| Friday, September 16, 2022 |
| PSPA department head to speak Monday at MSU's Constitution Day event | |
 | Mississippi State's head of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration will be the featured speaker Monday [Sept. 19] during the university's annual Constitution Day program. Professor Brian Shoup will discuss "What is a Republic?" at 11 a.m. in Fowlkes Auditorium on the third floor of the Colvard Student Union. The event is free to all. Sponsored by MSU's College of Arts and Sciences, PSPA department and the Lamar Conerly Governance Forum, Shoup's presentation is part of MSU's Conerly Governance Lecture Series. The lecture series is made possible by major support from Conerly, a 1971 MSU accounting/pre-law graduate and longtime partner in the Destin, Florida, law firm of Conerly, Bowman and Dykes LLP. He is both a former national MSU Alumni Association president and continuing College of Business Alumni Fellow. Constitution Day celebrates the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1789. Federal law requires all publicly funded educational institutions to recognize the occasion by offering programming on the Constitution's history and principles. |
| Deer hunters needed in the ongoing CWD battle | |
 | Deer hunters are urgently needed to participate in the battle to limit the spread of chronic wasting disease among the state's prized white-tailed deer population. Chronic wasting disease, or CWD, is a 100-percent fatal, transmissible, neurogenerative disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that deer infected with this disease should not be eaten. One challenge of detecting the disease is that until deer enter the last stages of CWD, they often appear completely healthy. Hunter participation in efforts to control CWD includes submitting harvested deer for testing, harvesting younger bucks and discontinuing the use of supplemental feeding and baiting to help keep deer from congregating. Bronson Strickland, a wildlife specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said CWD is dangerously different from other diseases that affect deer. "Other devastating diseases of deer have a disease cycle endpoint, such as the arrival of cold weather," Strickland said. "That does not happen with CWD, as the disease slowly kills the individual deer and takes time to move through the area's population." William McKinley, deer program coordinator with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP), said CWD is easily transmissible to deer through saliva, feces, urine or a contaminated environment. The amount of positive material needed to infect deer 100 percent of the time is the size of one very fine grain of sand. |
| C&G Rail Trail Project: Potential economic benefits excite supporters | |
| Johnny Mack Morrow believes a system of bike trails could produce the same economic boom for Mississippi that the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail has for Alabama. "To me it's an enterprise that can change the future of Mississippi," he said. Morrow, a former longtime Alabama legislator who now works at Mississippi State University, was part of a group that gathered in Greenwood Wednesday to get the latest update on the effort to convert an abandoned rail line into a 92-mile biking and hiking trail from Greenwood to West Point. Wilson Carroll, a Greenwood native and Vicksburg attorney, says he is more optimistic than ever that the vision he has been advocating for 14 years will materialize, now that a team of professionals has joined the effort. The Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area, a federal agency that promotes cultural resources in four of the six counties along the proposed bike trail, recently got on board. It is providing the funding to produce feasibility and economic impact studies for the project, the first step toward seeking federal grants to heavily bankroll the effort. Carroll described as a "godsend" the initial call he received from Kent Bain, project coordinator for the national heritage area. "I knew instantly I was dealing with a man who had knowledge and experience and money to spend to help make this a reality," said Carroll, president of the nonprofit C&G Rail Trail Coalition. Neel-Schaffer is expected to handle the feasibility study. |
| Governor: Mississippi capital's water is again safe to drink | |
 | After nearly seven weeks of being forced to boil their water before drinking it or using it to brush teeth, people in Mississippi's largest city were told Thursday that water from the tap is safe to consume -- but Jackson's water system still needs big repairs that the mayor says the cash-strapped city cannot afford on its own. Gov. Tate Reeves and Jackson officials said in separate announcements that the state health department lifted a boil-water notice that had been in place since July 29 in the city of 150,000. "We have restored clean water to the city of Jackson," Reeves said during a news conference. However, a state health department official, Jim Craig, said households with pregnant women or young children should take precautions because of lead levels previously found in some homes on the Jackson water system. Craig said although recent testing showed "no lead or lead below the action levels" set by the EPA, people should continue to avoid using city water to prepare baby formula. Reeves said the water system remains "imperfect." "It is possible, although I pray not inevitable, that there will be further interruptions," Reeves said. "We cannot perfectly predict what may go wrong with such a broken system in the future." |
| Reeves: 'I don't think it's very likely that the city is going to operate the water system' | |
 | The 45-day-long boil water notice in Jackson ended Thursday, and while the announcement from Gov. Tate Reeves was celebratory, it also came with a level of tension between the city and state governments that have surfaced multiple times throughout the water crisis. Per Mississippi State Department of Health regulations, the boil-water notice ended after two consecutive days of clean test results from 120 sampling sites across the city. Reeves said that system-wide testing began Tuesday, but daily updates from the city on Tuesday and Wednesday indicated that testing was still in its investigative phase and that system-wide sampling had not yet begun. Reeves said he did not know why the city's reports did not reflect ongoing system-wide testing. "I don't read the city's daily reports, and I don't think you should, either," Reeves said. The governor instead recommended residents read reports posted daily on the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency website. These tense moments, which came amid what state health department Director of Health Protection Jim Craig called "fabulous news," were only the latest in a string of such interactions and statements during the water crisis. |
| Clean water restored for Jackson, Reeves hints at city losing control | |
| After a month and a half of Jacksonians needing to boil their water for consumption, the Mississippi State Health Department finally lifted the advisory at 1 p.m. on Thursday. Gov. Tate Reeves announced the news shortly after, cautioning there's a long road ahead to ensure similar water system failures don't occur again in Jackson. When asked by reporters about the next steps for managing the capital city's drinking water, Reeves laid out the possibility that Jackson will not regain control of the system after the state declared a public health emergency and took it over. "To the residents of Jackson, I would simply say, I don't think it's very likely that the city is going to operate the water system in the city of Jackson anytime soon, if ever again," the governor said. Reeves reiterated that any decision to remove the water system from city control would have to go through the state Legislature. Before Jackson residents return to drinking water straight from their taps again, the Mississippi State Department of Health says they should first run their faucets for three to four minutes to allow clean water to recirculate. Residents can visit MSDH's website for a full list of next steps after a boil water notice. However, the department also warned Thursday that pregnant people and young children are still advised to follow precautions before using or consuming tap water. |
| Mississippi Lifts Jackson Boil Water Notice That Began in July | |
| The Mississippi State Department of Health today lifted a boil water notice for the entire City of Jackson for the first time since July 29, 2022, Gov. Tate Reeves announced at a press conference on Thursday. "We've significantly increased the quantity of water produced," Reeves said. "We've restored water pressure to the city. We've installed an emergency rental pump. We've fixed and reinstalled broken parts on site, and we've monitored and tested water quality." Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Executive Director Stephen McCraney announced plans to hire a program manager for O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant, with the request for quotes from interested vendors closing at 12 noon today and a decision expected soon. "That program manager is going to look at everything that we've done up to date, where we are, what (are) all those construction things that we've done on that site-repair program and then look (at) what's next -- what is the next, the second, third, and fourth step that we're going to have to go on?" McCraney said, The governor said he has held meetings with various stakeholders. "I think it's fair to say that the vast majority of interested parties have no confidence that by handing over this back to the City, we wouldn't be in a similar position in the future," Reeves said. "I've personally met with members of the Jackson delegation within the last several weeks. I've had multiple conversations and meetings with the mayor and his team. We've met in a meeting with members of Congress and their teams. We're going to continue to do that." |
