| Thursday, June 29, 2023 |
| Castle Properties begins $2 million renovation of former Cadence Operations Center | |
 | When Sylvia Byrd, department head for the Mississippi State University Extension Service's Office of Nutrition Education, was looking to expand its services in 2022, she knew she needed to find a new space. Earlier this year, after learning about the Professional Park, a new housing space for area businesses and organizations in Starkville, she found the right home for the expansion. Castle Properties owner Mark Castleberry told The Dispatch the company has started a $2 million renovation project to revitalize the former Cadence Operations Center at 12239 Hwy. 182 W. next to Cannon Ford. Castleberry said the project to renovate the 40,000-square-foot facility began earlier this week and is expected to be complete by the fall. When finished, the Professional Park will feature enough space to fit around 10 separate business spaces and 4,800 square feet of warehousing space for tenants. Space is leasing for approximately $18 per square foot, according to Castleberry. "We believe the market needs good quality office space," Castleberry said. "New construction is very, very prohibitive right now. We felt that when we purchased this, that the building was a good value, it's in a very good location, great parking and was well maintained and we were able to lease it at an acceptable rate." Byrd said her team expects to move in by mid-September, and its new offices will include space for new training kitchens to teach clients about nutrition, health and food learning and even other facilities to improve its virtual learning programs. |
| 110 million in South under heat advisory as air-quality concerns linger in Midwest | |
 | The dangerous, record-smashing heat wave that's already killed at least 14 people in Texas and Louisiana will continue Thursday across much of the southern tier of the U.S., as blistering temperatures in the 100-degree range scorch the region, along with punishing humidity. The life-threatening heat will plague "a large portion of the nation from southeast New Mexico, through much of the Southern Plains, eastern Kansas, into the Lower Mississippi Valley, Lower Ohio Valley, Lower Tennessee Valley and the central Gulf coastal region," the National Weather Service warned. Many areas outside of Texas will endure their most significant heat of the season thus far on Thursday. In total, more than 110 million Americans live where a heat alert is in effect. The worst of the heat on Thursday and over the next several days is expected in cities from Dallas to Houston, New Orleans, Jackson, Little Rock, Memphis and Nashville, where heat index values of 110 to 120 are expected. The heat index is how hot it feels to the human body when humidity is factored in. "Heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths each year," the weather service tweeted Wednesday. "Take it seriously." |
| Pressure builds for FEMA to declare deadly heat events as disasters | |
 | Extreme heat kills more people than nearly every other weather event combined. But does the government respond to these potentially lethal events as they do with hurricanes and floods? Not yet. A disaster declaration by the president could allow states to be reimbursed for taking action that could save lives -- such as opening cooling centers, distributing water and checking in with residents door-to-door. States could also request the Federal Emergency Management Agency to launch an emergency response, such as supplying medical teams or rounding up generators. Yet there has never been a presidential disaster declaration for a heat wave, no matter how deadly. Some say a change is long overdue. "We are living through the realities of climate change," said San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, whose Texas city has been blanketed in triple-digit temperatures as part of a heat wave stretching from Florida to New Mexico. "This is an artifact of a bygone era." In response, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said the agency is not "sitting idly by" on extreme heat. She said the agency is helping communities prepare through mitigation funding and spreading awareness about safety. |
| PERS Board pondering changes to cost of living increases, other recommendations for Legislature | |
