| Tuesday, May 10, 2022 |
| Mississippi sues Favre, wrestlers, over welfare misspending | |
 | The Mississippi Department of Human Services on Monday sued retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre and three former pro wrestlers along with several other people and businesses to try to recover millions of misspent welfare dollars that were intended to help some of the poorest people in the U.S. The lawsuit says the defendants "squandered" more than $20 million in money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families anti-poverty program. The suit was filed less than two weeks after a mother and son who ran a nonprofit group and an education company in Mississippi pleaded guilty to state criminal charges tied to the misspending. Nancy New, 69, and Zachary New, 39, agreed to testify against others in what state Auditor Shad White has called Mississippi's largest public corruption case in the past two decades. In early 2020, Nancy New, Zachary New, former Mississippi Department of Human Services executive director John Davis and three other people were charged in state court, with prosecutors saying welfare money had been misspent on items such as drug rehabilitation in Malibu, California, for former pro wrestler Brett DiBiase. The lawsuit filed Monday said Favre at one time was the largest individual outside investor and stockholder of Prevacus, a Florida-based company that was trying to develop a concussion drug. The suit said that in December 2018, Favre urged Prevacus CEO Jake VanLandingham to ask Nancy New to use welfare grant money to invest in the company. |
| State agency targets Family Resource Center with lawsuit over misspending claims | |
 | State officials have filed a lawsuit seeking to recover more than $3.8 million from the Family Resource Center, a nonprofit organization based in Northeast Mississippi that finds itself embroiled in allegations that it "squandered" federal grant money intended to help the poor. The lawsuit, filed Monday in Hinds County Circuit Court by the Mississippi Department of Human Services, was lauded by state government leaders as the latest effort to remedy an allegedly far-reaching scheme of corruption that investigators claim infected the state's anti-poverty programs for several years. "Our purpose with this suit is to seek justice for the broken trust of the people of Mississippi and recover funds that were misspent," said Gov. Tate Reeves and Attorney General Lynn Fitch in a joint-statement released on Monday. The FRC and its executive director, Christi Webb, allegedly misspent money from the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program. According to the lawsuit, they did so "for their enrichment." In a written statement released to the Daily Journal on Monday, FRC board member and legal counsel Casey Lott reiterated previous claims by the organization that it has done nothing wrong. "Mrs. Webb and other employees of the North Mississippi Family Resource Center have always adamantly denied any intentional misspending of TANF funds or any other wrongdoing," Lott said. |
| Former state auditor Stacey Pickering leaves post as state VA board head | |
| Former State Auditor Stacey Pickering appears to have either left or stepped away from his most recent job as executive director of the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board, but officials at the state agency aren't disclosing any details surrounding the departure. The Veterans Affairs Board, which oversees the four veterans homes in the state, told the Daily Journal in a statement that Mark Smith, the agency's deputy executive director, is currently serving as its interim executive director. But Ray Coleman, the spokesperson for the Veterans Affairs Board, wouldn't confirm if Pickering left the agency. Coleman claimed that the agency does not discuss personnel matters. However, in a 1999 ruling, the Mississippi Supreme Court found that names of public employees, and some salary information, are not exempt from public disclosure. "We can assure our state's 187,000 Veterans and their families that our Agency is still ready and available to serve them through our mission programs," the Veterans Affairs Board said in a statement. |
| Senate passes bill to give security to families of Supreme Court justices | |
 | A bill to grant security for the families of U.S. Supreme Court justices unanimously passed the Senate Monday. The Supreme Court Police Parity Act would provide police protection to the immediate families of the nine justices and other officers of the court, if the "Marshal determines such protection is necessary," the legislation says. The bill, which was introduced by Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, will now go before the House of Representatives. "Threats to the physical safety of Supreme Court Justices and their families are disgraceful, and attempts to intimidate and influence the independence of our judiciary cannot be tolerated," Cornyn said in a statement. The bill follows a leak last week of a draft Supreme Court opinion that, if unchanged, would overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that federally legalized abortions. A protest and vigil against the move was organized at Justice Samuel Alito's house Monday. "Because it's been impossible to reach him at the Supreme Court (especially now with the enormous fences), we will do it at his home," said the event's organizer, ShutDownDC. |
| Supreme Court gets defensive after abortion draft leak | |
