| Tuesday, June 15, 2021 |
| MSU-Meridian announces new director of Social Work program | |
 | A longtime social work faculty member with over 20 years of experience in institutional and community social work will lead Mississippi State University-Meridian's Social Work program beginning July 1. Richard Damms, MSU-Meridian head of the Division of Arts and Sciences and associate professor, has announced Angela Savage, instructor and director of field social work, as the new program director. A native of New Albany, Savage joined Mississippi State in 2012. She succeeds Rhonda Carr, who served as director for nine years until her 2020 retirement. A published research author, Savage received her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi and a doctoral degree in social work from Tulane University. She is an active member of the Mississippi Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and served in multiple positions on the board, as well as co-treasurer of the North American Network of Field Educators and Directors and founder of the Mississippi Field Directors Consortium. She recently was appointed chair of the Education of Color committee of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors. As program director, Savage not only wants to continue to impact the region by producing competent general practitioners who can work in the local schools, non-profit agencies and hospitals, but also educate incoming students and the community about the social work profession. |
| In need of more officers, MSU Police debuting new campus security force | |
 | The Mississippi State University Police Department announced at the beginning of June that they are looking for more officers to patrol the campus ahead of a school year with more people out and about. That includes openings for brand new Campus Security Officers. "Being short officers puts more stress on the officers that we have here," says campus Police Chief Vance Rice. With the removal of more and more COVID-19 precautions, things at Mississippi State are expected to look more normal next semester. "Especially when it comes to athletic events and other events," Chief Rice says. But training those officers takes time. "We want all of our officers to be fully trained before they appear out in public and take any kind of law enforcement action," Chief Rice says. And the cost of all that training adds up. That's why this year, MSU PD is looking for eight new Campus Security Officers as a more cost-effective option. "We're gonna give them some training but it's going to be about two months worth of training and it'll be done right here internally," says Chief Rice. The security officers will handle things like responding to door prop alarms and escorting students across campus at night. "There are many other calls that a security officer can handle, low threat, low priority type calls, that police officers are having to do right now," Chief Rice says. |
| MSU student, TVA biologist band osprey chicks in Guntersville | |
 | A Mississippi State University PhD student, along with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Guntersville and Arab power companies were in Guntersville Monday working to learn more about the behavior of osprey. The groups took three osprey chicks from their nest on a nest platform near Highway 69. "In 2019, we actually had a fire on one of our poles across the street. And we were able to help TVA and Mississippi State relocate this nest to this location to help the birds to where we can keep the birds and keep everything it all intact as it was," said Arab Power general manager Stacey White. The nest was moved around 1,000-feet away from the original location of the fire. The mother osprey flew around the nest and called out to the chicks. The student, Natasha Murphy, and her assistants weighed and measured the birds to try to calculate their age, which is around five weeks old. They also took blood samples to see how the osprey in Guntersville are related to each other and to also test for heavy metals and lead. The main goal of banding is to see how the birds use human infrastructure. |
| Highway named for ex-lawmaker who worked for road expansion | |
 | Friends, family and former colleagues gathered Monday in Booneville to remember former Mississippi House Speaker Billy McCoy and to unveil a sign that names a segment of a highway in his honor. McCoy was 77 when he died in November 2019. The farmer from Rienzi was a self-described Franklin D. Roosevelt New Deal Democrat who was first elected to the state House in 1979. McCoy was speaker of the 122-member House during his final two terms, from January 2004 to January 2012. McCoy -- known for down-home turns of phrase and the occasional flash of temper -- was instrumental in passing the 1987 Highway Program that led to construction of hundreds of miles of four-lane roads across Mississippi, including in rural areas struggling for economic development. Legislators in 2020 passed House Bill 1279, naming segments of highways, including the stretch of U.S. 45 in Prentiss and Alcorn counties in honor of McCoy. Both counties were in his House district. Democrat Steve Holland of Plantersville, who served in the House from January 1984 to January 2020, said Monday that McCoy would pick him up in an old blue Oldsmobile and they would ride the backroads of Mississippi together, stopping at country stores to see what was on people's minds. "I don't need a sign to remember him," Holland said. "But, my goodness, what a wonderful way because the guy loved the roads. He loved riding them, and he loved seeing people." |
| International trade office in Biloxi helps promote Mississippi goods | |
 | In 2020, Mississippi's agriculture industry was one of the state's top moneymakers, raking in around $16.7 billion and either directly or indirectly employing a third of the population. The Department of Agriculture and Commerce hopes to increase that number for years to come with a new international trade office located in the Bolton Building in Biloxi. "It's a great day for commerce in Mississippi," Commissioner Andy Gipson said. The office's main responsibility is marketing the state's goods to other countries by partnering with agencies like the Port of Gulfport. "We do have the advantage of having these multiple harbors, multiple ports," Gipson said. "I think it's one way we can lead other states." Officials hope this will bring more international demand for the region's crops, livestock and lumber. "It would be fantastic to ship any of that to other parts of the world," said Joe Spraggins, Executive Director of the Department of Marine Resources. With more markets soon having access to more Mississippi goods, the agriculture department said the new office could expand some industries and revive others. "This is the first and next step that we can go through to expand our exports around the world," said Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation President Mike McCormick. |
| Combination of projects in south Mississippi to result in 1,200 jobs | |
| It's an exciting time for the Harrison County Economic Development Commission. Executive Director Bill Lavers told SuperTalk Mississippi that a combination of ongoing projects will result in 1200 jobs. During an interview on The Gallo Radio Show, Lavers discussed plans to build a Buc-ee's on I-10 at the Menge Avenue exit. In addition to jobs, it's expected to be a huge tourism draw. "This will be the first one in Mississippi. They do a lot of business and over 5-million people a year come to a Buc-ee's store when they're open." He also went into detail about Project Deliver. "It's a 300-thousand foot state of the art e-commerce center. We're in due diligence right now, hopefully that will be under construction in the next 90 days. It'll have interstate exposure." Lavers also discussed workforce development, rail restoration on Seaway Road in Gulfport and a plethora of other topics. |
| Vaccine Hesitancy 'Pitiful,' State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs Says As Hospitalizations Up for Under-40 Residents | |
| COVID-19 hospitalizations among younger Mississippians have increased in recent weeks, due to low vaccination rates compared with the state's older population. In a June 11 press briefing, officials from the Mississippi State Department of Health explained how hospitalizations are increasing even as general cases trend downward. "Although we've done a pretty remarkable job at getting vaccination out to our folks 65 and older that have been our most vulnerable, we still have a lot of opportunities to get folks vaccinated," State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said. "We need to get those younger folks vaccinated, especially the individuals who are under 50." Hospitalizations for patients under 40 are increasing due to vaccine hesitancy, while Byers said those over 65 have experienced "drastic drops" in hospitalizations. "We've seen the impact of vaccination in those older folks, but what that means now is that the proportion of the younger folks that are hospitalized is going up because we just don't have the same level of vaccination among them," Byers said. Byers singled out health-care operations, especially those in long-term care facilities, in emphasizing the need to push for further vaccinations. |