 | The board that governs the massive Public Employees Retirement System is working to develop recommendations for the Legislature to consider in 2024 in an effort to ensure the long-term financial viability of the pension plan. PERS will provide or already is providing a pension to about 10% of the state's population -- people who worked or are working for local or state government entities. For new hires, those legislative recommendations could include: No longer guaranteeing the annual 3% cost of living increase. Under a new system, the increase could be contingent on whether the system can afford to pay the cost of living increase any particular year and tied to the consumer price index, meaning it might be lower some years than the 3% increase. Creating a hybrid system where some of the benefits -- a lower amount than under the current system -- would be guaranteed while others would be provided through some type of investment portfolio. Lowering the amount of the benefits. Such recommendations, which would have to be approved by the Legislature to be enacted, would not impact current employees. Instead, the changes would be for future employees. The Legislature would establish when the changes would go into effect for new hires. "These are recommendations and still a work in progress," Ray Higgins, PERS executive director, said during a recent interview with Mississippi Today. |
| Mississippi's new laws cover Medicaid for moms, voting, pecan theft, online porn and more | |
 | Mississippi is enacting dozens of new laws, including those to increase support for mothers of newborns, tighten restrictions on voting, designate a state fruit and set punishments for stealing pecans. Most laws created this year have gone into effect, or are kicking in this weekend. House Bill 1027 designates the blueberry as Mississippi's official state fruit. Fourth graders from Madison County lobbied for law. Senate Bill 2079 authorizes school employees to carry concealed guns on campus if they have a concealed-carry license, complete firearms training from a law enforcement agency and are trained in CPR and first aid. Identities of so-called "school guardians" are exempt from public disclosure. House Bill 722 specifies that fentanyl testing materials are no longer considered illegal drug paraphernalia. Senate Bill 2523 increases the penalties for stealing pecans that are being grown as crops. Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson says thieves have taken loads of pecans from some farmers. |
| Mississippi Dems Not Reporting Campaign Spending, Could Face Ethics Penalties | |
| The Mississippi Democratic Party could face fines and other penalties after failing to file periodic campaign-finance reports required under state law, the Mississippi Secretary of State's office says. Mississippi Assistant Secretary of State for Elections Kyle Kirkpatrick told the Mississippi Free Press that he informed the party earlier this month that they must begin filing campaign-finance reports, but that he has not heard back from party officials. Unless the Democratic Party takes action by Friday, the secretary of state's office will turn the issue over to the Mississippi Ethics Commission, he said. In emails last month, Mississippi Democratic Party State Executive Director Andre Wagner told the secretary of state officials, including Kirkpatrick, that the party did not have to file campaign-finance reports because they had not engaged in spending that would necessitate reporting. But Kirkpatrick told the Mississippi Free Press that the Democratic Party had already begun engaging in such activities before that email. In a press release the Mississippi Free Press and other news organizations received from Wagner six days before that email, the party announced that it was launching "The Tate Files." The press release described the project as "a brand new Twitter account that will expose Tate Reeves' self-serving corruption that harms Mississippi families." Kirkpatrick told the Mississippi Free Press that the secretary of state's office was not aware of the May 17 press release, but did know about The Tate Files account. He said it constitutes the kind of campaign activity that necessitates filing periodic campaign reports under state law. |
| Mississippi farms pay overdue wages for favoring immigrants over local Black workers, agency says | |
| Forty-four farms in Mississippi exploited local Black workers by paying higher wages to immigrants who were in the United States on temporary work visas, the U.S. Labor Department said Wednesday. The department announced it completed investigations that it began last year in the rural flatlands of the Mississippi Delta, one of the poorest areas of the U.S. The 44 farms include catfish growers and operations that raise crops such as rice, soybeans and corn. They have paid $505,540 in back wages for 161 workers, plus $341,838 in civil penalties, the department said. "The outcome of these investigations confirms that employers in the Mississippi Delta denied a large number of marginalized farmworkers their lawful wages, and in some cases, violated the rights of U.S. workers by giving temporary guest workers preferential treatment," said Audrey Hall, district director of the Wage and Hour Division in Jackson, Mississippi. The Labor Department announced its findings six months after two agriculture businesses in the Delta settled lawsuits filed on behalf of local Black farmworkers over claims that farms hired white laborers from South Africa and paid them more than the local Black employees for the same type of work. |
| Countdown to 250th anniversary begins in the US with planners hoping it can unify a divided country | |
