| Thursday, February 1, 2024 |
| 20th Rotary Classic Rodeo set for next weekend | |
 | Saddle up. For the 20th time, Starkville's annual Rotary Classic Rodeo returns to the Mississippi Horse Park on Feb. 9-10. The action kicks off each night at 7 p.m. Adult tickets are $20 at the door and $15 in advance. Children 12 and under enter free the first night and children under 3 enter free the second night. The second night will also have pony rides and a petting zoo from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. "It is a family event that is very entertaining, but also it helps fund grants to the Starkville community through Rotary," Bob Fuller, Starkville Rotary Club president, told The Dispatch Wednesday. "It's a win-win situation for all." The event is Starkville Rotary Club's biggest fundraiser of the year, said Matt Bowen, a member of the club's rodeo committee. The rodeo raises roughly $24,000 annually and the Rotary Club invests that money back into the community. The funds have benefited organizations such as the Starkville Boy Scouts of America, Starkville Strong, the Habitat for Humanity and Oktibbeha Young Leaders. "We have huge crowds every year and it's really a fun time for the Rotarians to work together," said John Forde, Rotarian and past president. "We typically have about 50 volunteers on each of Friday and Saturday nights. Family and friends and students sometimes get in there and help too. It's a good time to bond and (the rodeo) really supports the community." |
| Mississippi State training Tribe on GIS | |
 | A member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians touts the benefits of an online training program with Mississippi State University that aims to help develop geographic information systems (GIS) skills in tribal communities across the country. An online training program established by MSU's Geosystems Research Institute in partnership with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs has provided GIS training for more than 500 individuals in tribal communities, boosting skills in land management, environmental conservation, community development and more. Roddy Nickey, director of land management and GIS for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and a two-time MSU graduate, said the training complements the GIS work he has been conducting for more than a decade and helps him stay up-to-date on the latest software tools. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians manages approximately 35,000 acres of property in the state. "The training equips tribal and community members with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively use GIS technologies by providing hands-on training and it helps build the capacity of individuals within tribal communities to collect, analyze and visualize geospatial data, which will increase efficiency," Nickey said. "Also, by gaining GIS expertise, individuals can pursue a career in various fields such as land management, environmental planning, emergency management and cultural resources." |
| Mary Means Business: New Shipley owner worked there part-time during college | |
| Cody Ashworth spent years working his way through the restaurant industry. But something always called him back to the Starkville Shipley Do-Nuts on Highway 12. It all started in the early 2000s. Ashworth would start slinging donuts at 3 a.m. before attending classes at Mississippi State University. He ended up leaving the donut shop and spent time in Oxford working for Abner's and Pita Pit before eventually moving back to Starkville. While managing the Starkville Pita Pit, he even worked part-time at Shipley. Eventually, he started back at Shipley's full-time and served as the shop manager. When he heard the previous owners, Melanie and Hardy Mitchell, were contemplating selling, he knew his next steps. Ashworth and his wife Jennifer bought it. "I felt like Shipley's was my baby store, and everything had to be perfect," Ashworth said. "... (The Mitchells) made it possible for my dream to come true. I cannot thank them enough." |
| Gov. Reeves issues FY2025 executive budget recommendations | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves has released his Fiscal Year 2025 executive budget recommendations, highlighting an agenda that he believes will benefit Mississippians across the state. In a press release, Reeves expressed that the plan he has laid out will not only highlight but advance the progress Mississippi has made over the last four years. The Republican governor cited over $20 billion in private sector investment, higher reading and math scores in elementary classrooms, and a record-low unemployment rate. "It is on the heels of our unprecedented success in our state that I proudly share several of my priorities for Fiscal Year 2025," Reeves said. "My objective this year is to keep our state's momentum going -- for all Mississippi." Reeves' top priorities for FY2025 include: eliminating the income tax, delivering a quality education while elevating parents' voices, enhancing public safety for Mississippians, strengthening hospitals and improving the quality of healthcare, sustaining a culture of life, and protecting women. |
| 'The life and breath of communities': Hospital leaders say Medicaid expansion still needed | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves' Medicaid payment changes, pitched during the eleventh-hour of a heated reelection campaign and his only major health plan during his first four years as governor, delivered $658.2 million to hospitals in January. Hospital leaders say the influx of federal money is a lifeline, but it's not enough to forgo Medicaid expansion -- a long-term solution that would insure hundreds of thousands of working poor people in one of the country's sickest states. Quentin Whitwell owns four hospitals in rural Mississippi. He knows intimately the struggles they face. While the extra federal money Reeves secured is helpful, he said, expansion would go further. "There is no reason to leave funding on the table to assist rural hospitals that are the life and breath of communities," he said. As Mississippi hospitals continue to struggle, expanding Medicaid to cover the working poor has been hotly contested over the last decade, most openly during the last two gubernatorial elections. Reeves, as did two of his GOP predecessors, has remained steadfastly opposed, saying it would make Mississippians more reliant on "welfare." As it stands, low-income, working-class Mississippians who make just above the poverty level don't qualify for Medicaid but also can't afford insurance. Nearly one in five Mississippians is uninsured, contributing to the state's abysmal public health metrics – such as the lowest life expectancy in the country. |
