
| American Consumers Serve Up Bleak Outlook on Economy | |
 | American households ended April feeling much worse about the economy than they did in March, according to a closely watched measure of consumer sentiment. The University of Michigan said Friday that its final index of consumer sentiment for April was 52.2, down from 57 in March. The reading was a slight improvement on a preliminary print of 50.8 earlier in the month. A separate index measuring consumers' expectations for the future was down 32% since January. The survey said that was the steepest three-month percentage decline since the 1990 recession. "Consumers perceived risks to multiple aspects of the economy, in large part due to ongoing uncertainty around trade policy and the potential for a resurgence of inflation looming ahead," said Joanne Hsu, the survey's director. "Labor market expectations remained bleak," she added. Respondents said they expect prices to surge 6.5% over the next year, up from expectations in March for a 5% increase. It was the highest reading since 1981, the survey said. Longer-run inflation expectations also rose compared with March. |
| MEMA confident it will receive FEMA aid for March storms though Trump denied Arkansas | |
| MEMA remains confident it will receive federal assistance for the areas damaged by tornadoes on March 14-15 even after Arkansas was recently denied aid by President Donald Trump. Mississippi now awaits a response on its request for federal aid for those March storms, which produced 17 tornadoes, killing seven people. MEMA Executive Director Stephen McCraney says Mississippi suffered more than $18 million in damages from the storms, and even after Arkansas was recently denied aid, McCraney is confident in the work his team has done to receive federal assistance. "We did a full, full, full validation of all the assessments that were necessary, and I believe that we stand on some very good numbers. The destroyed number of homes are of a magnitude in which I feel very comfortable once our request makes it to the president, he's going to see that Mississippi needs the assistance we are asking for," McCraney said. McCraney thanks all the efforts from community organizations and the faith-based community for the help during the aftermath, but still stresses the importance of receiving this aid. |
| Standalone Dept. of Tourism vetoed over budget impasse | |
| Lawmakers have for years debated creating as standalone Mississippi Department of Tourism, separating it out from the Mississippi Development Authority, the state's economic development agency. This session, SB 2573 titled the "Mississippi Tourism Reorganization Act" was overwhelmingly passed in both the House and Senate. Under the bill, personnel related to tourism, including those at the state's welcome centers and Visit Mississippi, would be transferred to the new state agency, which was to be up and running come July. However, on Thursday, Governor Tate Reeves (R) vetoed the measure, saying, "Due to the budget impasse between the Mississippi House of Representatives and the Mississippi Senate, Senate Bill 2573 is presented to me without the accompanying appropriations bills for either MDA or the newly created Mississippi Department of Tourism." "Accordingly, I am unable to determine either the impact that the removal of tourism-related duties from MDA will have on legislative appropriations for that agency, or if the legislative appropriations for the Mississippi Department of Tourism will be sufficient to enable it to be stood-up and function as a stand-alone agency," Reeves stated in his veto message. |
| Kratom to be 21+ in Mississippi | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill into law Thursday to limit kratom purchases to people 21 and older and outlaw more potent forms of the herbal substance in Mississippi. The law will take effect July 1. House Bill 1077, authored by Rep. Lee Yancey, a Republican from Brandon, institutes fines for people under 21 who buy or possess kratom and retailers that sell it to them. It also bans synthetic kratom extracts, or products that contain high concentrations of 7-hydroxymitragynine, one of the chemical components in kratom that binds to the same receptors in the brain as opioids. Kratom extracts are considered more dangerous than "pure" forms of the herbal substance because of their higher potency. The bill protects children and makes kratom safer in Mississippi, but could have gone further to entirely ban the substance, said Yancey. Critics of kratom, which can be found widely in gas stations and tobacco or vape shops, argue that it is a highly addictive and dangerous drug that produces stimulant- and opioid-like effects. But advocates argue it is an effective tool for treating opioid use disorder, chronic pain and depression. Dr. Jennifer Bryan, the president of the Mississippi Medical Association, urged lawmakers to schedule all forms of kratom -- pure and synthetic -- as a controlled substance at a House Drug Policy hearing at the Capitol Jan. 28, calling kratom “the next phase of the opioid crisis.” |
| Governor Reeves vetoes CON reform bill over Senate amendment | |
| Governor Tate Reeves (R) announced Thursday that he had vetoed a bill that aimed to reform the state's certificate of need laws. "I have been a champion for increased competition and more health care delivery options in our state by knocking down barriers to entry," Reeves said on social media announcing his veto, adding that he commended the Legislature, and specifically Speaker Jason White, for proposing and ultimately passing "much needed and long overdue revisions to the certificate of need laws in House Bill 569." However, the Governor went on to say that due to "an 11th-hour floor amendment" added in the state Senate, "my duty to faithfully adhere to the MS Constitution and the US Constitution requires me to veto this bill in its current form." Reeves said, "Specifically, the amendment added by Public Health Chairman Hob Bryan (Democrat-Amory) is not simply bad public policy but it violates the doctrine of separation of powers." The bill -- HB 569 -- would have made a number of changes to CON regulations in the state. One of the most important to State Rep. Sam Creekmore (R), a co-author of the measure, was the increase to spending caps in three categories: major medical equipment, clinical health services, and non-clinical health services. As previously reported, the cap for major medical equipment would have increased from $1.5 million to $3 million, while clinical health services would have increased from $5 million to $10 million, and non-clinical health services, which includes facilities, would increase from $10 million to $20 million. |
