| Friday, May 27, 2022 |
| Alumnus offers support to advance research at Mississippi State | |
 | A commitment from Mississippi State alumnus Lamar McKay of Houston, Texas, will facilitate advanced understandings and applications of data analytics through endowment-level support for an innovative research program in the university's James Worth Bagley College of Engineering. The McKay Predictive Analytics and Technology Integration Laboratory Excellence Endowment ensures ongoing support benefitting infrastructure, personnel, travel funds and other resources necessary to sustain and grow efforts of MSU's Predictive Analytics and Technology Integration Laboratory. In addition to the excellence endowment, McKay's gift also allows for the establishment of an excellence fund to provide immediate annual support until the endowment reaches maturity. t also reinforces the Bagley College of Engineering's reputation as a leader in purpose-driven innovation for the real world. "Mississippi State University is a leader in turning data into knowledge and then using that knowledge to make intelligent decisions that can truly make a difference in a wide range of fields such as advanced manufacturing, autonomous mobility systems, health care, cybersecurity, precision agriculture, and so much more," said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. |
| How Mississippi farmers adjust when too much rain stops them from planting crops | |
 | An especially stormy spring in 2022 is making things difficult for farmers across Mississippi. Melvin Ellis, owner and operator of Mayhew Tomato Farm, says his fields were just starting to get dry before the most recent round of rain in the Golden Triangle. "I would be planting peas now if the ground was dry enough," he says. Ellis says he is about seven to 10 days behind schedule for planting peas after the rain left more mud and standing water out in his fields. He says he's had to contend with the weather several times during the past few months. "March was a wet cloudy month and it affected my strawberry crop," he says. "They need eight to 10 hours of sunshine a day and we were getting eight to 10 hours of sunshine a week." After 25 years of farming, Ellis says that a farmer's plans have to change as fast as the weather if they want to keep their shelves stocked with fresh fruit, vegetables or any crops. "If the rain's coming in, and they've got 40 acres to plant and they were only going to plant 20 that day, but it's going to rain tomorrow, they'll plant 40," Ellis says. "If they have to turn the lights on and plant till midnight." Despite the rain, Mayhew Tomato Farm says it will have tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and peaches on its shelves Saturday. |
| New businesses choose downtown Meridian | |
 | Meridian is growing in new businesses as people are investing in downtown and helping to improve the area. Two new businesses have opened on a street that's attracting a lot of people. Magnolia Soap and Revive Wellness Spa are the two new additions to downtown Meridian's 5th Street. Both buildings are located next to The Island 601. The two owners are doing their part to fuel the revitalization of downtown. "Meridian has welcomed us with open arms, and we have had a blast at Crossroads. We have had so much foot traffic and so much excitement. We've had a lot of parties at that location, but Joseph and I really love what's happening here in downtown. We love the revitalization and the rebirth. We love Dumont Plaza right here. We think it's going to be a great spot for parties and events. We love everything that's happening here on 5th Street with the Riley Center, the PA School, and all the businesses. We want to be a part of that action. So, when this spot was available, we wanted to be downtown, too," said the owner of Magnolia Soap, Courtney Golden. Golden said contributing to the local economy is vital for economic growth. This is Magnolia Soap's second location. "Joseph and I first walked past this building in this location, there were no windows, no glass, barely any trim, and where we were standing right now was dirt. We got to stand here, and we saw a vision. We saw Meridian coming back to life. We saw new construction and these old buildings that have a history and a story. We want to be a part of rebuilding that story," said Golden. |
| Amazon facility in Canton set to open this summer after 18-month delay, MCEDA confirms | |
 | It has been 18 months since Amazon announced a third fulfillment center in Mississippi, but the newest facility in Canton will open its doors on July 18. Joey Deason, the Madison County Economic Development Authority executive director, confirmed that Thursday afternoon. "We are looking forward to the start of operations in July, and they are excited to get started as well," Deason said. "They've had multiple boots on the ground, working from a management standpoint for well over a year." The 700,000 square-foot facility at the Madison County Mega Site will bring more than 1,000 full-time jobs to the area. It will function as a holding and sorting facility for many of the products Amazon sells and ships, a place where human workers will work alongside robots to fill orders and deliver packages. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the global supply chain has been thwarted, complicating shipping, spiking prices and decreasing output. Deason said he believes the onboarding process will begin the first week of June and will continue for 45 days until the beginning of operations. While the commitment is for 1,000 jobs, he said the number could jump to as many as 1,800 during the holiday season in November and December. |
| PERS continues concerning long-term trend lines | |
 | On Thursday, the Mississippi Joint Legislative PEER Committee released a report titled 2021 Update on Financial Soundness of the Public Employees' Retirement System examining the actuarial soundness, sustainability, and risk associated with the defined benefit retirement plan a majority of state, county, city, school and other public employees utilize. Mississippi state law requires an annual PEER review of the soundness of the PERS. A primary responsibility of the PERS Board is to ensure adequate funding of the plans it administers. One means of accomplishing this task is by setting contribution rates for employers participating in the plans. For assistance setting these rates, the PERS Board receives actuarial reports annually and works with its actuarial consultants to create comprehensive models that are used to project the financial position of the various plans. These models include such factors as investment return assumptions, wage inflation assumptions, retirement tables, and retiree mortality tables. The PERS plan has two metrics at green signal-light status (funded ratio and cash flow as a percentage of assets) and one metric at red signal-light status (actuarially determined contribution/fixed contribution rate). The area of concern mentioned above, specifically the actuarially determined contribution/fixed contribution rate, or ADC/FCR, that reached a red signal-light status did not trigger a contribution increase. |
| State Auditor demands former agency leader repay $3.6 million in grant money | |
 | Mississippi Auditor Shad White has demanded that Jacob Black, former deputy director for the Mississippi Department of Human Services, repay more than $2.6 million in allegedly misspent federal welfare dollars. The demand letter on Thursday stems from the sprawling investigation that White's office has launched to investigate the purported misspending of millions of dollars with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. "My team will continue the work we started over two years ago on this case, and continue working with all our state and federal partners to make sure this case is fully investigated, top to bottom," White said in a statement. The demand letter specifically alleges that Black wrongly authorized a TANF grant to the Autism Center of North Mississippi, a Tupelo-based nonprofit that provides services to children with autism spectrum disorders. Black did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and it's unclear if he has hired an attorney who can speak on his behalf. Representatives of the autism center in a statement to the Daily Journal confirmed that they received a subgrant from MDHS after submitting scope of work documentation and a budget of how they would utilize the funds. The auditor's office has not accused the autism center of any wrongdoing and has currently not asked it to repay the grant that it received. |
| Worry about stagflation, a flashback to '70s, begins to grow | |
 | Stagflation. It was the dreaded "S word" of the 1970s. For Americans of a certain age, it conjures memories of painfully long lines at gas stations, shuttered factories and President Gerald Ford's much-ridiculed "Whip Inflation Now" buttons. Stagflation is the bitterest of economic pills: High inflation mixes with a weak job market to cause a toxic brew that punishes consumers and befuddles economists. For decades, most economists didn't think such a nasty concoction was even possible. They'd long assumed that inflation would run high only when the economy was strong and unemployment low. But an unhappy confluence of events has economists reaching back to the days of disco and the bleak high-inflation, high-unemployment economy of nearly a half century ago. Few think stagflation is in sight. But as a longer-term threat, it can no longer be dismissed. Last week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen invoked the word in remarks to reporters: "The economic outlook globally," Yellen said, "is challenging and uncertain, and higher food and energy prices are having stagflationary effects, namely depressing output and spending and raising inflation all around the world." For now, economists broadly agree that the U.S. economy has enough oomph to avoid a recession. But the problems are piling up. Supply chain bottlenecks and disruptions from Russia's war against Ukraine have sent consumer prices surging at their fastest pace in decades. |