| Mississippi could regulate insurers' prior authorization for coverage of medical services | |
 | Mississippi senators voted Wednesday to set rules for how insurance companies decide whether to cover medical procedures or prescription drugs, a process known as prior authorization. Insurance companies that require prior authorization for health care services would be required to gather information from physicians or other providers through a standardized online portal, under Senate Bill 2140. Insurers also would be required to use relevant medical specialists to review requests for services. The bill passed without opposition, and it moves to the House for more work. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves last year vetoed a similar bill that passed both chambers with broad bipartisan support. Senate Insurance Committee Chairman Walter Michel, a Republican from Ridgeland, said the bill this year includes changes the governor wanted, including giving oversight to the state Department of Insurance rather than the state Department of Health. Michel said some physicians expressed frustration about trying to explain complex medical situations to insurance company employees, and some insurers have said medical providers fail to provide complete or timely information in requests for prior authorization. |
| Proposal to create Delta health authority draws fire from area's lawmakers | |
| A proposal to manage hospitals and clinics in the Delta under a new authority -- and give political power over it to the governor -- was met with distrust from the area's lawmakers this week. Representatives from the Delta Council, an economic development organization that was one of the first non-health care groups to endorse Medicaid expansion, presented a plan Tuesday at a joint meeting between the House and Senate Public Health Committees intended to help preserve health care in the Delta, one of the state's sickest regions. But the proposal was received poorly by Delta lawmakers, who said this was the first time they were hearing of it. "I'm just so sick and tired," said Rep. Otis Anthony, D-Indianola, as murmurs of support echoed around the table. "This is my sixth session, and I'm just sick and tired of people outside of the Delta telling us what we need, and we're not at the table." The plan presented by the Delta Council centers on creating a Delta Rural Health Authority, which would manage a consortium of hospitals and health care facilities in the region, including rural medical clinics and federal qualified health centers. State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney, a Delta native, wouldn't comment on the Delta representatives' opposition to the plan but said the region is running out of health care options. |
| Mississippi eyes quicker Medicaid coverage in pregnancy to try to reduce deaths of moms and babies | |
| Mississippi could allow Medicaid coverage earlier in pregnancy in an effort to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies in a poor state with the nation's worst rate of infant mortality. With wide bipartisan support, the state House passed a bill Wednesday to allow up to 60 days of "presumptive eligibility" for Medicaid, starting July 1. This means a pregnant woman's outpatient medical care would be paid by Medicaid as her application for coverage by the government insurance program is being considered. Processing Medicaid applications can take weeks, and physicians say early prenatal care is important. House Medicaid Committee Chairwoman Missy McGee of Hattiesburg pointed out that Mississippi has high rates of fetal mortality, infant mortality and maternal mortality. "I think this will go a long way in helping moms and babies be healthy ... and give babies the best shot for a healthy life," McGee said. Mississippi ranks worst in the U.S. for infant mortality, with Black infants nearly twice as likely as white ones to die over the past decade, according to a report unveiled Jan. 18 by the state Department of Health. |
| House passes prenatal Medicaid early eligibility | |
 | The Mississippi House passed a bill that would establish a 60-day medical care window for pregnant women seeking to get on the state's Medicaid program. In a nearly unanimous vote Wednesday afternoon, the lawmakers approved House Committee Substitute Bill 539, which allows pregnant women to receive Medicaid benefits by being presumed pregnant if they can prove their family net income falls below 194% of the federal poverty rate by a Mississippi Division of Medicaid approved provider. Bill Author Rep. Missy McGee, R, who serves Forrest and Lamar counties, told legislators in the House that the state would bear an average cost of about $557,000 per year, and that pregnant women can receive up to 60 days of Medicaid coverage by going to a County Health Department clinic to provide proof of pregnancy and income. "The benefits are great, and the risks are very small," McGee said. "In a state that you have the highest fetal mortality, infant mortality and maternal mortality rates, these will go a long way." Medicaid Committee Member Rep. Rob Roberson, R, who serves Oktibbeha County, told the Clarion Ledger he supported the bill because it would help new mothers get medical insurance. "I think this is a good day for our women in this in this state, especially for trying to help lower the infant mortality right," Roberson said, "This is an opportunity for the state to get ahead of the curve rather than continue getting behind." |
| Election 2024: Republican lawsuits challenge mail ballot deadlines. Could they upend voting across the country? | |
| Republicans are challenging extended mail ballot deadlines in at least two states in a legal maneuver that could have widespread implications for mail voting ahead of this year's presidential election. A lawsuit filed last week in Mississippi follows a similar one last year in North Dakota, both brought in heavily Republican states before conservative federal courts. Democratic and voting rights groups are concerned about the potential impact beyond those two states if a judge rules that deadlines for receiving mailed ballots that stretch past Election Day violate federal law. They say it's possible such a decision would lead to a nationwide injunction similar to one last year when a Texas judge temporarily paused the FDA's approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. "This effort risks disenfranchising Mississippi voters, but we don't want that to also be precedent for other states," Abhi Rahman, communications director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said in response to the most recent lawsuit. Mississippi and North Dakota are among 19 states that accept late-arriving mailed ballots as long as they are postmarked on or before Election Day, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. That includes political swing states such as Nevada and North Carolina. Some, including Colorado, Oregon and Utah, rely heavily on mail voting. Thessalia Merivaki, a political science professor at Mississippi State University, said the state’s mail voting process is already difficult to navigate and that eliminating the five-day window would “unfairly punish” voters. |