 | The leaked draft of a Supreme Court abortion decision marked a changing point in security for the historically cloistered institution, which has long drawn public scrutiny and protest but now has further entrenched as a reaction to perceived threats to safety. On Capitol Hill, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. gave final approval to surrounding the Supreme Court building with unscalable fencing, the kind that went up after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol across First Street NE. Capitol Police put down concrete barricades to shut that street down to traffic, as near daily crowds of both anti-abortion and abortion rights advocates filled the sidewalk outside the court, the more typical spot for protests about decisions. The decision to shut down the street was made "out of an abundance of caution to keep everyone safe," the Capitol Police Department said in a statement. "TBD on when it will re-open." Later this week, the House Appropriations Committee plans to hold a hearing on the fiscal year 2023 budget proposal for the federal judiciary, which includes more than $800 million for courthouse security, a more than $100 million increase from fiscal year 2021. |
| Yellen: Banning abortion would be 'very damaging' to U.S. economy | |
 | Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday argued that banning abortion would be "very damaging" for the economy by reducing women's ability to balance their careers and their families. "I believe that eliminating the right of women to make decisions about when and whether to have children would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades," she said in response to a question at a Senate Banking Committee hearing. In her comments, Yellen said the 1973 ruling helped allow women to finish school and increase their earning potential, leading to higher participation in the workforce. "Research also shows that it had a favorable impact on the well-being and earnings of children," she said. "There are many research studies that have been done over the years looking at the economic impacts of access or lack thereof to abortion, and it makes clear that denying women access to abortion increases their odds of living in poverty or need for public assistance." Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) later in the hearing pressed her on her answer, arguing that framing the issue of abortion around labor force participation "feels callous to me." "It means that children will grow up in poverty and do worse themselves," Yellen responded. "This is not harsh. This is the truth." |
| Gas prices climb to new record, putting Biden in a fresh bind | |
 | President Biden's efforts to blunt rising prices at the pump are proving no match for the market forces that have sent the price of gas surging to a new high. The average price for a gallon of gas nationwide on Tuesday hit $4.37, the highest price AAA has recorded since it started keeping track in 2000. And in California, it is a $1.54 higher than that. This is not the most expensive gas on record, when adjusted for inflation, but the increase comes despite Biden's ordering the use of a million barrels per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve a little over a month ago. The administration's move to allow more ethanol into the nation's fuel supply hasn't brought much relief to consumers, either. Biden on Tuesday is expected to outline his latest plan to reduce the price pressures throughout the economy that have badly damaged his popularity. Biden will try to shift blame for the nation's economic challenges to Republicans, pointing to a plan released this year by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) for a minimum federal income tax. About half of Americans do not pay federal income taxes because they do not earn enough. Biden's remarks will precede what is likely to be more tough news for the White House when the federal government reveals its newest inflation data midweek. Nowhere is the pain more obvious than at the gas station. Tuesday's prices are below what consumers were paying at the high-water mark in July 2008, when gas was $5.36 per gallon in today's dollars, but the sting for consumers remains. "The tools the federal government can use to influence prices are limited," said Devin Gladden, manager for federal affairs at AAA National. "They are already using almost the whole toolbox." |
| California's drought is squeezing farmers and threatening food prices | |
 | As California enters its third year of drought, farmers in the state's agricultural Central Valley, which produces a quarter of the United States' food, say it could jeopardize an already strained food system. "There are a lot of empty fields that aren't being planted -- something I've never seen before," said Don Cameron, vice president and general manager of Terranova Ranch in Helm, California. Cameron, who's also president of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, told Marketplace's David Brancaccio that farmers are also contending with supply chain bottlenecks and price increases for crucial goods. "All of our tractors run on diesel. So not only the cost for us here on the farm, but to get our products to the facilities for processing or to the markets has just skyrocketed," he said. "We've seen [the price of] fertilizer double from a year ago. We just see all of our inputs getting more expensive -- not only the inputs like that, but our labor cost has increased." All of which could send prices higher at the grocery store. "We grow a lot of processing tomatoes here, and for 2022 our price increased 25% -- and our growers are saying that even at that, they're barely making it," Cameron said. "We anticipate another increase for the 2023 crop." |