| Interest rate hikes could aid banks' profitability | |
| While consumers looking to buy homes and cars face higher payments as interest rates rise, the banking industry is hoping to improve profitability after years of lower margins due to record-low interest rates. The low interest rates have become a double edged sword: While it helped grow the economy by encouraging loans and spending, the rates also served as fuel for inflation. To curb the overheating economy, the Federal Reserve has raised a key interest rate and promises to continue raising in an effort to cool the economy. And those higher rates could benefit banks. It's not guaranteed, however. "The Fed's actions could have a positive impact on bank profitability and could be expected in normal economic conditions," said Gordon Fellows, president of the Mississippi Bankers Association. "But there are many layers of economic challenges that could limit the potential positive impact on profitability. For example, if the Fed and Congress are not able to bring inflation under control soon, or if we are faced with a recession, which I hope the Fed will be able to avoid, either of these challenges could weigh down any positive impact on profitability." Bank profitability and interest are linked, with banks typically benefiting from higher interest rates. When interest rates are higher, banks make more money by taking advantage of the difference between the interest its pay to customers and the interest it can earn by investing. |
| High crime and low salaries: Mississippi police say pay isn't enough to recruit | |
 | Crime is on the rise across Mississippi, leading local and state officials to discuss numerous solutions on how to resolve the growing rate. For Jackson specifically, those solutions include adding more district attorneys and judges to aid in diminishing the backlog of nearly 3,000 cases in the judiciary system, ramping up security at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds, as well as adding 100 more Capitol Police officers during the next legislative session. But Jackson isn't the only area in the state in need of more police officers. According to Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones and Covington County Sheriff Darrell Perkins, departments across the state struggle to recruit in part due to the low annual pay for police officers. "The pay is probably below average...for Mississippi versus some other states like Texas, California, and Florida that have a lot more money than we do in different places," Perkins explained in a recent appearance on The Gallo Show. Jones added that other states who pay more and offer better benefits have been utilizing Mississippi's low pay for officers as a way to recruit for years. "You have Texas that has come into the state, right here in the city of Jackson and recruited," Jones explained. "When I was with Jackson Police Department, I know we lost about five or six officers to the state of Washington." |
| Entergy unveils largest renewable power plant in Mississippi | |
| Entergy Mississippi announced Thursday the completion of the Sunflower Solar Station project, which is now the largest renewable energy plant in Mississippi. The Sunflower County facility, which sits on 1,000 acres in Ruleville, is slated to come online by mid-July. The plant has a 100-megawatt capacity, about twice as much as any active renewable facility in the state. The new solar project also represents a 50% increase in Mississippi's overall renewable energy capacity among its power companies. Prior to the Sunflower plant's completion, the state as a whole had about 220 megawatts of renewable capacity from eight different facilities, according to data from the Public Service Commission. The now low cost of producing solar power, as well as companies looking to incorporate renewables into their operation, are key drivers in Mississippi's transition. "There's one evolution in economic development that we're seeing, and it's a demand for renewable energy," Laura Hipp, Deputy Director of the Mississippi Development Authority, said at the announcement Thursday. "Almost half of the requests that come in for new projects, they're looking for part or all electricity from renewable sources. Whether they're headquartered here or out of state, they're asking about renewable energy." |
| 100-megawatt Sunflower solar station unveiled in Mississippi Delta | |
| Entergy unveiled Mississippi's largest solar power plant Thursday with the completion of a 100-megawatt station near Ruleville in Sunflower County. The Sunflower Solar Station in the Mississippi Delta will provide enough energy to power 16,000 homes. "It's a historic day for Entergy Mississippi, our customers and our state," Entergy Mississippi president and CEO Haley Fisackerly said prior to the unveiling. "Powering communities is the heart of our business, and this power station will do that in several ways -- by providing clean, green power to customers and a hedge against rising natural gas prices, and giving industries with renewable energy goals an incentive to locate or expand operations in our state." According to Entergy, the solar station is the first plant in what will be the largest expansion of renewable power in the state's history. Under a program called EDGE, for "Economic Development with Green Energy," the company plans to replace some aging natural gas plants with 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy over the next five years. The Sunflower Solar Station employed Mississippi vendors and construction workers. Attala Steel, based in Kosciusko, supplied 2,475 tons of steel for foundations. Additionally, A-1 Kendrick Fencing Company, based in Jackson, installed the perimeter fence. |
| Employee shortage, chicken wing prices: Jeff Good talks challenges facing restaurants | |
| Over the last week or so, Mississippi restauranteur Jeff Good has spoken to outlets such as The Washington Post and Fox News about the astronomical price of chicken wings. Good, the co-founder of three successful Jackson restaurants, says that at its peak in 2021, a 40-pound box of chicken wings was going for $175. That number has gone down slightly but not by much as a 40-pound box currently goes for as much as $150, compared to $85 in November 2020. The soaring prices from suppliers have forced Good and other restaurant owners to go up with their own wing prices. "I call it the great spring chicken wings tour," Good said during a Thursday appearance on The Gallo Show regarding the number of publications he's done interviews with as of recent. "Restaurants price our menu based on a formula. We say 'what is all of the cost input to put this on the plate for you to eat?' and we mark it up three times... But you can't charge $34, $35, $36 for a plate of wings. Our wings got up to a maximum of $27." Even though $27 for a plate of 15 wings was virtually unheard of two years ago, Good added that customers have been understanding because they too are aware of the rising inflation rates. "The funny thing is customers, while initially when this first started were a little shocked, [understood] because they go to the grocery store, because they go to the gas pump, because they see the narrative on the news, because they understand. Everyone understands the game," Good said. |
| Southern Baptists Release List of Alleged Sex Abusers | |
 | Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention published a 205-page list Thursday evening of hundreds of ministers and other church workers it described as being "credibly accused" of sexual abuse. The list's public release is one of the first definitive steps the denomination's leadership has taken in the wake of a nearly 300-page report about its handling of alleged sexual abuse over the last 20 years. The list's publication on the denomination's website was "an initial, but important, step towards addressing the scourge of sexual abuse and implementing reform in the Convention," Rolland Slade, the chairman of the denomination's executive committee, and Willie McLaurin, the committee's interim president and chief executive, said in a statement. "Our prayer is that the survivors of these heinous acts find hope and healing, and that churches will utilize this list proactively to protect and care for the most vulnerable among us." The convention is the largest Protestant denomination in the country, with almost 14 million members and more than 47,000 churches in all 50 states. The list published Thursday is a version of a document maintained for more than a decade by a staff member of the convention's executive committee, a body of 86 representatives from across the country that helps direct the convention's activities and finances. On Wednesday, the denomination announced the creation of a confidential hotline for abuse victims and others to submit allegations of abuse within the organization. |
| Senators debate red flag law grants after Texas shooting | |