| NIH study suggests coronavirus may have been in U.S. as early as December 2019 | |
 | A research study run by the National Institutes of Health has turned up evidence of possible coronavirus infections in the United States as early as December 2019, weeks before the first documented infection in this country. The new report, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, bolsters earlier studies indicating the virus entered the country under the radar and may have been spreading in the first two months of 2020, well in advance of warnings to that effect from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A volunteer in Illinois who gave blood on Jan. 7, 2020 -- in a study unrelated to the emergent virus -- tested positive for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, according to the NIH report. It noted that the antibodies typically take 14 days, on average, to develop, and this "suggests the virus may have been present in Illinois as early as December 24, 2019." The volunteers had given blood samples as part of NIH's "All of Us" research program, a multiyear effort to advance "precision medicine" by gathering detailed health data from a large and diverse group of people. Nine of those people came up positive on both tests for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Seven of those gave blood in five states -- Illinois, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin -- before the first official cases in those states. |
| Managed care firm and Mississippi reach lawsuit settlement | |
| A managed care company has agreed to pay Mississippi $55.5 million to settle a lawsuit that accused one of its subsidiaries of overcharging the state's Medicaid program for pharmacy benefits management. Attorney General Lynn Fitch and Auditor Shad White announced Monday that the state had reached the settlement with Centene Corp., which it called the largest Medicaid managed care organization in the U.S. "This settlement makes clear that the days of hiding behind a convoluted flow of money and numbers are over," Fitch said in a news release. The agreement represents one of the largest civil settlements following an investigation by the state auditor's office in Mississippi history. Health plans hire pharmacy benefit managers to try to control costs in prescription programs. Among other duties, the management companies create lists of preferred drugs and negotiate rebates with pharmaceutical companies. The Mississippi auditor's office began investigating Envolve Pharmacy Solutions, Inc., a company owned by Centene, in 2019 based on suspicions that pharmacy benefits managers were charging the state more for services than allowed by a price cap, state officials said. |
| Authorities investigating murder of former Rep. Ashley Henley | |
 | Authorities in Yalobusha County have confirmed that they are investigating the murder of former District 40 State Rep. Ashley Henley, who was killed outside the former trailer home where her sister-in-law's body was discovered last December. "It is in the early stages of investigation," Assistant District Attorney Steve Jubera told the DeSoto Times-Tribune. "The Yalobusha Sheriff's Department is working with Mississippi Bureau of Investigation to conduct as thorough an investigation as possible." Jubera said Henley was apparently doing yard work outside the former burned out trailer home where her sister-in-law, Kristina Michelle Jones, was discovered inside on Dec. 26, 2020, when she was murdered. "There was a weed eater in close proximity to the body," Jubera said. Yalobusha County Coroner Ronnie Stark told DeSoto Times-Tribune that Henley's body was discovered at 12 Patricia Lane in the Water Valley Boat Landing Community Sunday evening around 10 p.m. after she had been reported as missing. An autopsy is pending, but Stark said Henley died from a gunshot wound, and that the case is being investigated as a homicide. |
| House Panel to Tackle China Scientific Competitiveness Bill | |
 | A House committee on Tuesday will begin fine-tuning the chamber's version of legislation aimed at boosting U.S. scientific competitiveness to keep pace with China, with the added aim of solving more social problems. Similar legislation passed the Senate last week with significant bipartisan support, giving the effort considerable momentum. The House committee is likely to pass its version of the bill on Tuesday. The legislative effort -- with strong support from the Biden administration -- is being touted by policy makers in Washington as a response to the competitive threat posed by China's rapid advancements in cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence. But emerging differences in the Senate and House approaches are likely to complicate the debate. Leaders of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, which will begin to consider amendments Tuesday to the proposed legislation, view their version as a way to substantially increase U.S. government spending on scientific research of many types, not just cutting-edge areas like artificial intelligence and quantum computing. President Biden cheered the Senate bill's passage last week and said he was looking forward to working with the House and getting the legislation signed into law as soon as possible. "We are in a competition to win the 21st century, and the starting gun has gone off," Mr. Biden said in a statement. |
| White House releases first national strategy for countering domestic terrorism | |
| The Biden administration on Tuesday released the first-ever "National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism," following a 100-day comprehensive review ordered by President Biden on his first day in office. It's the first national plan for countering what the White House is calling "the most urgent terrorism threat the United States faces today," echoing previous assessments by Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray and the intelligence community. The strategy calls for more information-sharing between the government and tech sector, other nations and among domestic law enforcement agencies. An unclassified threat assessment released by the intelligence community in March identified white supremacists and anti-government extremists as "the two most lethal elements of today's domestic terrorism threat." FBI field offices and U.S. attorneys have made the threat of domestic terrorism their top priority. President Biden's FY 2022 budget proposal includes over $100 million in additional resources for the DOJ, FBI, and DHS to increase personnel and access to intelligence-sharing and training. |
| Trump, allies pressured Department of Justice to back election claims, documents show | |
 | Newly revealed documents obtained by the House Oversight and Reform Committee reveal that former President Trump and his allies pressured the Department of Justice (DOJ) to back his unproven claims of election fraud in the days and weeks before the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The documents, released publicly on Tuesday, show Trump, his then-chief of staff Mark Meadows and outside allies putting pressure on senior DOJ officials to probe claims of voter fraud in December and early January. Emails provided to the committee revealed that Trump sent allegations of election fraud to top DOJ officials minutes before he announced their promotions, which were sparked by the resignation of then-Attorney General William Barr. The documents also revealed that Trump used official White House channels and a private attorney to urge the DOJ to file a lawsuit in the Supreme Court that asked the court to declare that the Electoral College vote in six states Trump lost cannot be counted and request a special election to vote for president. Additionally, the documents illustrated attempts by then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to ask DOJ officials on at least five occasions to pursue claims of election fraud. |
| Enacting tough federal cybersecurity standards an uphill battle, experts say | |