| 'Hospitals need stability': Governor again vetoes a bill hospital head says would stabilize their budgets | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves vetoed a bill Thursday that would help stabilize hospitals, calling it the "Grady Twin" of a bill he vetoed in March. Lawmakers made some changes to the previously vetoed legislation in a new bill, but kept much the same. Reeves cited many of his same concerns this time around, including alleged contradictions and the loom of a deficit. The bill, authored by Senate Medicaid Chairman Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, sought to make several changes to the Medicaid program -- from mandating providers screen mothers for postpartum depression to requiring the agency to cover a new sleep apnea device. Arguably the largest impact of Senate Bill 2386 would have been that it called for locking in place supplemental payment programs that have been a lifeline for hospitals -- but which are unreliable as they vary from year to year, according to Richard Roberson, CEO of the Mississippi Hospital Association. That fluctuation makes it difficult for hospitals to plan what services they can offer. Richardson says the Mississippi Hospital Association has now turned its sights toward the Division of Medicaid to secure hospitals' payment programs without the help of the Legislature. "With or without Senate Bill 2386, we are hopeful the Division will work to stabilize the model," Roberson said. |
| Taylor wins election for state senate | |
| Lane Taylor won the Senate District 18 special election last Tuesday, securing a commanding 62% of the vote in Neshoba County. "To be elected like that was humbling," Taylor said. "I'm thankful for their vote, their support, their prayers, and I'm excited to get to work and get things done for the district." Taylor defeated challengers Mark Forsman, Lindsey Kidd, Marty Sistrunk, and Jackson "Ike" Melton with 2,023 total Neshoba County votes. Forsman followed with 635 votes, while Kidd earned 385, Sistrunk received 97, and Melton garnered 86. Across all counties, Taylor received a total of 2,881 votes, including 711 in Leake County and 147 in Winston County. Taylor won the District 18 Senate race with 58.1% of the vote across all counties. Taylor said his priorities include building on now Justice Jenifer Branning's efforts in the Senate to improve roads and bridges, attracting new jobs and industries, strengthening the education system, as well as advocating for farmers and loggers through support for agriculture and forestry. |
| China cancels 12,000 metric tons of US pork shipments | |
 | China canceled 12,000 metric tons of United States pork shipments amid a high-stakes trade standoff between the superpowers, according to data released Thursday. China, one of the biggest U.S. trading partners, axed 12,000 metric tons of U.S. pork orders, the data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows. The move represents the biggest cancellation of pork orders since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains and stalled economies around the world, Bloomberg News reported. China, behind Mexico and Japan, was the U.S.'s third-biggest market for pork in 2024, importing some 475,000 metric tons valued at more than $1.1 billion. China is the world's biggest producer of pork, accounting for nearly 50 percent of global supply at around 57 million metric tons, according to the USDA. The U.S. was ranked third at 11 percent with 12 million metric tons. After the tariff hikes, China inked two agricultural trade agreements with Spain, for pork and cherries, as Beijing looks to strengthen relations with European countries, Reuters reported. |
| Trump Claims He's Negotiating With China on Trade. China Says Otherwise. | |
 | President Trump, whose trade war with China has rattled financial markets and threatened to disrupt huge swaths of trade, suggested on Friday that he has been in touch with Xi Jinping, China's president, even as officials in China insist that no negotiations are occurring. In an interview with Time, Mr. Trump said Mr. Xi had called him and asserted that his team was in active talks with the Chinese on a trade deal. Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Friday morning, the president reiterated that he had spoken with the Chinese president "numerous times," but he refused to answer when pressed on whether any call had happened after he imposed the tariffs earlier this month. Mr. Trump's comments appeared aimed at creating the impression of progress with China to soothe jittery financial markets, which have fallen amid signs that the world's largest economies are not negotiating. The S&P 500 is down 10 percent since Mr. Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration. But his claims of talks have been rejected by Chinese officials, who have repeatedly denied this week that they are actively negotiating with the United States. "China and the U.S. have not held consultations or negotiations on the issue of tariffs," Guo Jiakun, the spokesman for the foreign ministry, said in a news conference on Friday. "The United States should not confuse the public." |
| Immigration is Trump's strongest issue, but many say he's gone too far, a new AP-NORC poll finds | |
 | President Donald Trump's handling of immigration remains a point of strength as he takes wide-ranging actions to ramp up deportations and target people in the U.S. illegally, according to a new poll. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 46% of U.S. adults approve of Trump's handling of immigration, which is nearly 10 percentage points higher than his approval rating on the economy and trade with other countries. While Trump's actions remain divisive, there's less of a consensus that the Republican president has overstepped on immigration than on other issues. Still, there's little appetite for an even tougher approach. About half of Americans say he's "gone too far" when it comes to deporting immigrants in the U.S. illegally. They're divided on the deportation of Venezuelan immigrants who are accused of being gang members to El Salvador, and more oppose than support revoking foreign students' visas over their participation in pro-Palestinian activism. About half of Americans say Trump has "gone too far" when it comes to deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. About one-third say his approach has been "about right," and about 2 in 10 say he's not gone far enough. They're unhappier, generally, with how he's approaching trade negotiations. About 6 in 10 say he's "gone too far" in imposing new tariffs on other countries. |