 | A bipartisan group of senators trying to find 60 votes for a legislative response to recent mass shootings is honing in on a proposal to provide grants for states to implement so-called red flag laws that would allow courts to order the temporary seizure of firearms from individuals deemed a threat to themselves or others. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have teamed up on red flag law legislation in recent years but have never found enough Republican support to get the votes needed to overcome a filibuster in the Senate. Now the senators are trying again to build a bipartisan coalition after a teenager this week took guns into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and killed 19 students and two teachers. "I'm hearing a lot of positive interest from Republicans," Blumenthal said. Graham, too, said there appears to be interest from some of his GOP colleagues. Red flag laws allowing courts to impose extreme risk protection orders have already been enacted in 19 states, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, an activist group. "There are a variety of state laws. Our bill sets standards for them, so they are effective and provides incentives for adoption," Blumenthal said. Some Republicans involved in the discussions are pointing to their home state laws as good models to look at when drafting federal standards that would be tied to any grant funding. The key Republican to watch in the negotiations will be Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has deputized to take the lead in bipartisan talks with a clear directive to focus only on proposals that are directly related to gaps in the law that could've prevented the Uvalde shooting. |
| Republicans Signal Refusal of Jan. 6 Subpoenas, Setting Up a Showdown | |
| Four House Republicans including Representative Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader, signaled on Thursday that they would not cooperate with subpoenas from the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, posing a dilemma for the panel that could have broad implications for the inquiry and for Congress itself. Representatives Jim Jordan of Ohio, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Andy Biggs of Arizona each sent letters to the committee objecting to the investigation ahead of the depositions scheduled for this week, and Mr. McCarthy, of California, filed a court brief arguing the panel's subpoenas are illegitimate. The Republicans' resistance could hinder the committee's investigation, leaving unanswered questions about the deadly mob attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, that left more than 150 police officers injured. It will also likely force the panel to decide whether to pursue criminal contempt of Congress charges against the men, which could prompt a legal showdown whose outcome could set a precedent for future congressional investigations. "Your attempt to compel testimony about a colleague's deliberations pertaining to a statutorily prescribed legislative matter and an important constitutional function is a dangerous escalation of House Democrats' pursue of political vendettas," Mr. Jordan wrote to Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and chairman of the committee. A spokesman for the committee declined to comment. |
| Sen. Lindsey Graham to face Sen. Bernie Sanders in debate to boost bipartisanship | |
 | South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham will face off against fellow Sen. Bernie Sanders in the first of a series debates designed to reinvigorate the bipartisan and civil spirit of the Senate. The June 13 debate, hosted by the Washington, D.C., Bipartisan Policy Center, will be the first of three Oxford-style debates designed to "reintroduce the culture of seeking common ground and consensus that has been the essence of the Senate," the center announced in a May 25 news release. The first event will take place at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate on the University of Massachusetts Boston campus. It will be moderated by Fox News anchor Brett Baier, while an additional debate is set to take place in Washington over the summer. Participants for that debate are still pending. The third event will likely take place at the the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation's headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah -- a nod to the unlikely friendship the conservative Hatch and the liberal Kennedy shared during their time in Washington, said Steve Scully, the Bipartisan Policy Center's communications director and onetime C-SPAN anchor. "They were ideological opposites, and yet they got along," Scully said. "We went to them because they represent what we're looking for -- to have that debate, to have that argument -- and then find areas you can come together. All of this really dates back to the Hatch-Kennedy relationship." The aim of the event, Scully said, is to reinvigorate a belief in the collegial nature of the Senate. Voting data in recent decades has illustrated an increasing partisan divide in the body with legislation often falling victim to gridlock amid a near-perfect partisan split between Democrats and Republicans. |
| Supreme Court rejects red states' plea to block Biden climate metric | |
 | The Supreme Court will not torpedo the Biden administration's estimate of the social impacts of climate change, rejecting on Thursday a request from Louisiana and other Republican-controlled states to block agencies from using the metric in rulemakings and other decisions. The decision means the White House can move forward with its plans to overhaul and likely significantly increase the number known as the social cost of carbon -- a dollar value assigned to future damages from climate change. The current value is $51 for each ton of greenhouse gases spewed into the atmosphere, but experts believe it should be raised to as much as four times that amount. In a brief order issued on Thursday, the court sided with the Biden administration, rejecting without explanation Louisiana's emergency motion. There were no noted dissents. The litigation continues to play out before the 5th Circuit. But that court's strongly worded temporary stay of Cain's injunction, along with the lack of interest from the en banc court or Supreme Court, doesn't bode well for Louisiana's case. The Supreme Court's refusal to get involved in the Louisiana suit likely is a bad sign for a similar but separate legal action led by Missouri and other states. In Missouri's case, a district court judge tossed the lawsuit last year after finding the states lacked standing, much like the 5th Circuit concluded about Louisiana. |
| Blinken Says U.S to Rely on Alliances, Trade and Investment to Counter China | |
 | The U.S. will bolster domestic investment and strengthen collaboration with foreign partners, advancing a vision of an inclusive, transparent international order that stands in contrast to China's approach, the country's top diplomat said Thursday. In a speech at George Washington University that laid out the Biden administration's China policy, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that even as Russia wages war in Ukraine, China poses "the most serious long-term challenge to the international order." "China is the only country with both the intent to reshape the international order -- and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it," Mr. Blinken said. "Beijing's vision would move us away from the universal values that have sustained so much of the world's progress over the past 75 years." The U.S. strategy, Mr. Blinken said, could be described "in three words: invest, align, compete." He said the Biden administration was investing in research, domestic infrastructure and education, noting the U.S. no longer ranks among the top countries for research and development as a proportion of the economy while China has surged toward the top. The chief U.S. diplomat acknowledged Washington's limited ability to alter Beijing's behavior and said the administration will focus instead on the environment in which it operates. "We do not seek to transform China's political system," he said. "Our task is to prove once again that democracy can meet urgent challenges, create opportunity, advance human dignity. That the future belongs to those who believe in freedom, and that all countries will be free to chart their own paths without coercion." |
| Dominant coronavirus mutant contains ghost of pandemic past | |
| The coronavirus mutant that is now dominant in the United States is a member of the omicron family but scientists say it spreads faster than its omicron predecessors, is adept at escaping immunity and might possibly cause more serious disease. Why? Because it combines properties of both omicron and delta, the nation's dominant variant in the middle of last year. A genetic trait that harkens back to the pandemic's past, known as a "delta mutation," appears to allow the virus "to escape pre-existing immunity from vaccination and prior infection, especially if you were infected in the omicron wave," said Dr. Wesley Long, a pathologist at Houston Methodist in Texas. That's because the original omicron strain that swept the world didn't have the mutation. The omicron "subvariant" gaining ground in the U.S. -- known as BA.2.12.1 and responsible for 58% of U.S. COVID-19 cases last week -- isn't the only one affected by the delta mutation. The genetic change is also present in the omicron relatives that together dominate in South Africa, known as BA.4 and BA.5. Those have exactly the same mutation as delta, while BA.2.12.1 has one that's nearly identical. This genetic change is bad news for people who caught the original omicron and thought that made them unlikely to get COVID-19 again soon. Although most people don't know for sure which variant caused their illness, the original omicron caused a giant wave of cases late last year and early this year. |
| Cross-pollination: Minister, former Ole Miss professor says there's beauty in blending cultures | |