 | The spate of recent ransomware attacks on federal contractors and operators of critical infrastructure, culminating in the attack on Colonial Pipeline in May, has built momentum for new federal laws and regulations to require disclosure of breaches as well as mandatory cybersecurity standards. But writing such laws and regulations in a timely manner and ensuring they are finely tailored is likely to pose a challenge involving multiple federal agencies, Congress and the new national cyber director. In the aftermath of several high-profile cyberattacks, "I do think you're seeing some recognition that business as usual and the status quo just isn't going to cut it," said Frank Cilluffo, director of Auburn University's Charles D. McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security and a member of the congressional Cyberspace Solarium Commission. "My hope is that we take a scalpel and not a sledgehammer" to such regulations and mandates, Cilluffo said. The Solarium Commission, composed of lawmakers and cybersecurity experts from industry and academia, is pushing for a combination of "carrots and sticks or benefits and burdens" focused on getting certain key industries among the larger group of critical infrastructure sectors to adopt tighter security standards and reporting requirements, Cilluffo said. The challenge of bringing together the various competing interests is likely to fall on Chris Inglis, nominated to become the first national cyber director. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is expected to vote on his nomination Wednesday, and the whole chamber could take up the confirmation vote soon afterward. |
| New Alzheimer's drug could be 'devastating' for Medicare | |
 | The controversial approval of the first drug to target Alzheimer's disease in nearly 20 years has opened the door for patient advocacy groups to pressure Medicare and private insurers to cover expensive tests needed to concretely diagnose Alzheimer's disease. Advocates hope that the new therapy will be the first to slow the disease afflicting over 6 million older adults. But patients will likely have to jump through hoops, or pay exorbitant prices, because the tests needed to diagnose Alzheimer's and monitor the drug's safety aren't generally covered by Medicare, potentially putting patients on the hook for out-of-pocket costs. The cascading challenges and looming questions around the new drug, Biogen's Aduhelm, could also influence whether private insurers decide to pay for other costly drugs and services. Several health experts, including those on an external advisory committee to the FDA, are skeptical that Biogen's drug will even successfully slow the progression of Alzheimer's after late-stage clinical trials yielded mixed results. The FDA's decision to grant accelerated approval to Aduhelm has led to the resignations of three members of the agency's neurological drug advisory committee. "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that the impact on Medicare is likely to be devastating," said Diana Zuckerman, the president of the National Center for Health Research, who is not on the advisory committee that evaluated Biogen's drug. |
| Auditor's financial demand against controversial Ole Miss professor delayed by defamation lawsuit | |
 | In December 2020, the Mississippi State Auditor's office issued a demand for $1,912.42 to Ole Miss professor James Thomas for his work stoppage on September 8th and 9th as part of the "#ScholarStrike" to call attention to racism and injustice in policing amidst the protests and riots last summer. "I have strong feelings about this -- if you have tenure, your #ScholarStrike activity needs to be a work stoppage. Tell your students you're not working," Thomas posted on social media. Thomas was to have paid that demand within 30 days, per the Auditor's demand letter dated December 1st. However, the tenured University of Mississippi professor has not made good on that demand. The matter has since been referred to the Attorney General's office for potential civil action, and is now on hold. "The Auditor's demand letter is presently on hold due to the pending litigation initiated by Professor Thomas," AG spokesperson Colby Jordan told Y'all Politics last week. The litigation the AG's office is referring to is a lawsuit Thomas filed against Auditor Shad White in his individual capacity on December 30th. It was filed by Robert McDuff of the Mississippi Center for Justice, a nonprofit, public interest law firm that bills themselves as being committed to advancing racial and economic justice. |
| USM construction projects making campus access, parking easier | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi is working on several construction projects this summer that are making it easier to get on campus and easier to find parking once you arrive. A pedestrian pathway currently being built will link 38th Avenue to Ross Boulevard. It's a $950,000 project, funded mostly by the federal government through the Mississippi Department of Transportation. USM is paying for 20% of the work. At the corner of Ross Boulevard and Montague Boulevard, a new parking lot under construction will provide 280 parking spots. The project will include lighting and a sidewalk. The cost is $2.5 million and it's being paid for with legislative bond funds. Nearby, at the site of the old USM Printing Center, a new one-way road is being constructed, which will join Montague Boulevard to Forrest Avenue. That area will include some new metered parking spots. The cost of that project is about $950,000 and it's being funded with state legislative bonds. And at the corner of West 4th Street and North 34th Avenue, a new north campus gateway is being built. It will look much like the USM gateway entrance on Hardy Street. The cost of that work is about $180,000 and the money is coming from institutional funds, according to Chris Crenshaw, senior vice president for facilities planning and management at USM. |
| 'Retain Alabama' effort looks to keep college grads home | |
| Knowing that nearly half of Alabama's public university bachelor's degree earners are working in other states five years after they graduate, state leaders are funding more efforts to keep that talent pool at home. In the 2022 state education budget, lawmakers allocated $800,000 for a new "Retain Alabama" initiative to introduce college students to opportunities for them in the Yellowhammer state. "Our state has been a low-growth state and we have to do all we can to retain that knowledge capital that we're losing every year when they leave," said Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, chairman of the Senate education budget committee. The earmark was prompted by the 2020 Alabama Commission on Higher Education Employment Outcomes Report, the first statewide study of how Alabama graduates, from certificate holders to those with doctoral degrees, are faring in the workforce. It showed that five years after they graduated in 2013, 51% of Alabama public university bachelor's degree recipients were employed in the state. "That was problematic," ACHE Executive Director Jim Purcell told Alabama Daily News recently. "Think about trying to build an economy based on half of your graduates." |
| Auburn Board of Trustees approves more hot water for Quad dorms, airport expansion | |
 | The Auburn University Board of Trustees met Friday morning at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center to approve campus construction projects, among other agenda items. The board gave its approval for the $13.5 million facelift of the Quad's Harper and Broun halls, the first of the Quad dormitories to be renovated. The work includes the renovation of 51,510 square feet of existing interior and exterior space and replacing mechanical, electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems -- including improved availability of hot water -- and new furnishings and fixtures. All doors and windows would be replaced, too. Phase 1 will be financed by funds from Campus Housing and University Repair and Renovations. Associate Vice President for Facilities Dan King gave a presentation on the project at Friday's meeting. Outgoing President Pro-Tem Wayne Smith asked if landscaping would be associated with the project, citing a preference for "consistency" with construction projects on campus. Associate Vice President of Planning Design & Construction Simon Yendle said he would check into the landscaping plans associated with the project. New dorms are to be built adjacent to the Quad in order to shutter the dorms on The Hill on the south end of campus. The university has leased the 160 Ross student apartment complex to house students displaced from The Hill while the new campus housing is under construction. |
| Auburn University officially welcomes new buses for the fall | |