| It's three years until the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, but festivities are already starting. The anniversary push will formally launch July 4 with an event during a Major League Baseball game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs at American Family Field in Milwaukee. The organization spearheading the celebration, known as America250, will start recruiting people to share their stories of what the country means to them. The country is headed toward the anniversary date as it remains riven politically, its citizens divided over how to view the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol and whether President Joe Biden was legitimately elected. Even decisions on where to shop or what beer to drink have been caught up in political fighting. Before the U.S. reaches its semiquincentennial -- try saying that out loud -- it will have to survive the 2024 presidential election, which is shaping up to be as divisive as its prior two contests. Times also were fraught in the run-up to the country's 1976 bicentennial celebration, which came two years after Richard Nixon resigned his presidency over the Watergate scandal and convulsions over the end of the Vietnam War. It followed a decade that saw the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. But Rosie Rios, the former U.S. treasurer who heads America250, has fond memories of that celebration as an 11-year-old in Northern California. She watched old-fashioned sailing ships gather in Boston and New York harbors on her family's black-and-white television, and she visited the national Freedom Train exhibit when it stopped in Oakland. And, of course, she remembers the fireworks. Rios said she hopes the 2026 celebrations have a similar effect, regardless of national fights. |
| McCarthy confronts a spending mess that will test his speakership | |
 | Kevin McCarthy's survival as speaker may depend on whether he pulls off a difficult summertime task: bridging the huge gap between his ultraconservatives and GOP centrists on government funding. So far, his efforts are falling short. The California Republican has to clear a dozen spending bills, altogether worth over $1 trillion, with near-total unanimity in the GOP -- votes that even his allies say he doesn't have right now. Then he'll have to shift gears and cut another deal with the White House without triggering the first real attempt by the House GOP's right flank to strip him of the speakership. McCarthy has embraced conservative demands in recent weeks, with appropriators setting spending levels below those he arranged with President Joe Biden. But despite major concessions from leadership, hardliners have already warned they aren't sold on the funding bills. On the other side, McCarthy allies are doubtful that those conservatives will ever support a final spending deal that requires Biden's and Senate Democrats' support. Some centrists are growing tired of ultimatums from members they don't see as team players. "We've got to figure out how we get 218 votes out of a pile of 222 Republicans. And that means we have to operate in a different fashion," said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a senior spending leader, summing up the challenge of packing bills with GOP goodies that may ultimately be stripped out. At the center of it all is Congress' premiere parlor game: testing McCarthy's hold on his gavel. |
| To make its economic pitch to voters, the Biden administration puts a spin on a familiar term | |
| As you've probably heard multiple times, President Joe Biden gave a big economic speech Wednesday in Chicago. He highlighted his administration's economic accomplishments and made a pitch for why voters should give him four more years. That pitch was wrapped in some heavy-duty branding that featured a historical throwback (along with a distinct contrast). The president and his campaign are calling his economic agenda "Bidenomics." There's a reason that term, which you'll be hearing a lot of, echoes a term you've heard before. "'Bidenomics' is about building from the bottom up and the middle out," said Anat Shenker-Osorio, founder of ASO Communications, which focuses on political messaging. "As opposed to 'Reaganomics' -- trickle down, or the notion that if you feed the hungry beast of the billionaires, somehow their, you know, magical excess is going to rain down upon us." One reason this strategy might work for the Biden campaign is that the contrast with a past Republican ideology is relatively straightforward -- unlike our current economy with its nuances and weirdness. "For Biden, in order to push a positive economic message, it would be helpful if there were a clear economic picture, and there is not," said Jennifer Stromer-Galley, a professor in Syracuse University's School of Information Studies. Political campaigns are a lot like ad campaigns, said Stromer-Galley: They have to build a brand and bring positive associations to it. "So even if the current economic picture is a little unclear, what he is going to try to say is, 'I know how to drive this economy and really make every American feel that the world, that the economy, that their personal lives are going in the right direction,'" she said. |
