| Tuesday, June 20, 2023 |
| Boeing and Aurora Flight Sciences partner to bolster refueling innovation | |
 | As the joint force continues to push the mission envelope for increased global reach and survivability of its mobility platforms, Boeing and Aurora Flight Sciences -- a Boeing company known for novel aircraft configurations, systems and technologies -- have been applying their mutual resources and expertise to continue evolving next-generation aerial refueling mission capabilities. Aurora's facility in Columbus, Mississippi exemplifies how Boeing and Aurora are driving the future of these next-generation aerial refueling systems with cutting-edge design and manufacturing expertise. Located in Columbus -- only 15 miles east of Mississippi State University in Starkville -- Aurora Mississippi manufactures composite skins for the MQ-25 Stingray. "The MQ-25 composite skins are lightweight, resilient, strong and tailor-designed to perform their function to perfection," production engineering manager Jake Waldrep said. Aurora is a key partner in Mississippi's nexus of composites and advanced manufacturing research, higher education and workforce development. This group includes Mississippi State University -- with its MSU Advanced Composites Institute -- and East Mississippi Community College's satellite campus, The Communiversity, which serves as the hub for the college's workforce programs and primary location for training in fields related to advanced manufacturing. Aurora leverages both MSU and EMCC for recruitment and employee training. These connections make the Aurora Mississippi facility primed for growth to support future work, according to Luke Colville, Aurora's vice president of manufacturing and aerosystems. |
| Starkville Honors Juneteenth With Six-Day Celebration | |
| Messages of hope, history, freedom and celebration rang throughout Starkville for six days as residents celebrated Juneteenth. The first Juneteenth celebration happened on June 19, 1866, Juneteenth Committee for Unity Vice President Yulanda Haddix told about 20 people who had gathered for an evening of prayer in Unity Park on June 14. She told the history of Juneteenth, which started with President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation that declared over three million enslaved people in Confederate states to be freed. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, announcing the end of slavery to its Black residents. Union troops had already arrived in Columbus, Miss., a month earlier on May 8, 1865, freeing the enslaved people of the town. Columbus residents still honor May 8 as Emancipation Day. President Joe Biden signed a law designating June 19 as the Juneteenth federal holiday in 2021. Mississippi State University African American History Professor Donald Shaffer reflected on the civil rights activists featured in portraits on the brick walls of Unity Park. “We are the validation of their suffering and sacrifice,” he said. The professor said emancipation “came at a high cost,” as more than 630,000 soldiers died during the Civil War. “I’m more than a conqueror. If they can do it, I can do it,” Shaffer said, gesturing to the portraits while members of the crowd voiced agreement with the message. |
| Community Profile: Interpreting for Spanish speaking residents gives Army veteran new purpose | |
 | On one of Diego Sotomeneses' first calls as an officer in the Starkville Police Department, he responded to a domestic violence call where the victim only spoke Spanish. When he spoke her native language back to her, he said he saw the relief on her face. "I walked in and saw her scared out of her mind," Sotomeneses said. "When I started speaking Spanish back to her, she could tell someone could understand her. That's how I knew I was where I needed to be." Sotomeneses moved to Starkville from San Antonio, Texas, in 2015 after retiring from the Army, and he never imagined he would be a police officer. "I really do enjoy it whether I'm on the (motorcycle), getting to see kids, becoming part of this community for them," Sotomeneses said. "You get to see the bad. You get to see the good, but you get to see (Starkville residents) and reach out to them. You don't know when the opportunity comes to reach somebody on their worst day and help them out. That's what I love." "There's something about Starkville that actually attracted me – the people, the difference from a big city and it's somewhere you actually raise your family," Sotomeneses said. "My ex-team members, including my team lead, asked me, 'Mississippi? What are you going to do in Mississippi?' ... Starkville has been beautiful because this is where I've actually been able to feel my family, get to know my children." Sotomeneses received a business degree from Mississippi State University and did contract work in Ecuador until COVID-19 hit and stopped virtually all international travel. In 2020, Chief Mark Ballard approached him and asked him to join the ranks at SPD. |
| PSC Commissioner expresses frustration with Entergy restoration times across Mississippi | |
