| Tuesday, August 15, 2023 |
| Public, private sector combine to prevent cyberthreats | |
 | A manufacturing plant uses an advanced computational fluid dynamics model to automate the production of steel. But if outside parties hack into the plant's computer system, they could gain access to the steel's formula, and with a slight adjustment, ruin the whole batch. Jim Martin, associate vice president for corporate engagement and economic development for Mississippi State University, presented this scenario to the Starkville Rotary Club on Monday afternoon, as just one example of why statewide cybersecurity is important for everyone. "Anything that's automated, that's connected to a network, we have to be able to protect those processes, those materials, and that information," Martin told The Dispatch. "We have to put those safeguards in place." For Martin, part of the solution to protecting sensitive information within the state is the Mississippi Cyber Initiative. The initiative is made up of local, state and federal agencies, along with private sector groups across the state, all working together to implement the best possible cybersecurity for their respective groups. "What we learned, when we started this initiative, is that we have tremendous capabilities that exist at our universities, our local, state and federal agencies, as well as our industry partners," Martin said. "But we take a very fragmented approach to cybersecurity. Wouldn't it be great if we could get all of those entities together and collaborate on how to solve cybersecurity issues for our state?" |
| MSU climate, math experts calculate statistically sound data on declining snow cover | |
 | Mississippi State University faculty members and a national group of researchers have created new statistical methods needed to study declining snow cover and quantify changing climate patterns in the Northern Hemisphere. The College of Arts and Sciences' Jamie Dyer, a professor of meteorology and climatology, and Jonathan Woody, an associate professor of mathematics and statistics, collaborated on the new study published in the Journal of Hydrometeorology analyzing snow cover data gathered from satellite flyovers between 1967 and 2021. The data was divided into grid sections for analysis by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In addition to the MSU researchers, the National Science Foundation-supported study included others from the universities of California-Santa Cruz, North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Florida. "The mathematical and statistical foundations necessary to build our models are part of the core statistics and data science curriculum offered at Mississippi State," Woody said. Dyer, interim dean of interdisciplinary studies who joined the MSU faculty in 2005, said while these general patterns of snow cover have been shown in other studies, using the methodology presented in this study allowed for much stronger and statistically robust conclusions. "As a result, the decreases in snow cover over the Northern Hemisphere can no longer be attributed to biases in the data or methodological approach, as many climate skeptics tend to cite in their arguments," Dyer said. |
| Feed prices affect Mississippi consumer's catfish prices | |
 | With high feed prices, buying catfish at the grocery store will remain pricey for Mississippi customers. "High grain prices in recent years have pushed catfish feed prices to $495 to $525 per ton, depending on protein level," said Jimmy Avery, Mississippi State University (MSU)Extension Service aquaculture professor at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville. Five-year averages for 32% protein feed hovered in the $375-to-$420-per-ton range between 2017 and 2021. "Scanner data results show a high price differential between U.S. catfish fillets and Vietnamese swai fillets," said Ganesh Kumar, MSU aquaculture economist in Stoneville with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. "Smaller U.S. catfish packs are more appealing to grocery customers. Although the market share for U.S. catfish is high in grocery stores, Vietnamese swai is having a higher market share in away-from-home consumption outlets." Part of what keeps domestic catfish production more costly than swai is heightened catfish safety inspection requirements from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Each of Mississippi's eight catfish processing plants is federally inspected. With 33,100 water acres, Mississippi produces more than half of the farm-raised catfish in the U.S. The nationwide total in 2022 was 55,855 acres. |
| Mississippi 4-H'ers earn Congressional Awards | |
 | Mariah Malone was among 57 Mississippi 4-H'ers to receive the highest honor given to youth civilians by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. The Aug. 6 Congressional Award ceremony marked the 25th anniversary of the partnership between the Congressional Award Program and the Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H Youth Development Program. Each 4-H'er received a gold, silver or bronze certificate and medal for their personal, goal-oriented achievements through the Congressional Award Program. Some participants also received STEM Star Awards for participating in one or more science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities while working toward their Congressional Award. Malone, a 4-H member in Oktibbeha County and an aspiring robotics engineer, volunteered with a middle school robotics team and helped them reach some goals of their own. "In the 7th grade, I was on the same robotics team, and we didn't have anyone who knew about robotics to volunteer to help us," Malone said. "So I wanted to help them learn about it and do well in competition. They placed first in state competition and made it all the way to the national competition in Arkansas." The awards were presented by former U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper at the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson. |
| Family Affair: Mississippi 4-Her hails from a long line of program members | |
| Jacob Turner has been a 4-H member since he was old enough to join. That's because his family understands the benefits the Mississippi State University Extension Service's youth development program offers to young people. They are loyal supporters and former members of the program and have volunteered and participated for decades. Turner's four siblings are also active members of 4-H. "My whole family has been involved with 4-H for a long time," Turner said. "My mom, my grandmother, and my great-grandmother have all been involved in 4-H. It goes back four or five generations." The Greenville High School sophomore stays busy. In addition to making time for 4-H and participating in just about every program his Extension agents have offered -- from public speaking to cooking -- he also plays French horn in his high school band and is active in school- and summer-league sports, including baseball, track, and soccer. He is also serving his second year as a 4-H ambassador. Ambassadors learn leadership, citizenship, and communication skills by helping promote 4-H. They serve as emcees, program facilitators, and members of county and state council committees. As an ambassador, Turner participates in activities like 4-H Legislative Day, where participants meet with and learn from state legislators and other leaders. Turner believes 4-H is an important program that can change lives of young people for the better. |
| Education: SOCSD Discovery Center to host inaugural 'Starkville in the Spotlight' | |