| Auburn University welcomes new buses to campus this week, including three hybrid electric buses, following their long trek from California. However, the buses will not run until the fall, with current diesel buses finishing out the remainder of the summer. Summer transportation hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day of the week. Starting June 21, the university should begin receiving a minimum of five hybrid electric buses each week. These will not fully replace the current diesel fleet of 70 until the end of September. In total, Auburn with be host to 10 hybrid electric buses and 50 diesel ones by the fall. All are 35-foot buses, matching the size of the current ones. Additionally, four smaller buses will be received to replace the old smaller buses. Auburn Transportation Services plans to have 35 to 40 operational new buses by the start of the fall semester. "We normally run fifty-seven buses during the fall," said Don Andrae, director of transportation services. "That means twenty of them will still be the older buses. We will rotate them out as soon as we can, but again it will probably be the end of September before we have all seventy ready to operate." The long-awaited hybrid electric buses will be operating electrically on the Central Campus area. They will not be emitting any fumes or noise while on campus. Additionally, their diesel engines will cut off any time the bus stops while it is not on Central Campus grounds, much like a hybrid car. |
| Troy Middleton's descendants file lawsuit against LSU, want military collection returned | |
 | Descendants of the late LSU leader Troy H. Middleton filed a lawsuit Monday seeking return of his collection, which is being displayed at the LSU Military Museum, but also asked for money for being embarrassed by the university's disavowal of him as a racist. Though the lawsuit seeks monetary damages for "extreme humiliation and embarrassment," the Middleton family's attorney Jill Craft, of Baton Rouge, said the real point is to get back Troy Middleton's papers and memorabilia, rather than punish the LSU Board of Supervisors for its June 2020 decision to remove his name from the main library on the Baton Rouge campus because of statements and efforts Middleton made as LSU president from 1951 to 1962. "It's not as related to that as it is to the whole notion that LSU took a position to vilify General Middleton, said they wanted no reminders of him on campus and they said, 'Come get your stuff,'" Craft said Monday. "If the family cannot peacefully retrieve their property, then obviously their entitled to (monetary) damages." The family arrived at the LSU A&M campus in Baton Rouge several times to collect the Middleton Collection, but couldn't. LSU raised "several differing excuses" about why, according to the lawsuit. |
| U. of South Carolina's next president must be the right 'cultural fit,' Harris Pastides says | |
 | As the University of South Carolina searches for a new president, Interim President Harris Pastides has some advice: find the right fit. Pastides, speaking Thursday to a meeting of USC's presidential search committee, called on the search committee to find a candidate who is comfortable in a crowd and who communicates well with students, lawmakers, local business leaders, city officials, donors, alumni, parents and employees. "What I may suggest is a match between the people who you are asked to consider and the university," Pastides said. "What is the cultural fit between the individuals brought to you and the challenges of the job?" It's less important for the candidate to have the perfect resume or to be from the Palmetto State, Pastides said, noting he came to South Carolina in 1998. Pastides -- who said he will reach out to people he believes are qualified and ask them to apply for the job -- said USC's ideal candidate will need to have experience in higher education. However, Pastides advised the search committee members, made up largely of board of trustees members, to not fixate too much on a candidate's resume. "Look for life skills. Look for people who can think on their feet. Look for people who inspire you," Pastides said. "You will not find an unblemished record unless the (candidate) hasn't done anything." |
| With spy case a bust, feds seek fraud conviction against U. of Tennessee professor | |
 | Federal prosecutors shrugged off the false spy claims made by the FBI in the case against a renowned University of Tennessee at Knoxville professor, instead focusing on what they say is a clear case of fraud by Dr. Anming Hu. "The FBI began an investigation as they normally would," Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Arrowood told jurors Monday in U.S. District Court. "Instead of rushing to judgment, putting handcuffs on people, they asked questions." According to Arrowood, the same agents who made unsupported spy claims about Hu for more than two years wound up exposing the welding technology genius as a fraudster and liar just the same. Hu isn't charged or accused of espionage or working for China. Instead, Hu is accused of fraud under a novel application of an obscure provision of law -- the NASA restriction. Tacked onto a defense spending bill in 2011, the NASA restriction restricts the agency from funding research that involves collaboration with "China or Chinese-owned companies." The law does not bar NASA from funding research that involves collaboration with Chinese universities. NASA itself added Chinese universities to its restrictions list and the Trump Justice Department used it as an excuse in 2018 to search American universities for China-born researchers as potential spies. |
| Contact tracing for Arkansas colleges shifts; two contractors with state taking over from UAMS team | |
| Contact tracing efforts to mitigate the spread of covid-19 among college students are being handled by two contractors with the state as an agreement with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences approaches its end, officials said. Federal coronavirus relief funds covered the $3.9 million paid as of last week to UAMS for college-related contact tracing done as part of an agreement that dates back to July, a state Department of Health spokeswoman said. "The UAMS contact tracing team reached out to over 26,000 individuals who were affiliated with a higher education campus," Danyelle McNeill, a Health Department spokeswoman, said in an email. UAMS last Friday ended its contact tracing for colleges, said Leslie Taylor, a spokeswoman for the academic health center and medical school. Active covid-19 cases as reported on college websites have slowed to a trickle, with the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville -- the state's largest university -- reporting a single active case as of June 1. UA-Fayetteville expects to rely on the Health Department and its partners for covid-19 contact tracing services, spokesman Zac Brown said. Brown said campus medical center personnel generally advise those tested to make a list of potential contacts to have ready for Health Department contact tracers. |
| Planted 17 years ago, UGA's Agave americana now stands 20 feet tall | |
 | It's not quite "Little Shop of Horrors," but the monstrous size of an Agave americana plant behind a yellow house at 290 South Hull St. definitely borders on intimidating. Planted in 2004 by Paul Duncan, associate director of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute at the University of Georgia, the "queen" currently stands 20 feet tall, and has sprouted 15 root stems around the base. Atop the asparagus-like stem that measures 8 inches in diameter, flowers are about to bloom. According to Duncan, who is also the supervisor of UGA's Latin American Ethnobotanical Garden, this event occurs once in a generation. "After flowering and setting seed, the queen will die, slowly, starting with the stalk and working down to the plant itself," Duncan told the Banner-Herald. "The clones will continue to thrive." Originally found in Mexico, the Agave americana is known as a hearty plant that can weather extreme temperatures, and can be found in nearly every kind of environment from coastal areas to deserts and mountains. Given the rarity of the Agave americana and the off-campus location of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute, Duncan encourages local residents and avid gardeners to come see the plant while it's in flower. |
| Emory University partners on COVID-19 vaccine booster shot study | |
| Emory University researchers are participating in a study that many public health experts believe will be an eventual step in containing the spread of COVID-19: a booster shot. Emory, which has partnered with Moderna on other COVID-19 vaccine research, is working again with the biotechnology company and using its vaccine for this research. Participants are receiving one 100 microgram dose, the same amount in each dose of its initial two-part vaccine. The research will focus on how long the COVID-19 vaccine shot will be effective and on monitoring side effects. It's unclear how long the effectiveness lasts, but booster shots could be needed to protect against variants of the virus. "We know that when you make an antibody response, there will be some decay of the antibodies over time. That's true for any vaccine that we would see," said Dr. Sri Edupuganti, an associate professor at Emory and medical director of its vaccine center. "The most crucial question we don't know about COVID is what is the protected level of immune response?" Another important question: Will people get a booster vaccine shot? |