| State, business leaders consider regionalization of Jackson water system. Local officials hate the idea | |
| When the latest emergency in Jackson's long-running water crisis hit -- most of the city lost water again from a combination of broken or ill-maintained machinery and flooding -- state leaders began talking of intervention. And one of the first ideas floated in backroom discussions was creating a "regional authority" to oversee and overhaul waterworks for Jackson and, ostensibly, other areas, particularly those surrounding areas already on the capital city's system. This would make sense. Regionalization and consolidation of water and sewer services has been a trend nationwide. Regionalization appears to help garner favor -- and funding -- from Congress and environmental agencies. Studies by experts say regional approaches allow systems to comply with stricter standards, connect unserved communities to water and sewerage and, importantly, save customers money using economies of scale for upgrades and repairs. Jackson's chamber of commerce has called for creation of a regional water authority. And there's growing sentiment among many Mississippi leaders that someone other than the city of Jackson should run or help run the system. But so far, talk of a regional authority for Jackson and surrounds has gained little traction, particularly with Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and leaders in areas around Jackson. It would appear no other cities want to be in a regional water authority with Jackson, and state leaders are unlikely to force it. A regional authority, as it stands, would more likely include only Jackson and some small systems in Hinds County and be run largely by the state, with Jackson having some say, but not control over the system. |
| Rep. Shanks: Minority Business Enterprise program 'not doing what it was intended to do' | |
| Amid the ongoing Jackson water crisis, one state leader is looking to eliminate a municipal practice he believes to be a catalyst for rampant corruption and favoritism from city leaders. State Representative Fred Shanks, a Jackson native, believes that Jackson's Equal Business Opportunity (EBO) practice, which was originally designed to enhance minority and female participation in receiving city contracts, is not working as advertised. His goal is to put an end to the EBO's Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) certification program and to explore other options to set aside funds for the purpose of ensuring equal and fair competition among vendors vying for city procurements. "The system just doesn't work. I'm sure it was started out with good intentions to give equity to contractors who needed a little help to finish a project or maybe get started and I understand that. Maybe there's something that we can do to set up a separate fund or we can all come to the table and set up something," Shanks said on MidDays with Gerard Gibert. "My goal is to eliminate that minority set-aside within the state." Shanks proceeded to highlight a flaw in the system by noting that a bulk of individuals receiving contracts due to the municipal procurement policy are white women, which is not why the process was initially enacted. "Clearly that tells you it's not doing what it was intended to do to begin with," Shanks added. "The system just doesn't work." |
| State Farm, Mississippi settle lawsuit over Katrina payments | |
| Mississippi has quietly settled its lawsuit against State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. for allegedly minimizing its Hurricane Katrina payments to policyholders, leaving the state to compensate homeowners. The settlement says the $12 million payment represents "restitution for damage, which was or may have been caused by a violation of law or potential violation of law" on the part of State Farm, which has admitted no liability in its handling of claims from the 2005 storm, The Sun Herald reported. State Farm paid the settlement in February 2021, but Attorney General Lynn Fitch never announced details of the agreement. The Sun Herald recently filed a public records request to secure a copy of the settlement, which does not appear in the voluminous electronic case file on the lawsuit. Former Attorney General Jim Hood originally filed the suit in 2015. State Farm later lost a state Supreme Court appeal seeking to have the case dismissed. In July, the company, a subsidiary of State Farm Insurance, also agreed to pay the federal government $100 million in restitution over its alleged mishandling of flood insurance claims following Katrina. That settlement marked the end of legal proceedings that began more than 16 years ago when two whistleblowers sued the Illinois-based insurance company, which had the largest market share of Mississippi policies when the storm hit. State Farm also agreed to dismiss counterclaims it filed against the whistleblowers. |
| Same-sex marriage bill stalls in Senate amid GOP opposition | |
 | Senate Democrats on Thursday punted a vote on a bill to bolster same-sex marriage rights until after the midterm elections, after a group of bipartisan negotiators said they did not have the votes to overcome Republican opposition. While talks led by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, reached a deal on a bill, the group announced that they came up short of the 10 Republican votes needed to overcome a filibuster and vote on the bill in the next few weeks. The group asked Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York for more time on the legislation that would provide "certainty to millions of Americans in loving marriages." The Senate push to pass a bill legalizing same-sex marriage followed a Supreme Court decision earlier this year that wiped out a constitutional right to an abortion. In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas said the decisions undergirding same sex marriage, same-sex relationships and access to contraception should be revisited. The House passed a similar bill in July that would mandate all states honor out-of-state marriages regardless of the race, gender or sexual orientation of the couple. The bill would also formally overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, which was largely ruled unconstitutional in 2012. The effort ran into a roadblock in the Senate, where Republicans raised religious liberty concerns over legislation mandating recognition of same-sex marriages. |
| Biden talks inflation, Russia in '60 Minutes' interview | |
| President Joe Biden sat down this week for his first interview of his presidency with the news magazine show "60 Minutes." CBS said on Thursday that Biden gave the interview to correspondent Scott Pelley while visiting Detroit on Wednesday, and that the two-part interview will air Sunday as part of the premiere of the program's 55th season. Biden discussed inflation, Russia's war on Ukraine, U.S.-China tensions, the midterm elections and more, according to CBS. The network plans to air a preview on Friday of Pelly's interview on "CBS Mornings." Biden has done fewer television interviews and press conferences than his recent White House predecessors in the early going of his presidency. |
| Trump warns of 'problems' like 'we've never seen' if he's indicted | |
 | Former President Donald Trump said Thursday the nation would face "problems ... the likes of which perhaps we've never seen" if he is indicted over his handling of classified documents after leaving office, an apparent suggestion that such a move by the Justice Department could spark violence from Trump's supporters. The former president said an indictment wouldn't stop him from running for the White House again and repeatedly said Americans "would not stand" for his prosecution. "If a thing like that happened, I would have no prohibition against running," Trump said in an interview with conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt. "I think if it happened, I think you'd have problems in this country the likes of which perhaps we've never seen before. I don't think the people of the United States would stand for it." Hewitt asked Trump what he meant by "problems." "I think they'd have big problems. Big problems. I just don't think they'd stand for it. They will not sit still and stand for this ultimate of hoaxes," Trump said. It's not the first time Republicans have hinted at potential civil unrest if the DOJ indicts Trump. On Capitol Hill, senior FBI and DHS officials briefed members of the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees Thursday on the uptick in threats against federal law enforcement in the aftermath of the Mar-a-Lago search. Senators said the briefers didn't specifically pinpoint a politician or political party when it comes to the threats, but they said the trend was clear. |
| Trump openly embraces, amplifies QAnon conspiracy theories | |