| The Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Discovery Center will host "Starkville in the Spotlight," a community resource fair on Thursday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Starkville Sportsplex. The event is free and open to the public and will serve as a showcase of community resources and family supports presented by nearly 60 vendors. Food will be on site for purchase, and organizers will offer door prize giveaways. "The idea behind this event is truly to showcase the many different programs and services available to residents in Starkville," said Elizabeth Williams, who is helping to coordinate the event and also serves as Program Manager for the Discovery Center's Project PEACE. "I believe that attendees of Starkville in the Spotlight will leave with an even greater appreciation of and pride in our great community." Starkville in the Spotlight vendors include a wide array of community agencies, organizations and resource providers, including not only services available through the school district, but also representatives from Greater Starkville Development Partnership, City of Starkville, Oktibbeha County, OCH Regional Medical Center, Mississippi State University and East Mississippi Community College. In addition, a variety of community organizations and nonprofits will share resources and opportunities, including Starkville Community Theatre, Starkville Area Arts Council, Starkville Strong, JL King Center and others. |
| Suspect sought in gunshots that halted football scrimmage | |
| Police are still seeking a suspect in a Saturday shooting that shut down Starkville High School's Midnight Madness football scrimmage. With the suspect still at large, SHS has initiated a "controlled movement standby" for the next few days while the investigation continues, district Public Information Officer Haley Montgomery said. The standby includes students being escorted to classrooms, using the intercom instead of the bell for class changes, eating lunches inside their classrooms, more monitoring of the halls and even altered class schedules. "It's basically designed just as a precaution," Montgomery said. "There's no specific threat, but ... based on those incidents that happened on (Saturday), we are kind of varying the activity so as not to be quite as predictable as what people are used to." More than 800 Midnight Madness attendees were evacuated from Yellow Jacket Stadium after shots rang out nearby at about 12:27 a.m. No injuries were reported, Montgomery said, and school resource officers are working with Starkville Police Department to identify the suspects. |
| Cooler temperatures to temporarily halt heat wave in Mississippi | |
| As Mississippi continues to get scorched by extreme heat, residents will soon get a much-needed break with a cold front set to move in mid-week. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the entire state will see cooler temperatures beginning Tuesday. "There's an upper trough that's going to move across the eastern part of the country and bring a cold front across our area," Daniel Lamb of NWS Jackson said. "Of course, when we're talking about cold fronts in August, it's not like when we're talking about cold fronts in the spring and winter in terms of change. But compared to what we've been going through, with triple digits day after day, the middle of this week is going to be bliss." From Tuesday through Thursday, lows across the state will be in the mid-60s with highs in the low to mid-90s. The drastic change in temperature comes after weeks of triple-digit temperatures and calendar day heat records in portions of the state. However, Lamb warned that the extreme heat is not over quite yet. "We're still very much in the thick of things," he said. "Even as we head into the end of this week, the temperatures will begin to pick back up." |
| Revenue exceeds estimates in first month of fiscal year | |
| Total revenue collections in Mississippi for July of the FY 2024 year are 8.17% over the sine die estimate which comes to roughly $45.1 million, making year-to-date revenue also overestimate for the same amount. "We are pleased that revenues continue to exceed estimates, a sign of a strong economy in Mississippi. We look forward to continuing to cut taxes, pay off debt, invest in things like infrastructure and education, and prepare for a rainy day which, hopefully, never comes," said Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann. Total collections for FY 2023 came to $7.7 billion while appropriations only accounted for revenue's meeting $6.4 billion. The general fund ended the fiscal year with an estimated $1.3 billion in the bank. The report compares actual revenue collections to what was in the sine die estimate for each of the main tax revenue sources the state receives. In sales tax, estimates and actual revenue were $12.4 million overestimates, individual income tax was $20 million over, Corporate, $4.4 million, Use tax $2.3 million and Gaming came in just under $1 million. Mississippi has had a historic jump in revenue collections since FY 2020, which is a reflection of the calendar year 2019-2020. Compared to FY 2023, there has been a 3.72% increase in collections, a total of $21.4 million. |
| Shoppers Boost Retail Sales for Fourth Straight Month | |
 | Americans increased their retail spending in July for the fourth month in a row, a sign the strong labor market is continuing to encourage consumers to open their wallets. Retail sales -- a measure of spending at stores, online and in restaurants -- rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7% last month from the month before, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That was a faster pace than in June and was higher than the 0.2% increase in consumer prices last month, a sign that Americans' spending is outpacing inflation. Consumer spending is driving a resilient economy, despite rate increases by the Federal Reserve. Employers added jobs at a steady pace in July and wages rose briskly, the Labor Department said earlier this month. Inflation is also easing, providing consumers with some relief from rapid price increases in recent years and likely deterring the Fed from raising interest rates at its September meeting. "The labor market is still strong, we're still seeing pretty healthy growth in labor earnings," said Richard Moody, chief economist at Regions Financial. Nonetheless, he expects consumer spending to slow after the summer months in categories such as travel, entertainment and recreation. "There's only so long strength in that is going to persist," he said. |
| Labor costs are a key ingredient in food inflation | |
| The price of food eaten at home is up 3.6% year over year, outpacing inflation. That's according to July's Consumer Price Index. Climate change, the war in Ukraine, and protectionist trade policies have all contributed, but a key ingredient is the increasing cost of labor. Take the American classic PB&J. It has three main components: peanut butter and jelly, of course, and bread. "None of those are raw commodities coming straight from farmer's fields," said Chris Barrett, professor of agricultural and development economics at Cornell. He points out that generally only about 15% of the retail price goes to the farmer. Most goes toward processing and packaging and transporting the commodities. And wages for people who do many of those jobs have gone up. "The good news hidden in that higher grocery bill is that the workers all along the way are actually getting paid more than inflation," Barrett said. Still, those high bills hurt, and consumers of all income levels have adopted strategies that lower them. Terry Griffin, an agricultural economist at Kansas State, got a large freezer and a smoker and started buying half a cow directly from the farmer. "The first one lasted us about six months. Because we were really excited," said Griffin. "So about every weekend we were smoking meat, and having a really good time doing that. But we've slowed down since then." |
| Will there be a government shutdown? Sen. Roger Wicker doesn't think so | |