| House passes bipartisan tax bill to expand child tax credit | |
 | The House has overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan tax package that pairs a temporary expansion of the child tax credit with business tax breaks and credits to develop more low-income housing. The bill includes $33 billion to expand the widely used child tax credit for three years -- including the tax season currently underway, provided the bill quickly passes the Senate. The changes would allow more low-income families to access the credit and would allow many families to receive a larger credit. The figures would also be adjusted for inflation in the coming years. The deal is the result of negotiations between House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and has provided a rare moment of bipartisanship at a time when Congress has been paralyzed by divisions of all kinds. The legislation also restores several business tax credits, including deductions for research and development and interest expensing for businesses. These provisions are supported by many members of both parties, though Republicans have primarily focused on the business credits as their motivation for backing the package. The Senate has not scheduled a vote on the bill but Senate Democrats have generally supported the legislation and it could come up for a vote quickly. Some Democrats criticized the bill for failing to go far enough to provide support for low-income families. |
| Senators rebuke tech execs over child exploitation on social media | |
 | Senators castigated Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other technology executives Wednesday over child sexual exploitation issues on social media, saying the companies have reaped profits, failed to regulate themselves and left children without proper protections. The hearing transformed into a moment of reckoning of sorts for the company officials, with lawmakers contending that the platforms have harmed children and not protected kids from online dangers like drug dealers and sextortion, leading to their deaths. "Mr. Zuckerberg, you and the companies before us, I know you don't mean it to be so, but you have blood on your hands," Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said. "You have a product that's killing people." The confrontation garnered applause and cheers from a packed committee room that included families pushing for Congress to act, many of them holding photographs of loved ones who had been harmed by social media. Executives representing TikTok, Discord, Snapchat and X, the platform previously known as Twitter, also appeared before lawmakers. Senators spent large portions of the hourslong hearing teeing off on the companies, and largely rejecting rhetoric from the officials who stressed their online safety efforts and sought to underscore their commitment to providing safe platforms. |
| Powell Navigates 'Toxic' Politics of Rate Cuts as Election Nears | |
 | For Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, deciding when to cut interest rates is hard enough: Too soon, and inflation could rise again. Too late, and unemployment might shoot higher. The challenge is doubly difficult this year because he is doing it in the glare of election-year politics. Allies of former President Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner, have already argued that the central bank is seeking to help President Biden by signaling that cuts are coming. Meanwhile, some Democrats inside and outside the West Wing are nervous that the current president's re-election prospects will be jeopardized by a central bank that keeps rates too high for too long after both the Fed and the administration misjudged inflation. In a letter Tuesday, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio), who is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and is up for re-election this fall, urged Powell to lower interest rates soon in an effort to make housing more affordable. "Restrictive monetary policy is no longer the right tool for combating inflation," he wrote. Fed officials insist politics won't influence their decisions. "This year is going to be a highly consequential year for the Fed and for monetary policy, and we're, all of us, very buckled down and focused on doing our jobs," Powell said at a news conference Wednesday. In December, when the subject of election-year politics came up at a news conference, Powell said, "The minute we start thinking about those things -- we just can't do that." That hasn't stopped outside analysts from surmising that the election might nonetheless at least affect the timing of a cut. And political actors might have an interest in weighing in if only to remind the Fed, and each other, that it is being watched. |
| USAID's Samantha Power confronted by staff over Biden's Gaza policy | |
 | Samantha Power, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development and a world-renowned scholar on genocide, was pointedly challenged by current and former USAID employees who during a public event Tuesday questioned her stance on the war in Gaza and complicity in the divisive U.S. policy. "You wrote a book on genocide and you're still working for the administration: You should resign and speak out," said Agnieszka Sykes, a global health specialist who told The Washington Post she left her job at USAID late last week. Sykes interrupted a speech Power was giving in Washington on climate change and natural disasters to invoke Power's book "A Problem from Hell." The Pulitzer Prize-winning work examines and condemns U.S. inaction on various atrocities, from Armenia to Rwanda, spanning several presidential administrations. Like other members of President Biden's National Security Council, Power oversees an agency deeply divided about Washington's military support for Israel's war in Gaza and refusal to demand a cease-fire. But she is unique in being publicly confronted by her own workforce over the administration's policy -- a reflection of what USAID officials say is her long body of work on this subject and her organization's responsibility to respond to distressed Gazans' suffering from a lack of food, water and medicine amid Israel's devastating military bombardment. During the conversation on Tuesday, a USAID employee, Hannah Funk, questioned whether the United States was squandering its moral authority on the world stage by rushing arms and equipment into Israel during its military campaign. |