| After winking at QAnon for years, Donald Trump is overtly embracing the baseless conspiracy theory, even as the number of frightening real-world events linked to it grows. On Tuesday, using his Truth Social platform, the Republican former president reposted an image of himself wearing a Q lapel pin overlaid with the words "The Storm is Coming." In QAnon lore, the "storm" refers to Trump's final victory, when supposedly he will regain power and his opponents will be tried, and potentially executed, on live television. As Trump contemplates another run for the presidency and has become increasingly assertive in the Republican primary process during the midterm elections, his actions show that far from distancing himself from the political fringe, he is welcoming it. He's published dozens of recent Q-related posts, in contrast to 2020, when he claimed that while he didn't know much about QAnon, he couldn't disprove its conspiracy theory. Trump's recent postings have included images referring to himself as a martyr fighting criminals, psychopaths and the so-called deep state. In one now-deleted post from late August, he reposted a "q drop," one of the cryptic message board postings that QAnon supporters claim come from an anonymous government worker with top secret clearance. A Trump spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. |
| Judge names Raymond Dearie special master at Donald Trump's request to review documents seized at Mar-a-Lago | |
 | A federal judge late Thursday appointed Raymond Dearie, a former chief federal judge in Brooklyn who also served on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, to be the special master reviewing the documents seized at former President Donald Trump's Florida estate. But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon refused to lift her temporary prohibition on the Justice Department reviewing the documents for its criminal investigation. The department has appealed that part of her ruling. Cannon appointed Dearie at Trump's request for an independent review of thousands of documents seized at Mar-a-Lago, including dozens marked "secret" or "top secret." Cannon ordered Trump to pay 100% of the costs for the review. She also granted access to all of the documents, including the classified records, under controlled access conditions. The Justice Department, which had opposed a special master as unnecessary, accepted Dearie because of his experience in national security cases and with questions of attorney-client privilege. But Cannon would not allow the Justice Department to continue its review of about 100 classified documents while the special master does his review. The FBI had searched Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8 for evidence of mishandling national defense documents under the Espionage Act or obstruction of justice. Dearie is a senior district judge in the Eastern District of New York, which comprises Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island. Dearie was nominated to the court by President Ronald Reagan in 1986 after serving four years as U.S. attorney in the district. |
| DeSantis gave GOP donors a glimpse of plans for migrant flights | |
 | Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told the Republican Party's top donors last weekend he was considering transporting migrants to places like Martha's Vineyard -- just days before he secretly started the flights to the Massachusetts island. "I do have this money. I want to be helpful. Maybe we will go to Texas and help. Maybe we'll send to Chicago, Hollywood, Martha's Vineyard. Who knows?" he said to applause in a speech Friday evening at the Four Seasons in Orlando, where hundreds of the party's top donors gathered to hear him, according to a detailed account by a person in the room. The account was confirmed by a second person present for the speech. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose details of the private event. DeSantis sent two planes full of migrants Wednesday to Martha's Vineyard, a tony island enclave in Massachusetts, where several prominent Democrats, including former president Barack Obama, have homes. Flying immigrants from Florida to Martha's Vineyard is the latest move by DeSantis to seize the national spotlight and solidify his place among conservative supporters. The 51-minute speech to the donor retreat gave a clear outline of how he might sell himself to Republican base voters during a potential 2024 presidential bid. The remarks were full of grievance and culture war pugilism, casting the nation's political future as a battle against a conspiracy by leftists to impose their ideology and turn dissenters into "second-class citizens." His message, according to the people in the room, was that America should become more like Florida -- and that he would be a culture warrior. |
| Transfers of Migrants Have Democratic Leaders Scrambling for Solutions | |
 | An accelerating campaign by Republican governors to send migrants to Democratic strongholds, initially seen by many Democratic officials as a political stunt, now has those officials scrambling as migrants unexpectedly arrive in a widening number of locales. The latest instance of the campaign came Wednesday afternoon when planes carrying 50 migrants seeking asylum, mostly from Venezuela, landed unexpectedly in Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's office confirmed that the state orchestrated the flights. The moves follow similar efforts by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who in recent months have each sent thousands of asylum-seeking migrants who crossed the southern border illegally into their states on buses to Washington, D.C., New York and most recently Chicago. The Republican governors say they are attempting to highlight the strain migrants are placing on state resources and give Democratic officials -- whose pro-immigrant rhetoric and policies they say are attracting more migrants to enter the country illegally -- a taste of their pain. Immigration ranked third behind abortion and inflation as a motivating issue when it comes to voting in this year's midterm election, the most recent Wall Street Journal poll showed. |
| How many people are really facing poverty in the U.S.? | |
| The U.S. Census Bureau reported this week that 11.6% of the U.S. population, or nearly 38 million people, were living in poverty in 2021 -- using the official measurement that was devised all the way back in the 1960s. The poverty threshold for a family of four -- two adults and two children -- was roughly $27,500 in 2021; if a family's income is less than that amount, then its members are considered in poverty. These thresholds are important because government aid eligibility uses federal poverty guidelines, which are based on the poverty thresholds set by the Census Bureau. To qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps) for example, your household income generally has to reach or fall under 130% of the poverty line. The bureau has since developed the supplemental poverty rate, which experts say is much more comprehensive because it includes basic needs like medical expenses, although it still has its shortcomings. While these statistics give us some sense of how many people in the U.S. are in poverty, they don't capture the full spectrum of people who are struggling financially. |
| How Mississippi Institutions Weathered the Water Crisis | |
| Almost two weeks after the water pressure dropped in Jackson, Miss., things are slowly returning to normal. For institutions of higher education in the area, this was yet another emergency to confront after two years spent managing a global pandemic, and some of those lessons would come in handy. When low water pressure meant no air conditioning, no working toilets and no water fountains in buildings on campus, virtual classrooms were ready and waiting. At Jackson State University (JSU), a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) located barely a mile away from the river, impacted students living off-campus were faced with a choice: go stay with family outside of Jackson or rent hotel rooms at their own expense. Students who lived on campus used portable showers and toilets, cooling themselves with fans when temperatures soared to well over 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Just a five-minute drive away, Mississippi College's (MC) College of Law, its branch campus in Jackson, prepared for the worst but experienced a completely different outcome. As the water pressure dropped in the city, Dr. John P. Anderson, interim dean and professor of law at MC, said his building's toilets and faucets stopped working on the fourth floor, then the third, then the second. Eventually, only the toilets and faucets on the first and basement floor were operational "We were just lucky to be closer to a source of [water] pressure. Some of the locations downtown were further down the line from the original source," said Anderson. Down the street from MC College of Law, luck seemed to run dry for JSU. Dr. Fran'Cee Brown-McClure, vice president for student affairs, said that the entire JSU student body was impacted by the water crisis, whether they lived on campus or not. |
| UMMC seeks to lease struggling Delta hospital | |
| Sharkey Issaquena Community Hospital may begin negotiations with the University of Mississippi Medical Center over a potential lease of the rural, 29-bed hospital and all of its operations, including its nursing home, clinics, emergency department and ambulance services for the two counties. After seeking out potential buyers earlier this year, the community hospital received lease proposals from UMMC and Delta Health System. The committee that evaluated the proposals, which included representatives from both counties and the community hospital, chose the Medical Center over Delta Health System, which has its own financial problems and recently closed the only neonatal intensive care unit in the Mississippi Delta. "Due to the economics of the hospital, particularly during COVID, they sought a partner that would strengthen their ability to serve the community," said Charles Weissinger, attorney for the Issaquena County Board of Supervisors and one of the Issaquena County representatives on the committee that evaluated the lease proposals. "They went through a request for proposal process and the University of Mississippi Medical Center provided the best hope for results going forward." UMMC is also working to finalize a lease of Greenwood Leflore Hospital. |