| JSU President Thomas K. Hudson Shares HBCU Vision on MFP Live | |
| The campus of Jackson State University feels like home to President Thomas K. Hudson. In fact, he can't remember a time when the university wasn't a part of his life. Growing up in Jackson, not far from the campus, he went to classes with his mother when she didn't have childcare. As he got older, he participated in summer programs that the university offered for children. And when he graduated from high school, Hudson knew that Jackson State was where he wanted to continue his education. As a student at Jackson State, Hudson found a supportive environment and professors who encouraged and challenged him, seeing his potential and helping him achieve it. Hudson graduated from JSU in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in political science and went on to earn a juris doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 2005. Now, Hudson has come full circle. He's back "home" at the university that has always welcomed him, and as the university's 12th president, he is getting his chance to see to it that a new generation of students gets the supportive atmosphere and educational opportunities that made JSU such a good fit for him. Providing the best possible college experience for a campus full of young people would be a worthy and challenging aim in the best of circumstances. But timing and world events have worked together to make Hudson's job more demanding than he ever expected. |
| UMMC, Blue Cross agree to mediator in insurance contract dispute | |
| Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi and University of Mississippi Medical Center have agreed on a mediator, who will oversee a mediation process to settle the contract dispute that has left the state's largest hospital out of network with its largest insurer. Walter Johnson, senior counsel at the law firm Watkins & Eager, will be the mediator. Johnson's bio on the firm's website states that he has "mediated and arbitrated hundreds of matters for parties both within and outside of Mississippi since 1994." "He has mediated some very complex cases and is familiar with the subject matter area," Mark Haire, Mississippi Deputy Commissioner of Insurance, told Mississippi Today. "We're excited that the parties have agreed upon someone who we believe will be a very fair and objective mediator, and who hopefully will be able to help the parties find some common ground here." Johnson will now reach out to both parties and get all the information he needs before they schedule the first mediation session, Haire said. "The commissioner (Mike Chaney) is certainly very hopeful that the parties can make great progress, if not find a resolution, by early June," Haire said. Blue Cross and UMMC used the mediation process to settle their last contract dispute in 2018, and it took around ten days to strike a deal. At that time, Blue Cross agreed to remove language that made the contract evergreen, meaning the insurance company could no longer change the contract terms at any time. |
| This University Tried a Test-Optional Pilot Program. That Didn't Last. | |
 | On May 27, 2021, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville said it would continue a pilot program that allowed prospective students to choose whether to submit standardized-test scores -- a common Covid-era accommodation across higher ed. In a statement at the time, university officials said they planned to continue the pilot, which began in July 2020, "for up to five more years." They said they'd gather data and evaluate after each academic year, with the possibility that the program would be "refined or suspended." Less than a year later, Tennessee's test-optional pilot has ended -- even though the university's data suggest that it was benefiting the institution. The University of Tennessee system announced on Friday that applicants to the system's institutions would once again have to submit SAT or ACT scores, starting with new students applying for the fall of 2023. Why was the pilot program discontinued? A university spokesperson didn't respond when asked on Monday. The Tennessee system's decision to restore its testing requirement isn't unprecedented. Public universities in Florida have continued to require standardized-test scores throughout the pandemic. The University System of Georgia suspended its requirement from 2020 to 2021, then brought it back for the spring semester of 2022. For the fall of 2022, some of the Georgia system's colleges have gone test-optional again, with some conditions. But many colleges across the nation continue to give prospective students the choice of whether to submit SAT or ACT scores with their applications. |
| U. of Arkansas campus to bring in cost consultant | |
