| Monday, March 14, 2022 |
| Partial lane closure/blocked parking spaces near Herbert Hall | |
 | In order for a contractor to make repairs, there will be a partial lane closure along with a few parking spaces temporarily blocked off between Herbert Hall and the Industrial Education Building beginning on March 14 at 7 a.m. The repairs are expected to last until March 17 at 5 p.m. (weather permitting). We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your patience and support. Please contact the Facilities Management Service Desk at 325-2005 if you have any questions. |
| MSU State Singers to perform in NYC | |
 | Photo: Mississippi State University State Singers, under the direction of Choral Activities Director Gary Packwood, will perform March 19 at New York City's Carnegie Hall. The world-renowned stage has hosted such entertainment icons as soprano Leontyne Price, jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie, and actress and singer Judy Garland. The recital is a joint concert with choirs from McPherson College in Kansas and Wagner College in New York state. |
| School news: Ridner receives teacher of the year honor | |
| A Mississippi State professor of history is the university's 2022 Mississippi Humanities Council Teacher of the Year for bringing insights of the humanities to public audiences, and she gave a special campus lecture earlier this month. Judith A. "Judy" Ridner will receive her award from the Mississippi Humanities Council at their annual ceremony in Jackson on March 25, when approximately 30 awards will be given to individuals throughout the state. Ridner's tribute includes a $400 honorarium and invitation to deliver the College of Arts and Sciences Humanities Lecture, which was held March 2 in the John Grisham Room at MSU's Mitchell Memorial Library. Ridner's presentation "Living in the Material Worlds of Early America" highlighted how consumer choices -- particularly regarding what to wear -- influenced the evolution of racial, ethnic and class identities in pre-1820 America in ways that offer lessons about the present day. Alan I. Marcus, professor and head of MSU's history department, praised Ridner's selection, pointing to her varied methods for highlighting humanities. |
| Students question their spring break plans as gas prices rise | |
 | Spring Break is almost here and students are getting ready to crank their cars up and head down the road. But the spike in gas prices has some students checking their wallets to see if they can stretch their cash enough to get to their destination. Just two years ago students were checking COVID-19 case numbers were before they hit the road. Now they are having to check a different set of numbers -the price per gallon. MSU senior Jarvis Mace said that the pandemic stopped him from enjoying his time away from school and he is finally ready to enjoy his Spring Vacation if he can get past the gas station. "I'm coming out my shell and I'm boosted and everything and I want to travel now so it feels like the gas prices are kind of hindering us now from that," said Mace. Dorian Howard said he notices the numbers, but they're not going to slow him down. "They're going to be kind of expensive though but we ain't gonna let that get the best of us. We're just going to have to tune that away and have a fun time," said Howard. MSU started hitting the road today -- their Spring Break runs from the 14th through the 18th. |
| Soaring gas prices hit record high in Mississippi | |
 | To help employees cope with high gas prices, Chairs America is subsidizing their commute. "Our company is freezing the cost of gas for employees at $2.99 per gallon," said co-owner Robert Balekian. "We will subsidize them for all travel to and from work. We hope that other factories will follow suit and all do our part to help folks during these times since the U.S. government apparently isn't worried about it." After flirting with a record-high for several days, the average price of gas in Mississippi reached that point Thursday, at $3.99 a gallon. The previous high, according to AAA, was $3.96 a gallon in 2008, during the midst of what many call the Great Recession. Critics of the administration say it has gone too far in pushing its green agenda to cut greenhouse emissions. Electric vehicles are all the rage with backing by the White House, but critics say that has only helped fuel the rise in gas prices. They insist that the completion of the Keystone XL Pipeline from Canada to refiners along the Gulf Coast will help alleviate the problem. But even if approved, it could take years for the pipeline to become operational. In the meantime, consumers will have to deal with the higher gas prices. At Chairs America, Balekian knew he needed to try something. With 50 employees, most of whom live a longer distance from the plant, the company came up with a formula. Balekian is doing all he can to get employees to the plant because orders continue to come in, and the company is hard pressed to keep up. |
| Expect Higher Prices Everywhere on Your Spring Road Trip | |
 | Faced with the surging cost of road travel, some travelers are re-evaluating their plans and might cancel trips. Others say they are hitting the road anyway. With Covid-19 cases declining across the country, these travelers say they are eager to get out for spring and summer trips. They plan to forge ahead but make some spending adjustments. "Spring break road trips, most of those have already been planned; they're already starting to happen right now," says Amir Eylon, president and chief executive of market research and consulting firm Longwoods International. "Even before the gas-prices spiked, inflation was already creeping into people's budgets," Mr. Eylon said. Customers traveling to some popular leisure destinations will also find higher lodging prices than they saw last year. For spring break travel in March and April, short-term rental average daily rates are up 16.7% in U.S. coastal locations and up 19.7% in mountain destinations compared with 2021, according to Jamie Lane, vice president of research for short-term rental analytics provider AirDNA. Food costs are also rising. Food away from home rose 6.8% during the past year, the largest 12-month increase since December 1981. |
| Starkville student punches ticket to Scripps National Spelling Bee | |
| The first 25 rounds that started Saturday morning had spilled into the afternoon, slowly whittling the 28 spellers down to three. The finalists sat at desks on the stage of the Mississippi University for Women's Rent Auditorium facing a written test of 25 more words that would decide which of them would win the Mississippi State Spelling Bee. At long last, bee pronouncer Aundrea Self received the tally from the judges and delivered the news to the three anxiously-awaiting spellers. "Now is the time you all have been waiting for, for four hours now, which is a testament to the brilliance of these young minds," Self said. "Your 2022 Mississippi Spelling Bee champion is Jessica Widodo from Oktibbeha County." Widodo, 12, is a sixth grade student at Partnership Middle School in the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. She will represent the state of Mississippi at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., this summer. "Honestly, there's a lot of mixed feelings right now, but I'm very excited. This is actually my second time here," Widodo said while fighting back her emotions. Widodo credits her mother with coaching and preparing her to take on the state's best third- through eighth-grade spellers. "After I come home from school every day, I do my homework, and after I would ask my mom to say the words out loud for me to spell," Widodo said. The 28 spellers who competed Saturday came from all corners of the state, according to state bee coordinator Lois Kappler. |
| Stakeholders want transparency, community involvement from new superintendent | |
| More than 20 residents of Oktibbeha County showed up to the Greensboro Center on Thursday evening to share their thoughts on the qualities and priorities they would like to see from the new Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District superintendent. David Lee from Hazard, Young, and Attea Associates is leading the search for the new superintendent, as Eddie Peasant has announced he will retire June 30. While HYA is a Chicago-based search firm, Lee is from Tylertown and received his bachelor's degree from Mississippi State University. He has worked on placing the superintendents in both Pearl and Columbia, which Lee said are two of his most recent successes. Lee engaged the audience with three main focal points: the district's strengths, the district's challenges and personal and professional qualities expected. District strengths stakeholders identified -- through discussion and through a survey sent out to parents last week -- included diversity, academic offerings, the university, quality of teachers, community involvement and strong industry presence and partnership. The district's challenges sparked the most conversation. The very first thing one audience member said immediately was "transparency." From there answers fired off left and right and ranged from investment in the community to lack of inclusivity despite diversity. One parent in the crowd noted a lack of support for inclusion (special education) teachers in the district. |
| Firefighter helps rescue, resuscitate dog during house fire | |