| Douglas "Doug" Sullivan-Gonzalez is a born teacher with the gift of breaking complex issues down into manageable pieces. Issues like immigration, for instance. Tall, jolly, laid-back and warm, the 65-year-old Chattanooga native is a history professor, former dean of the Honors College at Ole Miss, and an ordained Presbyterian (PCUSA) minister. When it comes to the often polarizing question of immigration, Sullivan-Gonzalez said scripture provides a roadmap. "The Old Testament is rich with encounters of foreigners and strangers who turn out to be agents of God," he said. "And in the New Testament story of the Good Samaritan, it's a foreigner who becomes the representative of hospitality, not the in-house scholar or priest." With an estimated 80 million immigrants on the move worldwide, Sullivan-Gonzalez said the question of how to respond to them is more salient than ever. "Remember how people opened their doors to refugees after Katrina? That's what's demanded now, on a worldwide scale," he said. "Follow Jesus; search your heart. Ask yourself, 'Since I've been liberated from the bondage of sin, what is demanded of me?'" Sullivan-Gonzalez has earned the right to speak on this issue. He has studied Central America since 1976. He met his wife, Maribel, while teaching in Nicaragua, and earned a Ph.D. in Central American history from the University of Texas before coming to the University of Mississippi in 1993. "I'm interested in how the church -- Evangelical, Protestant, Pentecostal, and Catholic -- understands its responsibilities in difficult times," he said. "The fundamental question is from the story of Cain and Abel: Am I my brother's keeper?" Sullivan-Gonzalez's own answer to that troubling question is a resounding, but guarded, "yes." |
| Alcorn State and Copiah-Lincoln Community College announce new student transfer agreement | |
 | Alcorn State University and Copiah-Lincoln Community College have entered into an articulation agreement that will allow students who complete specific associate degree requirements to receive guaranteed admission to Alcorn's four-year degree programs. The presidents of the two institutions signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday in the Howell Garner Building on Co-Lin's campus, according to a news release. The agreement covers the following majors: nursing, social work, education, chemistry, math, computer science, and business with an opportunity for future expansion of program offerings. "We are extremely excited to continue to grow our long-standing relationship with Co-Lin Community College," said Dr. Felecia M. Nave, president of Alcorn State University. "It is important to remove barriers that may hinder students' access to college. This agreement allows our local students to seamlessly transition from a two-year degree to a four-year degree program. We want to make it as easy as possible to ensure students can continue their educational journey." Each institution continues to break barriers of access for anyone who desires a higher education, school officials stated in the release. Scholarship opportunities are also available for students participating in the joint program. |
| Former Meridian administrator named interim state superintendent | |
 | On Thursday, the Mississippi State Board of Education announced Kim Benton as the interim state superintendent following the retirement of State Superintendent Carey Wright on June 30. Benton currently serves as the interim chief academic officer, a position she previously held for six years before retiring from the agency in 2018. She has worked in public education in Mississippi for 40 years as a teacher's assistant, teacher, principal, and executive director of special populations and federal programs in the Meridian Public School District. "Dr. Benton has worked alongside Dr. Wright during most of her tenure and has been instrumental in helping to lead the state's successful education reform efforts," said Rosemary Aultman, chair of the State Board of Education. "The Board is confident Dr. Benton will continue the progress we have made in public education over the past decade as we begin the search for a permanent state superintendent." The Board also announced the formation of the superintendent search subcommittee, which will be responsible for reviewing proposals from consulting firms to lead the search for the new superintendent. The formal call for proposals will be issued on June 1, and a consulting firm will be selected by July 1 and begin interviewing candidates in the fall. |
| Mississippi: reading test almost at pre-pandemic pass rate | |
| A preliminary snapshot of 3rd graders' literacy proficiency in Mississippi shows a passing rate nearly the same as before the COVID-19 pandemic, the state education superintendent said Thursday. "The hard work of teachers, students and parents to overcome academic setbacks caused by the pandemic is paying off. ... I celebrate this accomplishment and acknowledge there's more work to be done," Carey Wright said in a news release. The statement said 73.9% of 31,068 students passed the test for the 2021-22 school year. That's compared to 74.5% in 2019, the last normal school year, when 34,998 students took the initial test. State law requires Mississippi 3rd graders to pass a reading assessment to qualify for promotion to the 4th grade. Third-grade students who do not pass at first can get two more tries. After the final retest in 2019, 85.16% of 3rd graders passed. Students did not test in 2020 because of the pandemic. The test was given in 2021, but the passing requirement was waived so no retests were administered, the Mississippi Department of Education said in a news release. |
| A student racked up sexual assault reports at LSU, UL, La Tech. A lawsuit blames the colleges. | |
 | After six women accused a student who cycled through LSU, UL Lafayette and Louisiana Tech of sexual assault between 2014 and 2018, one of them sued those universities Wednesday, alleging that her rape would have been prevented had the institutions followed state law and communicated with one another. The plaintiff, "Jane Doe," named the boards of supervisors for the University of Louisiana System, LSU and Lafayette Parish consolidated government as defendants. Each institution received reports of sexual assaults involving the same student as he attended LSU in 2014, transferred to UL Lafayette in 2015, transferred to Louisiana Tech in 2018 and then transferred back to UL Lafayette in 2019, where he graduated in 2020. But the lawsuit says that the accused student, Victor Daniel Silva, should not have been allowed to bounce between universities, given the sexual misconduct allegations that were piling up against him. Silva was arrested in 2015 in East Baton Rouge Parish on a count of second degree rape, but he hasn't been charged or convicted, despite reports made against him in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Ruston. Silva is not named as a defendant in the suit. A spokesperson for LSU declined to comment on pending litigation. |
| U. of Arkansas gets OK to lift projects' budgets; research facility to cost $137.6M | |
| Trustees on Thursday approved an increased project budget of $137.6 million for an under-construction research facility already described as the most costly academic building ever at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. The 10-member University of Arkansas board of trustees also approved a revised price tag of $33.5 million -- double that of a March 2020 estimate -- for a separate "aspirational" project showcasing wood design that a UA official said Thursday had previously been priced as if it were a more simple building. Rising construction expenses, along with design considerations, led to increased cost estimates for both the Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research and also the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation, said Scott Turley, UA's associate vice chancellor for facilities, during Thursday's board meeting held in Batesville. Both projects have millions in support from donors -- and fundraising continues -- but the extra costs may also require more university dollars to go toward the construction efforts, according to board documents. The Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research, often referred to by the university as I3R, is envisioned as a hub for some 30 faculty researchers working in collaboration across academic disciplines, according to past project descriptions. Costs are rising about 21% from a previous estimate of $114 million presented to trustees in November 2020. Turley said that the earlier estimate called for a third level with "shelled out" -- meaning unfinished -- laboratories, before UA began pursuing an "opportunity to potentially get some private funding to complete that space." |
| College enrollment dips in Georgia, report shows | |
| The number of undergraduate college students in Georgia declined slightly this spring, according to a new report. There were nearly 467,000 students in the state's public and private colleges and universities during the spring semester, a 1.4% decline from last year, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center said in a report released Thursday. Enrollment declined nationwide by more than 662,000 students, or 4.7%, from spring 2021, according to the report. "College enrollment declines appear to be worsening," said Doug Shapiro, the center's executive director. "Although there may be some signs of a nascent recovery, particularly in a slight increase of first-year students, the numbers are small, and it remains to be seen whether they will translate into a larger freshman recovery in the coming fall." In Georgia, the largest decrease was at two-year public colleges, where enrollment declined by more than 13% to about 103,000 students, the report found. Several University System of Georgia schools that focus on offering two-year associate degrees have seen enrollment drops in recent years. While enrollment dropped by less than 1% systemwide, the decline was more than 7% in its two-year state colleges, according to University System data. |
| UF's Innovation Square files lawsuit against developer for breach of contract | |