| USM student uses social media following to collect water for Jackson residents | |
 | While the boil water notice in Jackson has been lifted, some residents are still depending on bottled water. To help those still in need, a student at the University of Southern Mississippi has taken it upon himself to lend a hand. "So all 240 cases of this is going to Jackson, Mississippi," said Bethal Miles. Cases and cases of bottled water have begun to overflow the doorway of Miles' college apartment in Hattiesburg. All this in just five days, after a call to action on social media, to help the capital city that has been facing water troubles since late July. "Welcome to the edition of getting this water ready for people in Jackson....look at how much we've built," yelled Miles in a TikTok post. "And sure enough, I just posted a video and somebody donated," said Miles. "This person donated, this person donated." "Went out and got the water, came back and a lot more people donated. A lot more people saw it." Miles, a Chicago native and a junior at USM, has a large social media following. With 18.7K followers on Instagram and 450K on TikTok. He is also grateful for the principles his fraternity has taught him. "Omega has done nothing but help me kind of grow in that light of giving back to my community," said Miles. "Our principles are manhood, scholarship, perseverance and uplift, and you hear that and you can just roll with it or you can hear that and actually do something about it." |
| WCU College of Osteopathic Medicine to host Rural Health Summit | |
| William Carey University is preparing to host a Rural Health Summit for the College of Osteopathic Medicine. The summit begins on Friday, Sept. 16, with a dinner for residency program participants, medical association board members and statewide elected officials. Carey will also show an award-winning documentary, "On the Farm," which will focus on the struggle farmers experience with mental health issues and opioid addictions. Dr. Italo Subbarao, Dean of WCU College of Osteopathic Medicine, said this health summit is essential to educate future doctors practicing medicine in rural areas. "If you're are a primary care doctor and practicing in a rural area, you got to have a bigger tools box," said Subbarao. "You're not going to have access to (everything), and that's what we are going to educate our folks on. "We are just thrilled to have this opportunity here at Carey to host this event, and we hope this is the beginning of an ongoing conversation that we can have here and then take it up to Jackson to make some changes and differences to improve our healthcare in our communities." The documentary will be shown at 7 p.m. on Friday at the WCU Thomas Fine Arts Auditorium and is free to the public. |
| U. of Alabama celebrates opening of new Julia Tutwiler Hall | |
 | The University of Alabama on Wednesday officially celebrated the opening of the brand-new Julia Tutwiler Hall. UA faculty, staff and alumni gathered at the new Tutwiler Hall to cut the ribbon on the five-story, 383,015-square-foot building. The residence hall is now home to 1,247 incoming freshmen women, 35 resident assistants and three community directors. Students have been living at the new Tutwiler Hall since classes began in August. On the Fourth of July, UA demolished the old Tutwiler Hall. The new Tutwiler is at the northeast corner of 10th Avenue and 12th Street, just southwest of where the old Tutwiler once stood. UA President Stuart R. Bell opened Wednesday's ceremony by pointing out that the historic residence hall has made a great impact on the lives of many UA leaders, students and alumni, and that great impact will continue at the new Tutwiler. Many alumni who lived in the old Tutwiler attended Wednesday's ceremony, including Karen Brooks , vice president and treasurer of Phifer Inc. and a UA System board of trustees member. Brooks, a Tuscaloosa native, belonged to one of the first freshmen classes to occupy the old Tutwiler Hall in 1968. "You leave your home and you're looking for a home away from home. And that's what you find in a dorm," said Brooks, who gave an emotional speech about her experience living in the old Tutwiler building. |
| U. of Alabama Misses Out on Build Back Better Funds | |
| Despite months of vying for tens of millions of dollars in federal funding, the University of Alabama will not receive an award from the $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge, the government announced last week. For the uninitiated, the Challenge set aside $1 billion in money from the American Rescue Plan to fund transformational economic development projects across the United States. The money is being distributed by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration, who began taking applications for the program earlier this year with the promise of awarding $25-60 million to winning concepts. 529 organizations, universities and collectives applied for the funding, and in the spring, the EDA named 60 finalists from that pool. The University of Alabama was among them, and the only applicant from the Yellowhammer State to advance to the final round. As the Thread reported last month, the University proposed an initiative called Driving Regional Innovation through Vehicle Electrification -- DRIVE, for short. Its vision was defined as creating a "dynamic center of sustainable job creation, innovation and competitiveness in Wider West Alabama that will position the region to lead the state and the nation into the future of mobility." UA's pitch said DRIVE would create thousands of jobs and jumpstart the development of the state's vehicle electrification industry in West Alabama and across the Black Belt region. At the center of it all is the proposed Tuscaloosa Innovation District, a still-secretive $1.5 billion concept that could transform the area. Dr. Russell J. Mumper, the University's vice president for research and economic development, said he was proud the two concepts made it as far as they did and that both are still on the table, although his team will have to find new ways to fund their implementation. |
| 'The only one in the world': Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center is officially dedicated in Auburn | |
 | Auburn University held a dedication ceremony for the new Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center on Thursday afternoon. Around 200 people gathered on the green space between the Rane Center and the Hey Day Market to celebrate the completion of the one-of-a-kind teaching and hospitality facility. The 142,000-square-foot Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center cost $110 million. A topping off ceremony was held in May 2021 and construction was finished earlier this year. It is the new home to Auburn's School of Hospitality Management in the College of Human Sciences. The facility includes the Hey Day Market and rooftop lounge and gardens, which opened on Aug. 15, its teaching restaurant, 1856, which opened Aug. 17, and The Laurel Hotel and Spa, a luxury hotel, which opened Aug. 29. On Thursday, the speakers included Christopher B. Roberts, president of Auburn University; Susan Hubbard, dean of the College of Human Sciences; Hans van der Reijden, founder and CEO of Ithaka Hospitality Partners; Bob Dumas, Auburn University Board of Trustees member; and Jimmy Rane, lead donor of the project and an Auburn University trustee. Rane said he wanted the new culinary center to be the best in the world. "That's a pretty strong statement," he said. "That was the challenge that we gave to Hans and his team, and you need to know that they studied this project for over 10 years." |
| Latinx Student Alliance seeks to build community among Latinx student body | |
| The Latinx Student Alliance opened its doors this semester to build a community and support network for Latinx students at Auburn. The LSA's mission is to "celebrate our unique cultures and experiences, and to highlight collective problems, to support one another and combat discrimination." However, the club is open to anyone interested in being a community member. "We want to push for inclusivity in our club and to try to include everyone. [The LSA wants] to make sure no other demographic on campus feel isolated from the group," said sophomore in history and LSA President Dioselin Cruz. Getting involved is as easy as joining the Auburn LSA GroupMe or stopping by the Auburn Cross-Cultural Center for Excellence on the second floor of the Melton Student Center. The LSA offers a response to one of the issues that Latinx students face in a predominantly white institute. It lays the foundation for a Latinx student community to build in an environment where its members can feel lost in the margins. "There might not be a place where you can go to interact with other people who have a similar ancestry, which is a big reason why I'm starting this club," Cruz said. Additionally, Latinx students may not always arrive on campus with the same academic capital as other students. To help, the LSA serves as a pool of collegiate knowledge to fill any gaps its members can have while in school. |
| Verizon, U. of South Carolina partner on 5G powered technology developments | |