| Mississippi has been plagued by severe weather resulting in large scale power outages across the state over the last week. In total, 138,000 customers have been without power for some period of time since June 10. More severe weather is expected later this week. Currently, there is a heat advisory in place for Central Mississippi with temperatures expected to reach the low 90's on Monday, but the heat index will make it feel more like temperatures are in the 100's. As of Sunday evening, Entergy reported 31,993 customers were still without power. For some, it could be Wednesday before the lights come on. "These thunderstorms are relentless, however our storm teams and those here to assist with our restoration are also relentless," said Haley Fisackerly, president and CEO, Entergy Mississippi. "We are now systematically and safely stepping through our switching, vegetation clearing and construction efforts to restore power to all our customers." Entergy reported 2,000 workers are currently engaged in restoring power. Their data found 185 poles damaged, over 216,000 feet of downed power lines, 135 damaged cross arms and 48 damaged transformers. On Sunday, the company said to expect these numbers to rise as additional damage is discovered. The delay in power restoration struck a nerve with Central District Public Service Commissioner Brent Bailey. On Monday, he expressed deep concern and disappointment over the response efforts. |
| Federal judge says Jackson mayor may have misinformed residents about water quality | |
| Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba will soon have to answer to a federal judge regarding comments he made about Jackson's water quality at a recent press conference. A status hearing is slated for Wednesday, June 21, before U.S. District Court Judge Henry Wingate in the city's ongoing water case. Wingate called the hearing last week, a day after the mayor held a media briefing to announce a new partnership to distribute water filters to vulnerable citizens. "This court is concerned whether the mayor's comments comport with the progress that has been made on water quality by the efforts of the Interim Third-Party Manager, Ted Henifin," Wingate wrote. Henifin was appointed manager over Jackson's water system as part of a federal takeover in November. Wingate was particularly concerned with the mayor's statements regarding the "processing efforts" of the city's drinking water and wrote in a court order setting the hearing that those comments "may have misinformed the public as to the current status of Jackson's water quality, and the alleged 'danger'... owing to the alleged presence of various chemicals." |
| Here's how the Hollywood writers strike is affecting Mississippi | |
| It's been nearly 50 days since Hollywood writers hit the picket lines, affecting the production of TV shows and movies across the country. Wondering how the strike is impacting Mississippi specifically, we caught up with Nina Parikh of the Mississippi Film Office to discuss. "Most of our projects, they've already been written. They may have locked scripts, so they can move forward, but there are some that are looking at being here that are on hold for the moment," Parikh said on The Gallo Show. "So, I wouldn't say that it hasn't stalled us completely, but there are things that might be delayed by a month or two." While Parikh explained that film production in the Magnolia State -- which reached historic highs in 2022 -- has not been impacted as much as other states like California, she did note that things could change if the recently authorized actors strike ends up going into effect on July 1. "There's the pending screen actors guild strike that could also come in conjunction with the writer's strike, so like I said, we have things here right now, there are other things that will go into production, and then some that are just on hold," Parikh explained. Parikh did point out some good news though. According to her, shows like Laurel's "Hometown" will not be impacted since the strike primarily affects scripted content. |
| Democrats fed up with Tuberville want to change Senate rules | |
 | Senate Democrats say they're ready to take another look at rules reform to break through the blockade Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has put in place against more than 200 military promotions to protest the Pentagon's abortion policy. Other Republican senators are jumping into the contentious battle over President Biden's nominees, further fueling Democrats' frustration. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) declared last week that he will put a hold on all nominees to the Justice Department. Democrats say Tuberville is abusing the Senate rules by keeping his hold on Biden's military promotions in place since February, and some lawmakers say they want to discuss changing the rules. "We need to talk about changing rules that Republicans have learned to exploit. We can't continue in a world where one senator puts our entire national defense at risk because he doesn't like one policy followed by the Department of Defense," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. She has repeatedly asked for unanimous consent to advance Biden's nonpolitical military promotions only to be blocked by Tuberville. "Sen. Tuberville's hold is just another indication of the madness that seems to have seized extremists in the Republican Party," she said. Warren's frustration is shared throughout the Senate Democratic caucus. The Senate traditionally has approved the promotions of nonpolitical military personnel by unanimous consent to keep the careers of those service members separate from the political process. |
| Beijing Plans a New Training Facility in Cuba, Raising Prospect of Chinese Troops on America's Doorstep | |