 | The University of Florida Development Corporation, the owner of Innovation Square, has filed a lawsuit seeking more than $500,000 in damages from a developer for defaulting on a series of deadlines as outlined in a purchase agreement. According to the lawsuit, Innovation Square LLC and TBG Innovation Square LLC, a subsidiary of TBG Land, entered into a purchase agreement in August 2015 for $1.29 million for about an acre of land at the corner of University Avenue and Southwest Eight Street in Gainesville. Innovation Square, often referred to as the Innovation District, is an urban tech and business district located between the University of Florida and downtown Gainesville. Its website states it's home to more than 80 businesses with six available office buildings. Under the agreement, TBG would build an upscale, seven-story development with the top five floors designed for residential apartments and the bottom two floors for parking and retail. The lawsuit states that "TBG has made virtually no effort at all" to begin or complete the project. |
| Texas A&M University System and AT&T launch 5G research testbeds on RELLIS Campus | |
 | The Texas A&M University System and AT&T officially launched 5G technology research testbeds on the RELLIS Campus on Thursday after five demonstrations showcased how 5G can help power innovations and support defense, public safety, transportation, energy, industry and agriculture applications. The research testbeds will be located on the RELLS Campus and serve as one of the large-scale testing and evaluation sites for five of the Department of Defense's eleven modernization priorities: hypersonic, artificial intelligence, autonomy, cyber security and directed energy, according to Kelly Templin, RELLIS Campus director. "This is the latest in the series of unique developments here in RELLIS. The 5G Research testbed joins the center for infrastructure renewal and TTI world headquarters, the Academic Alliance, the Bush Combat Development Complex, the Innovation Proving Ground, and soon the Ballistic, Aero-Optics and Materials Facility where we will test devices up to 15 times the speed of sound," he said. John Sharp, chancellor of The Texas A&M University System, "christened" one of the 5G towers on site with a bottle of champagne. He said he was excited about the infinite possibilities the 5G research testbeds will have. "This is going to be RELLIS 2.0," he said. |
| Notre Dame faces new questions about professor | |
 | Both the University of Notre Dame and John Gaski, an associate professor of marketing there, expressed regret last week that an article Gaski wrote on interracial violence was cited in the Buffalo, N.Y., mass shooting suspect's racist screed. In short, separate statements, both Gaski and Joel Curran, a Notre Dame spokesperson, noted the publication year of Gaski's article: 2013. This effectively, if not intentionally, created years of distance between Gaski's statements and this month's apparent hate crime. Yet Gaski published a version of the article just last year in The Indiana Policy Review. Gaski's 2013 essay, published in Investor's Business Daily, attempted to present "inconvenient facts" about racial violence following the then-recent trial of Trayvon Martin's killer, George Zimmerman. The 2021 article recycles the same "inconvenient truths," but its point of departure is the racial reckoning that followed George Floyd's 2020 murder. "It took zero lag time after the Floyd incident for opportunists of the racial victimhood industry to accuse our country of engendering a climate of racist danger for black citizens," Gaski wrote in his 2021 piece, called "An Anti-Racist Manifesto: On Race, Police, Fake News and Some Inconvenient Truths." "This qualifies not only as substantively wrong but anti-American slander of the first magnitude because the facts are to the contrary -- whether anyone still cares to know them or not." Dennis Brown, university spokesperson, said Thursday that Notre Dame wasn't previously aware of the 2021 article, "to my knowledge." Separately, The South Bend Tribune reported this week that following the Buffalo shooting, Notre Dame removed from its website an older announcement about Gaski and his parents pledging much of their respective estates to the university, to endow a professorship in marketing science in their names. |
| What the Fight Between a Horse and a Cow Reveals About How Students See Their University | |
 | It all started when Mick Hashimoto arrived at the University of California at Davis for freshman orientation and smelled cows. Hailing from a bustling city just outside of Denver, Hashimoto remembers being immediately struck by the strong stench rolling in from the UC-Davis Dairy, an on-campus animal facility that houses around 300 cows. But as the year went on, what started as a somewhat undesirable campus quirk shifted to a point of pride for Hashimoto. The connection between the cows and the university's agricultural roots resonated with him. "I decided, OK, well, it's part of it," Hashimoto said. "I think coming into orientation, or just coming into the first week of school, you're really next to the cow and you're like, 'Wow, this is the No. 1 agricultural school.' It makes me proud in the sense that this is what UC-Davis is known for, and it's great to be No. 1 in something." That's why Hashimoto, now a junior double-majoring in economics and statistics, started a movement -- or MOOvement, as he likes to say -- to change the university's mascot, from Gunrock the Mustang to Aggie the Cow. He wants the campus community to be proud of UC-Davis and its agricultural origins, and he wants to galvanize school spirit. UC-Davis's student government held a referendum this month on the possibility of changing the mascot. Just 12 percent of the student body voted, but the outcome was decisive: More than 70 percent of those who voted were pro-cow. Frank Mitloehner, a professor and air-quality specialist in the university's animal-science department, said he was surprised to learn the students' proposal had gained so much support. But Mitloehner feels that embracing the cow would make sense from a historical perspective. And students' enthusiasm for the change, he said, might say something about their values. |
| With helium in short supply, scientists are worried | |
| In the basement of the University of New Mexico's chemistry building, Karen Smith punched in the code to get into the lab she manages. Inside, three white cylinders on blue legs that looked sort of like nine-foot-tall cousins of R2-D2 were humming away. "You're going to want to stay fairly close to the door," Smith said, in case the powerful magnets inside those instruments could mess with my recording equipment. "These magnets are donuts of wire. And because they're sitting in liquid helium, they've got a lot of electricity running through them which means they can generate very strong magnetic fields," Smith said. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometers, or NMRs, help researchers determine the molecular structure of everything from new medicines to building materials. Liquid helium is the only substance on earth that can keep the magnets as cold as they need to be: 450º below zero. Another thing that's unique about helium is that it's extremely light. So, when it evaporates out of these instruments, it disappears into the atmosphere forever. And lately, replacing it isn't easy. Disruptions at helium processing plants in the U.S. and around the world have left a number of industries competing for a limited supply: healthcare, tech and manufacturing to name a few. Scientists, who use helium to keep their cryogenic instruments cold and their research balloons afloat, are at the back of the line. "We've been really lucky so far," Smith said, knocking on the wooden doorframe. Other labs have been much worse off, including the NMR facility at Oklahoma State University. "When I first heard that we were going to get 65% of what we normally buy, I just said 'This is not going to work,'" said Margaret Eastman, who manages that facility. "Getting a fraction of what you normally use, it's just not possible to maintain your magnets." |
| Biden to address Naval grads amid Texas, Ukraine backdrop | |
| President Joe Biden is set to address graduates at the United States Naval Academy Friday amid turbulence abroad with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and tragedy at home after two mass shootings in as many weeks. Biden's remarks to the more than 1,000 newly commissioned ensigns and second lieutenants at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, will be his first commencement address of the year. He is also set to deliver remarks at Saturday's graduation ceremony at the University of Delaware, his alma mater. On Sunday, the president will visit Uvalde, Texas to console grieving families after Tuesday's shooting at an elementary school that killed 19 children and two teachers. |
| Latest White House plan would forgive $10,000 in student debt per borrower | |
 | White House officials are currently planning to cancel $10,000 in student debt per borrower, after months of internal deliberations over how to structure loan forgiveness for tens of millions of Americans, three people with knowledge of the matter said. President Biden had hoped to make the announcement as soon as this weekend at the University of Delaware commencement, the people said, but that timing has changed after the massacre Tuesday in Texas. The White House's latest plans called for limiting debt forgiveness to Americans who earned less than $150,000 in the previous year, or less than $300,000 for married couples filing jointly, two of the people said. It was unclear whether the administration will simultaneously require interest and payments to resume at the end of August, when the current pause is scheduled to lapse. The people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the deliberations, cautioned that some details of these plans could change before the White House makes the decision official. The likely decision follows months of uncertainty over the fate of student debt for tens of millions of Americans, with Biden at times sounding skeptical of canceling loans but under pressure from his collapsing approval ratings among young voters ahead of November's elections. The decision will also ignite new fights between Democrats and Republicans over federal spending and could prove to be a defining issue on the campaign trail, as GOP lawmakers have already said the idea amounts to wasteful spending that primarily benefits affluent college-educated professionals. |