| Workers at Alabama Hyundai plant announce union as UAW drives deeper into Southeast | |
 | Thirty percent of the workers at the sole Hyundai plant in the U.S., in Alabama, have joined the United Auto Workers. The announcement marks the third such public union drive at an automaker in the Southeast. And it marks another step in the UAW's push to make inroads into the region, where big business and state governments have worked together for decades to keep unions out. In statements to the press, Hyundai workers argued that the job was breaking down their bodies and quality of life for inadequate pay. One worker complained of being written up for taking a scheduled absence to see her son's basketball game, while others recounted being repeatedly pushed to work with debilitating chronic injuries. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) has portrayed the organizers as opportunistic "out-of-state special interest groups." "Alabama has become a national leader in automotive manufacturing, and all this was achieved without a unionized workforce. In other words, our success has been home grown -- done the Alabama way," Ivey wrote in a piece posted in early January on the state Department of Commerce site. "Unfortunately, the Alabama model for economic success is under attack," she added, referring to the upcoming union elections. The Alabama announcement from UAW comes amid a broader campaign as the union seeks to build on its victory last year in a simultaneous strike against the Big Three automakers -- Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. |
| Are Mississippi's colleges and universities prepared for the 'enrollment cliff'? Lawmakers want to know | |
| Starting next year, the number of high school graduates will begin to fall in Mississippi. That's the looming reality a joint hearing of the House and Senate Colleges and Universities committees zeroed in on Wednesday. In Mississippi, this trend, called the "enrollment cliff," will force the largely tuition-dependent colleges and universities to compete for a shrinking pool of students. Regional institutions like Delta State University, Mississippi University for Women and Mississippi Valley State University, all of which are already struggling with enrollment, will be especially hurt. The state is poised to see the second-worst decline of high school graduation rates in the Southern U.S. by 2027 after Virginia, according to data presented by Noel Wilkin, the University of Mississippi's provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. The committee wanted to know: What is the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, the governing body for Mississippi's eight public universities, doing about this? There are few simple answers. The enrollment cliff is unavoidable, the product of declining birth rates that will be exacerbated by out-migration from Mississippi and deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic, John Green, a Mississippi State University professor, told the committee. But the changing economics of higher education is largely the result of funding choices by the Legislature years ago. In Mississippi, the four-year public universities are all more dependent on tuition than they are state appropriations. |
| Rankins: Latest bond rating highlights IHL's stewardship of Mississippi's public universities | |
| Mississippi Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Al Rankins, Jr., writes: Good stewardship is critical to Mississippi's university system and represents a fundamental component in the work of the Board of Trustees of Mississippi's Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL). The latest credit opinion from Moody's Investors Service, released on January 11, offers a strong endorsement of the Board's stewardship of the resources of our state's university system, which includes eight public universities plus the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), the Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service, Mississippi Agricultural, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine, and 23 satellite centers throughout the state. Explaining their rating of IHL as Aa2stable, Moody's cites key credit strengths, including the scale of operations, overall wealth driven in part by substantial fundraising, and IHL's "strong financial oversight." Challenges to our credit rating are noted as well, including the PERS pension liability and enrollment in our universities (notably a common issue throughout the nation). Fundamentally, however, Moody's notes that our stable outlook is a reflection of their expectation that IHL will "continue to produce healthy operating performance as effects of the pandemic continue to subside while maintaining sound unrestricted liquidity." This expectation benefits every institution, regardless of size, under the IHL umbrella. |
| Skip the line: Ole Miss implements new kiosks and screens in the student union | |
 | In an effort to increase efficiency and decrease wait times, the Gertrude C. Ford Ole Miss Student Union has been outfitted with sleek, new ordering kiosks. The long lines at campus-favorite Chick-fil-A and the lines at other union food spots now lead you to a screen where patrons punch in their own order and pay. The new setup also features monitors that display order numbers and wait times for each of the respective restaurants. Ole Miss Dining, supplied by food service company Aramark, has partnered with GrubHub for the recent renovations to the union, a plan that has been in the works for the past few months. "We began exploring solutions this summer in anticipation of increased enrollment and in response to feedback we received in focus groups regarding long lines," Chip Burr, resident district manager with Aramark Higher Education at UM, said. "GrubHub Ultimate provides multiple ordering options from a single platform, which presents our guests with a choice on how to complete transactions." Although this partnership was not cheap, Burr explained that the price tag is not unusual. "The hardware investment was a little over $50,000, which aligns with the industry standard for point-of-sale equipment in such a large retail setting," he said. |
| What is UMMC working on behind fences across from hospital? | |
