| Thursday, December 14, 2023 |
| Shaw to manage commencement, student records as new MSU university registrar | |
 | An employee with two decades of work experience at Mississippi State is the new university registrar. Emily Shaw, who has served as associate registrar since 2020, is now leading the management and maintenance of all student academic records and the university's approved curriculum. She also oversees class scheduling and end-of-term processing, student registration, transfer articulation, degree audit and education record federal compliance. Associate Vice President of Enrollment Services John Dickerson, also the previous registrar, said of the hire, "Emily brings a strong and unique administrative and academic experience to this position as she has worked at the academic department and college level, in addition to her most recent service as associate registrar. I am excited to see how her leadership will advance the Office of the Registrar in service of the students, staff and faculty of the university." Shaw's most visible responsibility as the new registrar is coordination of MSU's spring and fall commencement ceremonies, working with Office of the Registrar staff and others across campus on two of the biggest -- and most memorable -- events for students and their families. |
| Rehab, decommissioning still options for county lake | |
 | There are people who want to repair the Oktibbeha County Lake dam and others who want to see the lake decommissioned. Scott Taylor falls on neither side, and for the moment, his voice may be the most vital to the conversation. "I actually don't care whether the dam goes or if it stays," Taylor, engineer with WSP USA Environmental and Infrastructure and project manager for the lake project, told a crowd of roughly 50 gathered for a public hearing on the lake Tuesday night in the Community Safe Room on Lynn Lane. "I'm just going to follow where the data leads." Taylor's team, appointed by the Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission, will spend the next year studying the lake's role in the greater Trim Cane Watershed west of Starkville. From that study, it will recommend to county supervisors a solution for the dam that was deemed unsafe in January 2020. The federal Natural Resources Conservation Service is paying for the engineering study and will cover design and construction costs for its recommended action, if supervisors accept it, through its Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations Program. The county would pay out of pocket for any private property easements it needed to purchase for the project. Tuesday's meeting was the first of two public hearings planned for the process, which Taylor promised would be "transparent." |
| Federal Reserve keeps key interest rate unchanged and foresees 3 rate cuts next year | |
 | The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday for a third straight time, and its officials signaled that they expect to make three quarter-point cuts to their benchmark rate next year. Speaking at a news conference, Chair Jerome Powell said that Fed officials are likely done raising interest rates because of how steadily inflation has cooled. "Inflation has eased over the past year but remains over our longer run goal of 2%," Powell said after the Fed's 19-member policy committee ended its latest meeting. On Wall Street, traders celebrated the prospect of lower rates ahead. Stock prices soared and bond yields sank after the Fed's policymakers signaled that they envision three interest rate cuts in 2024. In response to a question, Powell said the Fed recognizes that keeping rates high for too long, and waiting too long to cut them, could endanger the economy. "We're aware of the risk that we would hang on too long" before reducing borrowing rates, the Fed chair said. "We know that's a risk, and we're very focused on not making that mistake." Powell came close to declaring rate hikes over, although he refused to completely shut the door on more increases. |
| U.S. Retail Sales Show Holiday Season Off to Strong Start | |
 | Consumer spending showed unexpected strength at the start of the holiday shopping season, as Americans shopped in-person and online, shrugging off signs of economic cooling. Retail sales, which include spending at stores, restaurants and gas stations, rose 0.3% in November from the month before, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Economists had expected sales to fall. Sales rose 4.1% in November from a year earlier, outpacing inflation. Excluding gasoline and auto sales, retail spending rose 0.6% last month from October, after increasing just 0.1% the prior month, suggesting Americans are shopping and dining out to start the holiday season. Auto sales boosted overall spending as the autoworkers strike ended even as interest rates made it more expensive to buy a car. Cheaper gasoline reduced the dollar-value of spending. Retail spending typically ramps up toward the end of the year. The data is adjusted for seasonality to allow for month-to-month comparisons, but not for inflation. Many retailers expect only slightly higher sales this holiday season compared with last, after robust spending growth on gifts and festivities earlier in the pandemic recovery. This year, stores are braced for choosy consumers. "It has started out well, but it's too early to call," Macy's Chief Executive Jeff Gennette said in an interview around Thanksgiving weekend. "Just because you have a great Black Friday doesn't mean you have a great holiday season." |
| Mississippi holds first-ever menorah lighting ceremony at state capitol | |