| Debt relief has public support, but will that be enough? | |
| The political debate over whether President Biden should move to cancel some or all of the $1.7 trillion in student loan debt currently owed to the federal government is largely focused on perceptions of the role the government should take in making higher education affordable and accessible. Although the debate is sharply divided among party lines in Congress, public perception has largely shifted in recent years. Currently, one in five voters is in support of broad-based cancellation. Younger voters, however, are an outlier. Existing in a world of skyrocketing tuition rates, record inflation, stagnant wages and increasing need for a college degree, 71 percent of voters under the age of 34 support some form of loan cancellation, including a majority -- 56 percent -- of young Republican voters, according to a 2022 survey. The heightened attention to the federal role in higher education is new, according to higher education experts, and follows a rapid shift in public opinion that the government should take a stronger role in helping students cover the costs of college. This shift, followed by presumed economic gains related to Biden's impending decision on student debt, could serve as a catalyst for a stronger federal role in addressing the high costs of college. The shift in public opinion informing the debt relief debate is largely informed by a greater understanding of the impacts of debt, financial struggles in the face of the changing global economy and recent changes in the role the federal government has taken to address financial struggle, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State Hosts Arizona In Starkville Super Regional | |
| History will be made on Friday morning when No. 13 Mississippi State hosts No. 16 Arizona in the first NCAA Softball Super Regional ever played on Mississippi soil. The Bulldogs won the Tallahassee Regional by surviving four consecutive elimination games in just over 25 hours. The Bulldogs won consecutive games against No. 2 Florida State, marking the first time a No. 1 or No. 2 national seed has been eliminated in the regional round. "We're just super excited and really honored to host this weekend and host the first ever Super Regional in Starkville for our softball program," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. Mississippi State has expanded the outfield decking at Nusz Park, and the outfield parking lot has been converted into a standing room only plaza. All reserved seating tickets have been sold out. Remaining standing room only passes for the weekend went on sale at 3 p.m. CT on Thursday and will remain on sale while supplies last. "We're looking forward to a great crowd. Everyone here at Mississippi State has really been working hard and long hours to make this happen," Ricketts added. "We're so excited to see what's going on in the outfield and all around to accommodate as many people as we can for this weekend's games. [Our alumni] have been back for alumni weekends and unofficial alumni weekends. We'll have a big crowd for them again. They really have been a big part of building this program, trusting these coaches and buying into what Mississippi State softball is all about. I think they've really laid the foundation for this group." |
| 'We're ready to play': Mississippi State softball raring to face Arizona in first-ever Super Regional | |
 | Paige Cook and Annie Willis began to nod as coach Samantha Ricketts finished her sentence at Thursday's press conference. The pair of Mississippi State players knew exactly why Ricketts saw a similarity between Arizona and the 2021 Bulldogs. "When you look at them and what they did -- particularly in Pac-12 play, starting 0-8 and then going on the run like they did -- it reminds me of our team last year," Ricketts said of the Wildcats. Mississippi State started 0-13 in Southeastern Conference play a season ago but won its final seven conference games to finish with an 8-15 SEC mark. The Bulldogs won their first-round conference tournament game and reached the regional final before Oklahoma State knocked them out. n Arizona, Ricketts sees the same fight -- and even more success. The Wildcats wound up with an 8-16 Pac-12 record before going to No. 15 overall seed Missouri and winning the Columbia Regional. "I know the grittiness and the determination it takes to turn it around when nothing's going your way and you're in that 0-8 or 0-13 hole in conference play," Ricketts said. "I'm excited. I think it's going to be two hard-nosed, gritty teams going out there and competing, giving it their best, and we're excited to get on the field with them." Arizona's two victories over the Tigers and MSU's two upsets of No. 2 Florida State set up an unlikely Super Regional at Nusz Park. The best-of-three series begins at 11 a.m. Friday; Game 2 is at 3 p.m. Saturday, and no time has been announced for a potential winner-take-all Game 3. With a victory, Mississippi State would advance to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. The Bulldogs would be one of just three teams to qualify for a WCWS without ever hosting an NCAA regional. |
| Bulldogs hope to keep on making history as super regional hosts | |
| Workers got their stencils and their measurements. It was time to apply "2022" to the list of regional appearances to the left field wall at Nusz Park. Now Mississippi State softball can add a first -- a regional championship and a super regional berth. The Bulldogs take on Arizona on Friday at 11 a.m. It matches up two programs with a combined 18 wins in 48 combined conference games this season, yet are now on a roll. Game 2 is Saturday at 3. If necessary, a third game will be Sunday at a time to be announced. Friday and Saturday games will air on ESPNU. Arizona finished tied for last with California in the Pac-12 regular season, MSU 11th in the SEC. But they got hot in the regionals. The Wildcats (36-20) zipped through the Columbia Regional without a loss – defeating Illinois once and SEC host Missouri twice. Arizona didn't allow a run to Missouri, winning 2-0 and 1-0. Mississippi State (37-25) came out of the loser's bracket in Tallahassee to defeat No. 2 national seed Florida State twice last Sunday 5-0 and 4-3. MSU pitcher Annie Willis envisioned this day when there were still no tangible super regional appearances listed on the outfield wall. "From the first day I stepped on campus this was something that was talked about, the first team meeting," she said. "It's unreal, but it's so awesome to be part of." |
| Samantha Ricketts: Three things to know about the Mississippi State softball coach | |
| A roar came from the crowd outside Nusz Park on Monday as Samantha Ricketts exited the bus. Fans gathered in anticipation of Mississippi State's return after winning its first regional title Sunday. And as the coach stepped off bus and onto the maroon carpet leading into the ballpark, the ring of cowbells echoed along with the cheers of the crowds. Ricketts has accomplished what she set out to do, and the fans know it. Mississippi State (37-25) is hosting postseason play this weekend as Arizona (36-20) comes to Starkville for super regionals. Here's what you need to know about Ricketts. Oklahoma has one of the NCAA's most storied softball programs. Ricketts knows what it takes to reach that level because she was part of it. She spent four years there and graduated as the program's leader in career home runs (48) and RBIs (239). She ranked third in extra-base hits (97), total bases (444), slugging percentage (.645) and on-base percentage (.461). Ricketts has had Mississippi State so close for so long. The Bulldogs had never been to a regional before 2000 but have made 17 since – including two straight under Ricketts. Mississippi State made a regional in each of Vann Steudeman's final three seasons at the helm before Ricketts was promoted from assistant head coach. She immediately took MSU to new heights, leading the team to a 25-3 record before the 2020 season was shut down because of COVID-19. Ricketts expected Mississippi State to be in the postseason facing teams such as No. 2 Florida State and Arizona. So, she made sure her nonconference schedule reflected that. |
| Annie Willis: Three things to know about the Mississippi State softball pitcher | |
| Annie Willis' arms starting swirling like a windmill. The Mississippi State pitcher had never been in this moment, so it's likely she wasn't sure how to celebrate it. But as she delivered the final pitch of Mississippi State's regional win that resulted in a soft line drive to third base, the celebration ensued. The Bulldogs, for the first time, were set to host a super regional thanks to her performance on the mound. Here are three things to know about Willis before MSU takes on Arizona. Willis had tough outings for the Bulldogs this season, but she has maintained a 2.44 ERA in 126⅓ innings pitched with 136 strikeouts and a 9-8 record. She allowed seven runs in four innings May 6 against LSU. In an SEC Tournament loss against Tennessee, she allowed just one run but gave up six walks in 4 2/3 innings. When regional play started, Willis brought her best. She pitched 16 innings in three games and allowed one run. Willis joined Mississippi State in 2020 after two seasons at Troy. She was the 2018 Sun Belt freshman of the year and a first team All-Sun Belt selection after posting a 2.57 ERA and 17-9 record. Minutes before State's regional loss Friday against South Florida, Willis was drafted by the Smash It Sports Vipers with the seventh pick in the inaugural Women's Professional Fastpitch Draft. She became the 13th draft pick in program history and the second this month behind catcher Mia Davidson (Athletes Unlimited College Draft). |