| A city firefighter helped resuscitate a dog while responding to a house fire on Nash Street Wednesday night. Starkville Fire Department Lt. Nathan Herndon, while on the scene, found a dog kennel after his primary search for residents of the house. Once he pulled the kennel from the fire, he found an unresponsive dog inside. Herndon began CPR on the dog, Sippi, demonstrating the process for the residents of the house who soon took over so Herndon could go inside to help stop the fire from spreading. "The owners did a really great job," Herndon said. "I helped them start CPR, but then we had to finish our primary search because we needed to make sure there weren't any more people in there." SFD responded to the fire on Nash Street at 11:23 p.m. Wednesday. Only one room was ablaze and the person inside when it started escaped without injury. SFD Investigator Jonathan Wade said the fire began from two possible options -- either a space heater sitting under a makeshift bunk bed or an electrical power surge. While the room where the fire began has much smoke and water damage, the rest of the building is intact, Wade said. |
| Two years after Mississippi's first COVID case, leaders reflect on how much has changed | |
 | March 11 marks two years since the first reported case of COVID-19 in the state of Mississippi. The email came into newsrooms statewide just before 8:00 p.m. on March 11. What followed was months of daily updates from the Governor, often with announcements of new orders: shelter in place, schools closing, testing expanded, or later vaccine rollout. "It's a real challenge and a real heartbreaking time for so many Mississippians and while as a leader of government and as a leader of the state," noted Governor Tate Reeves Friday. "It's been a challenging time for me. I'm just one of 3 million people in our state that's had a challenging time of the last couple of years." In many ways, Dr. LouAnn Woodward at UMMC was the voice of the frontlines as healthcare leaders statewide did what they often do -- make decisions under pressure, this time in a different way. "The people who have stepped up and just willing to give it all they've got," noted Woodward, UMMC Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine. "It has been inspiring." Still, she admits there are some battle scars left to heal. "I think the health care workers, the physicians on the frontline, the nurses, the social workers, the chaplains, the respiratory therapists, so many people that really have been through a significant trauma," added Woodward. "I mean, this is not something that they will recover from when our count gets down to nothing. People are exhausted; they are still exhausted and need. It will just take time. It will take time and space and distance, and better days. You know a good day really can help you heal a lot." |
| Reeves: Logjam on tax cut could force a special session | |
 | Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves says he is not ruling out the possibility of calling a special legislative session to seek elimination of the state income tax if the House and Senate reach an impasse on the issue. Legislators face deadlines late this month to agree on tax and budget bills for the year that begins July 1. The three-month regular session is scheduled to end April 3. The Republican governor said Friday that that he tries to limit special sessions to issues of "significant importance." "I do think the elimination of the income tax is an issue that certainly could rise to that level," Reeves said at a news conference. Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the nation, but it has enjoyed robust tax collections the past several months, partly because of federal spending during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mississippi's income tax generates 34% of state revenue. Critics say the state can't afford to cut taxes because it chronically underfunds education and has significant financial obligations to improve its mental health and foster care systems. |
| Reeves: Special session 'not off the table' if Legislature doesn't cut income tax | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves on Friday said that if lawmakers do not pass a bill by April to eliminate the state's individual income tax, he would consider calling them back for a special session to pressure them repeal the tax. "I'm certainly not going to take anything off the table," Reeves told reporters. "I am very reluctant to call special sessions because I think it needs to be an issue that is of significant importance to do so. And I think that the elimination of the income tax ... is an issue that certainly could rise to that level." State leaders have been clamoring for the past year and a half to and do away with income tax -- which accounts for about one-third of the state's budget -- because the state is experiencing large revenue surpluses. But the state's coffers are likely flush with money because of the federal stimulus money that's been inserted into Mississippi, one of the poorest states in the nation. Corey Miller, the state economist, recently said that personal income in Mississippi increased by 7.4% in 2020, which was the largely annual increase in the state since the mid 1990s. "I think the transfers from the federal government probably lifted the Mississippi economy more than in most states," Miller said, adding that the payments helped the Magnolia State so much because of its current income levels. So now that the state has historic revenue collections, its leaders will have to decide: Should they spend the money to fix some of the state's generational problems or use the opportunity to trim tax rates? |
| Governor Reeves, while reluctant to call a special session, says it's not off the table to address elimination of income tax | |
 | On Friday, Governor Tate Reeves (R) held a ceremonial signing for House Bill 779, which ensures that families of law enforcement officers and firefighters who pass away due to contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty receive full state death benefits. "While all our law enforcement officers and firefighters made countless sacrifices on our behalf throughout the pandemic, tragically, some made the ultimate sacrifice to keep us safe," said Governor Tate Reeves. "That's why this legislation is so important. Some gave everything for us -- including their life -- and it's only right that we give something back to the families they left behind. My administration will always stand beside Mississippi's law enforcement officers and firefighters, and we will do everything we can to support them and their families in their times of need." Following the ceremonial signing, Governor Reeves answered a variety of questions asked by the press. One of the topics he discussed was the elimination of the state's income tax. n response to a question on whether or not he would call a special session if the Mississippi Legislature does not pass an income tax elimination bill, Reeves said that he is reluctant to call a special session. However, he would not take anything off the table and thinks it is an issue that certainly could rise to that level. "Well, I'm certainly not going to take anything off the table," Governor Reeves said. "I am very reluctant to call special sessions because I think it needs to be an issue that is of significant importance to do so." The income tax, Reeves said, could rise to that level. |
| Gov. Reeves signs bill to give benefits to families of officers who die of COVID-19 | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves on Friday signed legislation into law that would make sure the families of law enforcement officers and firefighters who died from COVID-19 receive full state benefits. "While all our law enforcement officers and firefighters made countless sacrifices on our behalf throughout the pandemic, tragically, some made the ultimate sacrifice to keep us safe," Reeves said. The state already provides $100,000 to the families of law enforcement officers who are killed in the line of duty. But the new law would extend those same benefits to law enforcement officers and firefighters who die from the virus. The new law would also be retroactive and supply around 50 families who lost a law enforcement officer to COVID-19 during the past two years. Greg Pollan, the sheriff of Calhoun County and the president of the Mississippi Sheriff's Association, said that he appreciated Reeves, House Speaker Philip Gunn, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and state lawmakers for sending the legislation to the governor. Both chambers of the Legislature unanimously passed the bill earlier this year. The Department of Public Safety will oversee and disburse the funds. |
| Democracy dies with deadlines: Capitol standoff, brinksmanship concentrate power to handful of leaders | |
| The 55,000 or so people in a Mississippi Senate district and 24,000 in a House district expect the lawmakers they send to Jackson to have a say in the policy and spending decisions the Legislature makes. And largely they do, particularly as they gain seniority, committee assignments and chairmanships and learn the ropes of legislating. But then, there are times when rank-and-file lawmakers need not even be there -- they have about as much input as the furniture in the Capitol. Particularly, when there are standoffs and brinksmanship between the House and Senate leadership on major issues or spending, negotiations get pushed to deadlines or beyond. Brinksmanship at the Capitol in the final weeks of a legislative session has been called a game of chicken, a game of who blinks first or even "let go of me or I'll jump off this cliff." What it often means is that most of the 174 lawmakers get the mushroom treatment during last-minute, back-room negotiations. Then the rank-and-file are force-fed the final deals at voting deadline by the leadership, often with little time to even read all the details before voting. The committee system goes out the window. Bills aren't vetted. Mistakes get made. Democracy dies with deadline deals in the Mississippi statehouse. Numerous lawmakers have complained over the last five years or so that they're given the bum rush. A couple of times in the House, they've been asked to pass in committee bills that weren't even written yet. A standoff of epic proportions is brewing at the Capitol in the final weeks of the 2022 legislative session over House and Senate dueling income tax cut proposals. It is delaying, and could derail, one of the most important issues lawmakers have faced in a generation -- how best to spend $1.8 billion in federal ARPA pandemic stimulus money. |