 | What's behind the fencing along Lakeland Drive on the University of Mississippi Medical School property? There are a couple of things in the works. One is called the "Asylum Hill Project." It is focused on the northwest corner of UMMC property, south of Lakeland Drive. Slated for redevelopment and future expansion by the medical center, the Mississippi Legislature in 2018 passed a bill allowing for exhumation and relocation of the remains located there, and two years later, $3.7 million was allocated to begin the project. The site was originally part of what was known as the Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum, a 140-acre mental hospital operated between 1855 and 1935. It was the predecessor of what is now known as the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield in Rankin County. As many as 7,000 of its patients lie underground, and it is estimated the institution served approximately 30,000 patients and the cemetery was primarily reserved for patients who died at the hospital and whose bodies went unclaimed by family members. The students working at the site have learned mapping, soil-sample collection, field sketching and coping with heat indexes that topped 100 degrees. The second project is a new nursing school building that is being built near the northeast corner of UMMC property, south of Lakeland Drive. The 106,000-square-foot school of nursing will include about 78,000 square feet of new construction. The University Rehabilitation Center, a 28,000-square foot building, will be renovated to house simulation and skills laboratories. Eight simulation suites will include control booths and debriefing rooms, and the building will also include suites for virtual and augmented reality and primary care. |
| USM to establish center to study National Guard | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) and the National Guard Bureau (NGB) signed an agreement on January 23 to establish the Center for the Study of the National Guard on USM's Hattiesburg campus. USM President Dr. Joseph S. Paul and Richard Clark, Director of the NGB History Office, signed the formal memorandum of understanding (MOU) during a ceremony at the National Guard Memorial, the NGAUS headquarters, in Washington, D.C. According to officials, the collaboration between USM and NGB will establish a central repository for archival materials and oral histories to function as an international-level resource for the center for the study of the Guard's past, present and future. "For this National Center to be at The University of Southern Mississippi and at home in Mississippi is of profound significance to Southern Miss and the great State of Mississippi," said Paul. "The Center complements our renown Dale Center for the Study of War and Society and the Quinlan Hammond Hall for the support of veterans and families at USM." |
| New USM-Hattiesburg Zoo agreement creates long-term research-practice partnership | |
 | The Hattiesburg Zoo and the University of Southern Mississippi have signed a new agreement for a long-term research-practice partnership. Wednesday morning, leaders signed a new memorandum of understanding at the zoo. It cements an informal collaboration that started about three years ago, between a USM research group and the zoo. It will provide new research experiences for Southern Miss students enrolled in science, education and the arts. "It ends up being a really generative experience for faculty, students, across research and student success and achievement and building leadership capacities of students who come and participate in this partnership," said Maria Wallace, assistant professor of science education at USM. The zoo, in turn, gets additional trained volunteers to help interact with the thousands of people who visit the zoo each year. "We're not able to reach the 225,000 people who come to the zoo ourselves, it's just not possible with our staffing," said Jeremy Cumpton, director of conservation, education and wildlife at the Hattiesburg Zoo. "We rely on our volunteers with our partnership with USM, to reach as many people as we possibly can, so we can meet our mission." |
| Pearl River Community College Forrest County Center sees an increase in enrollment | |
| The Pearl River Community College Forrest County Center's enrollment has skyrocketed over the past few years from its workforce training to the Allied Health Programs and especially its associate nursing degrees. To keep up with the influx of students, PRCC has begun construction of its brand-new state-of-the-art nursing building. "This past legislative session, our legislator came through with funding for us to be able to expand nursing and we were out of space," said Dr. Jana Causey, vice president of the Forrest County Center. Right now, they have about 60 students enrolled in the R.N. program, but after the building's completion, they'll be able to house around 200 nursing students. Causey said thanks to partnerships with organizations across the community, a lot of these students can find jobs right here in the Pine Belt following graduation. "We've got partnerships with Forrest Health, our Forrest County supervisors, Toby Barker, our legislator and all of those partnerships and relationships have come together to pull those resources and provide lots of opportunity for our students in this area," Causey said. The new nursing building is expected to be completed by January 2025. |
| 'This is our showpiece:' Take a first look inside U. of Memphis's new $40M STEM building | |
| In 2022, when Okenwa Okoli was considering pursuing the open deanship at the University of Memphis Herff College of Engineering, he was drawn to a new project it had in the works: a $40 million, 65,000-square-foot, three-floor STEM building that would boast state-of-the-art labs and spacious classrooms. In his position at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering in Florida, he had access to similar, high-caliber research facilities. And he understood the boon they could provide for an academic program. "Seeing that this was coming, that helped," Okoli told members of the media on Wednesday. Okoli ultimately took the job and started as the new dean at Herff in January 2023, and now, he's using the new STEM building -- which is tentatively slated to be completed in April and open in August -- as a faculty recruitment tool. But he knows it has the potential to do more than this: It could help lure in students, too, and bring the college a new level of prestige. Over the years, Herff has grown significantly. The school's spring 2020 publication noted that undergraduate enrollment had risen by 37% from 2013 to 2018, and according to its website, its research expenditures have grown by 91% over the last five years. These days, there are currently about 1,300 total students. And the college now wants to raise this number to somewhere between 2,000 and 2,500, just as it wants to continue to buoy U of M's research push -- which is key to the university retaining its top research status from the from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. |