| Pandemic smell loss brings new focus to U. of Florida research, clinic | |
 | In the moments outdoors just before a storm when the air is thick and the wind lifts drapes of Spanish moss, we smell rain. In our homes, we smell freshly baked bread and cookies, beloved pets and family, favorite soaps and shampoos. In social settings, we smell perfumes and cologne and mouth-watering meals. Smell is a powerful sense that often goes overlooked until it is missing. For many people during the COVID-19 pandemic, new loss happened and lingered. And while treatments are still being studied, a mix of scientists and doctors at the University of Florida who have researched smell and taste for years have some insight. Dr. Jeb Justice is an associate professor and surgeon with UF Health. He is co-director of the Smell Disorders Program, a partnership between clinical care experts and researchers from the UF Center for Smell and Taste, led by fellow program co-director Steven Munger. "[Smell] is a fundamental sense for just about every multicellular organism on the planet, including humans. It's important for us and the ways we communicate with each other and the environment," Munger said. "That's sort of extended now to trying to look at the mechanisms and prevalence of COVID-related smell disorders." Justice, who helped start the UF program in 2018, said virus-induced smell loss and smell change are not rare or new. The common cold and the seasonal flu are known disrupt the function of the olfactory nerve, which sends smell information to our brains. |
| Veteran Resource & Support Center gets new home on Texas A&M campus | |
 | Veterans attending Texas A&M University now have a new space to receive assistance, attend events and study. The 10,000-square-foot Don & Ellie Knauss Veteran Resource & Support Center was unveiled to hundreds of university leaders on Monday. The center's more than 30 employees moved into the new space on the second floor of the university's Memorial Student Center last month, leaving behind their 5,000-square-foot facility in the basement level of the building. What was once a few hotel suites is now home to a library, a lounge, study and event space, 17 staff offices, a kitchen and more. The space includes five multifunctional monitors that can be used for presentations or serve as an electronic whiteboard that students can write on and save the materials onto a USB drive. The facility was made possible by a $5 million donation from Don and Ellie Knauss. Ellie Knauss told ceremony attendees that she and her husband are passionate about educational philanthropy but said it can be challenging to determine the best places to donate. She and Don Knauss were first drawn to contribute to A&M after connecting with the school when their eldest son was a student in Aggieland about a decade ago. Ellie Knauss said the relationships they formed with veterans services officials, staff and veterans themselves made the decision to donate simple. |
| New book explores George H.W. Bush's post-presidential years | |
| Former President George H.W. Bush's post-presidential life is the subject of a new book written by his longtime chief of staff. Jean Becker worked for nearly 25 years as Bush's chief of staff following his four years as the nation's commander-in-chief, from March 1994 until Bush's death Nov. 30, 2018. Bush would have turned 97 on Saturday. She wrote The Man I Knew: The Amazing Story of George H. W. Bush's Post-Presidency during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and it made its debut earlier this month. Bush's much-chronicled love for Texas A&M University is also featured in the book, as is the Bush Presidential Library and Museum and the Bush School of Government and Public Service, Becker said. With a laugh, Becker said every so often, Bush tried to talk his wife into moving to Bryan-College Station on a full-time basis. "Even though he obviously did not attend A&M, he just loved everything about it, especially the sense of service," she said. "He'd given a number of speeches there and he just felt a connection to A&M. One of the things that was really important to him in figuring out where to put the library is that he wanted a school of public service, and Texas A&M was very open to that." |
| Purdue foundation funds pilot program to lure remote workers to West Lafayette | |
 | Pam Watts is making a move. The writer and tutor is leaving the East Bay in California for West Lafayette, Ind., through a program intended to incentivize remote workers to resettle in a new community on the Purdue University campus. The Purdue Research Foundation, the nonprofit foundation affiliated with Purdue, is funding stipends of $5,000 each for 10 selected workers who commit to living in West Lafayette for at least three years. Remote workers who relocate to West Lafayette through the program can also tap into other benefits, including access to Purdue libraries, discounts on some continuing education programs and on co-working space, and access to services offered by the Purdue Foundry, a start-up incubator. "I think that a lot of people over the course of the pandemic have been reconsidering their life choices," said Watts, who plans to move to West Lafayette at the beginning of August. "Northern California is a very specific life choice that is an expensive one." Watts has no Purdue connections, and she hadn't stepped foot in West Lafayette before she and seven other selected remote workers were hosted by Purdue's foundation for an orientation visit earlier this month. The Purdue Research Foundation is partnering with MakeMyMove, a website that advertises incentive programs aimed at recruiting remote workers like Watts. |
| Dartmouth Dropped a Shaky Cheating Investigation, but Concerns Over Digital Surveillance Remain | |
 | Last week's decision by Dartmouth College's medical dean to dismiss charges against 17 students accused of cheating during remote exams was just the latest case in which the use of surveillance technology came back to bite colleges that increasingly relied on it during the pandemic. The students had faced sanctions including course failure, suspension, and expulsion after a deep dive into data from the college's learning-management system, Canvas, persuaded the school that students had been looking up class materials during closed-book exams. The problem, which The New York Times discovered and wrote about last month, is that Canvas can automatically generate activity data on devices even when no one is using them. So while a few students may actually have been cheating, others may have had no idea that Canvas was refreshing on their cellphones or iPads, pinging "evidence" that they were sneaking a peek at the answers. No one is suggesting that cheating isn't happening at colleges that had to move exams online. The problem, as Dartmouth's case illustrated, is that those tools sometimes flag normal behavior as cheating, and the consequences for students can be dire. |
| How Does a College Decide Whether to Change Its Name? | |
| On Monday, a committee at Dixie State University recommended changing the institution's name to Utah Polytechnic State University, the latest step in a painful process to distance itself from its 100-year association with "Dixie," which evokes the slaveholding South. More than 2,000 miles away, in Lexington, Va., Washington and Lee University's board decided this month to keep the college's contentious name, ending -- for now -- a fraught debate over whether the 272-year-old institution should continue to honor Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general who fought for the cause of slavery. Elsewhere in Virginia, three community colleges have decided to rename themselves, disavowing their association with historical figures who enslaved people or held racist views. Two other campuses initially said they didn't want to change their names, but under pressure from the state community-college board, they're reconsidering. The decisions are the culmination of a year's worth of task forces, surveys, and testy community forums prompted by a nationwide reckoning with racial injustice. Last summer, colleges across the country faced calls to cut ties with historical figures or symbols that embodied racism in some way. For a few institutions, the demands were more existential -- because their very names honor those figures or symbols. The debates weighed donor demands and political pressures, community pushback and faculty sentiment. All of the colleges were driven to honor their institutional history and do what's best for students. That's easier said than done. |
| Virginia Theological Seminary issues first reparations checks | |