 | Verizon Wireless will work with the University of South Carolina to research and test new uses for the wireless provider's 5G network technology in the health care, manufacturing and infrastructure industries. The state's largest university system also has partnerships with IBM, Siemens, Yaskawa Motoman Robotics, Nephron Pharmaceuticals and others in which its students and researchers work with partner companies' technologies to help solve problems for industry and help those businesses innovate. "Our relationship with Verizon exemplifies the benefits of partnerships between the University of South Carolina and the business community," university President Michael Amiridis said. "This aligns with our focus on expanding research opportunities that solve problems and accelerate discoveries." The Innovation Experience Hub will be housed within USC's McNair Center, which Verizon has equipped with a private network that ups capacity and speeds for transferring large data. "South Carolina industries for many different sectors can engage with us to explore emerging technologies in an atmosphere that minimizes risk for the corporation and allows them to assess the impact of new business solutions that we provide," Amiridis said. |
| New dining options at U. of South Carolina are more inclusive of Jewish, Muslim students | |
 | David Moryossef, a sophomore at the University of South Carolina, usually cooked meals in his dorm last year, despite purchasing a meal plan, which the university requires of freshmen. His options were limited as a Jewish student trying to keep Kosher. "I would literally eat almost nothing," Moryossef said. Busy schedules, dorm living, limited grocery store selection and lack of inclusive dining halls and restaurants left many Jewish and Muslim students hungry. They have long struggled to find options that accommodate their dietary restrictions. However, things are starting to change at USC. Russell House's dining hall now offers prepackaged, grab-and-go meals that are certified Kosher and Halal. Different meals are rotated in and out to allow for variety, said Clete Myers, district manager of Carolina Food Co., USC's food service provider. It's already so popular, the first shipment sold out in a matter of days, said Rabbi Sruly Epstein, director of USC's Chabad, a Jewish group on campus. Fay Hussain, a third-year Muslim student in the College of Pharmacy, said that despite paying so much money for a meal plan as an underclassman, the only things she felt comfortable eating were soups, salads and sandwiches. She didn't trust most meals because they weren't certified Halal. "What you could do is go vegetarian ... but it wouldn't be a matter of choosing what you want to eat," said Farboud Khatami, a Muslim student and fourth-year doctoral candidate in the College of Engineering. |
| Concern about monkeypox spread shifts to college campuses | |
| As monkeypox cases decline, public health officials are shifting their focus to college campuses, where students are returning to communal living arrangements that could sustain the outbreak. University health clinics could be hard pressed to test, offer vaccines and respond to a fast-evolving health emergency without the help of local and state health agencies. State health officials are already making contingencies and consulting with school officials in anticipation of new cases this fall, Michael Fraser, CEO of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, told reporters. "I don't think colleges and universities are prepared to handle testing and vaccines," said Cesar Arias, an Infectious Diseases Society of America board member. Biden administration health officials last month met virtually with college presidents and campus health officials to discuss best practices for curbing the spread of the virus and launched a landing page with resources. But any response will hinge on the availability of vaccines. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends testing and isolating people in congregate settings like dormitories who are suspected of having monkeypox. But, isolating students for a period of two to four weeks if they test positive for monkeypox could be challenging, especially if they reside in dorms or other community living arrangements. |
| Can $100 Million Help Student-Success Programs Work Together, Rather Than Compete? | |
 | Six nonprofit groups that help low-income and other disadvantaged students graduate from college will receive a $100-million infusion of funds over the next five years to aid hundreds of colleges in transforming their practices and cultures, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced on Thursday. The goal is to create networks of colleges that can work with the nonprofits to advance promising student-success strategies. The nonprofits, which the foundation has been collaborating with since 2019, have been particularly effective at recognizing the causes of, and helping shrink, stubborn disparities in achievement among low-income, Black, Latino, and Indigenous students, the foundation said. The nonprofits will identify and connect at least 250 colleges to help them accelerate change. The recipients of the $100 million are the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, Complete College America, Excelencia in Education, Growing Inland Achievement, and the United Negro College Fund. With enrollments declining, costs rising, and public confidence in higher education eroding, colleges are under increasing pressure to transform, foundation officials said. |
| 'Spaces Matter:' The push for more active learning spaces on campus | |
 | Active learning, or instructional methods that actively engage students in their own learning, is on the rise. So, too, are physical spaces dedicated to this kind of teaching. These are positive developments from the perspective of groups such as the Association of American Universities and the American Association of Colleges and Universities, which promote high-impact practices that increase student engagement and deep learning. Yet the growth of active learning spaces remains incremental. And while instructors can and do use active learning when teaching in traditional classrooms, dedicated active learning spaces certainly afford more opportunities for innovation: polling students on answers to biology questions via their laptops or phones can work in a fixed-seat lecture hall, but asking them to do work in groups of five probably won't. A new study is therefore concerning -- it found that limited access to active learning classrooms forced students to self-sort based on their social networks or their attitudes toward learning. The authors warn that limited access to active learning spaces may create a marginalizing force that pushes women, in particular, out of the sciences. The solution? Invest in active learning spaces. |
| Columbia whistleblower on exposing college rankings: 'They are worthless' | |
| The Columbia University academic whose exposure of false data caused the prestigious institution to plunge in US college rankings has accused its administration of deception and a whitewash over the affair. Michael Thaddeus, a mathematics professor, said that by submitting rigged numbers to drive the university up the influential US News & World Report rankings, Columbia put its financial priorities ahead of students education in order to fund a ballooning and secretive bureaucracy. On Monday, US News relegated Columbia from second to 18th in the latest rankings after the college admitted to "outdated and/or incorrect methodologies" in some of its previous claims about the quality of the education the university provides. "I find it very difficult to believe the errors were honest and inadvertent at this point," Thaddeus told the Guardian. He added: "The response that the university made was not the forthright, direct, complete response of a university that really wanted to clear the air and really wanted to inform the public. They address certain issues but then they completely ignored or whitewashed other ones." Thaddeus also said the university hugely overstated spending on instruction, claiming it far exceeded other Ivy League universities, by adding in the cost of patient care in the medical school. Columbia initially defended its numbers before admitting on Friday that Thaddeus was right about class sizes and the qualifications of its teaching staff. "We deeply regret the deficiencies in our prior reporting and are committed to doing better," Columbia's provost, Mary Boyce, said in the statement. “I’ve long believed that all university rankings are essentially worthless. They’re based on data that have very little to do with the academic merit of an institution and that the data might not be accurate in the first place,” he said. |
| Report: College Degree Completion Linked to Upward Economic Mobility for Young Parents and Families | |
| A college degree will lead to upward economic mobility for young parents and families, according to a new report from nonprofit Generation Hope. The report, "Higher Together: The Impact of a College Degree for Young Parents," highlights how a degree influences creating better economic outcomes for young families.The report surveyed Generation Hope's alumni, who were teen parents working toward degrees, for their post-college experiences. Key findings reveal that the average annual earnings for teen parents more than doubled after degree completion and that nearly one-third of graduates proceeded to advanced degrees. "When it comes to earning a college degree, young parents face significant hurdles that stem from being systematically excluded from educational opportunities," said Nicole Lynn Lewis, Founder and CEO of Generation Hope. "Like all student parents, without intentional supports to alleviate these financial, logistical, mental and emotional challenges, they will continue to face slim odds of earning a college degree. This report not only clearly demonstrates the impact a degree can have on broadening economic possibilities for young families, it also shows how important it is for parenting students to have advocates and champions in their corner committed to helping them shape better futures for themselves and their children." |