| Exclusive: NSF director to resign amid grant terminations, job cuts, and controversy | |
| The director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced his resignation Thursday, 16 months before his 6-year term ends, in a letter to staff obtained by Science. "I believe that I have done all I can to advance the mission of the agency and feel that it is time to pass the baton to new leadership," writes Sethuraman Panchanathan, a computer scientist who was nominated to lead NSF by then-President Donald Trump in December 2019 and was confirmed by the Senate in August 2020. "I am deeply grateful to the presidents for the opportunity to serve our nation." Although Panchanathan, known as Panch, didn't give a reason for his sudden departure, orders from the White House to accept a 55% cut to the agency's $9 billion budget next year and fire half its 1700-person staff may have been the final straws in a series of directives Panchanathan felt he could no longer obey. "He was trying so hard to present the agency in a positive light," says one knowledgeable source who asked to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of their position. "But at the same time, Panch knew that he was alienating himself from the scientific community by being tone deaf to their growing concerns about the fate of the agency we all love." |
| Scientists say NOAA cuts by Trump undermine improvements in hurricane forecasts | |
 | Weather and climate research are among the programs seeing big cuts by the Trump administration. Hundreds of employees at NOAA -- the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -- who work at offices and research centers have been fired. The administration also wants to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for everything from weather satellites to climate research. Andy Hazelton is one NOAA employee who lost his job. In February, probationary employees, people who were recently hired or promoted, were fired and then quickly rehired and put on administrative leave following a federal court order. But after a Supreme Court ruling this month, the employees, including Hazleton, were fired again. Hazelton, a physical scientist with NOAA in Miami, loved his job, he says, "Because I'm passionate about the work we do. I've been a part of the success that's happened over the last five to 10 years in terms of protecting lives and property." Until his job was terminated, Hazelton worked to help understand, track and forecast hurricanes at NOAA's Environmental Modeling Center. The model he worked on, the Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System (HAFS) contributed to a marked improvement in forecasting. HAFS, along with other models developed by NOAA scientists, has greatly improved the ability to forecast a hurricane's track and intensity. |
| MUW students prepare for federal student loan changes | |
| The Federal Student Loan Program has been through some changes in the past few years. And another one is on the way. The Trump Administration and the Department of Education announced this week that they will soon resume collections on defaulted student loans. With college seniors getting close to graduation, this could mean a potential pivot in their financial future. Nationwide, around 5 million borrowers are in default on their student loans Now those who are affected are warning current college students to plan ahead to avoid some of the troubles. The Department of Education announced, starting May 5, it will resume collections for federal student loan borrowers who have defaulted on their debt. The decision is raising questions and concerns among current college students, especially those close to graduation. "Right now for me I'm already trying to place money aside for that as well as whenever I do get my job, having to set aside money for that specific purpose," Zachariah Harden said. |
| James, Thomas Duff address business students at Ole Miss | |
| Standing in a building named after themselves, two of the richest businessmen in the state, the Duff brothers, spoke to nearly 100 students and faculty members at the University of Mississippi on Thursday, discussing their successes and failures and fielding questions from the audience. The Ole Miss Entrepreneurship Society hosted James and Thomas Duff, owners of Duff Capital Investors, for a talk inside the Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation. Their company comprises over 20 businesses, including their original business, Southern Tire Mart, as well as logistics, real estate, automotive dealerships, equipment transportation, industrial chemical packaging, a hotel and a restaurant. Thomas Duff said a challenge Mississippi faces that he believes can only be solved through good business practices is the phenomenon of brain drain -- younger people, college graduates and others are leaving the state to live and work in other areas. "We need you to stay in this state," he said to the students, adding it was "incumbent" on the business sector to provide job opportunities to keep people in Mississippi. |
| USM partners with Gulf Coast Business Council to start Executive Leadership Academy | |
 | The stroke of a pen is leading to big things for the University of Southern Mississippi and the Gulf Coast Business Council. The two are partnering to help strengthen the local workforce. "It will be an intensive nine-month training to help emerging leaders who are in businesses to help upscale around technology, leadership, and best practices," said USM President Dr. Joe Paul. Dr. Paul explains that the Executive Leadership Academy will soon be formed on the USM Long Beach campus. The vision to create an executive education center will happen inside Hardy Hall. This will benefit both Mississippi and the students in the long run. "We're bringing in our best professors in areas of leadership, business, technology, and other outside experts to help them to develop their skills beyond their college education as executives, emerging leaders, and coastal businesses," said Dr. Paul. The training will include things such as a continuing education certificate and digital badge issued by Southern Miss, along with tuition scholarships provided for classes exceeding enrollment benchmarks. |