| Medicaid coverage helped this Mississippi mom fight postpartum depression. Now, she's set to lose it. | |
| A few weeks after Courtney Darby gave birth to her daughter Deysha, she got a letter in the mail notifying her that she would soon lose her health insurance through Medicaid. Deysha, born in December 2008, was Darby's first baby, and she was still wondering when she would feel normal again. She wanted to ask her doctor about the back pain that lingered and the nagging worry that she was doing everything wrong. But her job at a grocery store didn't provide health insurance, so without Medicaid coverage, she was left to do her own research and hope for the best. Earlier this year, about two months after her son R'Jay was born, Darby got a very different letter. It told her that Medicaid would continue to cover her healthcare, thanks to federal rules that extend health insurance coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Darby can make an appointment to see a doctor whenever she needs. She has been able to get medication and therapy to treat postpartum depression and anxiety. But on Wednesday, leaders in the state House killed a bill that would have ensured new moms like Darby could get Medicaid coverage for a year postpartum even after the federal public health emergency ends. When that happens -- likely later this year -- many of the 60% of pregnant women in Mississippi who are covered by Medicaid will be forced to go without healthcare starting two months after giving birth. After Senate Bill 2033 failed, Darby was stunned. "I don't understand it," she said. "I mean, it's just mind blowing that you know --- it's like, have some compassion. Have some heart. At least try to show that you care." House Speaker Phillip Gunn cited his opposition to Medicaid expansion, though the bill would not have expanded eligibility for Medicaid. The Associated Press asked Gunn whether extending postpartum coverage saved lives. "That has not been a part of the discussions that I've heard," Gunn said. |
| Record revenues pour into states | |
 | Booming revenues are filling state budget coffers across the country to the brim as both higher wages and higher prices increase tax collections far beyond expectations. A review of state fiscal offices conducted by the National Conference of State Legislatures found half the states now expect to exceed revenue projections this fiscal year, projections that were already far higher than in previous years. Another 17 states are on pace to meet their expectations. The good news comes two years after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, when state budget officers looked into an abyss of red ink in the midst of business shutdowns and mass layoffs that appeared to be the brink of the next Great Depression. The situation represents "a total 180 from where we were at the start of the pandemic," said Erica MacKellar, who runs NCSL's Fiscal Affairs Program. "This quick rebound is really positive for states." Governors and legislators are considering how best to use their newfound good fortune. Many Democratic-controlled states are debating giving one-time direct payments to taxpayers, while Republican-run states like Iowa and Mississippi have passed substantial tax cuts. In a recent report, Lucy Dadayan, a state budget expert at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, warned that using today's boon for permanent tax cuts can come back to haunt states when the red ink begins to flow once again. "This year's large surpluses can quickly turn to shortfalls in the wake of permanent tax cuts," she wrote. |
| Anti-Trump Republicans lining up for 2024 shadow primary | |
| Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is planning trips to Iowa and New Hampshire. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., is considering a rough timeline for a potential presidential announcement. And allies of Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., are openly talking up her White House prospects. More than two years before the next presidential election, a shadow primary is already beginning to take shape among at least three fierce Republican critics of former President Donald Trump to determine who is best positioned to occupy the anti-Trump lane in 2024. Their apparent willingness to run -- even if Trump does, as is widely expected -- represents a shift from previous years when "Never Trump" operatives failed to recruit any GOP officeholders to challenge the incumbent president. But with the 2024 contest almost in view, the question is no longer whether one of Trump's prominent Republican critics will run, but how many will mount a campaign and how soon they will announce. Those close to Cheney, Hogan and Kinzinger expect one of them, if not more, to launch a presidential bid after the 2022 midterms. While all three are nationally known to some degree, their goal would not necessarily be to win the presidency. Above all, they want to hinder Trump's return to the White House, at least compared with 2020, when his allies cleared the field of any Republican opponents and persuaded some states to cancel primary contests altogether. |
| Trump tells SC supporters to throw his rivals out of office in June 14 primary, his birthday | |
 | Former President Donald Trump fired broad shots at his two South Carolina targets in Congress, asking his supporters to throw Republicans Nancy Mace and Tom Rice out of office in the June 14 GOP primary -- his birthday. "Unfortunately for the patriots of South Carolina, you currently have two atrocious RINOS -- they're bad people in the House," Trump told thousands at his Save America rally March 12 at the Florence Regional Airport. The call to action came as Trump returned to South Carolina for his first rally here since February 2020, at a time when he appeared in North Charleston and down-played the impact of the pending COVID-19 pandemic. The rally contained the continuing Trump talking points the former president has hit on since losing the 2020 election but also some new ones in light of current events: that the 2020 election was rigged against him, President Joe Biden is "physically and mentally challenged" and that the Russian invasion of Ukraine would not have happened if he were in office. Enthusiasm for Trump was apparent even before the speech. Hundreds of cars lined the muddy aisles of the rally's makeshift parking lot hours before the rally was even set to begin. Some were grilling hot dogs and drinking beer, sheltered from the cold rainy conditions by pop-up tents and generators. Former University of South Carolina football coach Lou Holtz, who both backed Trump in 2016, was there as well. "So I trust him completely, when he says something take it to the bank," Holtz told the crowd during his speaking moment, adding later "every decision he made wasn't to help him personally, it was to help this country." |
| Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky to Address Congress Virtually | |
| Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address Congress virtually on Wednesday, House and Senate leaders said, as the Russian incursion into Ukraine intensifies and President Biden grapples with how to respond. The address, scheduled for 9 a.m. on Wednesday, is to be made only to members of Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said. It will be held in an auditorium inside the Capitol complex. "The Congress remains unwavering in our commitment to supporting Ukraine as they face Putin's cruel and diabolical aggression, and to passing legislation to cripple and isolate the Russian economy as well as deliver humanitarian, security and economic assistance to Ukraine," they said in a release. Congress has pushed the Biden administration to take increasingly tough stances against Russia, including successfully pushing to ban the import of Russian oil. Some lawmakers have pushed for the U.S. to accept Poland's offer to accept jet fighters that could then be transferred to Ukraine, a plan the Pentagon has rejected. Mr. Biden has said that the U.S. military won't enter Ukraine, but the U.S. has sent troops, air defense systems and other equipment to Poland and other NATO states on the eastern flank to bolster their defenses. |
| Russia Asked China for Military and Economic Aid for Ukraine War, U.S. Officials Say | |