| Frances Colbert Terrell, age 78, grew up in Alexandria, Va., in the shadow of the Virginia Theological Seminary campus. When she was a child, she would go to the campus to watch the boys from her community play baseball. In the winter she and her neighborhood friends went to a pond on campus to ice-skate. "The white kids had skates," recalls Terrell, who is African American. "We skated on our shoes -- just got out there and slid around the best we could." Terrell's family has long-standing connections to the seminary, and she recently received a check for about $2,100 from VTS because of those connections. The money was part of a first round of annual reparations checks paid to descendants of Black people who worked on the campus during the Jim Crow era. Terrell's great-grandfather Daniel Simms worked as a waiter at VTS around 1910, according to the institution's records. She said her late grandfather Frederick Douglas Johnson worked there, too, in the 1920s. The seminary's reparations program, funded with a $1.7 million endowment established by the Episcopal seminary in September 2019, is one of the first of its kind, as The New York Times noted in an article about the program last month. The seminary is using income from the endowment to make annual payments to direct descendants of Black people who worked on the campus during the eras of slavery, Reconstruction and segregation under Jim Crow laws. |
| Reverse auctions secretly killed by special interests | |
| Mississippi newspaper publisher and columnist Wyatt Emmerich writes: It didn't take long for the powers that be to kill reverse auctions -- about two years or so. They killed this reform in the usual sneaky manner. They buried it deep in an unrelated senate bill on county bank accounts that had nothing to do with reverse auctions. As usual, it happened in a secret conference meeting that was closed to the public. I say "they" because very few people know who did it. Many of the key people involved were hesitant to talk about it. Those who did confirmed that it was a clandestine move by people and companies who had a lot of money on the line. Reverse auctions had hurt their cozy government contracts. They were determined to kill the reform and they did. Of course, "they" had to wait until the public scrutiny died down. It took a couple of years. All the legislators and state leaders patted themselves on the back for this tax-saving reform. Then once the applause died down and nobody was looking, the powers that be secretly killed it. ... Most people don't even know what reverse auctions are. It has to do with how cities, counties and agencies buy stuff. Reverse auctions means the "lowest bidder" gets the business. That's why they call it a "reverse" auction. So if you are bidding to sell widgets to the county, you must bid the lowest amount to win the auction. |
| Mississippi's People Should Choose Its Abortion Laws | |
| Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch writes in The Wall Street Journal: When the Supreme Court hears from the parties in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in its next term, the arguments will concern the constitutionality of a Mississippi abortion law protecting life after 15 weeks of pregnancy. At stake will be the right of the people to speak through their elected leaders on the protection of vulnerable life and women's health. The Supreme Court recognized a right to terminate pregnancy in 1973, and the court has been clear that the right is not absolute. But that isn't the end of the story. The people act on legitimate interests through their elected legislators who pass laws and their elected governors who sign them. The people's elected representatives protect women's health by ensuring that women have the information to make informed decisions and have appropriate levels of medical care. They protect the sanctity of life by, for example, prohibiting abortions solely on account of a baby's disability. States also make laws to protect the environment and consumers; to support religious expression, free speech and the right to bear arms; to promote access to education and healthcare; to define crimes and set criminal penalties and much more. In every instance, the legislative body must carefully balance the competing and legitimate interests of the people they represent. The elected executive, similarly accountable to the people, ensures that the people's interests are given effect and provides a check by either signing or vetoing the law. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State secures final spot in College World Series | |
| Logan Tanner hit a three-run homer to cap a six-run second inning and Mississippi State advanced to its third straight College World Series with an 11-7 victory over Notre Dame on Monday night in the Starkville Super Regional. Mississippi State (45-16) advances to play Texas (47-15) on Sunday -- seeking its first title in 12 trips to the CWS. Mississippi State centerfielder Rowdey Jordan denied Brooks Coetzee with a diving catch to end the top of the second, and then the Bulldogs broke it open. Mississippi State loaded the bases twice in the inning, scoring runs on a fielder's choice, sacrifice fly, Kamren James' RBI single, and Tanner's homer. Tanner Allen made Mississippi State's second diving catch, stranding two in the fourth, and the Bulldogs hit three doubles in a two-run inning. Mississippi State starter Houston Harding struck out four in four innings, and Landon Sims (4-0) added four more strikeouts in the final four innings. Notre Dame (34-13) trailed 10-2 but got within four when Niko Kavadas blasted his 22nd home run of the season in the seventh to extend his single-season program record. Kavadas grounded out with two on and two outs in the ninth. |
| Three's company: Mississippi State beats Notre Dame to clinch third straight College World Series appearance | |
 | Landon Sims' parents offered to take him to Omaha when Mississippi State beat Stanford in NCAA Super Regionals in 2019. The recent South Forsyth High School graduate and MSU signee told them to save the money. "I have a really good feeling that we might take a trip or two to Omaha while I'm here," Sims told them. Two years later, Sims got to play a leading role in proving his prediction right. The lockdown reliever closed things out as Mississippi State (45-16) used a six-run second inning to power past Notre Dame (34-13) on Monday night, 11-7, to punch its ticket to the College World Series. The Bulldogs beat the Fighting Irish in Games 1 and 3 of the Starkville Super Regional to make their third straight CWS -- becoming the only team in the country who can say that. "It is a relief," Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis said, "but we've got work still to do." They did it Monday in the fashion that came to characterize Mississippi State through the ups and downs of an often nerve-racking 2021 campaign. A resilient offense. Gritty pitching performances. And with everything on the line, another win and another special moment at Dudy Noble Field. Catcher Logan Tanner had the big hit with a three-run homer as the Bulldogs broke a 1-1 tie with six runs against four Notre Dame pitchers in their lengthy second inning. The sophomore, who finished 2 for 4 with a double and a sacrifice fly, held up the maroon sign with "#Omadawgs" lettered in white as the Bulldogs congregated near the pitcher's mound to celebrate. "I felt like I put a pretty good swing on it, and it went out," he said of the three-run blast against reliever Alex Rao. "I kind of blacked out after that." |
| Mississippi State clinches berth to College World Series | |
 | The Mississippi State offense wasted no time as it clinched its third-consecutive berth to the College World Series on Monday night. No. 7-ranked MSU scored 11 runs in the first five innings, including a six-run second inning, as it beat No. 10 Notre Dame, 11-7, in Game 3 of the super regional at Dudy Noble Field. The Bulldogs (45-16) have now reached the College World Series for the third-straight season and 12th time overall. MSU will open its Omaha trip on Sunday at 6 p.m. against No. 2 Texas. "When you sit in that dugout and I hug my coaches, I know how excited they are, but I see all these guys who are going for the first time and man, it brings a joy to you," head coach Chris Lemonis said of going to Omaha. "You know how special it is and not many kids get to play in Omaha. Some of these kids have played there three years and some are going for the first time." After four innings of two-run ball from pitcher Houston Harding, who made his sixth start of the season, MSU turned the ball over to Stone Simmons. Simmons outing was short-lived after giving up three runs and allowing Notre Dame to cut the lead to 10-5. MSU got one of its runs back on a Scotty Dubrule RBI single in the bottom of the fifth, Lemonis turned the game over to Landon Sims with a six-run lead. |