 | The state of Mississippi held its first-ever menorah lighting at the state capitol on Wednesday evening. Assembled by Congregation Beth Israel in Gulfport, the ceremony was held as Jewish people across the globe celebrate Hanukkah. Governor Tate Reeves, who was in attendance, voiced his support of Israel in its ongoing war with Hamas as well as the Jewish population within the Magnolia State. "I was honored to help celebrate Hanukkah with the lighting of a menorah at our capitol tonight. Jewish people are once again facing persecution around the world," Reeves said in a post on social media. "Let me be clear -- Mississippi stands with them and the state of Israel during this difficult time!" Hanukkah began on Thursday, December 7. Wednesday's ceremony took place on the seventh day of the festival. On each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, Jewish people light special menorahs, adding another flame each night, until on the eighth night eight flames are burning brightly. The lighting takes place at a home, in a doorway, or near a window, and is performed after brief blessings are recited. |
| Federal government approves part of Mississippi's plan to help struggling hospitals | |
| The federal government has approved the first part of Mississippi's plan to help some of the state's financially strapped hospitals receive more Medicaid money, Gov. Tate Reeves said Wednesday. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved part of the proposal Reeves released in September, in which hospitals would pay higher taxes so the state could draw more federal Medicaid money. The governor's statement didn't say how much more the hospitals will pay collectively in taxes, but he said the changes would generate about $689 million, which would be split among hospitals in the state. "This is the product of meetings with a range of medical professionals and healthcare leaders, and I'm truly thankful to all of them for helping to get us to today," Reeves said in a news release. Mississippi has 73 rural hospitals. Six have closed since 2005, and 31 are at immediate risk of closing because of severe financial problems, according to a national policy group, the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. Only Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma have more hospitals in that risk category. The Mississippi Division of Medicaid will deliver the first round of payments to hospitals in the coming weeks, Reeves said. |
| 'Coming at the legal profession fast': Court proposes rules to limit use of AI in briefings | |
| Artificial intelligence seems to be getting smarter every day, but one federal court shows it's likely still not ready to draw up court filings without human involvement. Recently, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals proposed a rule limiting the use of AI in crafting legal documents, unless attorneys or filers could certify those documents are checked by a human for accuracy. The proposal was prompted after an attorney in New York got into hot water for submitting an erroneous brief he created using the ChatGPT program. The brief, according to Law360, cited six non-existent cases. When that attorney asked the program if those cases existed, it said yes. Mississippi College Law Professor Matt Steffey says restrictions like the one proposed by the Fifth likely will become the new norm. "It's coming at the legal profession fast," he said. "We've all watched the Terminator movies. We've all watched the Matrix movies. Even if AI doesn't start a nuclear war against humanity, it will be able to do many of the things that we've used humans for... the same way that robots have taken over automobile assembly." Under the proposed rules, an attorney or filer would have to certify no AI program was used in drafting a document, or that if a program was used, all citations and legal analysis are checked for accuracy by a human. |
| Senate Passes Defense Bill, Steering Clear of Far-Right Policy Dictates | |
 | The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed an $886 billion defense bill that would set Pentagon policy and provide a 5.2 percent pay raise for military personnel, defying the demands of Republicans who failed to attach a raft of deeply partisan restrictions on abortion, transgender care and diversity initiatives. The vote was 87 to 13 to approve the legislation, which would expand the Defense Department's ability to compete with China and Russia in hypersonic and nuclear weapons. It would also direct hundreds of millions of dollars in military assistance to Ukraine and Israel. The Ukraine and Israel programs authorized by the bill are distinct from a $111 billion spending bill to send additional weapons to those countries, among other expenditures, that is currently stalled in Congress. The defense bill would also extend into 2025 a program that allows the intelligence community to conduct warrantless surveillance of foreign individuals outside the United States. The program has come under fire because of how the F.B.I. has handled the private messages of Americans. The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee urged conservatives in the House to support the bill, arguing that it contained G.O.P. wins. Among the provisions he highlighted was a salary cap on diversity officers that would force the Pentagon to remove some senior positions dedicated to such initiatives and a new special inspector general to oversee how U.S. military assistance is being used in Ukraine. Republicans have accused the Biden administration of failing to offer them guarantees that the weapons being sent to Ukraine are not falling into the wrong hands. "The I.G. provision should be enough to allay anybody's concerns that the money is being misspent," Senator Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi, told reporters Wednesday, adding that he was "pleased that we are getting some credit from a majority of the base about some victories." |