 | Russia asked China to give it military equipment and support for the war in Ukraine after President Vladimir V. Putin began a full-scale invasion last month, according to U.S. officials. Russia has also asked China for additional economic assistance, to help counteract the battering its economy has taken from broad sanctions imposed by the United States and European and Asian nations, according to an official. American officials, determined to keep secret their means of collecting the intelligence on Russia's requests, declined to describe further the kind of military weapons or aid that Moscow is seeking. The officials also declined to discuss any reaction by China to the requests. President Xi Jinping of China has strengthened a partnership with Mr. Putin and has stood by him as Russia has stepped up its military campaign in Ukraine, destroying cities and killing hundreds or thousands of civilians. American officials are watching China closely to see whether it will act on any requests of aid from Russia. Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, is scheduled to meet on Monday in Rome with Yang Jiechi, a member of the Chinese Communist Party's elite Politburo and director of the party's Central Foreign Affairs Commission. Mr. Sullivan intends to warn Mr. Yang about any future Chinese efforts to bolster Russia in its war or undercut Ukraine, the United States and their partners. The Biden administration is seeking to lay out for China the consequences of its alignment with Russia and penalties it will incur if it continues or increases its support. Some U.S. officials argue it might be possible to dissuade Beijing from ramping up its assistance to Moscow. |
| 'He's lashing out': U.S. sees 'broadening' of Putin strategy in Western Ukraine strike | |
 | National security adviser Jake Sullivan on Sunday said an early morning Russian missile strike in western Ukraine just 11 miles from NATO territory "does not come as a surprise" but could present a turning point in the Kremlin's strategy. At least 35 people died and 130 were injured in the attack targeting the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security in northwestern Lviv near the Polish border, according to the Associated Press. The strike was in contrast to Russia's previous assaults, which targeted mostly the eastern and southern areas of Ukraine. The deputy mayor of Lviv, Andriy Moskalenko, speaking on CBS's "Face the Nation" said the air strikes were "like a new edge in this war." Sullivan said Russian President Vladimir Putin's plans from the start involved attacks all over Ukraine. "This does not come as a surprise to the American intelligence and national security communities," Sullivan said on CNN's "State of the Union." "What it shows is that Vladimir Putin is frustrated by the fact that his forces are not making the kind of progress that he thought that they would make against major cities including Kyiv, that he's expanding the number of targets, that he's lashing out and he's trying to cause damage in every part of the country," Sullivan added. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman outlined the goals of the United States to help Ukraine but remain removed from direct conflict with Russia. "There are two objectives that we have. One is to support Ukraine in every way we can ... and the second is to put enormous pressure on Vladimir Putin to try to change his calculus to end this war, to get a cease-fire, to get humanitarian corridors, and to end this invasion," Sherman said on "Fox News Sunday." |
| Oxford Conference for the Book returns as in-person event | |
| The Oxford Conference for the Book returns to Oxford and the University of Mississippi March 30-April 1 as an in-person event. Conference sessions will be held on the Ole Miss campus and in downtown Oxford. "I'm so pleased to hold this conference in person this year," said Jimmy Thomas, conference director. "We've put together an amazing lineup of authors, and I'm looking forward to meeting them and hearing each of them read and discuss their work." The conference includes several special events, including an opening reception at Memory House, a lecture lunch in the Faulkner Room of the J.D. Williams Library, a poetry talk and lunch at the Lafayette County and Oxford Public Library, and a book signing and closing reception at Off Square Books. In its 28th year, the conference is partnering with two distinguished awards institutions this year, the Willie Morris Awards for Southern Writing and the National Book Foundation. Besides these two special sessions, the Center for the Study of Southern Culture will partner with the book conference to bring Imani Perry, Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, to campus for its Future of the South Lecture at 6:30 p.m. March 30 in Nutt Auditorium. The center annually invites a leading scholar and writer to think about the region's future in a lecture supported by the Phil Hardin Foundation. |
| Golden Eagle Pow Wow returning to USM campus in 2022 | |
 | An annual event showcasing Native-American culture in the Hattiesburg area that was canceled the last two years due to the pandemic is returning in 2022. The Golden Eagle Intertribal Pow Wow will be held at the University of Southern Mississippi on Oct. 8. It was hosted at USM for several years in the spring and then, was held for a few years at Hinton Park in Petal before being canceled in 2020 and 2021. The event features dancing, arts and crafts and other aspects of traditional American-Indian life. Vance Beaver, of Lake Charles, La., has served as master of ceremonies for many of the past Pow Wows. He's happy to see it return to the Pine Belt and the USM campus. "You know, a lot of the Pow Wows are just now coming back in so, we still haven't got fliers out, but we're coming back on the campus and should be very very good this year," Beaver said. "A lot of people are excited that we can do it, because it's been so long and it's really great." |
| Jackson State partners with 6 Alabama community colleges | |
| Jackson State University is partnering with six Alabama community colleges to help associate degree graduates transition into its bachelor's degree programs. JSU's scholars pipeline hopes to provide a seamless transition for students who complete degrees at Bishop State Community College in Mobile; J.F. Drake Community & Technical College in Huntsville; Gadsden State Community College in Gadsden; Lawson State Community College in Birmingham; Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa; and Trenholm Community College in Montgomery. "Community colleges are an excellent training ground for students to prepare for the rigor of campus life at the university level, and we look forward to accepting the best and brightest scholars into the Tiger family to further their education," said JSU President Thomas K. Hudson. "The most important thing about this is the seamless transition, meaning that our general education courses will transfer over and students won't lose any credit hours and will be able to continue their matriculation to their bachelor's degrees," said Nakia Robinson, dean of Instructional Services at Trenholm State Community College. |
| Alcorn celebrates Black History Month with program on Natchez U.S. Colored Troops | |
 | Southwest Mississippi Center for Culture and Learning at Alcorn State University celebrated Black History Month with members of the Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument Committee. The school presented a program titled, "From Slavery to Freedom: The Story of the Natchez U.S. Colored Troops," that focused on the legacy of the U.S. Colored Troops and the efforts to honor them with a monument. The event was held on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, in the Biotechnology Auditorium on the Lorman Campus. "This is part of our history, an important story that needs to be told, of great bravery, resilience, and the desire of all people to be free," said Teresa Busby, the Center's executive director, who organized the event. Participants in the program included Robert Pernell, chairman of the Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument Committee; Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson; Barney Schoby, U.S. Park Ranger and graduate of ASU; and Deborah Fountain, a genealogist and researcher who chairs the History and Research Subcommittee for the Natchez USCT Monument Committee. "It was an honor to host Mr. Pernell, Mrs. Fountain, Mayor Gibson and Mr. Schoby," Busby said. Pernell said the program was well-received by the students, staff and faculty. "Everyone seemed to enjoy it," he said. |
| Wendy's Demolition | |
| The demolition of the Wendy's at 555 E. Woodrow Wilson Ave. makes way for Millsaps College to determine a new purpose for that area of the campus. "At this time, the college is exploring potential partnerships with developers to create new and exciting spaces on the approximately 15 acres that encompass the college's northeast corner," said John Sewell, director of communications and community engagement at Millsaps College. During the last several years, Millsaps College has been working on plans to re-develop the northeast corner of its campus, bordered by Woodrow Wilson Boulevard and North State Street. The Wendy's restaurant was operating on a short-term lease and its operator decided not to renew, Sewell said. In 2020, the college removed the Cabot Lodge on the property after its lease ended in December 2019. The Medical Center Texaco operated for many years at 2395 N. State St. on the college's property but was torn down several years ago. |
| An Educator Read 'I Need a New Butt!' to Children. Then He Was Fired. | |
| It was Read Across America week, and the second graders in the Hinds County School District in Mississippi were waiting for an administrator to read to them. The administrator had forgotten it was her turn, said Toby Price, the assistant principal at Gary Road Elementary School in Hinds County, who was in his office at the time. He decided to fill in. Mr. Price, 46, quickly grabbed a book -- "I Need a New Butt!" by Dawn McMillan, one of his children's favorites -- and began reading it to the roughly 240 second graders over Zoom. Later that day, on March 2, the district superintendent, Delesicia Martin, called him into her office and told him he was on administrative leave, Mr. Price said. He was fired two days later, accused of violating the standards of conduct section of the Mississippi Educator Code of Ethics. In a letter to Mr. Price, the superintendent called the book "inappropriate." "I expected a write up," said Mr. Price, who had worked for the district for three years. "I did not expect to get terminated. I cried the entire way home." Mr. Price, who has been an educator for 20 years, said he had hired a lawyer and planned to fight the termination before the school board. Ms. Martin and the five-member school board did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on Friday. But Mr. Price's termination brought swift criticism from children's authors and PEN America, a free speech organization that fights bans against books. |