| The University of Arkansas will begin negotiations with consulting firm AArete to identify ways to cut nonsalary spending across campus, according to an Intent-to-Award letter dated Friday. The type of "spend analysis" sought from a consulting firm has not been done previously at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, according to a published "Q&A Addendum" document that answered questions from potential bidders. UA received two certified bids for campus cost-containment consulting, according to the Intent-to-Award letter published online. Bid scoring data -- also published by UA online -- shows that three bid evaluators ranked AArete higher than Huron Consulting. Both consulting firms are based in Chicago. AArete, on its website, lists multiple office locations in the U.S. and abroad. The consulting firm works with health care, public sector and business clients, among others, in addition to helping universities "do more with fewer resources," the firm's website states. "We help maximize the value of tuition and funding revenues, and drive leading business practices into the higher education environment," the firm's website states. UA initially published erroneous data showing a year-over-year 78% increase in nonsalary spending, but revised the data after a Democrat-Gazette reporter asked about the rise in expenditures. |
| Georgia Board to Reduce Faculty Role in Presidential Search | |
 | The University System of Georgia's Board of Regents is poised to vote today on a proposed policy change that would reduce the faculty role in presidential searches. Current board policy says that an institutional search committee shall be composed of representatives from the board, the system chancellor or the chancellor's designee, faculty, alumni, students, and the community, with "faculty composing the largest number of institutional members." Regarding comprehensive universities, state universities and state colleges, in particular, the current policy also says that "the chancellor shall name a faculty member to serve as the chair of the institutional search committee." The proposed policy removes the reference to faculty composing the largest number of institutional members and eliminates the requirement that a faculty member be named search committee chair at nonresearch institutions (currently and under the proposed policy, a regent serves as search committee chair for presidential searches at research institutions). The university system did not respond to a request for comment. The American Association of University Professors censured the university system this year over controversial changes to Georgia's posttenure review system, which make it possible to fire tenured faculty members without a faculty review. The board also faced criticism this year for appointing former Georgia governor Sonny Perdue as system chancellor over faculty and student objections. |
| She took her kids to U. of Kentucky for a tour. Four years later, she's graduating with her own degree | |
 | Angela Sanchez's life changed with a tour of the University of Kentucky. The mother of four had spent years homeschooling her children. Wanting to encourage them to pursue higher education, she took all of her children on a tour at UK. While on the tour, her "wheels were kind of turning," and Sanchez started looking into options for herself. Four years later, Sanchez graduated from UK on Friday morning. When she took that tour of UK, Sanchez had recently filed for divorce and needed to re-enter the workforce to provide for her family. She had graduated from DePaul University in 2001 with a degree in Latin American studies and Spanish, and had moved a lot because of her husband's job in the military. She had mainly been a stay-at-home mom, and her family settled in Wilmore after moving for many years. After that first tour, she looked over the programs offered at UK, and one stood out: landscape architecture. "When I read the description, I just fell in love," Sanchez said. She scheduled another tour at UK, and for every hesitation she had about enrolling, UK provided a solution, she said. She was able to get several scholarships, and at age 38, enrolled in UK's landscape architecture program. "It was a leap of faith," Sanchez said. While that meant major changes for the family, her daughter Aviana Judd said it made perfect sense to her. "It made sense, especially since she values education so much, having experienced that with her homeschooling us and putting a lot of thought into what we learned, that she would choose something that forwards her own education," Judd said. |
| 15 old oak trees on quad to be cut down, replaced in heart of U. of Missouri campus | |
 | Francis Quadrangle is marked by its six MU Columns and the large shady trees that ring the historical center of the campus. The 15 pin oak trees on the quad are used frequently by students to lean against while studying. They provide shade during picnics and a place for dogs to rest after games of fetch. By summer, these trees will be gone. The removal of the pin oaks -- some of which appear to be more than 40 feet tall -- will start May 18, said Uriah Orland, associate director of the University of Missouri News Bureau. The removal of the trees is expected to be completed by June 3. They will be replaced with 24 white oaks, said Tim Reinbott, MU director of field operations. Since the new white oaks are only about 6 years old, they will be shorter than the current pin oaks and will create a much different look to the iconic quad, which is one of the most photographed spots in Missouri. "This will change the look of Francis Quadrangle in the short term, but removing them is important for the safety of pedestrians on the quad," Orland said. "The Legacy oaks being planted will provide generations of students an iconic quad and will still be a central part of Mizzou." Of the 26 trees that were planted in the 1950s, 11 have already been lost through the years. In the early 2000s, six trees were removed because they had a bacterial leaf spot. Most recently, in 2018, five of the pin oaks were cut down because of safety concerns. |