| House GOP adds Biden to list of presidents to face formal impeachment probe | |
 | The House on Wednesday, under a party-line vote, adopted a measure that formalizes an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden as Republicans continue their search for wrongdoing in his family's business dealings. The measure was approved 221-212, with every Republican supporting it and every Democrat opposed. One Democrat did not vote. The impeachment resolution spells out the authorities of three involved committees, and an accompanying measure describes the GOP-run panels' subpoena powers. GOP leaders, including Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who teed up the resolution, contend the move would place the inquiry on firmer legal ground, should the Biden camp challenge any subpoenas in court. Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., unilaterally launched an informal impeachment probe in September, contending House Republicans were looking into whether then-Vice President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden engaged in an influence-peddling campaign that allowed them to trade access to the father's senior Obama administration post for sizable profits in global business deals inked by the son. Hunter Biden was on Capitol Hill earlier Wednesday, using remarks outside the domed building to challenge House Oversight and Accountability Republicans to allow him to testify in a public hearing. The panel's majority had subpoenaed him, but were demanding a closed-door deposition. "What are they afraid of? I'm here. I'm ready," Hunter Biden said. "They have no shame. ... They've lied over and over again." But Johnson and other House Republicans have accused the president, his family and White House officials of "stonewalling" their investigation, contending they have been denied requested documents and testimony. |
| Few US adults would be satisfied with a possible Biden-Trump rematch in 2024, an AP-NORC poll shows | |
| It's the presidential election no one is really jazzed about. Relatively few Americans are excited about a potential rematch of the 2020 election between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, although more Republicans would be satisfied to have Trump as their nominee than Democrats would be with Biden as their standard-bearer, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That palpable apathy from voters comes even as both Biden and Trump are facing relatively few obstacles in their paths to lock down their respective parties' nominations next year. Biden has amassed broad support from Democratic officials as a handful of mostly token primary challengers have struggled to spark momentum. And despite 91 indictments across four criminal cases -- including some centered on his attempts to overturn his electoral loss to Biden in 2020 -- Trump's grip on GOP primary voters shows no signs of loosening a month before the first nominating contest in Iowa. "Probably the best way to put it is, I find it sad for our country that that's our best choices," said Randy Johnson, 64, from Monett, Missouri. Johnson, who is a Republican, said he wishes there were a third legitimate option for president but that the political system does not make that viable and added: "We're down to the lesser of two evils." |
| Kamala Harris pushes White House to be more sympathetic toward Palestinians | |
 | Vice President Kamala Harris has been telling colleagues in the administration that she wants the White House to show more concern publicly for the humanitarian damage in Gaza, where Israel is locked in a bloody and prolonged battle with Hamas, according to three people familiar with Harris' comments. President Joe Biden is among the officials Harris has urged to show more sensitivity to Palestinian civilians, these people said. In internal conversations about the war in Gaza, Harris has argued that it is time to start making "day after" plans for how to handle the wreckage of the war once the fighting ends, one senior administration official said. One person close to the vice president's office said she believes the United States should be "tougher" on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; she has called for being "more forceful at seeking a long-term peace and two-state solution," this person said. Harris' private push to shape the White House message about the war reflects the extent to which Democrats -- even the top two officials in the country -- are struggling to walk a careful line about the Israel-Hamas war, amid a gruesome conflict that has rattled the Democratic political coalition down to the local level. It also underscores the delicacy of the tight political partnership that Harris has developed with Biden, despite some longstanding differences in perspective on various issues. |
| UM professor to co-chair international astronautics committee | |