| These schools did less to contain covid. Their students did better. | |
 | As school systems around the country were battening down for their first remote start-of-school in the fall of 2020, the Lewis-Palmer district in Monument, Colo., was embarking on another kind of experiment: Elementary students would be in class full time, sitting maskless at communal tables. The band program would resume in-person classes, saxophonists and flutists playing a few feet apart. The high school football teams would practice and compete. While most of the nation kept students at home for part or all of the last academic year, these schools in the suburbs of Colorado Springs, like thousands of others around the country, opened with the overwhelming majority of students in their seats. Masks were optional in elementary school. Although middle- and high-schoolers began with hybrid learning, in November, high school-aged students with significant special education needs were back in-person five days a week. In the country's largest school systems, such as those in New York City, Los Angeles, D.C. and Chicago, teacher unions and concerned parents fought plans to reopen. Public health officials warned that social distancing would save lives, and schools responded by devising hybrid programs or simply sticking with virtual learning. But, over time, these measures also imposed costs: Today, students are contending with significant learning loss and mental health issues. Yet thousands of school districts -- typically small ones in conservative-leaning counties -- reacted to the pandemic like Lewis Palmer District 38 did. Officials in this largely White and affluent school district of 6,600 students near the U.S. Air Force Academy argue they took the right approach to reopening schools. No child was hospitalized with the virus; two school system employees were admitted, though contact tracers did not determine where they contracted the virus, school officials said. |
| Education Dept. Warns Florida: Forcing Colleges to Change Accreditors Jeopardizes Federal Aid | |
 | The U.S. Department of Education has warned Florida officials, in a letter sent on Thursday, that forcing the state's public colleges to seek new accreditation, as required under a bill passed earlier this week, could mean losing access to federal student loans, Pell Grants, and other forms of financial aid. "Proposals to amend state law must be drafted and implemented carefully to ensure that they do not put institutions and the students they enroll at risk of loss of eligibility for federal financial-aid programs," says the letter, which was sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, who is expected to sign the bill into law. Bryan Griffin, a spokesman for the governor, said DeSantis continued to support the legislation. "We love the bill -- higher-education institutions should be held accountable," Griffin wrote in an email to The Chronicle. The Education Department raises three issues in its letter, notably that any college applying to a new accreditor must get approval from the secretary of education and demonstrate a "reasonable cause" for that change. The process is intended to "prevent institutions from changing accreditors in search of lower standards, which may be implicated here," says the letter, which was signed by James R. Kvaal, the under secretary of education. Belle S. Wheelan, president of the commission, wrote in an email to The Chronicle that the department's letter was warranted, to ensure that colleges follow federal higher-education law. "I can certainly understand why Secretary Kvaal would have concerns about the impact of the Florida legislation on an institution's accreditation," Wheelan said. |
| UT fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi suspended for 5 years for hazing and alcohol violations | |
 | The Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville has been suspended for "hazing and alcohol violations," according to the university. The suspension will last five years, until the spring 2027 semester, UT spokesperson Kerry Gardner told Knox News in an email. The chapter is part of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, but does not have an on-campus house, and it is part of the National Pan-Hellenic Council. "Working closely with Kappa Alpha Psi's national organization, we made the necessary decision to suspend the Mu Rho chapter," Vice Chancellor for Student Life Frank Cuevas told Knox News in an emailed statement. "Hazing has no place in sorority or fraternity life at the University of Tennessee, and we will continue to uphold our commitment to create a positive, healthy culture for our students." It's the only conduct violation by the chapter that's been reported to UT's Office of Sorority & Fraternity Life in the past five years. The chapter was founded in 1986 and currently has 18 members. |
| Ag experts call for sustainable farming, biodiversity at MU 'Future of Food' panel | |
 | Experts on agriculture, law and public policy gathered at the University of Missouri to talk about the future of food. Many panelists at the event, which was hosted by the MU School of Law's Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review, discussed how the industrialization of farming has affected the food that Americans and people across the world place on their tables. John Ikerd, MU professor emeritus and agricultural economist, said he favors bringing biodiversity to farms instead of focusing on a single crop at a time. He also said there should be more policies incentivizing industrial farms to use fewer antibiotics and pesticides and more methods that work with the regional ecosystem. Ikerd said industrial agriculture was a well-intended policy experiment after World War II that brought new technology, like tractors, and provided food to the people. However, as farms were pushed to become larger and larger, food prices dropped, and farmers could no longer afford their land. "I came to the conclusion that that experiment has failed," Ikerd said during the panel discussion Friday. "It's time now for fundamental changes in farming and food policy, and they're going to be needed if we're going to ensure a sustainable future for agriculture and a sustainable future for humanity." "You don't know who produced what you eat, and they don't know you as a consumer," Ikerd added. "Over time, then you lose the sense of the value of those personal human relationships, and I think that's a big problem within society today." |
| A New Online Learning Hub for HBCUs | |
| The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) in partnership with Deloitte Digital announced the upcoming launch of an online learning platform and community called HBCUv to connect students, faculty, and staff at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) across the country. "I was so excited when I heard the news because it made me stand up and say okay, people realize there is a deficit among HBCUs regarding online learning," said Dr. Patrice Glenn Jones, executive director of online education and programs at Alabama State University, a public HBCU. "To have UNCF, a nationally recognized organization, do this is pivotal for connecting private HBCUs. We are much stronger when we work together, particularly HBCUs." UNCF is a national philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for Black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private HBCUs. Deloitte Digital is a creative strategy, digital, and technology consulting company. UNCF received more than $10 million to fund the HBCUv initiative from the Karsh Family Foundation, Lilly Foundation, Citi Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Bank of America Charitable Foundation. Yet UNCF has stated there remains a need for additional funding to expand HBCUv's reach. The remote learning hub will let students take courses for credit and connect with fellow students and faculty at participating HBCUs. |
| Public opinion of higher education takes a turn for the better | |
 | Public confidence in higher education ebbed badly in the latter half of the last decade, to judge by the steady stream of opinion polls from 2017 through 2019 that showed Americans (especially Republicans) increasingly convinced that colleges and universities were heading in the wrong direction, failing to prepare graduates for work and favoring liberal views over conservative ones. Those attitudes, combined with growing scrutiny from Republican politicians in numerous states on campus curricular and governance matters, spurred nearly eight in 10 respondents to Inside Higher Ed's recent Survey of College and University Presidents to agree that they were "worried about Republicans' increasing skepticism about higher education" and that "the perception of colleges as places that are intolerant of conserving views is having a major negative impact on attitudes about higher education." Public opinion polling about higher education appeared to drop off during the COVID-19 pandemic, so there's been little way of gauging whether Americans' impressions of colleges and universities have continued to erode or begun to turn around. A new survey of 1,000 registered voters by the Winston Group, conducted for the American Council on Education and shared with attendees at its annual meeting last week, provides an initial answer to that question. Officials at ACE, the biggest and broadest association of college officials and the industry's chief lobbying group, were motivated to survey the public in large part to try to gauge whether the escalating rhetoric questioning the value of going to college was contributing to the enrollment declines colleges and universities collectively have suffered in the last few years. |