| Growing Out-of-State Enrollment at Flagship Universities Could Be Worsening the Student-Debt Crisis | |
| A recent report from the Brookings Institution found that nearly every state flagship university increased its share of out-of-state students from 2002 to 2018, a trend that has contributed to the ballooning of student-loan debt across the country. "The Great Student Swap," as the study calls it, may have increased the total tuition paid by students at just 16 flagships by roughly $57 billion over the 16-year period. "The premise of public flagships is having a high-quality university that is accessible for the best and brightest of their state and, to some degree, subsidized by their state taxpayers," said Aaron D. Klein, the study's author and a senior fellow in economic studies at Brookings, a research organization. But Klein said the student swap is creating a vicious cycle in which flagships expand their share of out-of-state students and increase tuition revenues in the short term but lose state support in the process. And as state subsidies wane with the share of in-state students, those universities rely more on those out-of-state dollars. "And the cycle continues," Klein said. "I don't know where this chicken and egg started, but it has to stop." A 2019 report from the Joyce Foundation, a policy-research group focused on equity, hinted at this cycle. The paper stated that high-achieving, low-income students may be under-recruited by public universities that are looking out of state for wealthier students, though that assertion was challenged by the institutions the report singled out. |
| House Democrats introduce bill to double Pell Grant, rework federal loan system | |
| Two prominent House Democrats introduced a bill Thursday that would double the maximum Pell Grant award and substantially rework the federal student loan system, including changes to the troubled Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The Lowering Obstacles to Achievement Now, or LOAN, Act, would also make certain unauthorized immigrant students eligible for federal financial aid, and it would attempt to lower interest rates on student loans so they would not exceed 5%. The bill also aims to make loans cheaper, such as by giving graduate students attending nonprofit colleges access to subsidized loans at the same interest rate as unsubsidized loans. It would also repeal origination fees. Democrats presented the LOAN Act as a continuation of President Joe Biden's decision to cancel mass amounts of student loan debt, up to $10,000 per person making under $125,000 a year. Pell Grant recipients in the same income bracket can have up to $20,000 forgiven. It can also be viewed as a Democratic foil to Republican proposals to broadly reshape postsecondary education. Virginia Foxx, a North Carolina Republican who is ranking member of the House Committee on Education and Labor, said in an appearance this week the GOP is moving toward a comprehensive "vigorous higher ed bill next year" if it retakes the majority in Congress. |
SPORTS
| HailState+ Launched | |
| HailState+, the all-new, subscription streaming platform of Mississippi State Athletics, has officially launched, bringing Bulldogs fans even closer to the teams, student-athletes, and coaches they love. A membership to HailState+ includes access to brand new videos, podcasts and written features -- above and beyond the already high-level content that fans have come to expect and enjoy -- including new, never-before-seen, behind-the-scenes access, off-the-field storytelling featuring your favorite athletes, exclusive interviews, archival footage showcasing iconic moments, news and information plus so much more. Fans can join HailState+ on an annual basis for only $7.99 per month or a one-time cost of $87.89 to get one month of access for free. In addition to the content live on the platform today, HailState+ will have additional content added daily, including the Dog Daily podcast, additional film room sessions, in-depth interviews, all-access pieces, and the continuation of the weekly series, The Follow. Leading HailState+ as General Manager is Matt Wyatt, a Bulldog quarterback from 1996-99 and current MSU Football radio analyst. Wyatt, who was recently named to Mississippi's "Top 40 Under 40" list by the Mississippi Business Journal, brings a wealth of experience in covering the Bulldogs and will oversee content and operations for the HailState+ platform. |
| Mississippi State, LSU open SEC play in Death Valley | |
| Mississippi State (2-0) plays at LSU (1-1), Saturday, 6 p.m. EDT (ESPN). It's the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams and chance for Mississippi State, which has been getting votes in the AP Top 25 poll, to continue making its case for a spot in the national rankings. With LSU in transition following the hiring of coach Brian Kelly, it's the kind of game Bulldogs coach Mike Leach needs to win to demonstrate his team can win more consistently in what is now his third season in Starkville. Meanwhile, Kelly's Tigers have a chance to show what kind of progress they've made since their season-opening, 24-23 loss to Florida State in New Orleans two weeks ago. Mississippi State's offensive line and Bulldogs QB Will Rogers against LSU's pass rush. The Tigers' defensive line was arguably their strongest and deepest unit entering the season. They lost sophomore defensive end Maason Smith to a season ending knee injury in their season opener. But two of their top pass-rushers from a year ago, Ali Gaye and B.J. Ojulari, will try to disrupt the timing Leach's "Air Raid" offense. Rogers has averaged 38.5 completions in his first two games this season, which ranks first nationally. Rogers' 381.5 yards passing per game ranks third in the country. |
| 'We emptied Death Valley': Meet the unsung heroes of Mississippi State football's memorable 2014 win at LSU | |
 | Ben Beckwith keeps a photo of the play in his office. As if he would ever forget it. In the picture, Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott stiff-arms LSU safety Jalen Mills into the Tiger Stadium turf. Those familiar need no help visualizing the rest of the now-famous play from 2014: Prescott running past Mills and into the secondary; Prescott cutting back to the right to evade cornerback Jalen Collins at the 15-yard line; Prescott diving into the end zone, holding the football in his outstretched arms. Beckwith is in that photo, too. The former Mississippi State right guard is behind Prescott as the Bulldogs star slams Mills to the ground. He's not far behind his quarterback, hurdling Collins with surprising grace at the 15-yard line to reach the end zone. He's the second teammate to reach Prescott as the celebration begins. "It was just one of those plays I'll remember for the rest of my life," Beckwith said. In many ways, the photo is telling. Beckwith -- and the "great group" he played with on the Bulldogs' offensive line that year -- always had Prescott's back. Eight years later, Mississippi State prepares to play at LSU on Saturday in a game with many similarities to that unforgettable contest in Baton Rouge. And those who held down the Bulldogs' line back in 2014 know what a win could mean for this year's team. "They'll definitely have the opportunity to do it and they should do it," Beckwith said. "We'll see what happens on Saturday. If they go ahead and get this win, it's lined up. It'd be similar to what we did in '14." |
| Mississippi State football's Mike Leach relives 1998 trip to LSU | |
| One of Mike Leach's best wins since joining Mississippi State football (2-0) came in his debut. MSU won 44-34 against defending champion LSU (1-1) in Tiger Stadium -- a place he considers one of the best places to play, along with Texas A&M's Kyle Field. But on his radio show Thursday, it wasn't the 2020 trip to Death Valley that Leach spent most of his time discussing. He didn't talk much about Saturday's trip either (5 p.m., ESPN). One of Leach's most memorable trips to Baton Rouge came in 1998 when he was Kentucky's offensive coordinator. The Wildcats came away with a 39-36 win in a place where the tough environment extended beyond the field. The gruesome welcome began on the drive. Leach says the trip to the stadium wasn't a typical efficient police escort. Instead, Kentucky's bus drove past a swamp and some, "mean spots." LSU fans rocked UK's bus as it pulled in while flipping off those inside. One fan mooned the bus, Leach added. "You see law enforcement, so you're thinking something will happen to him," Leach said. "No, no. Nothing is happening to him." Mike the Tiger, LSU's live mascot, was among the first to meet UK's personnel when they exited the locker room. Some folks avoided the tiger, but Leach didn't shy away from it. While walking toward the sideline, Leach remembers a plethora of fans in a packed student section wearing gloves. He later realized that was because students would put pennies up to a lighter and fling them at opposing players. |
| How Mississippi State football, LSU match up at every position | |