 | A looming government shutdown may not be imminent, one senator from Mississippi said. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, believes members of Congress can work through their differences to avoid a government shutdown in October. The senator was in Hattiesburg recently to speak to area business leaders during an Area Development Partnership luncheon. "We're way ahead of schedule, which makes me think we can avoid these continuing resolutions or omnibus bills, where we put everything together and people are unhappy about one particular part or the other," Wicker said. "The encouraging thing is the House and Senate have gotten their national defense bills passed before the August break. A lot of times it's passed in September and the fiscal year ends Oct. 1." Other indicators are the work being done on spending bills that are due in the coming weeks. Congress is on break until mid-September. Once lawmakers return to Capitol Hill, the House and Senate will be in session for roughly three weeks until the Sep. 30 deadline to pass a federal budget. "Appropriations bills are ahead of schedule, so to me, that is a really good sign that we will not have a shutdown," Wicker said. "But anything could happen." The outcome is even murkier with some Republicans from the House Freedom Caucus, a group of the most conservative lawmakers, either openly welcoming a shutdown or dismissing concerns about one. "We don't need a shutdown," Wicker said. |
| Brandon Presley challenges Gov. Tate Reeves to 5 debates across Mississippi | |
| The campaign trail is heating up with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley challenging incumbent Tate Reeves to five debates across Mississippi. In a statement released Monday, Presley did not offer locations for said debates but called on the Republican governor to publicly address his alleged role in the largest public fraud scheme in Mississippi history and to debate the Democratic challenger on other issues relating to the state's ongoing hospital crisis and tax policy. Throughout his campaign, Presley has taken shots at Reeves for Mississippi's failure to pass ethics reform legislation, expand Medicaid coverage, and eliminate the state's grocery tax -- which is the highest in the U.S. -- during his first term as governor. "I won't back down from a debate because, unlike Tate Reeves, I am not afraid to face the people of Mississippi. Citizens are owed debates from candidates for governor and I'll debate anywhere, any time. Tate Reeves has been caught red-handed in the largest welfare scandal in state history and he doesn't want to answer for his role in it," Presley stated. Presley's challenge to the incumbent follows a June spat between Reeves and California governor Gavin Newsom in which Reeves invited Newsom to his deer camp to engage in a debate over gun policy. |
| Mississippi battles truck driver shortage; efforts underway to solve problem | |
| Mississippi continues to struggle with a shortage of truck drivers, but the problem is not unique to the Magnolia State and is steadily improving, according to state trucking association officials. "The shortage is still there, and it's a major problem across the nation," said Hal Miller, president of the Mississippi Trucking Association. "However, in Mississippi, it is not as significant as it has been." Miller said that, nationally, there is a shortage of more than 80,000 truck drivers, and that number is predicted to double over the next decade. If these numbers continue to rise, consumers will most likely see bare shelves and will have to pay more for products, he said. "The shortage's impact on the average citizen is big -- really big," Miller said. "We got a little flavor of that during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your Walmarts and other stores were struggling to keep items on the shelves. Prices shot up. That's how the shortage translates. We've gotten pretty accustomed to having enough stuff, and, without drivers, the supply chain is affected and rattled." The shortage has been developing for at least 15 years, and it is due to multiple factors, he said. "Trucking is an honorable career that is very high-tech, and people need to get past any old images or stereotypes they may have about drivers," Miller said. "Sometimes, we get frustrated with law firms that play all these commercials about these big, mean trucks and careless truck drivers. Those portrayals are not accurate, but it makes potential drivers think that, well, they don't want to be associated with that." |
| Trump, 18 others indicted for trying to overthrow 2020 Georgia election | |
| Former President Donald Trump orchestrated a sweeping criminal enterprise, committing more than a dozen felonies, as he tried and failed to overturn his defeat in Georgia's 2020 election, according to an indictment handed up Monday by a Fulton County grand jury. The indictment also lodged charges against 18 of Trump's allies, who helped him spread false conspiracy theories and twist the arms of top state officials as he scrambled to cling to power. The blockbuster 41-count, 98-page indictment said Trump and his co-defendants refused to accept the fact that Trump lost in Georgia. But "they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump. That conspiracy contained a common plan and purpose." It marks the fourth time that Trump has been criminally charged -- and the second time this August the former president has been indicted for interfering in the 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. But the Georgia case is far different because it also charges a large cast of alleged accomplices -- from former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former state Republican Party chairman David Shafer. The charges are the culmination of a 2 1/2-year criminal investigation launched by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis shortly after Trump's leaked Jan. 2, 2021, phone call with Brad Raffensperger, during which he asked the Georgia secretary of state to "find" him 11,780 votes. The indictment lays out several different areas of alleged criminal misconduct. |
| Is Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin running for president? His own constituents call him 'a big unknown' | |
 | Virginians have one of the best track records in the country for electing winning presidents over the last 20 years. Having only missed opting for the winner once in that time, in 2016, the state is a modern bellwether for choosing the country's commander-in-chief. And voters there might just prefer their own governor for the job, according to a recent poll. In a hypothetical match up between President Joe Biden and Virginia's Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the poll, conducted by the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University in July, found that Virginians would elect Youngkin by seven points, 44% to 37%. The poll tested two other potential 2024 races, between Biden and former President Donald Trump, along with Biden versus Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Neither had Youngkin's success: Biden was favored over Trump by three points, while Biden and DeSantis split the imaginary vote, each receiving 41%. The remaining 18% said they either wouldn't vote, would vote for someone else or were undecided. A diverse battleground state with rural regions of red and metropolitan pockets of blue, Virginia has historically alternated between electing Republican and Democratic leaders, in presidential as well as gubernatorial races. The Virginia governor has so far not entered the 2024 presidential race, saying he is focused at the moment on the state's midterm elections this November. But some donors and prominent figures in his party have nonetheless turned their attention to Youngkin. Big names from the national Republican Party are already putting their weight behind Youngkin, turning to the Virginia governor in the wake of the DeSantis campaign's ongoing stumbles. |
| UM's Theora Hamblett collection grows with two donated paintings | |
| The University of Mississippi owns the world's largest collection of paintings by renowned artist Theora Hamblett, and thanks to the generosity of 1954 alumna Mary Louise Rosenbush, that collection just got a little larger. Rosenbush recently donated two pieces connected to Hamblett to the University of Mississippi Foundation, saying she believes her "Aunt Theora" would want them at Ole Miss, in close proximity to the others. Rosenbush addresses Hamblett affectionately as "aunt," though the two actually were second cousins. One is an original painting Hamblett gave to Rosenbush's father, Albert Burns "B" Bell, depicting him enjoying one his favorite pastimes. "Daddy liked to fish at Sardis Dam in Sardis, Mississippi," the donor said. "Aunt Theora painted it for him and gave it to him when we visited her." The second piece, a limited-edition print of Hamblett's well-known "Children and Chickens," belonged to Rosenbush and her husband, Bert, longtime owner of Rosenbush Furniture Co. in Demopolis, Alabama, the state's oldest family-owned furniture store. "Aunt Theora wanted me to paint," Rosenbush recalled. "'Start with trees!' she would say. Then she told me this: 'You have the gift, my child. Use it, but only to God's glory.' "She said I had many God-given talents -- art, music, faith, hope, love -- creative ability." |