| Katie Meyer's Suicide Put the Spotlight on Student Discipline. Experts Say Mental Health Is the Larger Issue. | |
| For student-conduct administrators like Erin Hungerman, Katie Meyer's death was a wakeup call. Meyer, a star Stanford University soccer player, was found unresponsive in a dormitory March 1. Her parents told Today that anxiety over a potential disciplinary action by the university may have contributed to her death, which was ruled a suicide. In a statement to The Chronicle, a Stanford spokesperson said the university is not able to discuss confidential student disciplinary matters. The news brought increased scrutiny to college disciplinary processes --- which Hungerman, the assistant dean of students at Youngstown State University, in Ohio, knows can be scary, confusing, and isolating. She wants to make it less so. "There are obviously some things that we have to say, but I think how we say them can look a bit different," she told The Chronicle. Hungerman is among the student-conduct administrators and experts who say Meyer's death should serve as a reminder of the importance of providing empathy and support to all parties in disciplinary matters, an idea that has gained traction over the last 10 years but isn't always carried out. In Title IX hearings in particular, experts say, respondents are often not treated with the same compassion as complainants. But experts also say that the larger issue is the omnipresent mental-health crisis on campus, and concerns about student discipline shouldn't distract from that. |
| Why your student loan payments may be delayed (again) | |
 | Federal student loan payments are supposed to resume in May, more than two years after they were paused because of the pandemic. But the U.S. Department of Education recently emailed unusual guidance to the companies that manage its $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio, throwing that timing into doubt. Don't reach out to borrowers about that May 1 deadline, the guidance said. The email, obtained by NPR and first reported by Politico, did not explain why servicers should go quiet about the deadline, nor did it say the deadline would change. But the order suggests the Biden administration is considering another extension of the student loan payment freeze. The department has a legal obligation to reach out to borrowers at least six times before the return to repayment, so telling servicers not to do this outreach, at a moment when legally it should be happening, means the administration can only delay this decision for so long. That email comes just a few days after White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain hinted that the repayment pause could be extended in an appearance on the podcast Pod Save America. "The president is going to look at what we should do on student debt before the pause expires, or he'll extend the pause," Klain said. Klain's words -- "what we should do on student debt" -- are a clear reference to the elephant in the room for Biden: He pledged, as a presidential candidate, to cancel at least $10,000 in student debt per borrower but his reluctance, so far, to do so has frustrated many in his party. |
| A National Campus-Climate Survey and Other Higher-Ed Tidbits in Spending Bill | |
| As a $1.5-trillion government-spending bill made its way through Congress this week, higher-ed wonks cheered the inclusion of several well-known policies, such as a $400 increase to the maximum Pell Grant award and the FAFSA Simplification Act, which aims to ease the burden on students applying for federal financial aid. But colleges featured prominently elsewhere in the nearly 3,000-page legislation. One notable provision directed the Education Department to develop an "online survey tool" measuring college students' experiences with sexual assault and harassment. Many colleges have already started conducting their own campus-climate surveys in recent years, though institutions have struggled with low response rates, and students and advocates often express frustration that college leaders do little with the results. Colleges that receive federal funding will be required to administer the national campus-climate survey every two years. The Education Department will publish an aggregate report summarizing the results on that same timeline. The bill also called for the creation of a "task force on sexual violence in education" to advise the Education Department, Congress, and the general public. The task force will "provide pertinent information" about "consistent, public complaint processes" for alleged violations of Title IX, the federal gender-equity law, according to the legislation, and will recommend sexual-assault prevention and response measures that are "culturally inclusive." |
| Why Mississippi is not known for very competitive elections | |
| Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: Just because Mississippi is among the rare group of states that have elections every year does not mean that the state always has compelling election seasons. Unless unforeseen events occur, this year's election cycle falls under the not-so-compelling category. All four general elections for the state's U.S. House seats are expected to be snoozers. In all four elections, both major political parties are running candidates, and the candidates from the party out of power in each district deserve respect and our attention as they try to accomplish near herculean tasks. But those elections would be major upsets should those candidates prevail. The respected Cook Political Report compiles what they call "partisan voting index" for each congressional district in the country. The index shows how strongly a district or state leans toward a party based on a formula developed by the Cook political scientists using historical data. The partisan voting index for all four Mississippi House districts are in the double digits. Both the 2nd Congressional District, where Democrat Bennie Thompson is the incumbent, and the 3rd, where Republican Michael Guest is the incumbent, have partisan voting indices of 13 in favor of the incumbent. The 1st District, where Republican Trent Kelly is the incumbent, has a pro-Republican tilt of plus-18, while the 4tb District seat occupied by Republican Steven Palazzo is at plus-22. In other words there is no naturally "competitive" seat in Mississippi, where under normal circumstances the candidate of each party would have a reasonable chance of winning. |
SPORTS
| 'I plan to stay here a long time': Purcell introduced as Mississippi State's head coach | |
| With a Mississippi State lapel pin already on his left blazer collar, Sam Purcell took the same podium Sunday too many Bulldog head coaches have the previous two years. His message was one of stability -- something the MSU women's basketball program has lacked since the departure of Vic Schaefer, the resignation of Nikki McCray-Penson and the interim tenure of Doug Novak. "I plan to stay here a long time," Purcell told reporters in his introductory press conference. The longtime Louisville assistant made a pitstop in Starkville prior to returning to the midwest for the team's postseason play. But he made his loyalty to Mississippi State clear. Among his first actions yesterday after the announcement of his hiring, Purcell requested a phone list of Mississippi State's players. He stayed up until midnight contacting them -- first was senior point guard Myah Taylor. Purcell recruited Taylor out of high school. Now, she's MSU's leader who has a year of eligibility remaining and a decision to make regarding where she wants to spend it. If it's at State, she'll be playing for a fourth head coach in her career. "You didn't come here for me, but I came here for you," Purcell told players. |
| Mississippi State women's basketball hires Louisville associate coach Sam Purcell as new head coach | |
| Doug Novak made the most of his audition for the head coaching job at Mississippi State, but the Bulldogs officially decided to go in another direction Saturday. MSU hired Louisville associate coach Sam Purcell to lead its women's basketball program, taking over for Novak, who spent the 2021-22 season as the Bulldogs' interim coach. Novak replaced Nikki McCray-Penson, who stepped down Oct. 12 citing health concerns. Purcell will finish out the season with Louisville, one of the nation's top teams, before being introduced in Starkville. "I'm honored and humbled to be the head women's basketball coach at Mississippi State University, and I am appreciative to John Cohen and the entire university administration for this opportunity," Purcell said in a news release from Mississippi State. "The Purcell family is thrilled to be coming to Starkville, and we can't wait to meet the team and the entire Bulldog Family. Mississippi State women's basketball is synonymous with winning, and I fully intend to continue that winning culture. Hail State!" Purcell was a student coach at Auburn from 2000-2003 and spent the next two years as a video coordinator and administrative assistant for the Tigers. He was an assistant coach at Tulsa from 2005-07. For his first head coaching job, he will inherit a Bulldogs team that played much of the season with just seven players due to injuries, transfers and more. Mississippi State went 15-14 under Novak, running out of gas and losing its final six games. |