| Mia Davidson: Three things to know about Mississippi State softball catcher, SEC home run leader | |
| Mississippi State softball is hosting a super regional, and Mia Davidson is a big reason why. The fifth-year catcher has been a cornerstone in the program as it finally gets over the hump of winning a regional title. But the Bulldogs don't want the run to end in Starkville. If Mississippi State is going to advance to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Davidson will have something to do with it. Here's what you need to know about her before Mississippi State plays Arizona. Davidson's 22 home runs rank eighth in the nation, but none was more memorable than her two-run shot Feb. 18 against Central Arkansas. The blast was relatively inconsequential, giving Mississippi State an 8-2 lead in a game it won by run-rule. But for Davidson, it was a home run that gave her the crown. Davidson is part of a senior class that gets an added run of home games expected to be sold out. Thirteen of her home runs have come at Nusz Park this season as well as 51 in her career. Davidson -- a native of Hillsborough, North Carolina -- has made Starkville home but didn't expect to play in front of a home crowd when postseason play began. She went through the Senior Day ceremonies in a May 8 win against LSU but left with the likelihood of MSU not hosting a regional. Mississippi State didn't, but 3-seed Arizona upset Missouri in its regional to give the 2-seeded Bulldogs a chance to return home. |
| Chloe Malau'ulu: Three things to know about the Mississippi State softball outfielder | |
| A glimpse of what Chloe Malau'ulu could become for Mississippi State softball was evident in the shortened 2020 season. The Long Beach, California, native collected no hits in seven at-bats her freshman year of 2019, but she wasted no time as a sophomore. In 27 games, she hit .342 with three home runs before COVID-19 canceled the remainder of the season. Since then she has become a cornerstone in Mississippi State's ascent to super regional hosts. Here are three things to know about the outfielder. Malau'ulu has delivered numerous big hits, none bigger than her single Sunday. She stepped up to the plate with MSU trailing 3-2 in the fifth inning of a winner-take-all game at No. 2 Florida State. Her base hit up the middle scored two, giving Mississippi State a lead it wouldn't surrender. She has been with the Bulldogs in their previous two regional final losses, so she knew the weight she could help lift off a program which had never been to a super regional. But she says when she stepped up to the plate, or throughout the game, the pressure never crossed her mind. Malau'ulu went 2-for-3 in a March 2 win against Mississippi Valley State. It boosted her batting average from .288 to .309, and has remained above .300 since. For the offensive power she adds, perhaps Malau'ulu's biggest contribution comes defensively. She was named to the All-SEC defensive team last season as a right fielder, though most of her games came in left. |
| 'It's become fun': Arizona not feeling pressure ahead of Friday morning's Super Regionals | |
| Midway through their softball season, the Arizona Wildcats felt like they were playing catch-up. Not just in the standings, but with themselves, too. "We played a lot of home games at the beginning of the year," Arizona coach Caitlin Lowe said. "We didn't get to bond as a team." At home, UA players are often separate from each other -- especially on days they have class before a game -- until they arrive at the stadium. It's not until they depart Tucson for a weekend that the players get to slow down and enjoy each other's company. Such has been the case the last two weeks. The Cats traveled to Columbia, Missouri, for the NCAA Regionals; after winning Sunday, they traveled straight to Starkville, Mississippi, for the best-of-three Super Regionals. Game 1 is scheduled for Friday at 9 a.m. "Now we're getting to hang out together, eat meals together," Lowe said. "They're going to a movie and getting to hang out away from the softball field." The tight-knit Cats are two wins away from a third straight Women's College World Series appearance. Said Lowe: "It's become fun." Part of that fun has been embracing the underdog mentality. Not many expected Arizona to make the playoffs after finishing last in the Pac-12. Even fewer figured the Wildcats would emerge from a four-team regional that included No. 15 Mizzou as well as Illinois and Missouri State. "It's super unusual for Arizona to be the underdog, and that took so much pressure off," UA second baseman Allie Skaggs said. "I feel like we're playing super loose; we have nothing to lose at this point. We've made it farther than I think a lot of us thought we were." |
| 'Let's do this right': New indoor facility for Mississippi State softball set to open in 2023 | |
| Annie Willis will never get to take advantage of the Mississippi State softball team's new indoor facility. But the Bulldogs' ace pitcher -- in her final year of college softball at MSU -- is still glad to know the school is making an investment in the program. "It's amazing to see, even though I may not get to play in it," Willis said Thursday. She won't, as the new facility won't open until the summer of 2023. Construction will begin in June -- after Mississippi State hosts an NCAA Super Regional this Friday to Sunday against Arizona. But when the new 12,000-square-foot, $7 million building finally opens, it will have "everything possible that we need," coach Samantha Ricketts said Thursday. Team meeting rooms, a nutrition station, a locker room, a training room, a film room and an equipment room will all be under one roof. It'll save the Bulldogs from having to visit various locations on campus. The new facility will contain "everything right now that we don't have on site, that we're having to kind of walk around campus to get to," Ricketts said. "One stop for softball and softball only." Ricketts said the new facility is a way for her and the Bulldogs' coaching staff to boost recruiting. Again, the brand-new building won't open for another full season -- MSU will play in 2023 while construction is in progress -- but Wednesday's announcement alone could be enough. "It's another way for us to continue to show recruits that they can come to Mississippi State and be great in this environment and with these facilities and this administration that's really going to buy into this program," Ricketts said. |
| SEC Network airing Mississippi State baseball national championship documentary in June | |
| The SEC Network is giving Mississippi State baseball fans a way to cope after a losing season. The network is airing an hour-long documentary at 6 p.m. on June 14 highlighting the 2021 national championship run. The film, titled "Banner Year: The Story of Mississippi State's First National Title," features interviews with some of the most recognizable faces in school history while delving into the moments that made the title special. It started ahead of Game 3 between Mississippi State and Vanderbilt in last season's championship series. Feature producer Damien Esparza sent a crew to Starkville knowing if State pulled out the win, he'd want footage of the reaction 800 miles from Omaha, Nebraska. "I did want to see Mississippi State pull it out just because it was such a unique story to be able to tell," Esparza said. From there, a culmination of months to portray MSU's victory began. Esparza and his staff interviewed Mississippi State notables -- ranging from baseball legends such as Ron Polk, Tanner Allen and Will Bednar to the likes of quarterback Dak Prescott and women's basketball guard Victoria Vivians. The goal to Esparza was simple, and he hopes Mississippi State fans walk away from the documentary with it in mind. He wanted to portray the agony so many Bulldogs fans have felt before reaching pure joy. |
| Kickoff time, TV channel released for first three Mississippi State football games, Egg Bowl | |
| Mississippi State's 2022 football schedule got a lot clearer Thursday with the announcement of kickoff times for its first three games this season as well as the Egg Bowl rivalry game with Ole Miss. The school also announced that its Nov. 19 matchup with East Tennessee State would be shown on either ESPN+ or SEC Network Plus. The Bulldogs' season opener against Memphis will kick off at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 3. The game will be televised on ESPNU. On Sept. 10, Mississippi State will travel to Tucson to face the Arizona Wildcats. That contest will kick off at 10 p.m. Central on Fox Sports 1. The Bulldogs' first Southeastern Conference game will begin at 5 p.m. Sept. 17 at LSU and will be televised on ESPN. Once again, MSU's game against Ole Miss to close out the regular season will be played on Thanksgiving Day. The contest is set for a 6 p.m. kickoff on ESPN from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford. Kickoff times for the rest of the Bulldogs' conference games, as well as nonconference contests with Bowling Green and ETSU, have yet to be revealed. |
| Another Thanksgiving Egg Bowl will kick at 6 on ESPN | |