| From home cook to executive chef: USM's Cathey creates 'recipe for success' | |
 | Start with a heaping helping of passion; add a generous dose of discipline; sprinkle in copious amounts of ingenuity, instinct and ambition. Voilà! What you have is the recipe for success that has catapulted Joshua Cathey from home cook to executive chef at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM). While most of his duties these days are administrative, don't think for a minute that Cathey can't whip up a delectable dish on the spot. "Josh is so talented," said Marcus White, the director of operations for Aramark Collegiate Hospitality. "If you give him a basket full of random food items, he will make a five-star meal out of the items. Guaranteed. I would bet my check on it." Cathey's culinary skills have earned him numerous accolades since he joined the Aramark Collegiate Hospitality team in 2016. In February 2023, Cathey captured first place in the Aramark Culinary Excellence Competition at Auburn University, competing against chefs from every corner of the south region. That victory helped him advance to the National ACE competition at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. Cathey earned the bronze medal. After graduating from Hattiesburg High School in 2007, Cathey enrolled at USM, earning a BSBA in tourism management (2011). He began his professional career in catering at the Hattiesburg Lake Terrace Convention Center in 2010 while still a student. A few years after graduation, which included gaining more kitchen experience, Cathey applied to Aramark as a sous chef. Fast-forward five years, the Executive Chef position with Eagle Dining at USM became vacant. |
| Hattiesburg college student develops, implements K-12 anthropology initiative | |
| Kate Mackey, a graduate student in anthropology at the University of Southern Mississippi, has always been passionate about teaching and working with students. As she explored opportunities to pursue her aspirations, she came to the realization that anthropology is not often taught in K-12 schools in Mississippi despite the way it helps us understand the human condition. In her pursuit to change this reality, Mackey devised a series of activities for a program that she titled "Anthropology Jr.," with the aim to introduce the captivating world of anthropology to elementary-age children. Over the summer, an opportunity arose to present the pilot program at Lillie Burney STEAM Academy in Hattiesburg. Mackey worked under the guidance of faculty member Dr. Marie Danforth and with students Sarah Boone and Savannah Logan. She also worked with USM alumna Nadine Armstrong, innovative programs coordinator for the City of Hattiesburg's Parks and Recreation department. "The pilot program enriched the students' experience by engaging their minds through a series of interactive and enjoyable activities that introduced them to the four subdisciplines in anthropology," Mackey said. "Students embarked on a thrilling journey where they interviewed aliens and superheroes, uncovered the secrets hidden within bones, excavated artifacts that unveil ancient lifeways, explored the fascinating diversity of words for snow and much more." |
| Bid Day 2023: What you need to know about U. of Alabama's sorority rush | |
 | Bid Day, the University of Alabama's annual sorority fall recruitment event, will be held Sunday on campus in Tuscaloosa. That's when thousands of participating students will find out which sorority has accepted their membership bid. Thousands participated in the first round of open house events for the sorority recruitment period known as "rush week," which began Aug. 12. Rush week concludes with Bid Day, where the girls meet inside Bryant-Denny Stadium and they are handed a manila envelop which they are told to sit on. The girls open their envelopes at the same time and then "run home" to their new homes. Bid Day used to be known as "Squeal Day," after the squeals of delight from pledges as they learned which sorority house had accepted them. According to the Division of Student Life website, 36% of UA's undergraduate student body belong to Greek letter fraternities and sororities. That means that 12,000 students belong to UA's 69 Greek organizations. Since 2011, UA has had the largest overall fraternity and sorority membership in the nation. Classes begin on Aug. 23 at UA. |
| Auburn Panhellenic Bid Day 2023 Recap | |
| A record number of potential new members (PNMs) went through primary recruitment, which means the largest bid day ever for Auburn University Panhellenic. More bids will be handed out this year than any other, and the new member classes in each sorority will be even bigger than the last. According to Auburn Greek Life, 1,894 registered for recruitment, with 1,735 PNMs who matched with a sorority at the end. This has left 92 percent of the PNMs matched with one of the 18 sororities. To prepare for the day, sorority members arrive at their chapter rooms in the morning and wait for the lists of their new members to be sent. Hallie Azar, junior member of Phi Mu majoring in interior design, said that going to sleep early helped her maintain high energy levels during recruitment. Active members arrive at their chapter rooms in the morning to prepare for the big day and reflect on their week recruiting. Kelly Schools, sophomore in Kappa Kappa Gamma and majoring in public relations, reflected on the recruitment process from the perspective of a recruiter. "We got to meet so many girls and got to get closer with people, like I met so many older girls where I feel like during the regular year, you're usually with your member class. But during recruitment, you get to meet older girls, which I really liked because it made Kappa feel more like a big friend group," Schools said. For those who dropped from recruitment, did not register, or are still looking to join, continuous open bidding (COB) is another rush process open during the school year. |
| Get to know the new class of students starting at the U. of Georgia | |
 | The new semester is about to start and the University of Georgia has shared some statistics about its incoming class. The class of 2027 is made up of 6,200 first years out of 43,500 applicants, according to a news release from UGA. They will be joined by roughly 1,700 transfer students, 2,860 graduate students and about 500 professional students, as well as 60 medical students at the Medical College of Georgia campus in Athens. Classes will start on Wednesday. In the class of 2027: 81% of incoming first-years are Georgia residents, 14% are the first in their families to attend college. They come from 143 Georgia counties, 45 states and 14 countries. They have an average high school GPA of 4.13. 215 are valedictorians or salutatorians. "This fall's incoming class demonstrates a remarkable dedication to excellence," UGA President Jere W. Morehead was quoted as saying in the news release. "They will be in good company at UGA as they join an esteemed academic community that is committed to making a positive impact on our state, nation and world." GA has a high retention rate, with 94% of students returning after their first year, 75% finishing their degree in four years and 88% finishing in six years. Of students who graduated last spring, 96% are employed, in internships or graduate school. |
| New U. of Tennessee Creamery is ready to serve you VOLnilla and Mint Champion Chip | |