| A dog was lost for 5 years. Then he showed up at a fraternity house. | |
 | Neal Rachal walked out the back door of his fraternity house and saw an unexpected visitor: a light brown Yorkshire Terrier wearing a tiny red shirt. Rachal, president of Kappa Sigma at the University of Southern Mississippi, figured the dog had run off from another house on Fraternity Row, so he sent a picture of the Yorkshire Terrier to his neighbors. But when Rachal returned about two hours later, nobody had claimed the dog, who was then hiding behind a pile of wood in the backyard. Rachal brought him inside, where another brother said he looked like a Benji, so that became his temporary name. The brothers embraced having a pet: Benji attended Kappa Sigma's intramural softball win and was the team's good luck charm. He went grocery shopping with the brothers when they bought steaks for a barbecue. The Kappa Sigma members initiated Benji as a brother for a week before saying goodbye. They learned his heartbreaking backstory and reunited him with his owner, Debbie LaFleur. She said she never expected to see the dog again. Benji's name was actually Kingston, and five years earlier, he had fled his Louisiana home about 250 miles away. |
| Alcorn State University seeks donations for 2025 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade | |
| Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thanksgiving morning is a time-honored tradition in many American households, and the dynamic marching band performances are a key component. An invite to perform in the Macy's parade is one of the most coveted opportunities for college and university marching bands. For the members of the Alcorn State University Sounds of Dyn-O-Mite Marching Band, that opportunity is becoming a reality. For the first time in the university's history, Alcorn State has received an invitation to perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in November 2025. But, before the marching band members pack up their instruments and head to New York City, the band needs to raise $500,000 and is asking for the community's help. As of April 24, just over 500 donors have raised approximately $129,000 out of the $500,000 goal with seven months until the parade. The parade also provides a national stage to showcase HBCU talent and represent a Mississippi university that often goes without the same opportunities and coverage as its neighbors. |
| Gen Z workers increasingly opt out of college and into the trades: 'There are about 2 million fewer students,' says expert | |
| As members of Gen Z continue to graduate high school and enter adulthood, many elect to forgo traditional college degrees. That's in part because of the cost of getting a bachelor's degree, they tell CNBC Make It. The annual cost of attending a four-year, in-state public college increased by about 30% between 2011 and 2023, according to Make It calculations based on data from the Education Data Initiative, and went up by 42% at private, nonprofit four-year colleges. "There are about 2 million fewer students in a traditional four-year university now than in 2011," says Nich Tremper, senior economist at payroll and benefits platform Gusto. Instead, many young people are entering skilled trades like construction, plumbing, electrical contracting and automotive repair. In the first quarter of 2024, Gen Z made up 18% of the workforce, according to the Department of Labor, but 18- to 25-year-olds made up nearly 25% of all new hires in skilled trade industries that year, according to Gusto. President Donald Trump's latest tariffs might present some challenges for Gen Zers opting into blue collar work, says Tremper, like those opting into manufacturing or construction, for example. Still, "in recent months, job security has been stronger in the trades than in many traditional white collar jobs," Tremper says. That's according to BLS data measuring termination rates, or people who left their jobs because of layoffs and discharges. |
| How Gen Z Became the Most Gullible Generation | |
 | The video starts with bold red letters blaring: "2016 Democrat Primary Voter Fraud CAUGHT ON TAPE." A series of blurry security footage follows, showing blatant instances of ballot stuffing. The only problem: The clips actually depict voter fraud in Russia. Would you have taken the bait? A quick Google search would have easily revealed the dubious source of the video, along with news articles debunking its claims. But when researchers from Stanford studying young people's media literacy -- the ability to accurately evaluate information in the wilds of mass media -- showed the video to 3,446 high school students, only three succeeded in identifying the Russian connection. It's a startling reality about Gen Z, backed up by multiple studies and what we can all see for ourselves: The most online generation is also the worst at discerning fact from fiction on the internet. That becomes an issue when the internet -- and specifically, social media -- has become the main source of news for the younger generation. About three in five Gen Zers, from between the ages of 13 and 26, say they get their news from social media at least once a week. TikTok is a particularly popular platform: 45 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 29 said they were regular news consumers on the app. There's a dangerous feedback loop at play. Many young people are growing deeply skeptical of institutions and more inclined toward conspiracy theories, which makes them shun mainstream news outlets and immerse themselves in narrow online communities -- which then feeds them fabrications based on powerful algorithms and further deepens their distrust. |
| Why high school seniors' 'rejection cake' trend is going viral on TikTok | |