| The International Academy of Astronautics has named University of Mississippi law professor Michelle Hanlon to its permanent committee on space solar power. As countries look to develop clean, efficient forms of power, the IAA formed the Permanent Committee on Space Solar Power to advise on ways of harnessing and delivering sunlight-powered energy from outer space to markets on Earth. "What the committee is doing is trying to show the world that this isn't science fiction," Hanlon said. "It can happen, and it's something that governments should be putting a ton of work behind because not only is it clean, but it's cheaper when you put the structures in place." The International Academy of Astronautics is an independent, nongovernmental organization that seeks to develop peaceful human space travel and exploration. Hanlon, executive director of the Center for Air and Space Law in the UM School of Law and co-founder and CEO of For All Moonkind, will co-chair the legal and regulatory consideration subcommittee. Hanlon is among about three dozen people from across the globe appointed to the committee. Orbital solar power could be a clean, efficient energy source that would reduce the carbon emissions contributing to climate change, but its implementation must be intentional, she said. |
| USM researchers study spillway effects on oysters | |
 | The Bonnet Carré Spillway (BCS) provides a protective flood-control barrier to New Orleans, diverting excess waters from the Mississippi River through Lake Pontchartrain on their way into the Gulf of Mexico. Because of the mixing of fresh and saltwater in this situation, there has been concerns among researchers about a drastic decline in oyster population. This has led to the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) forming a team from its School of Ocean Science and Engineering (SOSE) to study the effects of this excess freshwater being diverted into Mississippi coastal waters, along with the fate of the coastal marine habitats. Dr. Kemal Cambazoglu, an assistant professor in the SOSE, is also concerned about the situation yet hopeful the ocean modeling research team can provide helpful guidance. "A large amount of freshwater gets diverted from the Mississippi River into Lake Pontchartrain through the spillway," Cambazoglu said. "That freshwater fills the lake, which is connected to Mississippi Sound and Lake Borgne. When it gets to the Sound, it can cause significant shellfish mortality at the historic reefs and oyster beds in the Sound." The team hopes to provide government agencies with spillway operations recommendations that can contribute to saving and maintaining coastal oyster beds. |
| UGA among top-50 best schools for military veterans, according to this ranking | |
 | Military Times ranked 325 colleges and universities that are the best for veterans, with four of the top 50 being in Georgia. The University of Georgia ranked No. 37 on the Military Times Best for Vets 2023 Colleges list. UGA offers the Student Veteran Resource Center as a place to connect with veterans or navigate financial aid, among other services. UGA is also ranked No. 1 as the most military friendly Tier 1 research university, according to Viqtory Media's rankings of Military Friendly Schools 2023-2024. Additionally, U.S. News & World Report ranked UGA's online master's degree program in education at No. 1 for veterans. As of 2022, there were 98 undergraduates and 169 graduate/professionals enrolled at UGA who identified as student veterans, reserve or active duty. Three other Georgia schools also made the top 50 of the Military Times list. Georgia State University, located in Atlanta, topped the Georgia school with its No. 4 overall ranking. Georgia Southern University, with its main campus located in Statesboro and additional campuses in Savannah and Hinesville, ranked No. 33. Mercer University, located in Macon and auxiliary campuses in Savannah, Atlanta and Columbus, ranked No. 48. |
| Study: First-Year Experience Courses Tied to Higher Retention, GPA | |
 | First-year experience courses are designed to help incoming students transition to college life and the institution, but how effective are these programs in achieving their goals? An institutional researcher at California State University, Fullerton, analyzed three groups of first-year students to understand the relationship between participation in a FYE course and longer-term metrics. The analysis showed students, on average, earned a higher GPA that term if they participated in a first-year experience course compared to their peers who did not. FYE participants' one-year retention rates were also higher, on average, than those of students who did not complete the course. CSUF has offered two types of first-year experience courses: UNIV101, which is geared toward students who have yet to declare a major, and major-specific FYE courses, housed within each of the university's colleges. UNIV101 at CSUF covers traditional first-year experience material, including highlighting relevant services and resources at the university, how to get involved on campus, and community engagement opportunities, explains Michael Biesiada, a senior institutional researcher for CSUF's Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning. Activities include partnering with a student success fellow, attending academic workshops and completing a career exploration project. In recent years, CSUF has phased out the UNIV101 course in favor of major-specific courses, still delivering student success content but also highlighting how their fields can address real-world problems and assigning students case studies related to their major. |
| Colleges' costs increased 4% in FY23 | |