 | The University of Tennessee Creamery, a new student-run ice cream shop on campus, is open with five flavors. The Creamery is a located at 2712 Neyland Drive, across from the Sorority Village at the intersection with Kingston Pike. The shop is open from noon-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The creamery's charming flavor offerings are VOLnilla, Torchbearer's Chocolate, Smokey's Strawberry Kisses, Mint Champion Chip and Go Big Orange. Students from the university's Food Science Department make the ice cream and students from the Rocky Top Institute of Retail manage the business. Students from all majors work behind the counter. The project is the vision of Peg Smith and Sue Conley, two university alumnae and co-founders of Cowgirl Creamery. Their donations helped make the creamery possible, according to the UT news release. The creamery is a throwback to the UT Creamery that was open from 1915 to 1985, the release said. |
| Sex-Discrimination Complaints at Qatar Campus Latest in a String of Controversies for Texas A&M | |
 | Two former faculty members at Texas A&M University's campus in Qatar have filed federal lawsuits alleging sexual discrimination by the university, the latest controversy to hit the scandal-plagued institution. In one lawsuit, Sheela Athreya, a professor of anthropology and the only woman with tenure on the Qatar campus, said César O. Malavé, dean of the campus, decided not to renew her contract just eight days after she moved her family to the Middle East. The reasons Malavé gave were "conflicting and nonsensical," Athreya said in a court filing, and she was replaced by a man. In a second lawsuit, Joseph Daniel Ura accuses Malavé of removing him as chair of the liberal-arts program after he refused to take actions to dismiss Athreya and a second female professor, Brittany Bounds, an Air Force veteran and co-chair of a campus women's group. He said he was retaliated against after he reported his concerns about possible sex and veterans discrimination to officials at the main campus, in College Station. The events that the professors said unfolded in Qatar may, in some ways, be reflective of issues facing overseas campuses, where governance and oversight far from the home institution can be difficult. Branch-campus leaders can also face pressures from local partners who typically fund these outposts. Ura said he was told not to renew Bounds's contract after she made a comment on social media in support of Israel, angering students and an official with the Qatar Foundation, the campus's benefactor. But both Ura and Athreya link their experiences to broader charges of mismanagement and outside interference that have played out recently on the main campus. |
| State funds to provide new hypersonic wind tunnel at A&M | |
 | Another piece to the national hypersonic infrastructure puzzle is coming to Aggieland. Texas A&M University is set to build a $30 million-dollar hypersonic wind tunnel at the RELLIS campus in Bryan. A&M's Board of Regents are set to approve the System's Fiscal Year 2024-28 Capital Plan at this week's meetings in College Station, which will include the proposed hypersonic wind tunnel project under the A&M Engineering Experiment Station. Funds for the hypersonic wind tunnel came from the state and were announced in June. "We'll be able to bring in different ideas of researchers and industry and government folks to come in and test out their ideas," said Nathan Tichenor, director of hypersonic facilities at A&M's Bush Combat Development Complex. "We can learn more about the physics involved in hypersonic in various environments. We can do this at a large scale since these are large facilities, so we can have big parts in there that we can be looking at. And then the plan is, and the anticipation is we can use that understanding to develop better models. We can use that understanding to drive toward real systems faster at a lower cost." Hypersonic speed is five times the speed of sound or faster, often referred to as Mach 5 or greater. U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, who represents Bryan-College Station and Brazos County in District 10 and is the chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, explained that U.S. officials have increased investments in hypersonic technology because of international competition. McCaul mentioned how China has developed a hypersonic weapon and had a successful test last year. |
| It's Welcome Week at the U. of Missouri as students return | |
 | University of Missouri students return to campus this week and the university has several events and traditions planned to welcome them. Fall classes start Monday, Aug. 21. The dome of Jesse Hall will be lighted in gold all week. First-year students move into residence halls on Wednesday and Thursday. Students gather Wednesday night for ice cream treats on Carnhan Quad. That happens from 7 to 9 p.m. International Field Day is 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday on Kuhlman Court, next to the MU Student Center. It will include activities from around the world and information about Mizzou Study Abroad, International Student and Scholar Services, Missouri International Student Council and the Division of Inclusion Diversity and Equity. First Roar is Mizzou's traditional kickoff for the new academic year from 8 to 10 p.m. Thursday in Memorial Stadium. Mizzou coaches and the Missouri Student Association president will be on hand. If it's raining, the event will be in Mizzou arena. Academic Day Open Houses on Friday will allow students to explore their majors throughout the day in each college and school. A tradition dating to 1927 is painting the M on Faurot Field, 3-5 p.m. Friday. Students can meet one another and participate in the longstanding tradition. Mizzou's largest block party takes place from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday night into Saturday morning also Rollins Street. Barbecue, inflatables and a dance party will be featured. |
| Cast out 12 years ago, Nebraska seeks a return to the AAU | |
 | In 2011, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln made history and headlines for being the first institution kicked out of the Association of American Universities by a member vote. Established in 1900, the AAU had counted Nebraska as a member since 1909. But in 2011, the selective association of research universities found that Nebraska did not meet its membership criteria, largely regarding federal research funding. With 63 universities in the AAU at the time, 44 voted to remove Nebraska from the group's roster. Now, 12 years and two presidents later, Nebraska is working on a plan to return to the AAU. By the time the AAU voted Nebraska out, its membership status had been in peril for over a decade, after surviving an earlier membership review in 2000. But in 2011, members decided that Nebraska no longer belonged in the AAU based on its performance under a ranking system that weighs research expenditures, faculty membership in the National Academy, certain faculty awards and citations. Nebraska officials were unable to persuade voters, despite a plea from then Chancellor Harvey Perlman, who made the case that the AAU's "ranking metrics distorted UNL's actual research accomplishments." University of Nebraska system President Ted Carter stepped into his role on Jan. 1, 2020, nearly a decade after UNL left the AAU. But since then, he's been thinking about a return to the AAU, raising the subject first in private conversations and more recently, in public. The nascent plan also focuses on making Nebraska more competitive for federal research dollars, particularly from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. |
| Baylor Confirms Exemption from Title IX Claims | |