| Mississippi State baseball beats Notre Dame, punches College World Series ticket | |
| Omaha, the Bulldogs are headed back. Mississippi State punched its ticket to the College World Series for the third straight postseason with a 11-7 victory over Notre Dame at Dudy Noble Field on Monday. The No. 7 seed Bulldogs (45-16) bounced back from an eight-run loss to the No. 10 Fighting Irish (34-13) in Game 2 with a flurry of runs of their own in the early innings. Mississippi State scored at least one in each of the first five. A barrage of runs came home in the bottom of the second with the two teams entering the inning tied 1-1. The first three Mississippi State batters reached safely to load the bases with no outs. Rowdey Jordan reached on a fielder's choice, beating out a would-be double play and scoring a run. Tanner Allen brought in another on a sacrifice fly. Then Mississippi State scored four with two outs, three of which crossed on second-year freshman catcher Logan Tanner's second home run of the series. Just like that, Mississippi State led 7-1. |
| Virginia Cavaliers, Mississippi State Bulldogs round out field for College World Series | |
| No team's road to Omaha was as bumpy as Virginia's. The Cavaliers staved off elimination for the sixth time in eight NCAA tournament games, beating Dallas Baptist 5-2 on Monday in Game 3 of their super regional to advance to the College World Series. Virginia (35-25) will play No. 3 national seed Tennessee (50-17) in its first game in the CWS, which starts Saturday in Omaha, Nebraska. The other CWS openers: No. 7 Mississippi State (41-16) against No. 2 Texas (47-15), NC State (35-18) vs. Stanford (38-15), and Arizona (45-22) vs. Vanderbilt (45-15). Logan Tanner hit a three-run homer to cap a six-run second inning and Mississippi State advanced to its third straight College World Series with an 11-7 victory over Notre Dame in the Starkville Super Regional. Mississippi State (45-16) advances to play Texas (47-15) on Sunday -- seeking its first title in 12 trips to the CWS. "Our best baseball is ahead of us,'' Tanner said, "and we're going to get to Omaha and go after it." "The culture around here is to win and to go as far as you can.'' |
| Dudy Noble Field lore continues, as Bulldogs dump Irish and head for Omaha | |
| Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: There's nothing quite like college baseball in Mississippi. Mississippi State's Diamond Dogs and their passionate following made certain the rest of the nation saw it Monday night. The Bulldogs fought off Notre Dame's free-swinging Fighting Irish 11-7 before still another record-setting crowd at pristine Dudy Noble Field. A rocking, thunderous standing room only crowd brought the three-day attendance total to an NCAA Super Regional record-shattering 40,140. Bulldog faithful came early, they stayed late. They left fulfilled -- if they ever left at all. "They're still out there," State coach Chris Lemonis said, a full hour after the game when he conducted his post-game video interview. "They are the best fans in the country." Thus the Bulldogs will make a 12th appearance in the College World Series at Omaha that begins this weekend. State will play the Texas Longhorns Sunday night in the opening round. But here's the deal: There's no way -- no way possible -- the College World Series, college baseball's largest stage, can match the atmosphere on display over three days of a marvelous Starkville Super Regional. |
| Analysis: Tanner Allen, Bulldogs soak up College World Series berth | |
| As he rounded the bases in the third inning Monday night in a spirited home run trot, Tanner Allen flashed a smile and pointed to the fans seated on the third-base line. In what likely will be remembered years down the line as his final game ever at Dudy Noble Field in front of 11,784 fans during Mississippi State's 11-7 winner-take-all Super Regional victory, the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year had just lifted a moonshot to send fans into a frenzy. The career-defining, senior send-off moment had arrived for one of the few remaining architects left on MSU's roster responsible for bringing his team to three straight College World Series appearances. He was going to soak it all in. "(Winning) was a relief," Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis said. "I didn't want Rowdey Jordan or Tanner Allen walking off this field not going to Omaha." It's hard enough to make one College World Series in any collegiate career. Allen, along with outfield mate Rowdey Jordan, will be making their third trip to college baseball's Elite Eight. It's a standard the Bulldog standout expects from himself and his team. "It's pretty special," Lemonis said. "There's no way Tanner and Rowdey were going out with an L in this ballpark. I like our odds with both of them. It's pretty special what they've been able to do in their career." |
| Texas set for rematch against Mississippi State to open College World Series | |
| Remember Arlington. For the last 114 days, the No. 2 national seed Texas Longhorns have worked tirelessly following a season-opening 8-3 loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the State Farm College Baseball Showdown. By the end of the weekend, the Longhorns were 0-3 against highly-rated SEC opponents in Arlington, a disappointing start to a promising season that forced Texas get better quickly. Next Sunday, Texas has a chance to exact some revenge on Mississippi State at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha to open the College World Series at 6 p.m. Central on ESPN2. The Bulldogs advanced on Monday with an 11-7 win in the third game of the Starkville Super Regional. For the Horns, the minimum five games to reach the College World Series was all head coach David Pierce's streaking team needed to advance past the Austin Regional and defeat South Florida in the Austin Super Regional. Make no mistake, however -- the lessons from Arlington are still at the front of the mind for these Longhorns. "We learned that whenever we get to the biggest stage, which is Omaha, that these are the teams that you're gonna have to beat," first baseman Zach Zubia said after the Super Regional "And so every day we were preparing to beat those teams, because that's the bar whenever you get to Omaha." |
| Jennifer Claybrook named The W's new athletic director | |
| Jennifer Claybrook has been named the new athletic director at Mississippi University for Women, the school announced Monday. Claybrook comes to The W from LaGrange College in Georgia, where she served as athletic director, senior woman administrator, vice president for athletics, head softball coach and assistant for sports information. She replaces interim athletic director Charles "Buddy" Foster, who currently serves as the Owls' softball coach. "Jennifer Claybrook brings athletic administration experience, passion and energy to The W. We look forward to her leadership through the remaining year of our provisional DIII status and into the future of Owls Athletics," President Nora Miller said in a news release. "I want to thank our athletic and campus recreation staff for how they managed the spring semester. I am thankful for the work of Buddy Foster to lead Athletics and Campus Recreation during this time. I am glad that he will be able to devote his time to coaching our softball team." Foster took over for former athletic director Jason Trufant, who was reassigned within the university in mid-December after a five-month Dispatch investigation in which one current university employee, two former student athletes and six former athletic department employees described a toxic culture cultivated by Trufant within the Owls' athletic department that was largely ignored by higher-ranking administration. Trufant outright denied the claims in a sit-down interview with The Dispatch on Nov. 2. |
| Miss. college tennis player helps Novak Djokovic prep for French Open before championship | |
| A William Carey University tennis star got to work with the best player in the world recently. Novak Djokovic recently won the French Open, his 19th major championship. Before that, Djokovic had to defeat Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals. That's where William Carey senior Leo Bresson comes in. "Nadal is a lefty, so Novak was looking for a left-handed practice partner to get the perfect preparation. Leo is a lefty, too, and was chosen to be his practice partner the day before the semi-final. Novak Djokovic ended up beating Rafael Nadal and considered the match to be one of the best three he's ever played," said WCU head tennis coach Marc Lux said. Bresson, in his hometown of Normandy, France, got to train with the top player in the world. Bresson is ranked number 2 in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and was named an All-American in 2021. "It's an amazing experience to share a court with someone like Djokovic. Not many people get to train with the No. 1 in the world in a Grand Slam Tournament like the French Open. He is 100 percent going to be a legend in this sport. He is already -- but in the end, I think he will have more Grand Slams than Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal," Bresson said. |