| Mississippi State opens Southeastern Conference play at 5 p.m. Saturday at LSU. Here's how the Bulldogs and Tigers match up on the gridiron. Mississippi State's Will Rogers is off to a great start in 2022, throwing nine touchdowns against two interceptions -- neither of which was really his fault. Rogers is third nationally with 381.5 passing yards per game. LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, meanwhile, has thrown for just 346 total yards. Daniels is a dynamic rusher as well with 132 yards on the ground already, but Rogers has been more consistent and more productive. Cameron Wire is the only returning starter for LSU along the offensive line. The Tigers have allowed six sacks through games against Florida State and Southern. Mississippi State, meanwhile, has given up just three sacks. The Bulldogs -- led by center LaQuinston Sharp -- have blocked well for their running backs and protected Rogers effectively. Mike Jones Jr. and Greg Penn III are the starters in LSU's 4-2-5 defensive scheme, while fifth-year senior Micah Baskerville is a capable reserve. Mississippi State, of course, returns three starting linebackers from last season -- Tyrus Wheat, Nathaniel Watson and Jett Johnson. Johnson has already racked up 20 tackles, and Wheat is a force in the pass rush and in coverage. The Bulldogs' experience and talent is superior. |
| LSU secondary bracing for Will Rogers and Mississippi State's Air Raid attack | |
 | As analogies go, Brian Kelly has a different way of looking at the offense his LSU defense will go against Saturday in its Southeastern Conference opener with Mississippi State. The Air Raid passing game Mike Leach has successfully used for much of his coaching career is formidable, Kelly said. Yet, he sees something else when he puts on the tape. Kelly, who has seen it all in three-plus decades of coaching, said it's similar to going against the old-fashioned, ground-oriented triple-option. When executed properly, it's like death by a thousand paper cuts. The Air Raid, which Leach brought with him to Starkville in 2020, is predicated on short, rhythmic throws -- a cousin, if you will, of the West Coast offense popularized by legendary coach Bill Walsh in the 1980s. "The phases of it are such that they run it so well," Kelly said. "From a defensive perspective, you have to be good at your assignments, first and foremost. Then you've got to tackle." That's easier said than done against Air Raid concepts that include four wide receivers and a running back who must be adept at catching the ball out of the backfield. "They run it better than you can defend it in three days (of practice), so you had better tackle," Kelly said. "You better have a really good plan on some of the things they really like to do, or you're going to get exposed." |
| Will keeping Baton Rouge bars open an hour later alleviate game day traffic? | |
| After Saturday's traffic nightmare during the historic game between LSU and Southern, some members of East Baton Rouge Parish's Alcoholic Beverage Control Board said keeping bars open an hour later could alleviate gridlock at future home games. Mothers Against Drunk Driving Louisiana penned a letter in opposition to any proposal that keeps bars open later, saying it would increase the likelihood of drunk driving incidents and make the roads less safe. Other board members opposed the item in its original form during a special board meeting Thursday because of its uniform application to any home game, whether it kicks off at 11 a.m. or in the evening. That opposition led to the resolution being amended to allow bars to stay open an hour later -- until 3 a.m. -- only on nights that LSU or Southern play a football game in the parish that kicks off after 5 p.m. LSU and Southern fans who attended Saturday's game said the traffic was the worst they had seen in decades of attending games in Baton Rouge. People spent hours sitting in cars to travel a handful of miles before and after the game, and a New Orleans resident said it took 5 hours drive home following the game. LSU plays at home on Saturday as well as on Sept. 24, Oct. 8, Oct. 22, Nov. 5 and Nov. 19. |
| Unbeaten Bulldogs Begin Conference Play at Home | |
| The unbeaten Mississippi State soccer program begins conference play Friday night against No. 14 Arkansas (5-1-1). The SEC home opener will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT on SECN+. "We are looking forward to opening conference play at home," head coach James Armstrong said. "There's never an easy game in the SEC, and that's particularly true with Arkansas. It's going to be a good test for us, but one we're super excited about." Arkansas enters Friday with a 3-0 win over Grand Canyon under its belt. Only six Razorbacks were responsible for the team's 18 shots. Arkansas carried the one-goal advantage into the half before netting the final pair two minutes apart, in the 71st and 73rd minute. MSU, meanwhile, gears up for its sixth home match of the season. The Dawgs are coming off an unbeaten, non-conference season that was capped by a 4-0 win over Presbyterian. Three players netted first-career goals and GK Maddy Anderson tied the MSU career shutouts record at 12. Six of MSU's 10 SEC matches are against teams who are ranked or receiving votes this season: No. 5 South Carolina, No. 11 Alabama, No. 14 Arkansas, No. 15 Ole Miss, No. 23 Auburn and Texas A&M (RV). The matches against the Rebels and the Tigers will be back-to-back road trips for the Bulldogs. |
| Republican Senator Reintroduces Bill That Takes Aim at NIL's Recruiting Influence | |
| One of the most powerful Republicans in the U.S. Senate is reintroducing a bill to govern name, image and likeness (NIL) that would "preserve the unique amateur nature of college sports," he says. Sen. Roger Wicker (R., Miss.), the ranking member of the committee believed to hold jurisdiction over any NIL legislation, is proposing a similar bill to the one he introduced in December 2020. His legislation would legalize college athlete NIL by using a national standard of rules that prohibits boosters and schools from utilizing NIL in recruiting. The bill gives antitrust protection to the NCAA, schools and conferences in two ways. It prohibits former athletes from suing for retroactive NIL, and it explicitly notes college athletes should not be considered employees. The NCAA is fighting two ongoing court cases based on both of these elements. In a change from the 2020 version of the bill, it allows conferences to enforce their own policies if they are consistent with the bill's legislation. It removes some limitations on how athletes exercise their NIL rights, lifting prohibitions in the original proposal. "This renewed proposal will help protect college athletes' rights to enter into name, image and likeness agreements, while also ensuring that these agreements are not pay-for-play schemes or incentives for college commitments or transfers," Wicker said in a release announcing the bill. Wicker's announcement comes about a month after former football coach turned senator Tommy Tuberville (R., Ala.) told Sports Illlustrated that he and Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) are in the process of acquiring feedback withthe intent to draft an NIL bill of their own. Commissioners from the Power 5, as well as others, have sent Tuberville and Manchin feedback on what an NIL bill should encompass. |
| Sen. Wicker reintroduces bill aimed at providing NIL framework | |
| As the name, image, and likeness (NIL) world continues to change the landscape of college sports, Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., has reintroduced a bill that he believes would "protect students from exploitation and preserve amateurism in college sports." Similar to a bill Wicker introduced in December 2020, the Collegiate Athlete Compensation Rights Act would ultimately legalize a student-athlete's right to earn compensation for the use of their NIL while also prohibiting boosters and schools from using NIL in recruiting. "To protect the players, maintain a level playing field in college sports, and preserve as much as we can of the amateur nature of college sports, it is imperative that Congress establish a uniform set of standards governing the NIL marketplace," Wicker said. "This renewed proposal will help protect college athletes' right to enter into [NIL] agreements, while also ensuring that these agreements are not pay-for-play schemes or incentives for college commitments or transfers." |
| Miami to host 2026 College Football Playoff national championship game; Atlanta selected for 2025 | |
| The College Football Playoff management committee has officially chosen its host sites for the national championship game through 2026. Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which hosted the 2018 national championship game, will again be the site in 2025, it was announced Tuesday. On Monday, the 2026 title game was awarded to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, the same site as the 2021 national title game. The CFP's management committee, which is comprised of the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, selected the sites. "We are excited to return the College Football Playoff National Championship to Atlanta," CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock said. "... Bringing the game back to Atlanta was a simple decision when we looked at everything. One of our greatest title games took place in Atlanta in 2018, and the city could not have been a better host." The 2021 title game in Miami had to be scaled back because of COVID-19 concerns. "We are delighted to be returning to Miami," Hancock said in a statement. "... We look forward to returning in 2026 with a full complement of events and activities during national championship weekend. The first-class stadium, convention center, hotels and supportive people in South Florida made the decision to return quite easy." The 2023 national title game will be held Jan. 9 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, followed by NRG Stadium in Houston on Jan. 8, 2024. |