 | China and Cuba are negotiating to establish a new joint military training facility on the island, sparking alarm in Washington that it could lead to the stationing of Chinese troops and other security and intelligence operations just 100 miles off Florida's coast, according to current and former U.S. officials. Discussions for the facility on Cuba's northern coast are at an advanced stage but not concluded, U.S. intelligence reports suggest. The Biden administration has contacted Cuban officials to try to forestall the deal, seeking to tap in to what it thinks might be Cuban concerns about ceding sovereignty. Beijing's effort to establish a military training facility in Cuba hasn't been previously reported. The White House declined to comment. The heightened anxiety in Washington over China's ambitions in the Caribbean and Latin America comes as the administration is seeking to tamp down broader tensions with Beijing that have been stoked by a host of other issues, including U.S. support for Taiwan. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was on a high-profile visit to China these past few days, meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The trip appeared to halt a downward spiral in relations. But Blinken failed to secure China's agreement to a U.S. proposal that the two countries resume military-to-military communications to avoid misunderstandings. He also raised U.S. concerns about Chinese intelligence activities in Cuba, according to a State Department statement. |
| Hunter Biden reaches deal to plead guilty in tax, gun case | |
 | President Biden's son Hunter has reached a tentative agreement with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to two minor tax crimes and admit to the facts of a gun charge under terms that would likely keep him out of jail, according to court papers filed Tuesday. Any proposed plea deal would have to be approved by a federal judge, and it was not immediately clear what day Hunter Biden, 53, might appear in court to enter his guilty plea. The agreement caps an investigation that was opened in 2018 during the Trump administration, and has generated intense interest and criticism since 2020 from Republican politicians who accused the Biden administration of reluctance to pursue the case. The terms of the proposed deal -- negotiated with Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a holdover from President Donald Trump's administration -- are likely to face similar scrutiny. The court papers indicate the younger Biden has tentatively agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges of failure to pay in 2017 and 2018. The combined tax liability is roughly $1.2 million over those years, according to people familiar with the plea deal, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe details of the agreement that are not yet public. Prosecutors plan to recommend a sentence of probation for those counts, these people said. Biden's representatives have said he previously paid back the IRS what he owed. The gun purchase that led to the criminal charge happened in late 2018, at a time when, by his own telling in his autobiography, Hunter Biden was regularly abusing crack cocaine. |
| Republican primary spending projected to approach or surpass $1 billion | |
 | The Republican presidential primary is getting crowded. With a former president and well-heeled politicians running, plus super PACs boosting them, it all points to what's likely going to be the most money ever spent to win the GOP nomination. Early projections show it will likely cost close to or more than $1 billion, according to Open Secrets, which tracks campaign-finance spending. The final figure will depend on how long it takes for the nomination to be wrapped up. "It's a lot of money to become a successful president in the end," said Sarah Bryner, research director at Open Secrets. Like a never-ending arms race, the price to become president has skyrocketed. In 2020, almost $6 billion was spent on the presidential race alone, roughly four times what it cost two decades ago. (Even adjusting for inflation, it cost almost three times as much as in 2000.) Including congressional races, the cost was more than $14 billion, double that of 2016. $1 billion in a primary would be a first for Republicans --- and it would come from a combination of campaign and super PAC spending. "The wild card here is how much we can expect to see in fundraising and spending by super PACs," Bryner said. "And those are subject to a lot more fluctuation because you can have one billionaire come in, drop $1 million, and that really changes the fundraising game." |
| Trump says he didn't hand over documents because he was 'very busy' | |
 | Former President Donald Trump offered a new explanation Monday as to why he didn't return classified documents he took with him from the White House, saying he was "very busy" and didn't have time to separate them from his personal belongings. Trump made the comments in an interview with Fox News' chief political anchor Bret Baier on his show Special Report. Asked why he didn't simply return the bankers boxes full of documents after the National Archives and Justice Department moved to subpoena him, Trump said, "Because I had boxes, I wanted to go through the boxes and get all of my personal things out. I don't want to hand that over to NARA yet. And I was very busy, as you've sort of seen." Baier then read from the Justice Department's June 8 indictment, which charged Trump with 37 felony counts of mishandling national security information and obstructing justice in not returning them. More than 300 classified documents were recovered more than a year after Trump left the White House, most under subpoena in June 2022 or during an FBI search in August 2022. "According to the indictment, you then tell this aide to move (the boxes) to other locations after telling your lawyers to say you'd fully complied with the subpoena when you hadn't," Baer asked Trump. "Before I send boxes over, I have to take all of my things out," Trump responded. "These boxes were interspersed with all sorts of things." |