 | As videos of emotional college acceptances and elaborate school-themed bed parties fill high schoolers' social media feeds, some seniors are putting a humorous spin on the emotional let down of getting denied from colleges with rejection cakes. In one TikTok with more than 5 million views, Needham, Massachusetts high school senior Ceci Skala and her friends cheer "This is our rejection cake!" as they present a cake decorated with miniature flags from top schools that rejected them. Skala, who applied to 12 colleges and was waitlisted from her top choice, says the trend is a way to make fun of the daunting, stressful college admissions process. In the video, her friends placed rejection pins from schools like Yale University, University of Southern California, Harvard University, University of Virginia, Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University and Boston College. "If you're applying to a hard college and you're seeing all these acceptance videos, it's going hurt, because it's like, 'Am I the only one rejected? Am I not good enough?' " Skala says. "You don't see all the videos of everybody else getting rejected." College consultant Brooke Hanson, who is the CEO and founder of SupertutorTV, says social media has made the college admissions process more stressful. Twenty years ago, students showed their excitement for college with a sweatshirt or yard sign. Now, Hanson and Norman say, that display has moved onto social media, where teens' For You Pages are flooded with acceptance videos featuring screams of joy and tears. |
| New U. of Tennessee building will be the 'academic heartbeat' of the campus | |
 | The University of Tennessee at Knoxville has significantly escalated its student success and retention mission with its newest building beginning to take shape on campus. The Student Success Building will replace Melrose Hall, a former dormitory that closed in 2009 next to the John C. Hodges Library. Campus leaders hosted a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony to mark the site's upcoming transformation, and more importantly to highlight their emphasis on the students who are the lifeblood of the university. "(Students are) going to be inspired that this is a place that celebrates them and is really helping them think about their future goals. We hope that they will see the space as their home," Vice Provost for Student Success Amber Williams told Knox News. Administrators see the building as the new academic center of campus alongside Hodges Library. "I think what's happening on the inside of the building is what makes it so special, and the real intentionality behind how we're thinking about the type of activities that will happen in the building is what's special," Williams said. "We're thinking about it as like the academic heartbeat of the institution." |
| UT's Office of Title IX 2024 report: Surge in online stalking, pregnancies | |
| According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, about two-thirds of college students experience sexual harassment. Given this alarming reality that college students may face, leaders like the Title IX coordinator, Ashley Blamey, ensure students at UT feel safe in this manner. Blamey presented her office's 2024 annual report on Wednesday, April 23, which stated that the office worked with 509 students and employee concerns in 2024 -- marking the highest number from 2018. The Office of Title IX saw an uptick in stalking in 2024 -- particularly cyberstalking. According to the 2024 annual report, there were 40 stalking cases compared to 28 reports in 2022-2023. Blamey mentioned that this behavior has recently become more challenging to track. "Stalking is really frequent now because online spaces are really just the wild west out there, and it's much more difficult to fight that," Blamey said. "But we can still do things to resolve situations and provide safety." Maddison Brtalik, a freshman studying finance, commented the OTIX's commitment to spreading information has greatly impacted her feeling of safety, and the community is better for it. "I've seen her -- Blamey -- at a sorority event before and she's taught us a lot about what we should do and what's available -- it's very important for safety," Brtalik said. |
| Florida's Own DOGE Is Reviewing Faculty Research, Grants | |
 | Elon Musk's days with DOGE appear numbered---the unelected billionaire bureaucrat said Tuesday that his time spent leading the agency-gutting U.S. Department of Government Efficiency will "drop significantly" next month. As Tesla's profits plummet, the world's richest man faces opposition from both Trump administration officials and voters. DOGE's legacy remains unclear. Lawsuits are challenging its attempted cuts, including at the U.S. Education Department. Musk seems to have scaled back his planned overall budget savings from $1 or $2 trillion to $150 billion, and it's unclear whether DOGE will achieve even that. But something may outlive Musk's DOGE: all the state iterations it has inspired, with legislators and governors borrowing or riffing off the name. Iowa's Republican governor created the Iowa DOGE Task Force. Missouri's GOP-controlled Legislature launched Government Efficiency Committees, calling them MODOGE on Musk's X social media platform. Kansas lost the reference to the original doge meme when it went with COGE, for its Senate Committee on Government Efficiency. But, as with the federal version, the jokey names for these state offshoots may belie the serious impact they could have on governments and public employees -- including state higher education institutions and faculty. To take perhaps the most glaring example, the sweeping requests from the Florida DOGE team, which is led by a former federal Department of Transportation inspector general, have alarmed scholars. |
| Questions of discrimination raised over bill focused on university campus groups | |
 | Disagreement over two competing versions of legislation designed to "protect ideological perspectives" in college campus-based organizations surfaced during a Missouri Senate committee hearing Wednesday. Both bills were created to prohibit public institutions taking "adverse action" against belief-based organizations. As defined in the bills text, belief-based organizations are, "any political or ideological student association or any religious student association." "There is not a single student association in existence that is not protected by this bill," said Rep. Darin Chappell, R-Rogersville, sponsor of House Bill 875, which was the subject of the hearing. "This bill just simply says that freedom of association is one of the premier fundamental rights of this country, and you do not lose that simply because you enrolled in a higher institution." But critics say Chappell's bill could force schools to support groups that discriminate against students who weren't allowed to join such groups, such as LGBTQ+ students who could be prohibited from joining certain religious-based groups. They prefer a Senate version of the bill that includes an anti-discriminatory provision. |