| Colleges' expenses rose 4% in the 2023 fiscal year compared to the year prior, according to new data from Commonfund, an asset management firm that tracks inflation in the higher education sector. That's a lower rate of inflation than the Higher Education Price Index, or HEPI, tracked in fiscal year 2022. That year, the rate reached a decades-long high of 5.2%. Consumer inflation outpaced colleges' increases for the second year in a row, an unusual occurrence. The Consumer Price Index hit 6.3% in fiscal 2023. Since fiscal 2000, annual CPI has outpaced the HEPI just 21% of the time. Colleges, and the U.S. more broadly, have struggled with significant inflation since the pandemic began. The HEPI has increased almost 3.5% on average since fiscal 2020. That's a marked uptick from the decade beginning in fiscal 2010, when annual cost increases averaged 2.2%. "Inflation is easing, but for higher education institutions, it is still well above the prior decade's norm," George Suttles, executive director of Commonfund, said in its report. "We anticipate this will be an ongoing subject of attention alongside other high priority agenda topics." Faculty salaries increased 4% in fiscal 2023, the highest rate in 15 years. The uptick comes after faculty salaries rose 2.1% in fiscal 2022 -- making it the category with the least growth that year. |
| Vandalism, slurs and a resignation: Antisemitism storm hits Ivy League's 'friendliest' school for Jews | |
 | In the City of Brotherly Love, Gemma Levy sometimes doesn't feel safe. Levy decided to attend the University of Pennsylvania partly because of its long history of tolerance toward Jewish students like her. But with recent events -- pro-Palestinian protests, antisemitic chants, university President Liz Magill's perplexing remarks about genocide and her subsequent resignation -- the campus hasn't seemed all that tolerant. "I've felt super unsafe at times," Levy, a freshman cognitive science major from Brooklyn, said while hurrying to class along the tree-lined Locust Walk in the oldest part of the campus. "It's a weird experience to feel that way." It's an unsettling experience for the city, too. Philadelphia, known as the birthplace of the United States, is where the Founding Fathers met and debated the future of the new country. Founded on the principles of religious freedom, it's home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the country. The University of Pennsylvania, founded primarily by Benjamin Franklin and now regarded as one of the nation's premier schools of higher learning, kept its doors open to Jewish students when Harvard and other Ivy League colleges implemented quotas and other measures to limit their enrollment or keep them out altogether. Today, though, Philadelphia and the university are at the epicenter of the clash over free speech and antisemitism, the Israel-Hamas war and the right to feel safe and secure. How did that happen? In Philadelphia of all places? |
| House Condemns Campus Antisemitism Testimony of Penn, Harvard, MIT Presidents | |
| The House voted Wednesday to condemn the testimony of the three university presidents whose comments on campus antisemitism last week sparked calls for their resignation. The bipartisan resolution, which passed 303-126, with three members voting present, cited the presidents' responses to a line of questioning from House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik of New York. All but one of the votes against the resolution were Democrats. Stefanik said on X, formerly Twitter, that the resolution's passage "marks a historic bipartisan effort to stand for moral truth." Stefanik last week asked Claudine Gay of Harvard University, Elizabeth Magill of the University of Pennsylvania and Sally Kornbluth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology if calling for the genocide of Jews would violate their universities' policies on bullying and harassment. All three said it would depend on the context. The testimony exacerbated tensions over the Israel-Hamas war on college campuses and was widely condemned by university donors, politicians and Jewish advocacy groups. The resolution, which also condemns antisemitism on college campuses, was passed under a fast-track process that requires a two-thirds majority. The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights, which has been investigating discrimination on campuses, said it was looking at more schools, including Stanford University, the University of California, Los Angeles and Rutgers University. |
| Security and academic officials pitch federal action to quell 'heightened tension' on campuses | |
| Top school security and academic officials want the Biden administration to overhaul its response to campus antisemitism and Islamophobia -- and the White House appears to be listening. Advisers to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas this week issued urgent recommendations for an expansive federal response to campus threats, free speech debates and hateful acts that have consumed the U.S. education system in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. Those recommendations include requests for a White House campus safety convening aimed at turning down the heat, new forms of information sharing and even modified immigration enforcement actions for Israel and the Palestinian territories, according to a draft report that was unanimously approved Wednesday afternoon by the Council. "For many, the classroom and the campus from primary schools to colleges and universities do not feel safe right now," Mayorkas said during brief remarks to the council on Wednesday. "They have not felt safe for weeks since Octobe 7, and in fact are not safe. We've seen far too many instances, for example, of the intimidation of and attacks against Jewish, Muslim and Arab Americans in schools across our country." At Mayorkas' direction in mid-November, a panel that includes campus law enforcement representatives, Association of American Universities President Barbara Snyder and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten began huddling with approximately 30 homeland security and education officials to propose additional resources and support the administration could offer schools amid the conflict. |