| The 2022 Egg Bowl will kick off at 6 p.m. on Nov. 24, Thanksgiving night, and will air on ESPN once again. The game will be played at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford. Ole Miss and Mississippi State on Thursday released the details for their annual rivalry as well as other early-season games. Mississippi State will open the season Sept. 3 at home against Memphis and will kick at 6:30 p.m. for an ESPNU telecast. The Bulldogs will kickoff at 10 p.m. central time when they play at Arizona on Sept. 10. The game will air on FS1. MSU and LSU in Week 3 in Baton Rouge will begin at 5 on ESPN. Ole Miss will open at home against Troy in a 3 p.m. kick on The SEC Network. The Rebels will host Central Arkansas on Sept. 10 and will kick at 6:30. The game will be live-streamed but not televised. The Rebels' first road game will be Sept. 17 at Georgia Tech. It's a 2:30 kick in Atlanta, and the game will air on ABC. |
| Harsin, Aranda, others weigh in on college football's NIL debate | |
 | The debate over Name, Image and Likeness and its implications in recruiting is raging throughout college football these days, and some of the biggest names in the sport addressed the issue on Thursday night in Mobile. Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin, Baylor head coach Dave Aranda, high-profile assistants Lance Taylor (Louisville) and Major Applewhite (South Alabama) and former head coach David Cutcliffe gave their thoughts on NIL during a session with reporters prior to the 28th Annual DEX Imaging L'Arche Football Preview event at Spring Hill College. Harsin said many in college football have lost sight of the intention of NIL legislation, which began as a way for established college athletes to capitalize on newly won fame but has quickly become part of many schools' recruiting strategy. "Did it start like this? No," Harsin said. "Is this where we are right now? Yes, but nobody really even knows what that means. ... And at the end of the day, it's all about the players. I think we're losing the whole concept of what college athletics is all about. "... Obviously, there's money involved and there's opportunities, which -- if done right -- all make the experience for them even better. And that's really what college should be. It's not a career. It's an experience that they get to have. And you hope at the end of that experience, if you, when you ask them, would you do this again? They'd say yes." |
| UGA president Jere Morehead on NIL, AD Josh Brooks on fundraising in era of collectives | |
 | Money is now flowing to college athletes after getting paid for their name, image and likeness became a reality last summer. Boosters are donating to collectives to spread the wealth to players at their favorite school and attract others out of the transfer portal. NIL's impact in college football has been front and center in the leadup to the SEC meetings starting Tuesday in Destin, Fla. Georgia president Jere Morehead is the chair of the NCAA's Division I Board of Directors which this month which took aim at collectives who set up NIL deals for recruits as well as players currently on a team's roster. "I think NIL has evolved in a way that was not intended," Morehead said Thursday. "It was intended to reward student-athletes for their name, image and likeness, as student-athletes enrolled at college institutions. It's clearly become something different than what it was intended. I believe we've got to have some very clear rules that do not lead to the professionalism of college athletics." Morehead said the board put out a "strong statement" for the enforcement staff to pursue those using NIL to recruit for "some of the cases that have gained a lot of national attention." |
| Public alcohol sales not in plans for Sanford Stadium. 'We're going to be very intentional' | |
| Georgia football fans that don't sit in premium seats will have to wait at least another season if they want to buy a beer in Sanford Stadium while watching the Bulldogs. There will be no public alcohol sales in 2022 for Georgia home games, athletic director Josh Brooks said Thursday. The school rolled out alcohol sales -- domestic, import, craft and premium beer and seltzer -- for men's and women's basketball games in Stegeman Coliseum this season and at baseball games at Foley Field as well as SEC games at the Jack Turner Softball Stadium. Similar sales for football games aren't on the front burner. "That's not even a discussion point right now," Brooks said after Georgia's athletic board meeting Thursday at the Ritz-Carlton Lodge at Reynolds Lake Oconee. "We introduced it at Stegeman, Foley Field and softball and it's been a slow roll out. We're going to be very intentional about that. That's just not on the agenda right now for Sanford." Georgia became the 11th SEC school to offer alcohol sales at athletic venues, but it still won't be available in Sanford Stadium except for those with tickets to suites. Brooks said things have gone well so far in alcohol sales but expanding it to a stadium that seats more than 90,000 is different. |
| LSU tailgaters welcome rain delays at the SEC tournament: 'You just have to embrace it' | |
| LSU tailgater Spencer Loe, 45, has more than enough to feed the masses during the rain delays at the Southeastern Conference tournament. This is Loe's favorite part of the tournament: Its infamous frequent rainstorms, which, in this case, have delayed LSU's opening game more than a day in Hoover. The Tigers were slated to play the third game Wednesday. Instead, they prepared to play the final game of the day late Thursday night. "We like the late-night games," Loe said. "This is the perfect storm for us tonight. You've been sitting here with all this cooped-up energy, and we like to party. You just have to embrace it." The Ruston native has been in Hoover with his son, Sutton, 15, since Monday with his cooking trailer (which he calls his "chuck wagon"), equipped with grills, smokers and fryers. He estimates that he spends more than $1,000 on food for the tailgate every year outside Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. Last night's menu was fried pork chops with impromptu smothered cabbage and cornbread. On Thursday, they had hot dogs, hamburgers, fried fish, barbecued ribs and baked beans. Someone stirred a pot of jambalaya next to the trailer. Then Rodney Beloso, father of LSU's injured designated hitter, Cade Beloso, walked over to bring a tray of barbecued shrimp. Loe's neighbor in the RV next door, Steve Tate, 69, came up from Mamou. The two met seven years ago while parked at this tournament, and they've made it an annual event since. But the best rain-delay memories are from the people they bring together. Fans from surrounding trailers come in droves and are welcomed like family to come eat. |
| Louisiana updates name, image, likeness law to pay college athletes | |
| Legislation that would allow Louisiana universities and their deep-pocketed supporters to pay student-athletes directly was sent to the governor's desk Thursday after the state House of Representatives approved an update to its name, image and likeness (NIL) law with a 93-4 vote. Senate Bill 250, authored by Sen. Patrick Connick, R-Marrero, would allow state colleges, universities, their affiliates and boosters to compensate student-athletes directly. Previously, players had to go through a third party to be paid for their name, image or likeness, usually a business with which they could reach a sponsorship deal. Rep. Jon Stefanski, R-Crowley, who presented the bill on the House floor, said Louisiana's current NIL law is more restrictive than other states'. Passing the Connick bill would put Louisiana schools in line with what other states are already doing. "If we want LSU or any other of our universities to be able to compete (in recruiting) with Texas A&M and with Alabama and see Nick Saban upset on a regular basis on the sideline, we have to be competitive," Stefanski said. Colleges are not allowed to entice recruits with deals where they would profit off their name, image and likeness, Stefanski said. Opponents of the bill said inserting financial incentives into college sports will ruin the sanctity of the game for athletes and fans. "For those of us that hate professional sports because it's not about the love of the game, it's about money, we just let that bleed in here," Rep. Barry Ivey, R-Baton Rouge, said. |
| Star Female Athletes Are Fighting for More Financial Control -- and Winning | |
| When U.S. soccer star Alex Morgan played in the 2015 Women's World Cup, merchandise for the victorious U.S. team was in such short supply that her family couldn't find any. So her father printed a flag and his daughter's name on a few dozen T-shirts for family and friends. Four years later, gear was still scarce for the 2019 Women's World Cup, despite the success of the previous tournament. This time, Ms. Morgan and teammates Allie Long and Kelley O'Hara created shirts that said "USA vs Everybody" and offered them online. They rang up more than $1 million in sales in less than 30 days, Ms. Morgan said. "That's one example of so many situations where there was so much value left on the table because companies and brands and people didn't believe in women's sports," Ms. Morgan said. Ms. Morgan's entrepreneurial move was an early sign of a big shift now under way in women's sports: Female stars are leveraging their growing popularity to take more control of their financial destinies. Female athletes, like Hollywood stars, are using social media to communicate directly with consumers. Athletes like her are using their growing influence to improve the prospects of their teams and leagues, and seeking control of the use of their own images in merchandising and other areas. Some also are being vocal about problems that have loomed large in women's sports, including poor training conditions, lower pay and abusive coaches. |
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