| Mississippi State women's basketball hires Louisville assistant Sam Purcell as coach | |
| Sam Purcell will be the next Mississippi State women's basketball coach, the school announced Saturday. Purcell, who spent the last nine years as an assistant at Louisville is the ninth head coach in Mississippi State women's basketball history. "During our search, Sam Purcell routinely emerged as one of the nation's elite recruiters and more importantly, a terrific fit to lead our program," athletic director John Cohen said in a school release. "Sam has been an integral part of some of the most successful teams in women's basketball. He is creative, meticulous, and has shown a proven ability to recruit the nation's top talent and develop student-athletes. Sam is synonymous with the Mississippi State culture and understands the deep meaning of family. We are confident that Sam will elevate every facet of our program." Louisville, under coach Jeff Walz in his 15th season, is 147-19 over the past five seasons. The 147 wins in the third in the nation for that time period behind Baylor and UConn. Louisville has made a Final Four, four Elite Eights, and six Sweet Sixteens over Purcell's nine seasons. Louisville had 10 players selected in the WNBA Draft during Purcell's tenure, and all nine of his recruiting classes were ranked top-15 in the nation by ESPN, including No. 1 in 2015. Of the 15 All-Americans, 13 were recruited by Purcell. |
| Louisville assistant basketball coach Sam Purcell to be next Mississippi State women's coach | |
| Louisville assistant women's basketball coach Sam Purcell will be taking a new job after this season. An assistant and associate head coach at Louisville since 2013, Purcell will be named the next head coach at Mississippi State. The university announced the news in a press release on Saturday, adding that Purcell will finish out the postseason with Louisville and won't be announced in Starkville until his time in Louisville is finished. This will be Purcell's first head coaching job. Purcell has been a major part of Louisville's success under head coach Jeff Walz. He joined the program in 2013 after time at Georgia Tech and has become a key piece of the coaching staff. He was listed as one of the top 30 up-and-coming women's basketball coaches in the country by High Post Hoops and as one of the 50 most impactful Division I assistant coaches by Silver Waves Media. Coach Jeff Walz will now have to look for a replacement on his staff for the first time since he added Joneshia Pineda in 2019. "I'm really excited for him," Walz told the Courier Journal. "Everybody in our program is, including our players. "...I told our players how proud they should feel. If we don't win games year in and year out, my assistants don't get the opportunity to become a head coach. They have as much responsibility for him getting this job as anybody." |
| Mississippi State baseball wins doubleheader with Princeton, sweeps series | |
| The Mississippi State baseball team's mercurial offense continued to resemble night and day, but both iterations were still good enough for the Bulldogs in Sunday's doubleheader with Princeton. No. 23 MSU (10-7) scored just three runs in Game 1 but put up seven in the first two innings of Game 2, taking both games from the winless Tigers (0-11) at Dudy Noble Field. The Bulldogs hung on for a 3-2 win in the first game and posted a 9-1 victory in the second to sweep a multigame series for the first time this season. And it could come just in time for an MSU team poised to open Southeastern Conference play Friday at No. 20 Georgia. "I think going into a big weekend like this weekend with some confidence on our shoulders, I think that's huge," right fielder Kellum Clark said. The Bulldogs cruised behind a strong outing from Cade Smith and a balanced offensive showing in Game 2, closing the series on a high note offensively. Mississippi State posted a six-spot in the second inning, capped by Clark's two-run home run to right field. Clark, who drove in seven runs with a pair of three-run shots Friday, continued to tear the cover off the baseball Sunday. He had five hits between the two games, including doubles in both contests, after entering the weekend with five hits on the season. "I'm just glad that we're winning, to be honest with you," Clark said. "It feels good barreling up some balls." |
| Mississippi State sweeps Princeton, moves midweek game against Binghamton to Monday | |
| No. 23 Mississippi State (10-7) capped off a much-needed sweep Sunday afternoon against Princeton (0-12) by taking both legs of a doubleheader. Saturday's game was postponed due to weather, hence why the teams played two Sunday. After winning Friday 11-2, MSU opened Sunday with a 3-2 win and backed it up with a 9-1 in seven innings the second game. Mississippi State's midweek game against Binghamton has been moved from Tuesday to 6 p.m. Monday. Chris Lemonis told reporters postgame Jack Walker will start Monday for MSU. The freshman right-handed pitcher has made three appearances this season. His last outing was an ugly one as he allowed five earned runs without recording an out in a March 5 loss at Tulane. Walker has allowed 10 runs in six innings pitched this season. |
| Mississippi State men's basketball earns No. 3 seed in NIT, will play Virginia | |
| Coach Ben Howland said before the 2021-22 campaign that Mississippi State's run to the NIT championship game last season helped the young Bulldogs gain quite a bit of experience and could help them push for an NCAA tournament bid. A year later, MSU is practically in the same exact spot. The Bulldogs (18-15, 8-10 Southeastern Conference) earned the No. 3 seed in the 2022 NIT, earning the right to host a first-round game against Virginia. But because of renovations at Humphrey Coliseum, the Cavaliers will host the first-round contest instead at 6 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN2. Last season's NIT was only 16 teams instead of the usual 32, and Mississippi State beat Saint Louis, Richmond and Louisiana Tech to reach the title game. Memphis captured the NIT championship with a 77-64 win. Mississippi State was considered a likely NCAA tournament team, but a poor road record and a lack of NET Quadrant 1 wins cost the Bulldogs a bid. MSU went just 2-9 in Quad 1 games, well short of the mark it needed, and 1-9 on the road. The Bulldogs beat South Carolina in the second round of the SEC tournament before losing to eventual champion Tennessee in the quarterfinals. |
| Mississippi State basketball to play in NIT, will travel to Virginia in first round | |
| Mississippi State will make its second consecutive National Invitation Tournament appearance. The No. 3-seed Bulldogs will play Virginia. The Bulldogs are the higher seed, but Virginia will host the game at John Paul Jones Arena due to construction at Humphrey Coliseum. The first-round game will be played Tuesday or Wednesday. Mississippi State (18-16) has not made a decision on coach Ben Howland's job status yet, and Howland will coach the Bulldogs in the NIT, athletic director John Cohen told The Clarion Ledger on Sunday. Virginia (19-14) of the Atlantic Coast Conference was the 6-seed in the conference tournament, losing to North Carolina in the quarterfinals. The Bulldogs are 13-10 all-time in NIT games, with 10 appearances. Mississippi State fell to Memphis in the NIT championship game last season. Mississippi State made the semifinals in 2010 and 2007. Led by Molinar Iverson and Tolu Smith, who are averaging 17.6 and 14.1 points, respectively, MSU made the SEC Tournament quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Tennessee. |
| Mississippi State selected as NIT 3-seed, slated to face Virginia | |
| Mississippi State will spend its postseason playing in the NIT once again. As was announced during Sunday's selection show, Mississippi State received an invitation as a three-seed facing off against Virginia at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The game will be aired on ESPN2. Head coach Ben Howland, who will coach through the NIT regardless of what his fate at MSU is moving forward, told reporters Friday the team would accept a bid if offered. Mississippi State lost in the finals of last season's NIT against Memphis. With the additions of key transfers such as Garrison Brooks, Shakeel Moore, D.J. Jeffries and Rocket Watts, there was belief MSU had a good trajectory to enter the NCAA tournament this season. Instead, the Bulldogs went 18-15 overall this season and 8-10 in SEC play before losing in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament Friday. MSU lingered around the NCAA tournament bubble throughout most of the season but wound up not even being among the teams on standby with the selection committee. This is the third NIT appearance for Mississippi State in Howland's seventh season. The team has made the NCAA tournament just once (2018-19). The top seed in Mississippi State's region is Oklahoma. |
| Willis Shuts Out No. 3 Florida, State Claims First SEC Win | |