| Schooled in 'social justice,' more students flock to Palestinian cause | |
 | When campus police removed Selena Lacayo from a pro-Palestinian sit-in on the night of Oct. 25, it was her first arrest. She was one of 56 students and one employee at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who were later charged with trespassing outside the chancellor's office. But it wasn't Ms. Lacayo's first protest. Last spring, she marched with fellow students under the banner of prison abolition to call for the eviction of the university's police force from campus. To Ms. Lacayo, a first-generation college senior whose major is women, gender, and sexuality studies, resisting the "prison-industrial complex" and Israeli military actions in Gaza is part of the same struggle. The common enemy is "Western imperialism" that, as she sees it, oppresses people in formerly colonized countries and those living in marginalized communities. Even students in the United States have "been directly affected by war and militarism" and need to organize to defend their rights, she says. Her protest was part of a wave of Israel-related student activism that has roiled campuses across the U.S. since Oct. 7, when Hamas militants massacred 1,200 civilians in southern Israel and took more than 200 hostages. While some young people have voiced solidarity with Israel and supported its retaliation against Hamas, the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, where 17,000 have been killed according to Gaza officials, has galvanized many more students to join rallies, marches, and sit-ins. To these students, U.S. support for Israel is complicity with a punitive military campaign that compounds the suffering of Palestinian civilians under Israel's thumb. Polls show a generational divide on the issue, with younger voters more sympathetic to Palestinians than older voters are -- a divide that threatens to undermine President Joe Biden's reelection bid. |
SPORTS
| Dyehard By Follett Announces New Athletic E-Commerce Partnership With Mississippi State Athletics | |
| Dyehard by Follett, the preeminent fan retail experience in collegiate athletics, has launched a multi-year partnership with Mississippi State Athletics as the new official e-commerce provider. The relationship was negotiated through Learfield's MSU Bulldog Sports Properties, who oversees athletic multimedia and e-commerce rights. The enhanced online shopping experience complements Dyehard by Follett's existing in-venue retail experience, providing an omnichannel approach to delivering officially licensed merchandise to Bulldog fans. Shoppers will notice a change in website URL for the official Mississippi State team store to match their in-venue experience: www.statestylestore.com. The online store offers high-quality, officially licensed gear from best-in-class brands such as adidas, Peter Millar, Beyond Yoga, Tommy Bahama, and Johnnie-O, along with merchandise and products from locally owned and operated companies. Athlete NIL products will be a central focus with Bulldog fans having the opportunity to purchase gear featuring their favorite student-athletes across all MSU teams and sports. The product offerings will continue to evolve, with new sport-specific collections available throughout the year. "Our team is grateful for the innovative approach Dyehard by Follett has taken with our in-venue business over the last four years, and I'm excited for what this expanded partnership will offer our customers and student-athletes, particularly in the ever-evolving NIL space," said Tom Greene, Deputy Athletic Director for External Engagement. |
| Men's Basketball: After scorching first half, Mississippi State survives scare from Murray State | |
| The play design came from associate head coach James Miller, and it was not a play Chris Jans had ever run while trailing by a point in the final minute. The fact that Mississippi State was trailing Murray State in the final minute Wednesday night was alarming in itself, considering the Bulldogs had led by as many as 19 early in the second half. But Cameron Matthews beat his defender on a backdoor cut to the basket, and Dashawn Davis led him perfectly with a pass for the alley-oop that gave MSU the lead inside of 30 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs' defense, which struggled uncharacteristically for much of the night, clamped down late as MSU escaped with an 85-81 win over the Racers. "If it didn't work out, there would be hundreds of people questioning me why we ran a lob play down one," Jans said. "At that point in the game, a lot of people have a lot of suggestions, and I'm glad they do. James Miller suggested we run that play, and I gravitated toward it right away. It's a play we run a ton, not just here but previous stops. It's always been in our library." It looked for the first 25 minutes that the Bulldogs (8-2) would need no late-game magic -- their offense picked up right where it left off from Saturday's 106-76 drubbing of Tulane. MSU made 13 shots in a row at one point, started the game 15-for-16 from the floor and finished the first half 18-of-23, with just one of the misses coming inside the 3-point arc. |