| Businesses are quieter on social justice issues as support for Black Lives Matter dips | |
| It's been a decade since the hashtag Black Lives Matter first showed up on Twitter and three years since the murder of George Floyd, when about two-thirds of Americans expressed support for the movement, according to Pew Research. But Pew's latest polling finds support has since dropped significantly since then -- down to just 51%. And that decline is showing up in corporate America. Companies these days are a lot quieter about social justice issues than they were in 2020, which is exactly what many expected: public support, then backlash, then retreat. "Many companies are looking at their initiatives and their investment in diversity, equity and inclusion -- specifically when it comes to race -- and saying, 'This isn't quite an area where we want to focus as much anymore,'" said Adia Harvey Wingfield, a professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis. And that can have direct consequences in the workplace, she said. But there have been some shifts in the way people think about diversity in the workplace, according to Juliana Horowitz at Pew Research. "A majority of U.S. workers -- 56% -- say that focusing on increasing diversity, equity and inclusion at work is mainly a good thing," she said. |
| U. of South Carolina students of color are 'afterthoughts,' groups say. They want more multicultural staff | |
 | Minority students at the University of South Carolina are demanding more investment in the school's Office of Multicultural student affairs, saying students of color are "afterthoughts.." USC's Association of African American Students posted a letter on Twitter Monday that calls out the university for a lack of commitment to the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs. The association says the office is "understaffed and underfunded." It is one of the few safe spaces for students of color on campus, students say. By the end of summer, the office of six people will be run by only two full-time staff members, according to the letter. University spokesman Jeff Stensland said that office's director, Shay Malone, is planning to leave USC for a position at another university. Malone, who was "well-liked," is stilled employed, so the university does not have her replacement yet, he said. But students see it differently, and say the office's understaffing is part of a larger trend. "Instead of aggressively hiring to fill the position, the university is actively attempting to pause a significant amount of (the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs') programming. The university has not communicated any concrete plan on how the Office will be managed," the letter read. |
| LSU becomes first university to launch cyber clinic protecting small businesses through NSA grant | |
 | Cementing its status as a top cybersecurity institution, LSU is the first university in the nation to receive funds from the National Security Agency for a cybersecurity clinic. The $1.5 million NSA grant will go toward helping the clinic protect small businesses in Louisiana from cybersecurity attacks. The Louisiana Cybersecurity Clinic, or LCC, will provide free services through the Small Business Development Center at LSU. LSU is one of 403 Centers of Academic Excellence designated by the NSA and one of only 22 schools nationally that are designated as a highly technical NSA Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations. While all 403 schools were eligible to apply for NSA support to create a cyber clinic, the NSA offered a maximum of two awards, and the first is going to LSU. Adam McCloskey, director of the Small Business Development Center at LSU, said the NSA grant will go a long way toward protecting small businesses, which are frequently targets of cyber attacks. These businesses often don't have the infrastructure to protect themselves, McCloskey said, and need help protecting sensitive internal data that could involve personal details or customer information. |
| Joro spiders are spreading in the Southeast and UGA scientists want your help to find more | |
 | The Joro spider invaded northeast Georgia in 2014 and in the ensuing decade its sticky gold web has spread into the Carolinas, Tennessee and Alabama. At the moment scientists don't know how far across the country this arachnid from east Asia with long hairless legs will populate as its eats it way in all directions. There is already an isolated patch in Oklahoma and Maryland. The Joro, well known to homeowners in Athens, is constantly under the curious eyes of scientists, including those working for the University of Georgia. These scientists are locking their captured specimens inside bottles where they are teased and sometimes dissected in an effort to better understand these eight-legged predators. Its nonlethal bite on a human has been described as akin to a bee sting. There is currently a program, Joro Watch, promoted by UGA that encourages people to document Joro sightings and enter the information on the website at jorowatch.org. "A lot of people had heard about Joros because of their rapid spread throughout Georgia. We thought they must be aggressive and out competing the native spiders," Davis said recently in explaining a reason for the study. |
| State officials approve almost $1.2B in funding for A&M System | |