| Georgia Southern Athletic Director Jared Benko gets contract extension | |
| Georgia Southern University Director of Athletics Jared Benko and the Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation have come to terms on a new five-year contract. The new contract is for five years, ending on June 30, 2027. His annual base salary increased $90,000 on September 1, 2022. Through an open records request, WJCL 22 News has obtained Benko's contract and agreement with the Athletic Foundation. Benko, who was hired in March 2020, will now earn $403,000. He will receive an $8,000 increase in base salary each year of the contract. "The Athletic Foundation is committed to elevating Georgia Southern and Georgia Southern Athletics to its full potential and ensuring we recruit and retain the very best athletic administration and coaches," said Leonard Bevill, Chair of the Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation Board. The contract also includes an insured courtesy vehicle or vehicle stipend, annual membership at Forest Heights Country Club and a number of incentives for academic and athletic success. Benko becomes one of the five highest paid AD's in Sun Belt Conference. |
| Ole Miss Authentics launching NIL merchandise program | |
| Ole Miss Authentics, the official team store of Ole Miss Athletics, will soon be offering exclusive student-athlete NIL merchandise, including customized Nike jerseys, unique t-shirts and other personalized items across all sports, through the athletics department's new group licensing agreement with The Brandr Group (TBG). Ole Miss Authentics, the official online, in-venue and brick and mortar retail merchandise arm of Ole Miss Athletics operated in partnership with Dyehard Fan Supply, will have exclusive NIL merchandise this fall that will offer official replica football jerseys in addition to a broader offering of name and number t-shirts for all athletes who have opted into the general licensing agreement with TBG. As the athletic season progresses, the Official Team Store will continue to expand its offering of NIL products. In addition, Dyehard will be looking for opportunities to integrate NIL engagements with sister company REVELXP, also a partner of Ole Miss Athletics. "We believe that our NIL efforts with the Official Team Store will bring great value to Ole Miss student-athletes as well as Ole Miss fans," said Wes Day, CEO of Dyehard Fan Supply. "The NIL merchandise will be inclusive of all student-athletes who have opted into the program, which is highly unique in the space." |
| Jackson State's Travis Hunter signs NIL deal with Michael Strahan Brand | |
 | Jackson State freshman Travis Hunter continues to surprise the college football world. On national signing day, Hunter flipped his choice of colleges and chose Jackson State over favored Florida State at the last minute. According to Forbes, Hunter signed a name, image, and likeness deal with Michael Strahan's company. Strahan an NFL Hall of Fame football player has transformed himself into a media mogul. He is a co-host of Good Morning America and hosts The $100,000 Pyramid, he's an analyst for Fox NFL Sunday, and started SMAC Entertainment with business partner Constance Schwarts-Morini in 2010. Strahan has a clothing company, and recently added Michael Strahan Daily Defense, a new skin and shave line. Hunter will be the face of several Strahan brand efforts, including its continued expansion of tailored and sportswear clothing lines, and will appear in brand marketing efforts across print, digital and social media. The deal is the second for Hunter, who on Sept. 4, signed a two-year NIL partnership with Greenwood in July to promote its "Choose Black" campaign. "Travis Hunter is a game-changer on and off the football field," Strahan said via email. "This young man had the opportunity to select any school in the country but chose Jackson State University, an HBCU. His decision demonstrates his character, his vision, and his confidence. He is also a great teammate." JSU takes on Grambling at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium at 1 p.m. Saturday. |
| Up to $40 million in building planned for University of Arkansas soccer, softball | |
| University of Arkansas officials are in the early stages of planning renovations to the Razorbacks' soccer and softball facilities that will cost between $15 million and $20 million apiece, according to figures submitted to UA trustees. The plans call for the construction of a new operations building for soccer and the expansion of an existing softball building that is used for indoor workouts. The new and renovated buildings will be similar to the Razorbacks' Hunt Baseball Development Center and O'Mara High Performance Track Center, which opened in 2021. The new 27,000-square-foot soccer building would be built on the site of an existing field house on the north side of Razorback Field. About 21,000 square feet would be added to an existing softball structure on the west side of Bogle Park. The soccer and softball stadiums are separated by a driveway just off of Stadium Drive, near Fayetteville High School. The soccer stadium was constructed in 1992 and the softball stadium opened in 2008. "We're trying to create facilities for our softball and soccer programs that provide team rooms, locker rooms, training rooms, probably a shared weight room between those two sports in one of those complexes, and coaches offices," Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek said. "But 75% to 80% of the building that we do at Bogle Park and what we do at Razorback Field will be for student-athletes." A timeline for the building projects is preliminary, but Yurachek said the earliest either would begin is the end of those teams' seasons during the 2023-24 school year. |
| Harsin: Orange jerseys 'not too far-fetched' | |
| As talk continues to swell around the possibility of an orange uniform shakeup for Auburn, one key figure says it's something he wouldn't be against. Head coach Bryan Harsin said on Wednesday's SEC coaches teleconference when asked about the possibility that Auburn wearing orange jerseys "wouldn't be something I'd be against." "I might like it," Harsin said. "I've seen the orange jerseys from the past, and yeah, I think that's something that Auburn's done, so it's not too far-fetched. At the same time, I also think, too, it's something that people would be excited about, especially your younger crowd, I'm sure would be excited about it. "But you're asking a guy that came from a program that we had probably 25 different combinations of uniforms, so. I like the tradition. I really do. I really respect that. ... I think it's cool. I mean, they're good-looking jerseys. I love our colors. I think we have the best colors in the country, I really do. I love them, and if it's something that we're able to do, that wouldn't be something I'd be against." With Auburn welcoming No. 22 Penn State to Jordan-Hare this weekend for an "Orange Out"-themed game, defenders Derick Hall and Owen Pappoe broke uniform news Monday, saying the Tigers would be wearing orange facemasks, which were reintroduced for the first time in over 30 years last season. Doug Barfield's Auburn team wore orange jerseys in four games in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Before the modern era, Clint Richardson of AuburnUniforms.com has been able to find confirmation of Auburn wearing orange shirts or jerseys 92 times from 1928 to 1955. |
| Helmet Shortage in High School Football Raises Costs, and Risks | |
 | Glen Wright, a whisper of a receiver and safety at Collinwood High School, arrived for last week's game with a helmet so new, the sticker price was still attached: $399.99, plus tax. Wright, a 17-year-old junior, said he called a sporting goods store looking for a helmet in the size that fit him: youth extra large. "They only had one left," he said. His scramble to find a helmet reflected what coaches and athletic directors across the country say has been a shortage of helmets -- and also, to some extent, of shoulder pads and uniforms -- for high school, junior high and middle school football teams. The scarcity affected preseason workouts and has persisted into the regular season. Some headgear, when it can be found, has nearly doubled or tripled in price on the secondary market. "It's coast to coast," said Doug Samuels, the head coach at Comstock Park High School in Michigan, who flagged the problem in a June column for FootballScoop, an online source of coaching news. The shortfall, he said in an interview, has forced coaches to confront unfamiliar questions like, who is liable if two players share a helmet and one gets a concussion because the chin strap was not properly adjusted? Manufacturers attribute the equipment shortage mostly to Covid-related issues that many industries continue to face --- kinks in the supply chain, transportation slowdowns and a lack of workers. The disruption has occurred, coaches and suppliers say, while demand has increased as more students return to football after two seasons unsettled by the pandemic. "It's kind of a perfect storm," said Ron Dowd, the athletic director at Walpole High School in Massachusetts. |
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