| Biden's sleep apnea has led him to use a CPAP machine at night | |
 | President Biden is using a CPAP machine to help with sleep apnea. It's a common condition where people don't get enough oxygen while sleeping, and it's often characterized by loud snoring. The White House disclosed the use of the machine after reporters noticed on Wednesday that Biden appeared to have marks on his face from straps used to hold an air pressure mask in place. CPAP stands for "continuous positive airway pressure." "He used a CPAP machine last night, which is common for people with that history," White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement. Biden's sleep apnea was disclosed in a 2008 medical report, after then Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama selected him as his running mate. Biden's 2019 medical report also mentioned sleep apnea, though his White House medical reports while in office have not. The condition affects 30 million people in the U.S., according to the American Medical Association. Biden's medical condition is closely scrutinized because at 80, he is the oldest president in U.S. history. Polls show voters are concerned that he is too old for a second term in office. |
| Biden mocks Tuberville for touting broadband funding he voted against | |
 | President Biden gently mocked Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) for touting $1.4 billion in federal funding his home state is set to receive for expanded broadband internet access despite voting against it in 2021. "See you at the groundbreaking," Biden wrote along with a retweet of Tuberville's tweet hailing broadband as "vital for the success of our rural communities and for our entire economy." "Great to see Alabama receive crucial funding to boost ongoing broadband efforts," Tuberville wrote in his social media post sharing an article about the $1.4 billion going to Alabama for expanded broadband access. The president's wry comment was a throwback to the ribbing he gave GOP lawmakers at the State of the Union address in February. "I promised to be the president for all Americans. We'll fund your projects. And I'll see you at the groundbreaking," he quipped at the time. Later on Wednesday, Biden returned to the subject during a speech in Chicago. He said the bipartisan infrastructure law that included the broadband funds is "bringing along some converts." "There's a guy named Tuberville, senator from Alabama, who announced he strongly opposed the legislation. Now he's hailing its passage," Biden said in Chicago, to laughter from the crowd. "Here's what he said, 'it's great to see Alabama receive critical funds to boost ongoing broadband efforts.'" Biden this week announced the allocation of more than $42 billion in funding to expand high-speed internet access around the country. |
| UMMC opens new chapter with a groundbreaking ceremony for the School of Nursing | |
 | Celebrating 75 years of nursing excellence was the theme for the Wednesday groundbreaking ceremony of the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Nursing. The first nursing education building at UMMC opened in 1963, with an additional building opening in 1969. Although those buildings hold a rich history, the groundbreaking of the new facility is set to pave the way for future nurses at UMMC. The 106,000-square-foot new facility will include renovated space inside one of the earliest buildings on the Medical Center campus, the University Rehabilitation Center. The Mississippi Legislature allocated $55 million in funding for the project, with $12 million more coming from UMMC. Those in attendance included Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr. Scott Rodger, UMMC Pastoral Services Rev. Mark Gilbert, Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Dr. LouAnn Woodward, Lieutenant Gov. Delbert Hosemann, Speaker Pro Tempore Jason White, Student PH.D. in Nursing and PICU Nurse Manager Gordon Gartrell and Interim Dean of the School of Nursing Dr. Tina Martin. Hosemann echoed the importance of what nurses mean to UMMC and the community. "This year, we are pleased to have the nursing program for the state of Mississippi," Hosemann said. "There is a huge need for nurses at UMMC and the state. What better place to have those nurses get their education and be a part of the history of UMMC?" |
| Louisiana law requires 'In God We Trust' signs in classrooms | |