| The Department of Education has confirmed that Baylor University, the Baptist research institution in Waco, Texas, is immune from certain Title IX complaints "to the extent that they are inconsistent with the University's religious tenets," wrote Catherine E. Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in a letter to the school's president, Dr. Linda Livingstone. The university had sought assurances from the federal government that it could not be punished in response to several complaints of discrimination against LGBTQ+ people, including that Baylor neglected to address the homophobic harassment of one student by her peers, refused to recognize an LGBTQ+ student group, and pressured university media to not report on LGBTQ+ student events and protests. Lori Fogleman, Baylor's assistant vice president of media and public relations, said in a statement that "Baylor is responding to current considerations by the U.S. Department of Education to move to an expanded definition of sexual harassment, which could infringe on Baylor's rights under the U.S. Constitution, as well as Title IX, to conduct its affairs in a manner consistent with its religious beliefs." The letter does not mean that the complaints against the university have been closed, but Paul Carlos Southwick, director of the Religious Exemption Accountability Group, which filed the complaint on behalf of the student who was harassed, told The Texas Tribune that it would probably happen, at least in that case. He also said that it was the first time that a university had been exempted from sexual harassment claims. |
| Student housing rents increase faster than multifamily | |
| It's no secret that housing costs across the United States are high -- for students as well as for the general population. But from November 2022 to May of this year, the average rental cost for purpose-built student housing grew faster than rent prices for regular multifamily housing for the first time. As a result, some students are being priced out of apartments that were designed specifically for them. According to data released by RealPage, a real estate software company, student housing rental increases outpaced multifamily rental increases during that seven-month period. While student housing rents were 8.8 percent higher, on average, year over year, multifamily rents were up only 4.5 percent. The trend seems to coincide with students returning to in-person classes after the COVID-19–related closures of 2020 and 2021. After stagnating during the pandemic, year-over-year rental increases for student housing first began to grow again in early 2021, as did rental increases for multifamily housing. But the latter increased rapidly at first and are now slowing significantly, while student housing rents continue to climb. The data provide at least a partial explanation for the chaotic student housing landscape leading into the fall 2023 semester, in which some institutions are still struggling to find accommodations for their students just weeks before classes start. Some are asking students to live in nearby hotels or on nearby college campuses, while others are jumping to extreme measures; Middlebury College, for instance, has offered to pay students to take a semester off in hopes that housing demand will ease by spring. Carl Whitaker, an economist with RealPage, said rental trends for student housing are essentially mimicking trends that conventional multifamily real estate went through months ago, and he expects the disparity between the two markets to even out by 2025 at the latest. |
| Feds Release Guidance in Wake of Supreme Court's Ruling on Admissions | |
| The Biden administration on Monday released two documents intended to clarify what colleges can and can't do as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision striking down race-conscious admissions. The bottom line: Though institutions have lost one crucial tool, they shouldn't throw out their entire toolbox by abandoning broader efforts to enroll and support diverse students. In a "Dear Colleague Letter," officials in the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education affirmed the educational benefits of diversity and pledged support for colleges "that recognize racial diversity is core to their commitment to excellence, and that pursue lawful steps to promote diversity and inclusion." Fulfilling that commitment, the officials wrote, would require "sustained action to lift the barriers that keep underserved students, including students of color, from equally accessing the benefits of higher education." For colleges, the letter says, "this may mean redoubling efforts to recruit and retain talented students from underserved communities, including those with large numbers of students of color. It may likewise mean a greater focus on fostering a sense of belonging for students currently enrolled." The letter was signed by Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Civil Right Division, and Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary for the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights. |
| With lawsuit dismissed, student loan debt forgiveness begins for 800,000 borrowers | |
| A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit from two conservative groups seeking to block student loan forgiveness for more than 800,000 borrowers. The outstanding debt in question, worth about $39 billion, is what borrowers still owe after making 20 to 25 years' worth of payments. The suit from the Cato Institute and Mackinac Center -- filed on their behalf by the New Civil Liberties Alliance in federal court in Michigan -- argued the federal government lacks the authority to forgive the debt and was working on an accelerated schedule "to evade judicial review." The U.S. Education Department said last month that after adjusting how it calculates student loan payments in a move to correct past errors, about 804,000 people would have the balance of their loans erased over the next few months. Judge Thomas L. Ludington, an appointee of President George W. Bush, dismissed the groups' case and rejected a request that the forgiveness be temporarily blocked. Ludington said the conservative groups did not show that they would be harmed by the plan. The court "did not rule on the merits of the case and instead said Cato and Mackinac were not the right parties to bring it," said NCLA's Sheng Li in an email. "We disagree with the court's conclusion regarding legal standing and are reviewing our legal options with our clients." |
| Third time isn't a charm for Chris McDaniel | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford writes: The third try wasn't the charm for State Sen. Chris McDaniel. Mississippi Republicans decided to stick with what they've got in last week's primaries. McDaniel fell over 20,000 votes short of Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann in a race with relatively high turnout. The only excitement during the Tuesday night vote tally came from watching to see if political newcomer Tiffany Longino could grab enough votes to force a runoff. She did not. She got just over 5% of the vote while Hosemann won with 52%. He cleared the runoff threshold by nearly 7,000 votes. This was McDaniel's third statewide defeat. He lost to Sen. Thad Cochran in 2014 and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in 2018. Notably, after those two defeats, he still held on to his state senate seat. This time he lost that too, giving up his safe seat to run against Hosemann. The results did seem to confirm the notion that McDaniel has a strong but limited core vote, at least in a first primary. In the first primary against Sen. Cochran in 2014 he got 157,733 votes. In the first open primary of the special election for U.S. Senate in 2018 he got 154,878 votes. Unofficial returns from last Tuesday's first primary showed McDaniel with 157,278 votes. In contrast, he got 187,279 in his runoff loss to Cochran in 2014. |
SPORTS
| Bowden visits Starkville, encourages MSU football team | |
 | After a long day of highly-trained athletes running full speed into each other and expelling blood and sweat on a football field, it's not uncommon for the team to come together and join in prayer. For many players, a football coach is the most influential male figure that they'll ever have in their life and coaches around the country have used that opportunity to make a positive influence on a player's life. For the legendary Bowden family, football coaching was an avenue to share the gospel and provide that positive influence on their young men. Former Florida State coaching great Bobby Bowden used that opportunity on his players, but he also instituted it in his children. Tommy Bowden, son of Bobby, carried on that legacy. The former Clemson head coach was at First Baptist Starkville on Sunday morning and enjoyed a one-on-one conversation with the church's pastor, Dr. Andy Brown, in front of the congregation. Included in the packed sanctuary was Mississippi State's Director of Athletics Zac Selmon, President Dr. Mark Keenum, football coach Zach Arnett and the entire Bulldog football team. |