| Tennessee universities and free speech policies: See how they rank in new report | |
 | For the third year in a row, only one Tennessee public university was ranked as healthy for students' First Amendment rights -- and one ranked "restrictive" -- in the annual Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression's Spotlight on Speech Codes report, a yearly deep-dive into campus' free speech policies across America. The University of Tennessee at Knoxville was given a "green" rating, signifying the college does not have policies limiting students' free speech rights. It was the only Tennessee school in the survey with a green rating. East Tennessee State University; Middle Tennessee State University; Sewanee, University of the South; Tennessee Technological University; University of Memphis and Vanderbilt University all ranked as "yellow," indicating that the schools have policies that pose "vague" restrictions on speech and expression, while Tennessee State University (TSU) was ranked as "red" for having policies that severely limited students' free speech rights. TSU has ranked "red" for a number of years, with more recent infractions that included two specific policies related to demonstration and conduct punishment, according to the FIRE report. The annual reports have been conducted since 2006 and are based solely on a school's free speech policy, differing from FIRE's annual "College Free Speech" rankings which examines a university's entire First Amendment campus climate. |
| Judge sides with DeSantis, tosses UF, USF pro-Palestinian student groups' lawsuits | |
 | A federal judge ruled Wednesday against chapters of pro-Palestinian student groups at the University of Florida and the University of South Florida, backing the DeSantis administration and leaving the door open to possible action against the groups -- although that appears unlikely. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker denied a request for a preliminary injunction that would have protected the groups. The judge separately threw out lawsuits the groups had filed against Gov. Ron DeSantis asserting that his administration's efforts to deactivate the chapters were unconstitutional. Walker wrote in his decision that deactivation or criminal investigation of the chapters was not imminent. He recognized the fear the student groups said they felt, but because the groups are still standing, he said, the groups' threat of injury was only speculative. "As this court has already found, the defendants with legal authority to directly regulate registered student organizations do not intend to deactivate the plaintiff," Walker wrote. He added: "This Court does not fault plaintiff's members for feeling anxious about the fact that the governor -- arguably the most powerful man in Florida -- has repeatedly disparaged plaintiff's members as 'terrorists' who support 'jihad' and repeated the falsehood that their organization has been 'deactivated.' " But the anxiety wasn't enough to justify an injunction, the judge said. |
| Pope to Notre Dame University: Help students dream with head, heart, hands | |
| "This is the secret of education: that we think what we feel and do; that we feel what we think and do; and, that we do what we feel and think." Pope Francis offered that summary of his vision of the mission of educators as he met on Thursday in the Vatican with the President and Board of Trustees of the University of Notre Dame, in Indiana. As he spoke to the men and women responsible for the university of the "Fighting Irish," the Pope reflected in depth on what he calls the "three languages of education: the head, the heart, and the hands." These three elements of the human person, he said, form the core of Catholic education and its goal of assisting young people to arrive at maturity and completeness. Pope Francis said Catholic universities, such as Notre Dame, carry out study and research to pursue the advancement of knowledge, often employing a cross-disciplinary approach. "These educational endeavors undertaken by Catholic institutions," he said, "are grounded in the firm conviction of the intrinsic harmony of faith and reason, from which flows the relevance of the Christian message for all areas of personal and social life." He invited Notre Dame's educators to help students develop their "head," or mental faculties, through deeper appreciation of both learning in general and the richness of the Catholic intellectual tradition. The "hands," or active, charitable aspect of the human person, represent the goal of Catholic education, said the Pope. |
| The Young Black Conservative Who Grew Up With, and Rejects, D.E.I. | |
 | For many progressives, it was a big moment. In 2019, Congress was holding its first hearing on whether the United States should pay reparations for slavery. To support the idea, Democrats had invited the influential author Ta-Nehisi Coates, who had revived the reparations issue in an article in The Atlantic, and the actor and activist Danny Glover. Republicans turned to a virtual unknown: a 23-year-old philosophy major at Columbia University, Coleman Hughes. In the hearing, Mr. Hughes, looking very much his age, testified to the House subcommittee that not paying reparations after the Civil War was "one of the greatest injustices ever perpetrated." But, he continued, they should not be paid now. "There's a difference between acknowledging history and allowing history to distract us from the problems we face today," he said, pointing to endemic problems that affect Black Americans, such as poor schools, dangerous neighborhoods and a punitive criminal justice system. Some in the audience booed. More than four years later, Mr. Hughes, now 27, has emerged as something of a rarity in the tense national conversation over how race should factor into public policy: He is a young Black conservative, who argues -- in his writings, a podcast and a YouTube channel with about 173,000 subscribers -- that schools have taught students of his generation to obsess over their racial identity, while blocking arguments that challenge their worldview. In his new book, "The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America," to be released on Feb. 6, Mr. Hughes recounts what it was like to grow up in the liberal enclave of Montclair, N.J., and then to head to Columbia, where he said the campus culture was fixated on affinity groups, diversity, equity and inclusion programs, microaggressions and "white privilege." |
| State Support for Colleges Grew as Stimulus Funds Ebbed | |