| Annie Willis was locked in, collecting a season-high nine strikeouts on her way to a complete game shutout at No. 3 Florida on Sunday. Willis led Mississippi State to its first win over a top-five team since 2019 as the Bulldogs claimed a 1-0 victory in Gainesville. The win also marked MSU's (16-9, 1-1 SEC) first win over a ranked Florida team since 2019 when the Gators were No. 7 in the NFCA poll. The Bulldogs went on to win the series that year for first series win in Gainesville since 2004. Willis faced 27 hitters, striking out nine and walking just two. She is the first Bulldog pitcher to shut out a top-five team since Alexis Silkwood blanked No. 4 Tennessee on April 18, 2014. "Just a complete -- I don't even know the words for it – but such a great, complete-game performance for Annie Willis," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "Up and down, I thought she did a great job attacking. They've got All-Americans in that lineup, great hitters, speed, power, everything in between, and for her to be able to navigate the lefties at the top and the power through the center, I thought she did a great job of staying calm. She stayed confident, stuck to her game plan and wasn't fazed, even after a couple walks." The series finale will air on SEC Network on Monday night. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT. |
| Is it legal for Vanderbilt baseball to use wristbands to call pitches? | |
 | Vanderbilt baseball has found a new technological edge: the use of electronic wristbands to call pitches. All nine players on the field wear the wristbands, which can be worn on the wrist or on a player's belt loop. Pitching coach Scott Brown inputs a sign corresponding to the pitch for the pitcher to throw and that sign is displayed on the wristband. The intent of the wristbands, which eliminate the need for catchers to display signs, is to prevent sign-stealing and enhance pace of play. Use of these types of devices was prohibited prior to 2021, but several leagues experimented with them last season and it is allowed in all conferences for 2022. Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin believes the wristbands have been a positive for his team and the fans. "There's no crossups," Corbin said. "There's no signs given from the catcher. The game moves along reasonably fast. Well, it moves faster than it has before. Just think it's a lot easier. ... So the the pitcher can really deliver the ball within a 10 or 12-second time period which, shaving time off the college game is certainly I would think a good thing for everyone, especially the consumer." There has been some criticism of the wristband system because it takes everything out of the hands of the catcher. In the major leagues, catchers call their own games with aid from the pitchers, but most college teams have the pitching coach call games. |
| LSU has fired Will Wade for cause after allegations of major NCAA violations. Here's why. | |
 | LSU fired men's basketball coach Will Wade and associate head coach Bill Armstrong for cause Saturday, four days after the university received a detailed, 17-page notice of allegations from the NCAA's Complex Case Unit of the Independent Accountability Resolution Process. According to the notice of allegations, obtained by The Advocate on Saturday through a public records request, 11 violations were outlined, including eight Level I violations -- seven of which solely pertain to men's basketball. Wade is tied to six of the seven allegations within the men's basketball program. Armstrong is accused of one Level I violation and one Level II violation. Additionally, LSU basketball shares fault with the football program in an additional Level I allegation that LSU "failed to exercise institutional control and monitor the conduct and administration of its football and men's basketball programs" from February 2012 through June 2020. LSU President William F. Tate IV and athletic director Scott Woodward released a statement Saturday explaining the decision to fire Wade. "Our decision to terminate Coach Wade and Coach Armstrong is not an acknowledgement of agreement with any of the allegations," they wrote. Tate and Woodward added in the statement that after they received the NOA earlier this week, those involved in the decision-making process took several days to pore over the details outlined in the NOA to determine their next steps. |
| Georgia turns to rival Florida to hire Mike White as new men's basketball coach | |
 | Georgia made a quick hire for its new men's basketball coach. It's a surprising one from an SEC rival. Florida's Mike White, who took the Gators to four NCAA tournament trips during seven seasons in Gainesville, was hired Sunday evening during an executive committee meeting of the Georgia Athletic Association. No immediate contract terms were released. Second-year athletic director Josh Brooks hired White in hopes of elevating the Bulldogs men's basketball program. White had worn out his welcome in some corners at Florida at a program that won national championships under Billy Donovan. Florida went 19-13 this season and missed out on the NCAA tournament. In picking White as its new coach, Brooks is betting that the 45-year old can get the Bulldogs back to the NCAA tournament. White is taking over a Georgia program that went 6-26 last season -- the most losses ever by an SEC team -- and in last place in the conference in the fourth season under Tom Crean who was fired Thursday one day after a lopsided loss in the SEC tournament. Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said in a statement that White informed him of his decision to leave for another job on Sunday afternoon. White is an Ole Miss alum who had been linked to that job if the Rebels made a move. |
| Mizzou fires men's basketball coach Cuonzo Martin after five seasons | |
 | Cuonzo Martin's arrival in Columbia as Missouri head men's basketball coach brought a jolt of energy to the program with top recruit Michael Porter Jr. also entering the fold. Five years later, despite the Tigers making two trips to the NCAA Tournament during his tenure and being ranked in the top 10 nationally last season, Martin's time leading the program has come to an end because of potential that never fully materialized. Martin was fired on Friday after a disappointing 12-21 season, which ended when LSU jettisoned Missouri out of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Thursday. Missouri officially announced the move early Friday evening. "Coach Martin represented the university with an extremely high level of class and dignity," athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois wrote in a statement. "He is a man of high character whom I have the upmost respect for, and we are grateful for his contributions to our program, on and off the floor." After the loss to LSU, Martin said he wouldn't dwell on the decision Missouri made on his future either way. "I'm at peace with whatever," Martin said. "If that's the best thing for both parties, that's the best thing for both parties." His replacement will mark Missouri's third coach in the past eight years. |
| Texas A&M men's basketball team settles for NIT after NCAA snub | |
 | The Texas A&M men's basketball team will play host to Alcorn State in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament after the Aggies were left out of the NCAA tournament field. A&M will play the Braves at 8 p.m. Tuesday. The NCAA tournament selection committee had A&M (23-12) behind Dayton (23-10), Oklahoma (18-15) and SMU (23-8) as the last four teams out. All are No. 1 seeds for the NIT. After Texas A&M made a run to the Southeastern Conference tournament finals that ended in a 65-50 loss to Tennessee on Sunday, the Aggies were hopeful three victories in three days including one over Auburn that was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, would get them in the field. "It doesn't make sense," A&M athletics director Ross Bjork tweeted Sunday. "It's hard to figure out. This a flawed selection process if we do not reward teams who deserve an opportunity. Based on how we've responded before, I can assure you, no one will battle with stronger fight than @aggiembk & this staff @TeamCoachBuzz". Alcorn State is 17-16 and earned an automatic bid into the NIT by winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular season title. Texas Southern grabbed the league's bid to the NCAA tournament with an 87-62 victory over Alcorn State in the SWAC tourney championship on Saturday. Vanderbilt, Florida and Mississippi State are other SEC teams that made the NIT. |
| March Madness brings back feel of the good ol' days | |
| Any hoops fan hungering for a return to normal this March might have looked at the bracket when it finally came out and wondered what ever changed. Gonzaga is the tournament's top seed. Kansas and Arizona are No. 1s, as well. Duke and Kentucky are right up there as No. 2s and the defending champion, Baylor, is the other top seed and a force to be reckoned with again, too. But all that sameness felt like more of a celebration when the pairings were set this Selection Sunday. The most-anticipated reveal of the year felt like a party again, even if it might have been pushed down a notch on the ticker by the unexpected return of Tom Brady to the NFL in an announcement that came just as Dick Vitale and Co., were starting to break down the 68-team draw. "This was a really special year because we all realized what we missed," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. For the first time since 2019, the teams will scatter across the country to eight cities for 48 games over the first four-day weekend of America's unofficial hoops holiday. Then, they will move to four cities for the Sweet 16. And they will cut down the nets in New Orleans, where the Final Four runs April 2-4. It figures to be a much different atmosphere than in Indianapolis last year, where all 67 games were held in a makeshift bubble with limited fans. |
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