| Bulldogs offense and defense benefit from testing each other as season approaches | |
| Football season is fast approaching for Mississippi State, and with it a new start under Zach Arnett. The defensive-coordinator-turned-head-coach has overseen plenty of changeover on offense since taking charge. Much has been made of the installation of offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay's offense, signaling a move away from the Air Raid concepts made famous by Mike Leach in his storied career. While Barbay noted that his scheme, like Leach's, is "primarily shotgun," he also utilizes multiple personnel groups and leans more heavily on the run game. And there isn't a much better test for Barbay and the offense than playing against the defense Arnett and new defensive coordinator Matt Brock have helped build. Brock takes over a unit he's already worked with for three years alongside Arnett, and it's a unit that has proven itself in a stacked Southeastern Conference. The Bulldogs defense ranked fifth in the SEC in total defense and turnovers, and has the benefit of continuity in terms of system, but the test of Barbay's offense has been a positive for them as well. "For sure, in terms of seeing formations, adjustments, motions, shifts, it has made us better," Brock said of going against the offense in practice every day. "It's exposed things schematically that we have to make sure that we're doing the things we need to from our standpoint. To give them the best possible chance to be successful. We're rolling off the ball, running to the ball, and that creates a different element for you too." |
| Notebook: Rogers discusses Saturday's scrimmage, early season observations | |
| Will Rogers walked over to the assembled media during Sunday's availability with a grin across his face. Mississippi State's senior starting quarterback had just earned the ultimate praise from graduate student offensive lineman Kwatrivous Johnson before his time in front of the camera. "To me, he's a Heisman Trophy candidate," Johnson said. Having already been named to the Wuerffel Trophy and Maxwell Award watch lists, as well as earning preseason All-Southeastern Conference honors this summer, Rogers, a Brandon native, has plenty of eyes on him leading up to the start of the 2023 season. However, his attention turned to the younger players on the roster who have impressed so far in training camp. "In the running back room, there's definitely some new faces," Rogers said. "[Jeffrey] Pittman, Key[vone Lee], both of those backs have done a really good job in the backfield for us." New names are also stepping into bigger roles in the receiver room. |
| Nathaniel Watson named to Bednarik Award watch list | |
| Mississippi State graduate student linebacker Nathaniel Watson was named to the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list on Monday, the program announced. The Bednarik Award, presented by the Maxwell Football Club, is presented annually to the nation's top defensive player, named after Pro Football Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik. Watson was one of 11 players from the Southeastern Conference named to the watch list. Last season, the All-SEC selection recorded 113 total tackles, second in the conference, and was third with 8.69 tackles per game. He led the Bulldogs with six sacks and also had an interception. So far this preseason, Watson has been named to the Nagurski Trophy watch list and earned preseason All-SEC honors. |
| SEC Announces Volleyball TV Dates and Times | |
| The Mississippi State volleyball team is scheduled to play five televised SEC matches during the 2023 season announced by the league office on Tuesday. Overall, the SEC Network's volleyball schedule will showcase nearly three dozen matches in the 2023 season. Matchups will be televised weekly on SEC Network on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, with conference play starting on Wednesday, Sept. 20. Two of volleyball's road matchups will be aired on SEC Network: MSU's SEC opener road match at Texas A&M on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. CT and LSU on Oct. 1 at 5 p.m.. The rest of State's televised volleyball matches will be at home. This includes a match against Alabama on Sept. 24 at 4 p.m., Ole Miss on Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. and South Carolina on Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. Volleyball's 2023 campaign will begin on Aug. 25, when they host the StarkVegas Classic. Mississippi State will play Eastern Kentucky, Northwestern State, and Louisiana throughout the three-day event. All home matches for volleyball are free admission. For those unable to attend a match, all Bulldog home and SEC matches will be streamed live on SEC Network+ this season. |
| State Sends Five To 2023 World Athletics Championships In Budapest | |
| Five former Bulldogs will return to the global stage at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, later this week. Mississippi State will be represented by Marco Arop (CAN) and Navasky Anderson (JAM) in the 800m, Anderson Peters (GRN) and Curtis Thompson (USA) in the javelin and Marta Pen Freitas (POR) in the 1500m. Competition begins on Friday, August 19 when Pen Freitas begins the opening round of the women's 1500m, and runs for the next nine days. State alumni claimed two medals at last year's championships in Eugene, Oregon, which were delayed by a year to accommodate the delay of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Following this year's championships, the event will return to its biannual calendar, with the next meeting set for 2025 in Tokyo. "It goes without saying that we're all extremely proud, not just myself but the entire track and field program, the entire community of Starkville, the individual coaches that those student-athletes worked with," head coach Chris Woods said. "We wish them nothing but the best. We are proving right now, and historically, that we do have one of the better track and field programs in the country. We produce some of the best athletes in the world out of this little small-town program. I think it goes to show this is a wonderful environment that someone can come in and excel in. I think it also says that we have some tremendous coaches that understand what it takes to develop somebody to reach the next level." |
| Golf, baseball, swimming, no matter -- Mississippians make their marks on international sports stage | |
| Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: They come mostly from small towns, but Mississippi athletes made an huge impact around the globe this past weekend. Let's take a look: In women's golf, Fulton's Ally McDonald Ewing finished tied for sixth in the last major tournament of the year, the AIG (British) Women's Open at Walton Heath Golf Club near London. Ewing, a 30-year-old former Mississippi State All American, earned $278,545 and moved to nearly $4 million in career professional golf earnings. Her finish at Walton Heath followed a ninth place finish in last week's Scottish Open and greatly enhanced her chances of being selected to the U.S. Solheim Cup team. She is now the No. 39 ranked women's golfer in the world. "You finish in the top 10 in a major, you are playing some great, great golf," said Jim Gallagher, the former touring pro and Golf Channel announcer, who closely follows the LPGA Tour. "What Ally did at Walton Heath doesn't surprise me. She's a great player who is playing some of her best golf right now." Ewing seems likely to be a captain's pick for the Solheim Cup, which matches the best U.S. women's players against the best from Europe, much like the Ryder Cup for men. "It would be surprising if she didn't make it," Gallagher said. "She's playing really well, she's got international experience and she is so well-liked by the other players. Team chemistry is so important in these international matches." It would be a third Solheim appearance for Ewing. |
| Michael Oher, 'The Blind Side' subject, sues to end Tuohys' conservatorship | AP News | |