| If You're Paying for College, Watch This Week's Treasury Auction | |
 | College students and their families should keep an eye on the Treasury Department's government-bond auction this week. It could influence their finances for years to come. The auction, scheduled for Wednesday, will be the main determinant of the interest rate on new federal student loans. Because bond yields have soared this year, that rate is likely to be much higher than the last time these student-loan rates were set a year ago. The higher cost is an example of how a surge in interest rates is hitting every corner of the economy. The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates twice this year and is expected to keep doing so, part of its bid to rein in the highest inflation in decades. Treasury prices have slumped in response, lifting yields, which move inversely. The 10-year Treasury yield settled at 3.080% on Monday, up from 1.496% at the end of last year. The most common kind of federal student loan, known as a direct loan, is offered at a new interest rate every July. The rate is calculated by adding the yield on the 10-year Treasury note in the May auction to a fixed premium, set by Congress, of 2.05 percentage points. Last year, the May auction resulted in 10-year yields of 1.684%, setting a student-loan rate of 3.73% through this June. That rate could move above 5% starting in July. If the rate tops 5.05%, it would be the highest since 2013, according to Education Department data. |
| Strong job market is causing more students to drop out of college. The potential loss to future earnings, however, is significant | |
| A college education is considered the ticket to a better career and higher pay. And yet, these days there are plenty of good opportunities for job seekers, with or without a degree. In April, employers added 428,000 jobs and wages grew by a solid 5.5% year-over-year. For some currently enrolled college students, that may be too good to resist. "Students are choosing to earn over learn right now," Daniel Rosensweig, CEO of online education company Chegg, recently said in an interview on "TechCheck." They're taking fewer classes so they can work more hours and some are unenrolling altogether, he said. "And you really shouldn't blame them, right? It's a smart, prudent business decision for them at this moment, which is, if their salaries are doubled and tripled, why not take that money and give more hours and take fewer classes or no classes," Rosensweig said. And yet, studies show that college graduates will earn nearly $1 million more over the course of their careers. "The potential loss to these students' earnings and futures is significant, which will greatly impact the nation as a whole in years to come," said Doug Shapiro, executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. |
SPORTS
| Diamond Dawg Gameday: at Samford | |
| Mississippi State will hit the road to face off against Samford in midweek action at 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday, May 10, at Hoover Met Stadium in Hoover, Alabama. Tuesday's contest will be streamed on ESPN+. The game will also be carried on the Mississippi State Sports Network powered by LEARFIELD along with a live audio stream via HailState.com/plus. Mississippi State enters the week with a 25-23 overall record through 48 games, including a 9-15 record in SEC play following last weekend's series versus Florida. Mississippi State and Samford will meet for the 49th time on Tuesday in Hoover. The Diamond Dawgs own a 38-10 record over Samford in the all-time series. State is currently ranked 12th in the country and fourth in the SEC with 84 home runs on the season. Hunter Hines ranks second nationally among freshmen with 14 home runs, while RJ Yeager leads the Diamond Dawgs with 16 home runs on the season, including 12 that have come in SEC games. MSU's pitching staff enters the weekend ranked first in the SEC and fourth nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (11.2). Preston Johnson leads the team with 104 strikeouts in 12 appearances (11 GS), while he is ranked first among SEC pitchers and ninth nationally in strikeouts. Samford enters the midweek with a 22-23 overall record and 9-6 mark in conference play. The Bulldogs are 3-2 over their last five games and recently won the weekend series over ETSU in Birmingham. |
| Mississippi State looks for a good feeling Tuesday against Samford | |
| Mississippi State, after a brief resurgence with series wins against Auburn and Ole Miss, has stumbled the last two weekends. The first chance to reverse that trend is against Samford Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Hoover Met, site of the SEC baseball tournament. No television or live streaming is available for the game. The Bulldogs follow the week's only non-conference game with a weekend trip to face No. 10 Texas A&M. Only six SEC games remain as State will follow the Texas trip with a home series against No. 1 Tennessee on the final weekend. "We need to play good Tuesday. We need to get a good feel. We need to play good baseball for a day. Then you try to repeat it and repeat it," MSU coach Chris Lemonis said. The Bulldogs (25-23, 9-15 SEC) are in danger of failing to qualify for the SEC tournament, currently tied with Kentucky in the next-to-last spot in the standings. They are two games ahead of Missouri. |