 | Gov. Greg Abbott approved a record $1.19 billion in new spending for the Texas A&M University System on Monday. This is the first time the A&M System has received over a billion dollars in new state funds, which are contained in several bills and includes funding across several system schools and agencies. A&M Chancellor John Sharp called this spring's Texas legislative session "the Higher Education Session" in a letter he wrote to the state Legislature. "I think because A&M is growing so fast and has become, quite frankly, the school of choice in Texas, we had 40,000 students apply for 10,000 slots," Sharp told The Eagle on Monday. "I think the Legislature likes what's going on here and they responded accordingly." State legislators approved $180.9 million to the A&M System in exchange for freezing undergraduate tuition and academic fees for in-state residents over the next two years. These funds were tied to tenure reform and legislation in regard to higher education's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts, which were bills signed by Abbott last week. Sharp said this started in a committee within A&M's Board of Regents when the board instructed A&M officials to find ways to not have to raise tuition for the next two years. "A&M was a key beneficiary of that because we have more veterans than anybody else, so we got more reimbursement for that, and because we're growing so fast," Sharp said. |
| As Student Mental Health Worsens, Colleges Embrace Happiness Courses | |
 | Tal Ben-Shahar was thriving academically as a second-year computer science major at Harvard University. He had good grades and a robust social life, and he thought he should feel happy. But he wasn't, and he wanted to understand why. The desire for answers ultimately led him down an academic career path focused on researching and teaching about happiness. Ben-Shahar, now a psychology professor at Centenary University, a private liberal arts institution in New Jersey, launched what he believes is the first accredited master's degree program in happiness studies last fall. A little over 90 students enrolled in the first year of the two-year online program. He hopes a similar size cohort will start the program this upcoming fall. Ben-Shahar previously taught positive psychology at Harvard, a discipline that's a couple of decades old and focused on the scientific study of what makes people thrive, but happiness studies is a nascent field, he said. He's long believed academia needs an "interdisciplinary field of study that looks at what philosophers have to say about happiness, and theologians, and literature, and neuroscience, and psychology." "We all want to become happier," he said. |
| Why more and more colleges are closing down across the U.S. | |
| The mid-2010′s saw an uptick in U.S. college closures, particularly among private nonprofit schools. This trend has affected tens of thousands of college students across the country. Since 2016, 91 U.S. private colleges have closed, merged with another school, or announced plans to close, according to a CNBC analysis of data from Higher Ed Dive. Almost half of those schools closed after the onset of the Covid pandemic in 2020. For many struggling schools the pandemic was the final straw -- but two major themes showed up consistently throughout the closures: finances and enrollment. "There are two significant issues affecting higher education right now, specifically, through the admission and enrollment offices," said Robert Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review. "Number one, it is the admission cliff, and that is the impending decline [in the number of prospective students]. We'll be graduating our lowest high school classes by population in 2025. And most enrollment professionals have been wringing their hands about this date of 2025, but many schools have seen those enrollment declines already." "It's a reflection of, I think, an unsustainable operating platform, meaning a heavy reliance on tuition, which can't always keep up with inflation [or] with erosion in enrollment," said Fitch Ratings Senior Director Emily Wadhwani. |
| Education Department Eyes New Requirements for All Programs | |
| Colleges and universities and those representing them in Washington, D.C., are concerned about a set of proposals from the Education Department that could potentially usher in a new era of accountability for all types of programs. Under the plan, the department would report more data about all programs on students' debt loads and earnings and could potentially use that information to revoke an institution's eligibility to access federal financial aid. Colleges and universities generally support the new transparency requirements but say the other aspects are vague and subjective. Supporters of the department's plans say the additional program-level data will be useful in seeing how students fare after college and that more accountability is needed for all programs. The deadline to submit comments on the plan is today. Higher education experts and lobbyists see the department's proposals, which require institutions meet new conditions to access federal financial aid, as a step toward creating a federal rating system that would identify poor-performing programs, building on the administration's plans to create a list of programs it says provide a low financial value to students. |
| To combat antisemitism, Education Department to propose rules on shared ancestry bias | |