 | Michael Oher, the former NFL tackle known for being the inspiration for the movie "The Blind Side," filed a petition Monday in a Tennessee probate court accusing Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy of lying to him by having him sign papers making them his conservators rather than his adoptive parents nearly two decades ago. In the petition filed Monday in Shelby County Probate Court, Oher asks for the conservatorship to be terminated along with asking for a full accounting of the money earned off the use of his name and story. He also asks to be paid what he is due along with interest. He accuses the Tuohys of enriching themselves at his expense by continuing to "falsely and publicly" represent themselves as his adoptive parents "to the date of the filing of this petition." Oher, who has never been a fan of the movie about his life, also asks in the petition that the Tuohys be sanctioned and required to pay both compensatory and punitive damages determined by the court. Steve Farese, a lawyer for the Tuohys, told The Associated Press they will file an answer to the allegations in court but declined to comment further. He was among three attorneys served on behalf of the Tuohys on Monday. Leigh Anne Tuohy did not immediately respond to an email sent via her personal website. Her husband told The Daily Memphian the conservatorship was done to satisfy the NCAA as Oher considered Tuohy's alma mater Mississippi for college. |
| How artificial intelligence could change college football | |
 | Bryant Gumbel uttered the now-famous words nearly 30 years ago on the TODAY Show couch. "What is the internet, anyway?" was part of a befuddled conversation on morning television about this new network of connected computers that was about to reshape the world. That 1994 conversation is now part of, well, internet lore. Now, some 29 years later, you're hearing similar conversations surrounding the advent of consumer-grade AI -- artificial intelligence for the uninitiated. Few industries escape at least the conversation of AI disruption and college football is far from exempt. And that's where DJ Lee and his team at BYU enter the conversation. Lee, the director of the Robotic Vision Laboratory in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the Utah university is the unlikely driving force for what could mean changes to how college football programs operate. What schools like Alabama and Georgia have on the competition are deep pockets and office space for a legion of analysts to break down film for as long as it takes to find tendencies and patterns within an opposing team's film. Lee and Co., are working on AI that could replace that human labor with machine-learning algorithms. The idea is to upload mountains (or terabytes) of film into a computer that would diagnose the formations and identify the tendencies of plays run from certain looks. Ultimately, Lee said he'd like to commercialize this technology. "I would like for this tool to be available for teams who want to use it," he said. "That's my ultimate goal. In the end, this algorithm could be acquired by certain companies or a team. The immediate goal is to get videos and test it out on our algorithm to see how much data we can collect and then go to a football team." |
| Fewer college football programs are leaving campus for training camps even in portal era | |
| Wisconsin offensive lineman Trey Wedig's challenges in his first week of preseason camp weren't limited to creating running room and protecting his quarterback. The Badgers' dormitory accommodations at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville also meant the 6-foot-7 Wedig had to figure out how to sleep comfortably in a twin XL-sized bed. "My feet are hanging off or hitting that wooden frame," Wedig said. "I sleep diagonally so I don't hit that wooden frame." The Badgers spent a week working out in Platteville, about 70 miles from Wisconsin's Madison campus. New Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell got the idea to train out of town from his coaching tenure at Cincinnati, which is spending a 25th straight year practicing about 30 miles from campus at Higher Ground Conference & Retreat Center in West Harrison, Indiana. Schools that train out of town rave about how isolating themselves from campus builds camaraderie that can carry a team through the grind of a season. Fickell said after his team's final practice in Platteville that "there's no doubt" he'd want to make this trip again. "They really enjoyed it," Fickell said. "They've asked several times about, 'Can we stay here for another week?' ... I'm the same way. If we could stay here another week, I'd love it." Wisconsin and Cincinnati are among a shrinking number of programs training off campus. Of the 93 Football Bowl Subdivision programs that responded to an Associated Press survey, only Cincinnati, Wisconsin, Arizona State and Florida State are holding portions of training camp outside the city in which their campus is located and having at least one overnight stay. Ten years ago, 14 different schools spent at least part of the preseason working out of town. |
| Big 12's Yormark on expansion: 'This was something that we had to do' | |
| About a week-and-a-half after Arizona, Arizona State and Utah announced plans to leave the Pac-12 for the Big 12, the commissioners of those two college conferences had a phone call that the Big 12's commissioner Brett Yormark described as collegial. Yormark said his main message was to convey that he was sorry to put Pac-12 chief George Kliavkoff in a tough position, "But this was something that we had to do. And this was something that the board and our key stakeholders encouraged. I'm sorry that my gain is your loss," Yormark said. "We had a very collegial conversation. George was fantastic, and I'll be seeing him again in a couple of weeks at some industry meetings." Yormark said he's been open about the Big 12's desire to expand ever since he took the role as Big 12 commissioner about a year ago. "It didn't happen at night; it wasn't a shock-and-awe moment," Yormark said. "Everyone knew the Big 12 had an appetite to expand. Maybe some people in the industry didn't like it that I was so intentional about it, but I'm very transparent. In fact, I telegraphed it. I just felt that was the right way to do it versus other things that I've witnessed and observed in our industry over time, where transparency really wasn't the case." |
| NCAA president Charlie Baker releases 'Path Forward' letter | |
| NCAA president Charlie Baker recently released the findings of the organization's business model. On Monday, he released a letter to member institutions titled the "Path Forward." Baker's statement Monday outlined the latest updates on the gender equity process, updated NIL guidelines and health insurance fund creation. He also shared the findings from the business report, which suggested the NCAA should find ways to create a national platform for online streaming of events and tackle the growing officiating crisis by building a pipeline of talent. Baker continues to prioritize NIL. Since taking over as NCAA president in March, he has made multiple trips to Washington, D.C., to lobby legislators for a federal mandate. A registry of NIL deals, a certification process for agents and a uniform NIL standard have always been on his wishlist for lawmakers to enact. The recent round of conference realignment has complicated that, however, as elected officials may have a hard time seeing the need to control athlete compensation. The NCAA Division I Board of Directors instructed the Division I Council earlier this month to develop new NIL proposals. They include formulating a registration process for NIL service providers -- such as agents and collectives -- creating a standardized contract or standard contract terms and establishing disclosure requirements for student-athletes to provide transparency about NIL activities. After the working group drafts the policy, it will hand it off to the Division I Council in October. Then after it is introduced to the Council in October, it will be circulated to membership, voted on by the Council in January and voted on by the Board in January. |
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