 | Public colleges and universities and K-12 schools in Louisiana will be required to display signs that read "In God We Trust" in all classrooms starting in August, according to a new law signed by Governor John Bel Edwards earlier this month. The law specifies "a minimum requirement of a paper sign." Any other specific rules related to the posters will be determined by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and postsecondary education management boards. The legislation builds on an earlier Louisiana law, passed in 2018, that mandates the motto be displayed in public school buildings but not individual classrooms or at public colleges and universities. Institutions don't have to spend public dollars on the posters and can instead accept donated signs. The legislation is part of a flurry of similar laws across the country in recent years, though most focus on K-12 education. Texas lawmakers also passed a bill requiring public schools and higher ed institutions to display the motto in a "conspicuous place in each building" in 2021. Florida mandated in 2018 that district school boards have the signs in every building they use. South Dakota followed suit in 2019 with a law requiring the signs in a "prominent location." A similar law was enacted in Arkansas in 2017. "We are currently in the process of reviewing this recently passed legislation," said Abbi Rocha Laymoun, a spokesperson at Louisiana State University. "With nearly a thousand classrooms at the LSU Baton Rouge campus alone, and seven other campuses statewide, we will look at the most efficient way of implementing House Bill No. 8." |
| UF to issue parking citations on university vehicles | |
| UF Transportation and Parking Services will begin to issue citations on university- and department-owned vehicles that don't follow safety regulations starting July 31. The Office of Business Affairs advised the campus body to avoid parking vehicles blocking access to sidewalks, bike lanes, grass and any additional restricted areas in March. A review of vehicular movement on campus showed continuous violations after an initial announcement, according to a statement released by the Office of Business Affairs. The behavior interferes with accessibility for people with disabilities, pedestrians and cyclists and may also hinder first responders during emergencies, according to the Office of Business Affairs press release. TAPS will place notices on university- and department-owned vehicles not complying with safety adjustments beginning July 10. July 10 to July 31 is an opportunity to correct unsafe transportation behavior, according to the press release. TAPS also plans to notify the college and departments associated with cited vehicles to document parking offenses, allowing departments to privately address these issues. |
| A Widely Criticized Higher-Ed Overhaul in Ohio May Soon Become Law | |
 | A set of sweeping higher-education reforms in Ohio's nearly finalized two-year budget has put campus administrators, faculty, and students across the state on high alert this week. The proposal, known as Senate Bill 83, is one of many Republican-driven bills across the country aimed at limiting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at public colleges, although only a few have resulted in new state laws. But the Ohio legislation goes even further by taking aim at labor unions, ties to China, and addressing concerns about intellectual diversity all at once. And in an unusual display of public opposition, higher-ed leaders across the state have forcefully spoken out against the bill. College presidents typically haven't taken positions on pending legislation. The reforms in question have been folded into the Ohio budget proposal verbatim from the Senate bill sponsored by state Sen. Jerry C. Cirino, a Republican. If approved, the budget language would ban diversity training and the use of diversity statements in hiring and admissions at Ohio's public colleges, as well as limit faculty-union rights, create a stringent post-tenure review process for faculty, ban funding from China, and require students to take American history courses to graduate, among other things. |
| Foxx, Cassidy question Education Department's plans to restart student loan payments | |
| Top congressional Republicans want more information from the Education Department on its plans to resume student loan payments in September following a three-year pause. North Carolina representative Virginia Foxx and Louisiana senator Dr. Bill Cassidy, both of whom are Republicans, sent a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona this week demanding documents and a briefing before July 20 on the issue. "The department has been on notice for nearly two and a half years that it would need to develop a plan for a smooth transition to repayment," they wrote. "The House Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions remain concerned that the department is unprepared for the return to payment of federal student loans." Foxx chairs the House education committee while Cassidy is the top Republican on the Senate education committee. They want the department to turn over internal communications about the plan for restarting payments. Education Department officials have described the task of restarting payments as "unprecedented and herculean." Other advocates and higher education analysts are concerned about the department's ability to pull it off without additional resources. Congress kept the Office of Federal Student Aid's budget flat at $2 billion for this fiscal year despite requests from the Biden administration for more money. |