| Ashley Gilliam Leads State Through First Round of Tallahassee Regional | |
| Mississippi State women's golf completed the opening round of the Tallahassee Regional on Monday. Led by a stellar opening round performance by Ashley Gilliam, the Bulldogs climbed up the leaderboard throughout the day and are in third place. Ashley Gilliam did not hesitate to get off to a hot start in the Tallahassee Regional by birding three of her first five holes on the front nine. Heading into the back nine, Gilliam held an even-par score of 72 before sinking four birdies to finish the day tied for first with a score of 3-under par (69). Gilliam led the field in birdies, rolling in seven on the day. 3-under is Gilliam's lowest score on 18 on the season and her seventh round in the 60s in her Bulldog career. State was aided by three top-20 performances on the day by the trio of Hannah Levi, Julia Lopez Ramirez and Blair Stockett whom all finished the first round tied for 15th with a score of 2-over (74). Levi and Lopez Ramirez both led the field in pars sinking 14 on the day including nine in a row after making the turn on Holes 1-9. Ana Pina Ortega rounded out the scoring for the Bulldogs finishing the first day tied for 25th with a score of 3-over (75). As a team, MSU finished round one 3-over with a score of 291. Second-Seeded UCLA leads the field with an even-par score of 288 while third-seeded Florida State is second shooting 2-over (290). |
| Monday Profile: Coach brings multidisciplinary approach to Starkville soccer | |
 | Not many folks are brought to Mississippi because of soccer, a global game that has a steadily growing presence in the Magnolia State. The effort to help build the sport's popularity in the area has brought in some new faces. Raised in Portugal by an Angolan father and English mother and educated in an international academy, Rafael Costa was already quite cultured by the time he arrived to play the game in the humidity of Mississippi. "I went to take my first breath of fresh air after being on airplanes for so long, and I just felt like I was breathing in water," he said. Acclimating to new environments has never been a problem for Costa, though. He first arrived in Jackson, Mississippi to play for Mississippi College while earning a postgraduate degree. In the process he met and married his wife Rebecca, graduated and took a job in coaching. It wasn't long before the opportunity opened up to come to Starkville. Beginning in the 2020-2021 season, Tupelo Futbol Club began managing Starkville Soccer Association, opening the door for Costa to be hired as director of coaching for Starkville's competitive soccer program. In an hour-long interview with The Dispatch, Costa expressed not only his in-depth knowledge of coaching youngsters, but a pragmatism for the job he's taken on and setting ambitious but realistic goals for growing the game in northeast Mississippi. |
| SEC will 'thrive' if no CFP expansion says Greg Sankey | |
 | Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey is a proponent of expanding the College Football Playoff from the current four-team format that saw Georgia and Alabama meet in the national championship game. Sankey knows expansions gives the SEC more opportunity to get more team in the playoffs, which means more money and prestige. As much as the SEC would benefit from expansion, Sankey isn't worried about a recent breakdown in negotiations to add more teams to the playoff system. Sankey reminded reporters the SEC is the only conference that's placed at least one team in the CFP since its existence when he addressed reporters Monday at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame museum across the street from the SEC office in Birmingham. "I was sitting there watching the National Championship, and I thought they just thought I wasn't serious when I said we can leave it at four," Sankey said. "People apparently didn't take me seriously. I don't think people heard me when I said we are fine with it staying at four." Sankey noted how the Pittsburgh Panthers won the ACC last season and didn't get an opportunity to participate in the playoffs. He also mentioned how the PAC-12 hasn't had a team in the playoffs recently as reasons why expansion is necessary even though the SEC continues to have schools contending for titles. "We can stay at four. This conference will thrive at four... period," Sankey said. "That's not healthy for the rest of college football, but we can stay at four." |
| NCAA clarifies compensation rules but is crackdown likely? | |
| Eleven months after the NCAA lifted most of its restrictions against athletes cashing in on their fame, college sports leaders are trying to send a warning to schools and boosters it believes have crossed a line: There are still rules here and they will be enforced. But following last year's Supreme Court ruling against the NCAA in an antitrust case, is a crackdown on so-called collectives brokering name, image and likeness deals still likely -- or even possible? "I didn't think (the NCAA) would not try at some point," said Maddie Salamone, a sports attorney and former Duke lacrosse player. "That's why many attorneys have been kind of giving cautious advice in terms of what is and is not allowed. Especially when it comes to collectives and different NIL deals." The NCAA's Division I Board of Directors on Monday approved guidance developed by a group of college sports administrators, clarifying the types of NIL payments and booster involvement that should be considered recruiting violations. The rise of booster-funded collectives prompted the board in February to ask the DI Council to review the NCAA's interim NIL policy. The concern among many in college sports has been that payments from collectives are being made to high school recruits and to college athletes in hopes of getting them to transfer to a particular school. Should the NCAA start targeting some collectives it could trigger a new round of lawsuits against the association. |