| The U.S. Department of Education plans to propose amending regulations that address the enforcement of K-12 and college cases involving harassment or discrimination based on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, according to a regulatory announcement. The proposed rulemaking for Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which comes amid an increase in school-based antisemitic incidents, is expected to be released in December. In its announcement, the Education Department said the proposed rule would align with the Biden administration's initiatives on combating antisemitism and advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities. Additionally, the department noted that its Office for Civil Rights has received complaints of harassment and assault directed at Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and other students based on their shared ancestry or ethnicity. In a Dear Colleague letter sent May 25, Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights, said OCR finds that a hostile environment exists where there is harassing conduct that is sufficiently severe, pervasive or persistent that interferes or limits an individual's participation in school activities. "Schools must take immediate and appropriate action to respond to harassment that creates a hostile environment," Lhamon said. |
| Tuberville introduces bill that limits amount graduate school students could borrow | |
| Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville announced new legislation Friday that would limit the amount of loans a graduate student could take out when attending school. Sen. Tuberville introduced the legislation "to fight rising tuition costs by capping federal student loans for graduate education." The Graduate Opportunity and Affordable Loans (GOAL) Act would limit the amount of graduate PLUS loans that can be taken out by a single student. This legislation was introduced as a part of the Lowering Education Costs and Debt Act, a landmark Republican package of five bills aimed at directly addressing the issues driving the skyrocketing cost of higher education and the increasing amounts of debt students take on to attend school. Sen. Tuberville is an original cosponsor of all five bills. The Goal Act would set the graduate student Stafford loan limit at $65,000 and keep the annual unsubsidized Stafford loan limit at $20,500. It would also set the annual unsubsidized Stafford loan limits at $40,500 and establish an aggregate unsubsidized Stafford loan limit at $130,000 for those pursuing professional degrees. |
| States With Abortion Bans Are Losing a Generation of Ob-Gyns | |
 | Shira Fishbach, a newly graduated physician, was sitting in an orientation session for her first year of medical residency when her phone started blowing up. It was June 24, 2022, and the US Supreme Court had just handed down its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, nullifying the national right to abortion and turning control back to state governments. Fishbach was in Michigan, where an abortion ban enacted in 1931 instantly came into effect. That law made administering an abortion a felony punishable by four years in prison, with no exceptions for rape or incest. It was a chilling moment: Her residency is in obstetrics and gynecology, and she viewed mastering abortion procedures as essential to her training. In the end, she didn't need to leave. That November, Michigan voters approved an amendment to the state constitution that made the 1931 law unenforceable, and this April, Governor Gretchen Whitmer repealed the ban. Fishbach didn't have to abandon the state to learn the full range of ob-gyn care. In fact, her program at the University of Michigan, where she's now a second-year resident, pivoted to making room for red-state trainees. But the dizzying reassessment she underwent a year ago provides a glimpse of the challenges that face thousands of new and potential doctors. Among students and residents, simmering anger over bans is growing. Long-time faculty fear the result will be a permanent reshaping of American medicine, driving new doctors from red states to escape limitations and legal threats, or to protect their own reproductive options. That would reduce the number of physicians available, not just to provide abortions, but to conduct genetic screenings, care for miscarriages, deliver babies, and handle unpredictable pregnancy risks. |
SPORTS
| Justin Parker Named Diamond Dawg Pitching Coach | |
| Mississippi State head baseball coach Chris Lemonis announced on Monday that Justin Parker has been hired as the new pitching coach for the Diamond Dawgs. Parker joins the Diamond Dawgs staff after spending the last two seasons as the pitching coach at the University of South Carolina. Before joining the Gamecocks, Parker spent three years as the associate head coach/pitching coach at Indiana University. "I want to thank Coach Lemonis for this incredible opportunity to join an amazing staff and a program with a storied tradition," Parker said. "Coach Lemonis and I share many of the same coaching philosophies, and I'm excited to begin this next chapter of my coaching career with this storied program. My family and I are fired up to get to Starkville and join the Mississippi State family. I can't wait to build relationships with, teach and develop our players on and off the field." Parker is widely regarded for his prowess in producing top-quality arms that are selected in the MLB Draft. Nine of the 20 pitchers drafted under his watch have gone in the first 10 rounds. |
| Justin Parker named new Mississippi State pitching coach | |