| 'Complete takeover:' Indiana lawmakers exert control over university policy in 11th hour | |
| Over the course of 36 hours at the tail end of the three-month legislative session, Indiana lawmakers made significant policy changes that fundamentally alter how state universities conduct themselves. These changes -- among them, giving Gov. Mike Braun sole appointing power over Indiana University's board of trustees, subjecting tenured faculty to "productivity" quotas that could lead to termination, dissolving the decision-making power of faculty governance organizations -- were never the subject of a filed bill or amendment and saw no opportunity for public testimony. They appeared near the bottom of the 220-page budget bill the evening of April 23, and rose to the forefront of the heated debate that went into the early hours of April 25 when lawmakers approved the bill. "It's hard to imagine anything that could possibly be more nontransparent, opaque," said Russ Skiba, professor emeritus at IU. "This is a complete takeover of universities by the governor and state legislature." Republican Rep. Jeff Thompson of Lizton, the House's budget writer, repeatedly defended the measures as the state exercising its duty to ensure taxdollars are spent wisely and efficiently. Asked multiple times, he said he could not recall who brought forward the ideas. |
| Report: Colleges Shrank Staff Who Make Campuses 'Livable, Safe, and Vibrant' by 9 percent | |
 | The number of full-time, nonexempt staff working in higher education has shrunk by 9 percent since 2017, according to a new analysis by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. The number of part-time nonexempt staff fell by about 8 percent. Nonexempt staff, who are required to be paid overtime when they work more than 40 hours a week, includes clerks, office assistants, skilled craftspeople like carpenters and electricians, police officers, custodians, and food-service workers. Jacqueline Bichsel, associate vice president for research at CUPA-HR and one of the authors of the analysis, said in an email that although all areas of the higher-ed work force experienced declines after the pandemic, the drops were sharpest and most sustained among nonexempt employees. "Just in terms of sheer numbers -- when you think about the fact that these employees (custodians, food-service workers, police officers, office assistants, electricians, groundskeepers, and so many others) are sustaining much of what makes a campus livable, safe, and vibrant -- it's hard to believe that this reduction in staff would not make a difference in the day-to-day experience of all staff who work on campus, as well as students and anyone who visits," Bichsel wrote in an email. It's likely that the remaining nonexempt employees are now being asked to do more with less, she added. |
| Anti-DEI Guidance Letter Put On Hold, for Now | |
| The Education Department won't be able to enforce its guidance that declared all race-based programming and activities illegal following two court orders Thursday. Federal judges in New Hampshire and Maryland handed down the rulings after finding plaintiffs in the two separate lawsuits were likely to succeed in proving that the Feb. 14 Dear Colleague letter violated procedural standards and the First Amendment. Prior to the orders, colleges and K-12 schools that failed to comply with the letter risked their federal funding. "Although the 2025 letter does not make clear what exactly it prohibits, it makes at least one thing clear: schools should not come close to anything that could be considered 'DEI,' lest they be deemed to have guessed wrong," the New Hampshire judge wrote. And since loss of federal grants could cripple institutions, "it is predictable -- if not obvious -- that [they] will eliminate all vestiges of DEI to avoid even the possibility of funding termination," regardless of whether it is an example of executive overreach. The injunctions do not, however, block all of Trump's attacks on DEI. The Dear Colleague letter was just one aspect of the president's multipronged strategy. |
| Trump administration reverses abrupt terminations of foreign students' U.S. visa registrations | |
| The Trump administration has restored the student visa registrations of thousands of foreign students studying in the United States who had minor -- and often dismissed -- legal infractions. The Justice Department announced the wholesale reversal in federal court Friday after weeks of intense scrutiny by courts and dozens of restraining orders issued by judges who deemed the mass termination of students from a federal database -- used by universities and the federal government to track foreign students in the U.S. -- as flagrantly illegal. The terminations caused concern and even panic for thousands of students who feared the possibility they had lost their legal immigration status and could be quickly deported. Many who sued over the move said their schools had also blocked their ability to continue taking classes or conducting research, sometimes just weeks before graduation. Judges also expressed frustration with the seemingly arbitrary moves and the unwillingness of government lawyers to say whether the students could continue to attend classes or needed to leave the country immediately. |
| From Book Bans to Canceled Lectures, the Naval Academy Is Bending to Trump | |