| U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Race-Conscious Admissions Nationwide | |
| The United States Supreme Court on Thursday struck down colleges' use of race-conscious admissions nationwide, ruling 6-3 in a pair of closely watched cases that the practice is racially discriminatory. Writing for the court's majority, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that policies that claim to consider an applicant's race as one factor among many are in fact violating the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. "The court has permitted race-based college admissions only within the confines of narrow restrictions: such admissions programs must comply with strict scrutiny, may never use race as a stereotype or negative, and must -- at some point -- end," Roberts wrote. "Respondents' admissions systems fail each of these criteria." The cases, Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, challenged those institutions' use of that contentious practice, known as race-conscious admissions -- saying they resulted in discrimination against Asian American applicants. UNC and Harvard defended their policies, and prevailed in court until the Supreme Court in January 2022 agreed to consider the cases. The justices heard oral arguments in both cases on October 31, 2022. The decision reverses decades of legal precedent affirming that a diverse student body is a "compelling state interest," a stance that had allowed colleges to use race-conscious admissions to reach that goal. |
| Supreme Court Rules Against Affirmative Action | |
 | The Supreme Court found it unconstitutional to consider race in university admissions, eliminating the principal tool the nation's most exclusive schools have used to diversify their campuses. Thursday's decision will force a reworking of admissions criteria throughout American higher education, where for decades the pursuit of diversity has been an article of faith. University officials have insisted no substitute for racial preferences exists that can ensure that a representative share of minority applicants -- particularly Black students -- gains admission to selective institutions. No longer able to give such applicants an automatic boost, admissions offices now must decide where racial diversity ranks among priorities that can include academic performance, achievement in extracurricular activities such as athletics, and preferences for alumni and donors. "Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. "The student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual -- not on the basis of race. Many universities have for too long done just the opposite," he wrote. Lee Bollinger, Columbia University's president, expects five years of chaos before higher education fully adjusts to the new legal landscape, as committees and task forces -- already in place at many schools -- explore ways to employ income levels, socioeconomic factors and other race-neutral factors to maintain diversity. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State men's basketball travels to Georgia Tech, women's host Miami in ACC/SEC Challenge | |
| Mississippi State's basketball programs have found out their opponents for the first ever ACC/SEC Challenge. MSU men's basketball will travel to Georgia Tech on Nov 28, while MSU's women's team will host Miami (FL) on Nov. 29, according to releases from the school. This year marks the first matchup between MSU and the Yellowjackets since 1974 and first in Atlanta since 1973. The two teams have previously played 29 times, with Georgia Tech holding a 16-13 advantage and winning four of the past five meetings. The Yellowjackets, who haven't made the NCAA Tournament since 2021, hired Damon Stoudamire as their new head coach this offseason. The women's team has only played Miami once in its history, beating the Hurricanes on a neutral court in Alaska in 1987. Miami, under 18th-year head coach Katie Meier, made its first ever NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance last season. The ACC/SEC Challenge replaced the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, which ran from 2013-2022. |
| EXCLUSIVE: Women's tennis coach Chris Hooshyar thinks Mississippi State is 'incredibly special' | |