| College Football Playoff distribution down roughly $45M, per report | |
 | The College Football Playoff felt the financial pinch of the COVID pandemic, according to a report in the Sports Business Journal. A week after a new CFP proposal would expand the field to 12, revenue distribution from the College Football Playoff was down $44.6 million hit in 2020-21, a 9.2 percent downturn from record revenue the year before, per the report. Ticket sales due to capacity restraints, lack of hospitality and merchandise were all factors for the dip in revenue. Only 14,926 fans attended Alabama's 52-24 win over No. 3 Ohio State at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium. The financial road bump is considered only temporary as the CFP explores the idea of expanding the playoffs from four teams to 12 teams. Per the Sports Business Journal, in 2020-21, the CFP paid a total of $441.2 million from the college football season, compared to $485.8 million in 2019-20. The 2019-20 year was the best year the CFP has had in its first seven years. Last week, the CFP working group --- comprised of SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson and Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick --- recommended Thursday a 12-team model to be instituted at some point in the future. The expanded field would include the six highest-ranked FBS conference champions in addition to six at-large teams. |
| College Football Playoff expansion could increase annual revenue to $2 billion | |
| A new College Football Playoff with triple the number of teams involved could bring in three times as much money to the conferences and schools that share the wealth. The television rights for a proposed 12-team playoff could be worth about $1.9 billion annually, according to projections from Navigate Research, which consults with professional sports leagues and college conferences. The Chicago-based company said ticket sales and sponsorship deals that currently account for about 15% of College Football Playoff revenue could push the total takeaway to more than $2 billion per year. ESPN's current deal with the CFP pays about $470 million per year. ESPN has separate contracts with the Rose, Sugar and Orange bowls that up the network's total layout to more than $600 million annually to be the television home of college football's most important postseason games. The Power Five conference's get most of that revenue. According to the most recent figures available from 2019-20 season, the Big Ten, Big 12, Atlantic Coast Conference, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference received $67 million each from the CFP. The other five FBS conferences shared $92 million. How revenue would be distributed in a new model was not part of the detailed proposal the CFP unveiled Thursday. The 12-team model is at least three steps away from final approval from the university presidents and chancellors who oversee the CFP. And it could be six seasons away from being implemented. |
| Mike Bianco, Cliff Godwin are focuses of LSU baseball coaching search: sources | |
| LSU has focused its search for a new baseball coach on Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco and East Carolina coach Cliff Godwin, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told The Advocate | Times-Picayune. Bianco and Godwin have been considered for the position since the beginning of LSU's search, but their names intensified as serious candidates in recent days. While both men have ties to LSU, Bianco's are the strongest, and he has the support of many former LSU baseball players. The Tigers' search has also included interest in Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan and former Oregon State coach Pat Casey. O'Sullivan announced last week he would stay at Florida, and sources told The Advocate that Casey was unlikely to become the new coach. Bianco played at LSU from 1988-89. He was the starting catcher both seasons and the captain of the 1989 team, which finished third at the College World Series. Bianco later returned as the pitching coach for five seasons under former LSU coach Skip Bertman. Bianco has coached at Ole Miss since 2000, where he has become the Rebels' all-time winningest coach. During his tenure, Ole Miss has reached one College World Series. It lost in the NCAA super regional this season, bringing Bianco's record to 1-6 in super regionals. |
| LSU in talks with Ole Miss's Mike Bianco, who has emerged as top baseball coach candidate | |
| Ole Miss baseball coach Mike Bianco is in talks with LSU and has emerged as the top candidate to become the Tigers' new coach, sources close to the LSU baseball program told the Lafayette Daily Advertiser on Monday night. The sources asked not to be identified because LSU has not released details of the coaching search. Bianco, 54, makes approximately $1.2 million a year and was given a four-year contract extension last June. He just took Ole Miss to its seventh super regional since 2005 after becoming the Rebels ' coach in 2001. Bianco reached the College World Series in 2014 and was part of national championship teams at LSU in 1993, '96 and '97 as an assistant under coach Skip Bertman. He played with the Tigers as a catcher in 1988 and '89. Bianco has been the favorite of former Bertman players to replace Mainieri, who announced his retirement on May 28 for health reasons before finishing the season in a super regional loss at Tennessee on Sunday. The Biancos' son Drew is a junior outfielder/infielder with the Tigers. |
| Clemson hosts Gov. Henry McMaster's ceremonial signing of South Carolina's NIL bill | |
 | From the fourth floor of Clemson's $12 million West End Zone building, with Frank Howard Field at his back, Gov. Henry McMaster on June 14 held a ceremonial signing for a bill meant to help level the playing field in college athletics. McMaster officially signed S.685, the bill allowing South Carolina athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness, into law May 6, but about six weeks later he came to Clemson to "sign" the bill in front of cameras. "This is a part of education, and also a part of economics," McMaster said. "This new law is an exercise in free enterprise that allows those who have attracted attention and achieved a certain status, in athletics particularly, to be recognized for that without interfering with their academic performance. It's something whose time has come." When asked why Clemson was the school chosen for the occasion, McMaster grinned and noted that, "we couldn't do it at all of them." But the significance of the location was not lost on those in attendance. Players and advocates have long pushed for NIL compensation, but after other states adopted their own NIL laws, South Carolina lawmakers realized the absence of similar legislation put their schools at a competitive disadvantage for recruiting. And no program is more important to the state's national profile than the Clemson football team, winners of two of the past five national championships. |
| Gov. Greg Abbott signs Texas law allowing college athletes to profit off of their names | |
| Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday signed a Senate bill that will allow college athletes in the state to earn compensation for use of their name, image and likeness as Texas became the 19th state to pass such landmark legislation. "I'm thrilled to hear that Gov. Abbott signed the Texas NIL bill into law," said Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, who sponsored the bill in the House along with Rep. Jim Murphy, R-Houston. "This legislation will ensure Texas college athletes receive fair compensation for their efforts and prowess on the field, court and everywhere they display their talents." The House had approved by a 117-27 vote Senate Bill 1385 authored by Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, that is designed to keep the state in step with a nationwide movement by state legislatures to allow student-athletes to profit off their own names. The Senate originally passed the bill by a 28-2 vote. Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said in a statement Monday night, "I want to reassure and remind Longhorn Nation that we are prepared and have been actively engaging our student-athletes and staff for this new era of college athletics. With our Leverage initiative, a part of the 4Ever Texas program, our student-athletes have access to first-in-class resources and education on personal branding and brand management, business formation and entrepreneurship, opportunity management and financial literacy." |
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