| Mississippi State basketball gets promising update on injured forward Tolu Smith | |
 | Even before Mississippi State basketball took the floor for Wednesday's 85-81 win against Murray State, the Bulldogs got good news. All-SEC forward Tolu Smith, who hasn't played this season due to an offseason foot injury, has been cleared to practice, according to coach Chris Jans. "The scan was good," Jans said. "It's what the doctors wanted to see. He'll be released to practice on Friday. It's part of the journey, part of the process. He's not going to be out there for two hours going physical contact, but he is going to be released on Friday. We'll just see how it reacts. He'll get a little bit of time here, little bit of time there." When MSU (8-2) announced Smith's injury on Oct. 5, he was expected to return during conference play. The Bulldogs have three nonconference games remaining: against North Texas in Tupelo on Sunday; against Rutgers in New Jersey on Dec. 23; and at home against Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 31. Smith was a first-team All-SEC selection last season after averaging 15.7 points and 8.5 rebounds in 34 games. He helped MSU get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. Multiple publications had Smith as the preseason SEC player of the year. |
| Complete 2024 Football Schedule Announced | |
| The full 2024 Mississippi State football schedule was announced Wednesday night after the Southeastern Conference announced the complete schedule on ESPN and SEC Network. Mississippi State's 2024 schedule features seven home games and five road contests, including a trip to Texas (Sept. 28) for the Longhorns' inaugural season in the SEC. The 2024 campaign will kickoff against Eastern Kentucky (Aug. 31) before State hits the road for the first time when they travel to Tempe, Ariz., to take on Arizona State (Sept.). This will be the first meeting between the two programs, but MSU's second trip to the state of Arizona since 2022. Mississippi State will host Toledo (Sept. 14) before welcoming Florida (Sept. 21) to Starkville in the first meeting between the two programs since 2018. The Bulldogs will be on the road for their next two contests when they travel to Texas and Georgia (Oct. 12). State will be back at Davis Wade Stadium for their longest home stretch of the season, with contests against Texas A&M (Oct. 19), Arkansas (Oct. 26) and UMass (Nov. 2). The Bulldogs will travel to Knoxville (Nov. 9) before closing out their home schedule against Missouri (Nov. 23). Mississippi State will travel to Ole Miss (Nov. 30) for the 2024 edition of the rivalry. This will be just the second time since 2016 that the two programs have not played on Thanksgiving Day. |
| 2024 SEC football schedule: Full list of dates, opponents revealed | |
| The SEC is going to look much different when the 2024 football season kicks off. Two new teams will be part of the conference, which will no longer have divisions and will be in the first year of a new media deal with ESPN and ABC. Prior to this season, the SEC announced its plans for an eight-game football schedule. There was discussion about moving to a nine-game model, but the league ultimately decided to stick with eight for at least the 2024 season as Texas and Oklahoma join the fray. The league announced each team's opponents in June. Now, those matchups have dates, as announced during an ESPN special Wednesday night to reveal the 2024 SEC football schedule. |
| Mississippi State Hosts Jackson State For In-State Battle | |
| Mississippi State women's basketball hosts in-state Jackson State inside Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+. Fans not in attendance can follow action on SEC Network+ or through their affiliate radio station with play-by-play talent Jason Crowder. Live statistics throughout the contest will be available at MSU.Statbroadcast.com. Thursday will be the 29th overall matchup between Mississippi State and Jackson State. Mississippi State leads 17-11 overall and has won six straight in the series. The last meeting in the series was a 74-66 win for Mississippi State inside Humphrey Coliseum on Dec. 19, 2021. Jackson State is the second SWAC team that Mississippi State has faced this season and the sixth overall under Purcell. The Bulldogs are 5-0 against SWAC teams under Purcell. Mississippi State has made it a point of emphasis to play programs inside the state. Not including Ole Miss, Mississippi State has played the other Division I teams 26 times since 2010 with a 25-1 record. Mississippi State defeated Alcorn State 77-42 to open its schedule this season and will also face Mississippi Valley State and Ole Miss in 2023-24. Jackson State is off to a 5-3 start in its fifth season under head coach Tomekia Reed. Mississippi State will hit the road for a pair of contests prior to Christmas break, starting with a border battle against Memphis on Sunday, Dec. 17 inside Elma Fieldhouse. |
| Mississippi State softball to open 2024 season on home turf | |