| Life has yet to slow down for Chris Hooshyar since he was announced June 12 as Mississippi State's new women's tennis coach. He started full-time Monday, and has since spent the better part of the week meeting figures in MSU's athletic department and sampling the local cuisine. "It is a foodie town," Hooshyar told The Dispatch during Tuesday's Hail State Happy Hours event at Anthony's in West Point. "There hasn't been a bad place I've been to so far. I might be in a bit of trouble until my wife gets here. Nobody is watching what I am eating." Hooshyar's wife, Meagan and two daughters, Charlotte and Halton, haven't moved just yet, planning to join him next year. Hooshyar isn't long for Starkville himself, planning to leave Saturday for a month-long recruiting trip in Europe. Such is the life of a college tennis coach beginning a new job he never really expected to take. Hooshyar, an England native, spent the last eight-plus years in the Southeastern Conference on The Plains at Auburn. He became Auburn's assistant women's tennis coach in 2014, then head coach in 2016. He switched over to the men's side in 2019 as an assistant before becoming the head coach again in 2022. Now, he will return to the women's side with MSU this year. "I've always said I loved Auburn," Hooshyar said. "Great people there, also. A great place. It was going to take somewhere incredibly special to pull me and my family out of there, and when I came here I found it." What Hooshyar found in Starkville was not only a town of helpful and accommodating people, but a tennis program needing a new voice. |
| Former Bulldog Davidson-Smith finishes third in AUX standings | |
| Former Mississippi State softball player Mia Davidson-Smith shined in her first season playing AUX for Athletes Unlimited, an abbreviated season compared to AU's flagship softball season beginning in late July. Davidson-Smith took home a bronze medal, accruing 1,122 total points during the two-week season, along with 382 stat points, which ranked second in the league. "AUX was a great experience," Davidson-Smith said in a press release Wednesday. "It was such a fun time, but a short amount of time to help me get prepared for Championships coming up. Winning a third place medal is pretty cool, especially being my first time playing AUX. I'm glad it gave me a chance to catch more." Athletes Unlimited competes as both a team and individually, with points assessed based on player performance game-to-game. The better the performance, the higher the point total. |
| Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork breaks down new state NIL bill | |
 | When Texas A&M athletics director Ross Bjork began his career nearly 30 years ago as a front office intern, there was a defined set of core tenants that encapsulated the job of a major university athletic director: raising money, selling season tickets, donor relations, managing coaching personnel issues and running a department that spends within its means. He never would have imagined that political lobbyist would be a highly experienced skillset added to his LinkedIn profile. Saturday, Texas House Bill 2804 goes into effect, significantly changing the guardrails for name, image and likeness compensation for college athletes in the state. It's an update from Texas' initial NIL legislation, Senate Bill 1385, which legalized the practice in Texas on July 1, 2021. Texas A&M, particularly Bjork, has been acutely active in discussions and action to bring about the NIL sequel. "Really, I'd say in the last four years, we've had to be at the forefront of these conversations," Bjork told The Eagle in a sit-down conversation last week. "We always say that an AD is sort of a generalist. You have to know a little bit about contracts and legal environment and TV negotiations and capital projects and fundraisers. Who would have thought you'd add politics or lobbying to your resume, but that's where we are. You learn and adapt along the way." |
| Notre Dame Wants to Triple Its Football Media Rights Fees | |
| Notre Dame will be seeking to triple its football rights fees to $65 million to $75 million annually during its next cycle of media negotiations, sources told Front Office Sports. But if the Fighting Irish want that kind of money, they might have to give up their cherished independence --- and finally join a power conference. The question of maintaining independence is key for Notre Dame's next TV contract, as the current long-standing partnership with NBC Sports expires after the 2024 college football season. At its start in 1991, the Notre Dame-NBC partnership was ground-breaking and innovative. Irish games were nationally televised on broadcast TV; the exposure and marketing opportunities provided by NBC were priceless. But Notre Dame's current annual payments now lag behind the lucrative rights fees of power conference schools. The Fighting Irish receive somewhere in the mid-$30 million range for overall rights fees: $22 million per year from their NBC football-only contract, as well as about $11 million annually from the ACC, in which the Irish compete for all other sports. "My big-picture thought is that Notre Dame will need a conference to support a three-time bump long term," said Patrick Crakes, the former Fox Sports executive turned media consultant. "I think either the Big Ten or SEC would do. Also, don't rule out a third new conference in several years. A lot of assumptions are falling apart as pay-TV-bundle economics go flat." The wild card is incoming Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, the NBC Sports chairman who will succeed current AD Jack Swarbrick in 2024. |
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