| Mississippi State has hired Justin Parker to be the team's pitching coach. Parker spent the last two seasons at the University of South Carolina after a three-year campaign at Indiana -- where Mississippi State head coach Chris Lemonis coached before coming to Starkville. This past season Parker led the Gamecocks' pitching unit to a 4.19 team ERA, which ranked second in the conference and 12th in the country. Largely as a result of its pitching, South Carolina hosted and won the NCAA Columbia Regional and advanced to the Gainesville Super Regional, earning 42 wins on the season. Parker is a Wright State graduate who, as a shortstop, earned first-team Horizon League selections in 2007 and 2008, as well as second-team ABCA All-Region in 2007, and was an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District recipient in 2008. He was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the sixth round of the 2008 MLB June Amateur Draft where he spent three years playing for the professional team's minor league affiliates. |
| Justin Parker hired as Mississippi State baseball pitching coach | |
 | Mississippi State baseball's search for a pitching coach, which started on May 1 after Scott Foxhall's firing, is over. Coach Chris Lemonis has hired former South Carolina assistant Justin Parker to fill the position, MSU announced on Monday. "Justin is one of the top pitching coaches in the country and is on the rise in the coaching ranks of college baseball," Lemonis said in a statement. "He is a terrific baseball talent, and an incredible vision for what he wants to do on the mound and defensively here at Mississippi State. Justin is a huge asset for the Diamond Dawgs, and we are excited to welcome him and his family to Starkville." Parker, 36, has spent the past two seasons at South Carolina under Mark Kingston. In that time, the Gamecocks saw an impressive return to success fueled in large part to their performance on the mound. In 2021, before Parker's arrival, South Carolina went 34-23 and lost in regionals. The Gamecocks had a team ERA of 3.80. In Parker's first season, USC struggled en route to a losing record with a 5.41 ERA. However, Parker helped steer the ship. The Gamecocks won 42 games this year and made it to super regionals behind a 4.19 ERA -- second in the SEC. South Carolina had 10 pitchers throw more than 20 innings and collect an ERA below five -- a benchmark only four MSU pitchers reached. |
| South Carolina losing pitching coach Justin Parker to another SEC school | |
| South Carolina pitching coach Justin Parker is leaving for the same role at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs, who missed the NCAA Tournament in 2023 two years after winning the national title, agreed to part ways with pitching coach Scott Foxhall after the season, creating an opening on Chris Lemonis' staff. Parker confirmed his departure with a social media message Monday. "Struggling to find words to express what the last 2 years have meant," Parker posted to Twitter. "So thankful for my time in Columbia and all the wonderful people that have welcomed us and made it feel like home. It will always be the birthplace of our son! Very grateful to Coach Kingston for this opportunity and Coach Tanner for building such an incredible program. Love Coach Lee, Caillet, Wingo, Anderson and Current. Most of all, I love these players and will miss them! This place is special. Forever to thee!" TheBigSpur reported that USC will hire Matt Williams from Liberty to be the Gamecocks' next pitching coach. |
| Justin Parker's track record could signal a turnaround for Bulldog pitching | |
| After a nearly two-month long search, Mississippi State baseball found its pitching coach and ended up not having to look far for him. Sources with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Dispatch Monday morning that Justin Parker, who spent the last two years as the pitching coach at South Carolina, will succeed Scott Foxhall, who was relieved of his duties on May 1 by MSU head coach Chris Lemonis. Call it a home run, because stealing a proven pitching from a Southeastern Conference rival certainly is. Call it a Hail Mary, too, because Parker's success could directly correlate to Lemonis' future beyond the 2024 season. After two miserable seasons on the mound in 2022-23, where the Bulldogs finished dead last in the SEC in numerous pitching categories, Lemonis had no choice but to cut ties with Foxhall, who was on MSU's 2021 national title coaching staff. The Bulldogs have yet to reach the SEC Tournament, let alone the Big Dance, since their '21 title run. At a critical point in the history of the MSU baseball program, Lemonis made a critical hire. In Parker, a Fort Wayne, Indiana native, MSU adds a pitching coach whose staffs have historically improved by the end of his tenure. Though in some cases, that improvement wasn't immediate. In his two-year stint at Central Florida, the Knights went from a 4.80 team earned run average in 2016, the year before Parker arrived, to 4.08 in 2018, Parker's final season before heading to Indiana. With the Hoosiers, Parker's first staff in 2019 took a slight step back from a 3.09 team ERA in 2018 to 2019's 3.56 ERA. But by the time Parker left for South Carolina, it was back down to 3.18. That trend held in Columbia. |
| What hiring Justin Parker as pitching coach says about Mississippi State baseball's status | |