 | States collectively allocated $11.7 billion (or 10.2 percent) more for higher education in the 2024 fiscal year than they did in 2023, significantly outpacing the rate of inflation and more than compensating for the continuing decline in federal recovery funds distributed through state governments, initial data from the annual Grapevine study from the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association show. The states spent a total of $126.452 billion in 2024, up from $114.734 billion in 2023. The figures provided by SHEEO are not adjusted for inflation, so the 10.2 percent increase represented by that change needs to be considered alongside an inflation rate that is expected to be near 3 percent in 2024. These data are preliminary, with some states reporting estimates rather than final figures. Federal stimulus funds channeled to higher education through states dropped by about half from 2023 to 2024, from $1.635 billion to $801 million. Including the state-distributed stimulus funding, support for higher education grew by 9.4 percent from 2023. Some of the states showing the largest funding increases are those where higher education has been under political scrutiny -- and in some cases attack. Florida spent 16.6 percent more on higher education in 2024 than in 2023, increasing its funding to $7.168 billion from $6.146 billion. Texas lifted its spending on higher education by a whopping 46 percent in 2024, but that included a one-time investment of $3 billion to create a new endowment for public universities. |
| How the New Federal-Aid Form Is Shutting Some Students Out | |
 | One morning in mid-January, Elizabeth Herrera sat down with a mother and daughter who needed to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the document known as the FAFSA. They gathered around a table inside the office of Casa Azul de Wilson, a nonprofit organization that supports the Latino community in this small town east of Raleigh, N.C. Herrera, a warm, expressive 27-year-old, has helped hundreds of students complete the application over the years. But this winter, things went haywire. Herrera leaned in close as the young woman -- an aspiring math teacher enrolled at East Carolina University -- pulled up the website for the Federal Student Aid office, or the FSA. The student then tried to create an FSA ID for her mother so the family could complete and sign the FAFSA, which more than 17 million students each year use to secure federal grants and loans, as well as state and institutional aid. "OK, now put the address," Herrera said as the student reached Page 3. So far, so good. But on the seventh and final page, a message popped up. "An unknown error has occurred," it began, "please try again later." Herrera sighed. "Aw, shoot," she said. "We won't be able to keep going from here." She turned to the mother, explaining in Spanish that they would have to try again another day. The student's shoulders sagged. Herrera has seen the same thing happen again and again to parents who are undocumented immigrants ever since the revamped FAFSA opened in late December, three months later than usual. Because of an apparent glitch, parents without a Social Security number are locked out of the system: Even those who manage to create an FSA ID can't start a FAFSA themselves -- or contribute to a FAFSA their student has started. |
| Another FAFSA snag is delaying financial aid offers for prospective college students | |
| The Department of Education has hit another snag in the rollout of its new FAFSA -- the form students and their parents fill out to determine how much financial aid they can get for college. First, the form had some issues when it launched in December. Now, schools and students will have to wait until March for results they'd been expecting by the end of January. The delay is stressing out a lot of people who work with students. In a normal year, prospective college students would already be getting some financial aid offers from schools. But without the data from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, schools can't calculate those offers. "The offer letter tells the truth for the first time," said Jennifer Jessie, a college admissions consultant in the Washington, D.C., area. That's the truth about what the actual price tag for each college will be. And the most recent delay means counselors who work with high school students will have at least a month less than they expected to go over what's a loan, what's a grant and what's a scholarship in financial aid offers. "Money comes in a lot of different forms from colleges that can be difficult to understand at 17," said Alex Rigney, a college counselor at Urban Assembly Gateway School for Technology in New York City. He said the FAFSA delays may prompt some students to decide not to go to college at all this year. |
| House Committee Advances GOP Plan to Overhaul Higher Ed | |
| Declaring that it's time to stop ignoring the cost of college, a House committee advanced sweeping legislation that could reshape how federal dollars are doled out to students and institutions. "As a society, it is time to face the music," said North Carolina representative Virginia Foxx, the Republican chairwoman of the education committee, in her opening remarks. "We are scamming young Americans. College prices are skyrocketing, and college value is stagnating." The 223-page College Cost Reduction Act passed on a party-line vote after a more than four-hour markup Wednesday that included more than 30 proposed amendments from Democrats on the committee -- all of which were voted down by the majority Republicans. Republicans said the legislation, which would put colleges on the hook when students fail to pay back their loans on time as part of a policy known as "risk-sharing," is a much-needed and comprehensive solution to the ballooning federal student loan portfolio, which totaled $1.6 trillion at the end of 2023. Democrats countered that the bill was "not ready for prime time" and a "recipe for disaster" that would negatively impact first-generation and low-income students. "The details are murky and no thoughtful lawmaker should vote in favor without a more thorough discussion," said North Carolina representative Kathy Manning, a Democrat. The bill will now head to the floor for a vote of the full House. Even if it passes that chamber, it's unlikely to move forward in the Democratic-controlled Senate. |
| MDOT Pushes for New Funding Model | |