| For 65 years, the U.S. Naval Academy's annual foreign affairs conference has been a marquee event on campus, bringing in students from around the world for a week of lectures and discussions with high-ranking diplomats and officials. But this year, the event was abruptly canceled, just weeks before it was set to start. The conference had two strikes against it -- its theme and timing. Organized around the idea of "The Constellation of Humanitarian Assistance: Persevering Through Conflict," it was set for April 7 through 11, just as the Trump administration finished dismantling almost all of the federal government's foreign aid programs. According to the academy, each foreign affairs conference takes a year to plan. But killing it off was much faster, and the decision to do so is among the many ways the school's leadership has tried to anticipate the desires of an unpredictable and vengeful president. The moves have included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's order last month that led to the banning of hundreds of books at the academy's library, and the school's cancellation of even more events that might attract the ire of President Trump or his supporters. Most colleges and universities decide what courses to teach and what events to hold on their campuses. But military service academies like the Navy's in Annapolis, Md., are part of the Pentagon's chain of command, which starts with the commander in chief. |
SPORTS
| Baseball: Bulldogs Set For Weekend Series At No. 11 Auburn | |
| Mississippi State is bound for The Plains as it prepares for a weekend series at No. 11 Auburn. Friday and Saturday's games are both slated for 6 p.m. starts while Sunday's finale gets underway at 2 p.m. All three games will be streamed on SEC Network+. The Diamond Dawgs found success the last time they took the field against the Tigers. MSU swept Auburn in Starkville last season, winning the opening game 8-1 before securing both games of a doubleheader 3-1 in seven innings and walking off with a 4-3 victory in eight innings. The Bulldogs own a 119-96-1 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to 1908. State will stick to its usual pitching rotation for the weekend. Junior left-hander Pico Kohn will start things off on the mound for the Bulldogs on Friday. Kohn is 4-1 with a 3.29 earned run average and sits fifth in the Southeastern Conference with 81 strikeouts in 54 2/3 innings. Auburn comes into the weekend at 28-13 overall and 9-9 in conference play. The Tigers were swept at top-ranked Texas last weekend but bounced back with a 1-0 win against No. 24 Georgia Tech at Plainsman Park on Tuesday. |
| What to watch, keys to victory for Mississippi State baseball at Auburn | |
| Following another crushing loss Tuesday night in the Governor's Cup against bitter rival Ole Miss, Mississippi State is back to official Southeastern Conference games this weekend and is in desperate need of wins as the Bulldogs (24-17, 6-12 SEC) head on the road to face No. 11 Auburn. The Tigers are led by former MSU assistant coach Butch Thompson, who was on the Bulldogs' staff from 2009 through 2015 under John Cohen -- now Auburn's athletic director. Thompson has taken the Tigers to the Men's College World Series in 2019 and 2022, but last year, Auburn was the worst team in the SEC, finishing 8-22 in conference play. MSU swept the Tigers at Dudy Noble Field last spring, the only sweep of SEC play for the Bulldogs. Thompson has turned things back around quickly this season, though. Auburn (28-13, 9-9) has a key early midweek win over Troy -- a team that defeated MSU -- as well as a neutral-site win over a top-10 Oregon State team. The Tigers do have two questionable losses to UAB and one to Old Dominion, but have been impressive in conference play, with series wins over Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Alabama as well as a sweep of LSU. Auburn has been particularly strong at home, with six of its SEC losses coming in road sweeps at the hands of Georgia and Texas. The Tigers have also taken both midweek contests against a ranked Georgia Tech squad, beating the Yellow Jackets 1-0 at Plainsman Park on Tuesday evening. |
| Softball: State Takes Final Regular-Season Road Trip To Kentucky | |
| Mississippi State softball will travel to Lexington for its final conference road trip as the No. 17 Bulldogs take on Kentucky in a three-game series at John Cropp Stadium. State will open the series on Friday at 5 p.m. CT on SEC Network. The last two games of the series are scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday and will air on SEC Network+. With only two SEC series remaining in the regular season, the Bulldogs are looking to finish strong ahead of postseason. Head coach Samantha Ricketts enters the weekend one win shy of securing back-to-back seasons with double-digit conference victories, something Mississippi State hasn't accomplished in a decade (2014-15). With postseason play on the horizon, State looks to finish league play on a strong note with a focused and energized effort in Lexington. The Bulldogs need just four more wins this season to record their highest win total under Ricketts. The Bulldogs will close the regular season at home next week as part of Super Bulldog Weekend, hosting No. 16 Ole Miss for a Thursday-Saturday series. The weekend will feature Senior Day and graduation ceremonies on the field. |
| Men's Golf: Bulldogs Move To Seventh After SEC Championship Round Two | |
| Mississippi State put together a solid day of golf, firing a team score of 4-under 276 to move into a tie for seventh entering the final round of stroke play. This is MSU's best score at the SEC Championship since posting a 5-under 275 in the first round of the 2023 edition. "I thought we played another really solid round today," head coach Dusty Smith said. "We played some disciplined golf all day and gave ourselves a lot of birdie looks. I was proud of how the team played together and for each other, today." Harrison Davis and Garrett Endicott led the Bulldogs with rounds of 2-under 68. Davis carded a bogey-free front nine of 33 and stayed steady at even par on the back. Endicott also went out with a bogey-free 33 and birdied the 17th hole to wrap up his round at 2-under. He currently sits in a tie for 19th overall. "We know we don't have to do anything special tomorrow," Smith added. "We need to continue to be patient and steady and put our mental focus on what helps us be the best version of ourselves as we can be. Tomorrow will be an exciting day with a great opportunity in front of us." |
| Kentucky planning overhaul of college athletics department into new school corporate entity | |