| Mississippi State softball head coach Samantha Ricketts released the Bulldogs' 2024 schedule on Tuesday, and MSU will open the season by hosting The Snowman -- a tournament that honors former Bulldogs outfielder Alex Wilcox, who died from ovarian cancer in 2018 -- from Feb. 9-11 at Nusz Park. The opponents for The Snowman have not yet been announced, but MSU has hosted the event each year since 2019. For the fourth straight season, all Southeastern Conference teams will wear teal uniforms for a day on Apr. 13 as part of the "All for Alex" campaign. The Bulldogs will host defending SEC regular season and tournament champion Tennessee that day. Following the opening weekend at home, MSU will travel south of the border to Mexico for the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, where the Bulldogs will take on UC Davis, UC San Diego, Utah and Clemson. Up next is the prestigious Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif., which will pit MSU against UCF, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Fresno State and Cal State Fullerton. Six of the Bulldogs' nine opponents in those two weekends made the 2023 NCAA Tournament, including the three-time defending national champion Sooners. Utah also advanced to the Women's College World Series, and Clemson appeared in its second consecutive super regional. |
| Reunited Brilliance: Maddy Anderson and Macey Hodge Announce Return for a Thrilling Final Season in the Maroon and White | |
| Mississippi State Soccer is exhilarated to announce the triumphant return of goalkeeper Maddy Anderson and midfielder Macey Hodge for the upcoming season. This formidable duo, renowned for rewriting the record books and achieving historic milestones, brings an unparalleled level of experience, leadership, and skill to the field for an electrifying final season. Macey and Maddy have been inseparable since they first stepped onto the pitch together, sharing every piece of Mississippi State history. During the 2023 season, the dynamic duo played pivotal roles in achieving historic milestones. Hodge served as the team captain, as voted by her teammates, in both 2022 and 2023, leading the Bulldogs to historic victories in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. In 2023, Anderson joined her with the armband, showcasing the duo's shared leadership and commitment to the team's success. As Maddy Anderson and Macey Hodge gear up for their final season in the Maroon and White, the Mississippi State Women's Soccer program anticipates a season filled with excitement, skill, and the pursuit of even greater heights. The record-breaking goalkeeper and the midfield maestro are set to lead the Bulldogs on the pitch once again and continue to rewrite history in Starkville. |
| NCAA student-athletes: fewer mental health concerns post-pandemic | |
| An NCAA survey of student-athletes suggests they are experiencing fewer mental health concerns than they did at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but some demographics have shown more improvement than others. More than 23,000 student-athletes participated in the NCAA Student-Athlete Health and Wellness Study between September 2022 and June 2023. The data shows that mental health concerns have decreased in all three NCAA divisions. In men's sports, 17% of respondents said they constantly feel overwhelmed, down from 25%, and 16% reported feelings of mental exhaustion, down from 22%. The most significant decreases came among males in Division I. The decreases were smaller among women. It found that 44% of women's sports participants reported feeling overwhelmed (down from 47%), and 35% reported feeling mentally exhausted (down from 38%). As studies in 2020 and 2021 showed, students of color, those identifying on the queer spectrum and those identifying as transgender or nonbinary once again self-reported mental health struggles at higher rates. "As schools continue to improve their mental health care services while fostering an environment of well-being, student-athletes will continue to reap the benefits of wellness and mental health care-seeking," said Brian Hainline, the NCAA chief medical officer. "That being said, we need to understand better the gap in perceived mental health concerns between men and women student-athletes." |
| NCAA board chair: Unlimited transfers 'inconsistent' with mission of graduation | |
| Soon, a court may give college athletes the right to transfer an unlimited number of times without penalty. One of the most powerful figures within college sports disagrees with such a move. University of Georgia president Jere Morehead, the chair of the NCAA Division I Board of Directors, believes that an unlimited transfer policy is "inconsistent" with the organization's goal of graduating athletes and, in addition, says that the association should abolish its transfer waiver process. "We want every student-athlete to earn a degree as part of their college experience. Our rules have to be focused on that important objective," Morehead told Yahoo Sports on Wednesday. "I think there are legitimate academic reasons not to have student-athletes engaged in multiple transfers. It does not achieve our goal in having student-athletes graduate from institutions. We've lost our way a bit here." Morehead's comments came hours after a groundbreaking ruling from a U.S. district court in West Virginia. As part of a lawsuit over the NCAA's transfer policy, Judge John P. Bailey granted a 14-day temporary restraining order that prevents the association from enforcing its bylaw requiring college athletes who transfer more than once to sit out a year at their new school. For a two-week period beginning Wednesday and running through Dec. 27, college athletes who are transferring a second time or more can play immediately at their new school. It paves a path for basketball players who have been denied waivers to play in games over the next two weeks -- and maybe much longer. A preliminary injunction hearing is set for Dec. 27 where the judge is expected to levy a more permanent ruling. |
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