| 3 ways SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey would fix NIL's Wild West | |
 | The answer of who has the power to clean up the mess created by various name, image and likeness interpretations is unclear. Is it the NCAA? Do conferences solve it? Is intervention from the federal government going to be required? There seem to be more questions than answers right now as reports occasionally appear of third-party NIL collectives signing college recruits to significant dollar amounts. 'Wild west' has been an applicable term for an era where the guidelines have been unclear in a world without guardrails, leading to different groups taking different liberties. "Can we put the toothpaste back in the tube? The cow back in the barn?" SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said at the Associated Press Sports Editors Southeast Region meeting at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame on Monday. "That's part of those legislative conversations. Whether I'm optimistic or predict a federal solution or not, I am appreciative of the interest and the ability to work toward something that can support national competition in a healthy way across the college athletics spectrum." Sankey alone doesn't have the power to wave a magic wand and fix the issues, but if he did, here are some of the steps he said he would take. |
| Marketing deals trickle down from NCAA to high school sports | |
| Ian Jackson and Johnuel "Boogie" Fland are among the brightest stars in the firmament of high school basketball and now have business deals to prove it. The New York City teens and friendly rivals are cashing in on their name, image and likeness through marketing contracts often referred to as NIL deals. The contracts have begun to trickle down to the high school level after the NCAA's decision last year to allow college athletes to monetize their stardom. Seven states have so far approved the deals for prep athletes. Other states, such as Ohio, continue to debate whether NILs would sully high school sports. Jackson and Fland, both of whom are ranked as top college prospects for the 2024 graduating class, are paid a percentage of sales on a merchandise company's products carrying their likeness and four-figure monthly checks to post about the brand on social media. Jackson, 16, said he is saving the money he earns from the merchandise company Spreadshop and several other deals to buy a home for his family. In Ohio, high school principals began voting May 1 on whether to change the state high school athletic association's bylaws to allow athletes to sign deals. "A lot of us here at the OHSAA and school administrators don't like NIL," said Ohio High School Athletic Association spokesperson Tim Stried. "We wish we weren't having to deal with this, but it's not going away. We can have a hand in shaping it or do what the NCAA did and fight it until otherwise." Karissa Niehoff, CEO of the National Federation of State High School Associations, said NIL rights for high school athletes could prove disruptive, but she tempered her criticism, saying, "I don't think we're going to see a lot of this." High school, Niehoff said, "is not intended to be an opportunity to earn a living, and we hope it will stay that way." |
| Top rated QB prospect Arch Manning: 'Athens is probably the best college town' | |
 | Spring practice began in New Orleans Monday and the most sought after football prospect talked to media for the first time since his basketball season ended. Arch Manning, who is the No. 1 recruit in the 2023 recruiting class, started his final spring football season at Isidore Newman. The talented quarterback talked with On3 national recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman and opened up about his recruitment, which heavily includes Georgia. "Athens is probably the best college town I've ever been to," Manning said. "I love coach Kirby (Smart) and he's a real normal guy, a great coach. Georgia, the takeaway from practice there, is that they have athletes all over the field, especially on the defensive line. They have some studs and it shows: they had 15 players drafted." Manning has visited Athens on multiple occasions, most recently in mid-March and also attended Georgia's victory against South Carolina in the fall. This spring he also visited Alabama and Texas. While those three are the expected favorites to land Manning, he's also hoping to get to Florida and LSU for visits this summer. As has been the case throughout his recruitment, Manning is taking his time with his decision. He's focused on spring practice and hasn't scheduled any official visits yet, his coach Nelson Stewart told the Athens Banner-Herald Monday. "If I was ready I'd commit right now I would, so I'm just waiting," Manning said. "I want to get through this spring with this new offense and new coaches (at Newman), so after spring I'm gonna see about the official visits." |
The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