| The University of Kentucky is moving toward housing its athletics department under a new university corporate entity that school officials say will improve their flexibility to handle rising financial pressure from the proposed settlement of three athlete-compensation antitrust cases against the NCAA and Power Five conferences and related demands. Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart and the university's executive vice president for finance and administration, Eric Monday, said they were unsure of whether the new entity -- being called Champions Blue LLC -- would be unique in college sports. But they said that, within the school's structure, it is being modeled on entities under which its hospitals and other medical services enterprises are housed. Implementation of the new athletics structure is pending approval by the full Kentucky board of trustees, which is scheduled to meet April 25. The board's athletics committee unanimously approved the plan April 24, the university said. Kentucky's athletics department had nearly $202 million in operating revenue and nearly $197 million operating expense in its 2023-24 fiscal year, according to the annual financial report it submits to the NCAA. |
| South Mississippi sports titan Lindy Callahan dies at 97 | |
 | South Mississippi sports great Lindy Callahan died Wednesday at the age of 97, according to a news release and his official obituary. Callahan was a longtime coach and administrator at Gulfport High School and eventually a two-term president of the Mississippi High School Activities Association. The Vicksburg native lettered in football and baseball at Ole Miss before spending 39 years as a coach, teacher and administrator. Callahan's legacy and influence led to the creation of the Lindy Callahan Scholar Athlete Award in 1995 -- a scholarship awarded annually to 16 student athletes by the MHSAA. "Coach Callahan for many is considered the father of modern athletics in Mississippi," former GHS athletic director Bryan Caldwell told the Sun Herald. "He was one of the first full-time athletic directors. He created policies and processes that athletic departments across the state still follow. Simply put, he was ahead of his time." "As a football coach and administrator, he touched hundreds if not thousands of lives," Caldwell said. "So many of his former players still revere him and have a close relationship with him. This one hurts. Coach Callahan was a great mentor to so many men in this state. Not just on the Coast, but statewide." |
| Paul Finebaum dishes on Beamer and Staley, Clemson fans, more in U. of South Carolina chat | |
 | Paul Finebaum was the guest speaker at the annual Buchheit Family Lecture hosted by the University of South Carolina's School of Journalism and Mass Communication on campus Wednesday night. The SEC Network TV and radio host covered everything from the beginnings of his career to his thoughts on the state of college athletics. The guest speaker at last year's Buchheit Family Lecture was Bob Woodward. Yes that Bob Woodward, the journalist famous for uncovering the Watergate scandal alongside Carl Berstein at the Washington Post. "I found out today that Bob Woodward was here a year ago," Finebaum said. "As a 15-year-old, being a news hound and a political hound, Watergate was breaking. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were breaking what seemed like at the time, the story of the century. And that's who I wanted to be. So I'm a little bit uptight. I usually don't get that way." Finebaum joked he wasn't sure why "such a great school" like South Carolina would invite him to speak. "I guess LaNorris Sellers wasn't available," he quipped. |
| With future format of CFP in limbo, college sports brass still undecided on major issues | |
| On the fourth floor of the gargantuan Gaylord Texan Resort in this Dallas suburb, the conference commissioners spent three hours in the same room where the College Football Playoff selection committee members gather each December to decide the playoff field. On the final day of three days of CFP meetings here this week, commissioners walked through a mock selection, getting a firsthand look at the data and process used by committee members -- perhaps a last gasp from the CFP to show these decision-makers that the committee's role should not be de-emphasized under any new playoff format. "There was a lot of new learning," CFP executive director Rich Clark said. "They got to see the depth that committee members go to with the process. They also gave us some feedback to help us think through how we could improve the committee." From this week's annual spring meetings, no decisions were made on the three most important questions of any future playoff format: (1) How many teams are in the bracket? (2) How are teams selected for the bracket? (3) And how are teams seeded in the bracket? While the answers remain incomplete, the pathway to those answers is becoming more clear. |
| NCAA to Sell Gambling Data to Sportsbooks Via New Genius Sports Deal | |
| The NCAA will start selling data from its championship events to sportsbooks around the country, part of an expanded partnership between the college sports governing body and Genius Sports. The move, announced Friday, represents a notable departure from the NCAA's prior arms-length relationship with legal sports betting. While the major pro U.S. leagues have built lucrative commercial partnerships in betting -- including data deals like this one---the NCAA has stayed almost entirely on the sidelines. Instead, its executives have been outspoken about the industry's effect on athletes, and pushed legislation that would limit the types of college bets that are permitted. Under the new partnership, Genius Sports (NYSE: GENI) will have the right to sell live data from all NCAA championships through 2032. That includes the men's and women's March Madness basketball tournaments, the most valuable assets in the NCAA's portfolio. Regular season contests, and FBS football postseason games like the College Football Playoff, are not included. The announcement comes four months after NCAA president Charlie Baker spoke at a Senate hearing in Washington, D.C., urging congress to reign in sports betting. He said the NCAA had to provide one team a 24/7 security detail because of a threat from a gambler, and added that hundreds of athletes have told him they've been approached to alter their performance. Paradoxically, the deal may help the NCAA build a larger bulwark against one of its major gambling concerns. |
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