| Mississippi State baseball coach Chris Lemonis made a splash Monday taking Justin Parker from his post as South Carolina's pitching coach to fill the same role in Starkville. After a search stemming back to Scott Foxhall's firing on May 1, Lemonis reaffirmed his team's spot among the sport's elite programs. MSU, after back-to-back years with no postseason appearances and pressure building on a staff less than two years removed from a national championship, still has the power to pull a rising star from an SEC foe. The Bulldogs, after losing two of three against the Gamecocks less than three months ago, invest in baseball enough to snag the elite candidate Lemonis said he could land. On a national scale, the move has drawn praise from the likes of D1Baseball's Kendall Rogers, who called it a, "strong hire." It's also an addition that has MSU great and longtime MLB reliever Jonathan Papelbon excited to watch Parker, "help (Mississippi State) get back to Omaha." Perhaps it's overzealous to proclaim the Bulldogs are back, but hiring Parker was a step in the right direction. "Justin is really, really good," said Indiana coach Jeff Mercer, who has strong ties to Parker. "It's a great hire. Really smart by (Lemonis) to get it done." Parker's track record shows a coach who has succeeded at programs with far fewer resources than Mississippi State. At Wright State, his alma mater, Parker spent six seasons. The Raiders made three NCAA Tournament appearances. From there, Parker helped lead Central Florida to 75 wins in two seasons under head coach Greg Lovelady. |
| Mitch Barnhart's state of the UK athletics program message went beyond beer sales | |
 | Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart gave his annual state of the program press conference Friday afternoon at Kroger Field. His message: Things are good, but the balancing act continues. The AD confirmed the expected. After a successful "pilot initiative" during the home baseball season at Kentucky Proud Park, beer and seltzer drink sales will be expanded to all UK athletics events, including Kroger Field for football and Rupp Arena for basketball. "I noticed that everybody got amazingly more busy on their (computers and phone) when I said that," Barnhart teased the media after making the announcement. "Get to the good stuff. You showed up for one thing today. I get it." There was more to Friday. Much more. Now the chaotic. NIL leads the list. A group of UK athletics officials, including men's basketball coach John Calipari and softball coach Rachel Lawson, accompanied Barnhart to Washington, D.C., recently to meet with the Kentucky congressional delegation about name, image and likeness. "We've got 50 states that are running it 50 different ways," Barnhart said. "There's just no way college athletics can continue to function in that way." And don't forget about the transfer portal. Or Kentucky's legalized sports gambling, which will begin sometime this fall. That brings its own challenges for Barnhart and staff. Or added travel costs brought about by SEC expansion. |
| Oregon State AD Scott Barnes supports uneven split of College Football Playoff revenue | |
| In the run-up to a Pac-12 media rights agreement and the grant of rights, uneven distribution of revenue among conference schools has been a point of discussion. Will power players such as Oregon and Washington eventually receive a larger slice of the revenue pie than Oregon State? OSU athletic director Scott Barnes is unconcerned. He believes the "baseline revenue," meaning television money, will be split evenly among the existing 10 Pac-12 members. Where uneven revenue sharing comes into play has to do with postseason bonuses. Barnes said at this point, Pac-12 schools that participate in the College Football Playoff receiving a greater share of postseason revenue than others is a hypothetical concept, though it is being seriously discussed. It's substantial money, as a recent report said CFP payouts could hit $2 billion per year by 2027. If a competing school makes a playoff run and is allowed to keep up to half of the payout, it could be an eight-figure windfall. "My feeling on that is that I'm good with it," Barnes said. "I think that's a next step and where we sit, we're in a position, frankly, with our football program. As you think about the percentage split, it's got to be balanced, but I think there's traction and I would support going down the path of incentivized distribution of things like CFP." There's no indication the Pac-12 is currently discussing an uneven split of media rights revenue for this upcoming contract. But what about next time? Would schools with more leverage for various reasons, like Oregon, Washington, Stanford and California, push to get a slightly larger percentage of television and streaming revenue? |
| Collective Force of Head Hits, Not Just the Number of Them, Increases Odds of C.T.E. | |
 | When Jeffrey Vlk played running back in high school in the 1990s and then safety in college, he took and delivered countless tackles during full-contact football practices. Hitting was a mainstay, as were injuries, including concussions. When he became a coach at Buffalo Grove High School outside Chicago in 2005, Vlk did what he had been taught: He had his players hit and tackle in practices to "toughen them up." By the time he became head coach in 2016, though, he saw that many of his players were so banged up from a week of hitting in practice that they missed games or were more susceptible to being injured in those games. So, starting in 2019, Vlk eliminated full-contact practices. Vlk's approach to limiting the number of hits players take has been spreading slowly in the football world, where much of the effort has focused on avoiding and treating concussions, which often have observable symptoms and are tracked by sports leagues. But researchers have for years posited that the more hits to the head a player receives -- even subconcussive ones, which are usually not tracked -- the more likely he is to develop cognitive and neurological problems later in life. A new study published on Tuesday in the scientific journal Nature Communications added a critical wrinkle: A football player's chances of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., are related to the number of head impacts absorbed, but also to the cumulative impact of all those hits. |
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