| Transportation Commission Chairman Willie Simmons and MDOT Executive Director Brad White write: It wasn't too long ago that U.S. Highway 49 through Central Mississippi was regarded as a traffic "nightmare". Today, the same is often said about I-55 in Desoto County, I-20 in Warren County, and sections of I-10 along the Gulf Coast. The traffic volumes in these areas, and many others around the state, have increased beyond what the current roadways can efficiently handle. And yet, it is the Mississippi Department of Transportation's (MDOT's) goal to build a system prepared to handle traffic projections looking twenty years into the future. So, what happened? Over a decade ago, insufficient resources forced the Transportation Commission to place a moratorium on major construction projects within MDOT's Capacity Program so that all available funds could be devoted to the maintenance of Mississippi's existing highway and bridge system. This decision, while necessary to address the increasing deficit within MDOT's Maintenance and Paving Programs, stopped nearly all efforts aimed at the continual development of this same system experiencing increasing traffic volumes. As a result of additional federal dollars made available through the recent reauthorization of the Federal Aid Highway Program, MDOT's Capacity Program was revived in 2021 and plans for major construction projects were resurrected. The Mississippi Legislature stepped up with one time money to fund those projects closest to being ready for award. However, if modernizations are not made to the state's highway and bridge funding model, this progress will be short-lived. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State Faces Road Test At Kentucky On Thursday | |
| Mississippi State women's basketball kicks off the month of February when it travels to face Kentucky inside Rupp Arena on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. CT on SEC Network+. Fans not in attendance can follow action on SEC Network+ or through their Mississippi State radio station with Jason Crowder. Kentucky leads the series 31-23 overall and 14-9 in Lexington. Mississippi State won the lone contest under head coach Sam Purcell with a 77-76 win inside Humphrey Coliseum on Jan. 22, 2023. Currently on a two-game winning streak, Mississippi State enters the new month 17-5 overall and 4-3 in the SEC. The Southeastern Conference announced on Tuesday that senior guard Jerkaila Jordan has been named Co-SEC Player of the Week and freshman guard Mjracle Sheppard was voted Co-Freshman of the Week. Jordan is the fourth different Mississippi State player to earn SEC Player of the Week accolades this season, while Sheppard is the second to earn SEC Freshman of the Week honors. It marked the first time in both players' careers that they have received their respective honor. Thursday will be the second of three contests this week for Mississippi State. Mississippi State will remain on the road to take on Texas A&M inside Reed Arena on Sunday, Feb. 4 at 3:00 p.m. CT on SEC Network. |
| What to watch, keys to victory for Mississippi State at Kentucky | |
| Following an emotional upset win over defending national champion and No. 9 LSU, Mississippi State hits the road Thursday to battle a Kentucky team that ranks at or near the bottom of the Southeastern Conference in nearly every statistical category. The Wildcats (9-12, 2-5 SEC) were at No. 166 in the NET rankings as of Wednesday, by far the worst in the conference by that metric. That means that even though the Bulldogs (17-5, 4-3) are playing on the road, Thursday night's game falls in Quadrant 3, so a loss would do significant damage to MSU's postseason resume. A former two-time national champion as a player at Tennessee, Kyra Elzy led Kentucky to the NCAA Tournament in each of her first two years as head coach, but the Wildcats tumbled to a 2-14 mark in SEC play last season and have not been much better this year. Kentucky had a bad loss against Austin Peay in non-conference play, and all five of the Wildcats' SEC losses have been by at least 17 points. Ajae Petty, in her second year with Kentucky after transferring from LSU, leads the Wildcats with 14.4 points and 11 rebounds per game and is currently third in the SEC in the latter category. Maddie Scherr, a former Oregon Duck, is the only other Kentucky player averaging double-digit scoring, though Eniya Russell and Saniah Tyler are not far off that pace. |
| State Set To Play Eight Games On SEC Network | |
| Mississippi State softball will be featured on the SEC Network eight times this spring, all for conference contests. The Bulldogs' remaining SEC games and all home games will be available on SEC Network+. The Bulldogs' nationally-televised schedule begins with the series finale on opening weekend of league play at Ole Miss. The rubber match on Sunday, March 10 will begin at 3 p.m. CT from Oxford. MSU will open its home series with Florida on Thursday, March 28 at 5 p.m. on SEC Network. The Bulldogs and Gators moved that series to Thursday-Saturday to accommodate Easter weekend. The middle game of the Bulldogs' series at South Carolina will also air on SEC Network. State's first pitch against the Gamecocks on Saturday, April 6 is set for 1 p.m. State hosts Tennessee for the league's annual All For Alex weekend on April 12-14. Fittingly, the Bulldogs and Volunteers will be broadcast nationally on the conference network for the Saturday game when every team in the league wears teal to honor the late Alex Wilcox. First pitch on April 13 is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. The Bulldogs' series at Missouri has been moved to the league's showcase Saturday-Monday window and will now be played on April 27-29. All three games will be broadcast under the lights on SEC Network. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 8 p.m. Sunday's game will begin a 5 p.m., and the series finale will air in the weekly Monday night at 6 p.m. timeslot. State's final regular season game at home against Georgia on Sunday, May 5 will air on SEC Network at 11 a.m. |
| Chiefs' Chris Jones gambled on himself this season and is taking his wins all the way to the bank | |
| It seems altogether fitting that Chris Jones will chase a third Super Bowl ring in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks. The Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle made some bold bets on himself this season. Jones went bust on the first one, holding out through the offseason, training camp and into the regular season in the hopes of landing a lucrative contract extension. Jones missed a Week 1 loss to Detroit before he finally agreed to a reworked one-year deal that in some ways was worse than the contract he was supposed to have played under this season. But the new deal included a number of provisions -- gambles, if you will -- that Jones has been able to cash in. Along with a $19.5 million base value, Jones' contract called for an extra $1 million for playing 35% of snaps, another $1 million for hitting 50%, and yet another $1.25 million when he hit 10 sacks. He celebrated the last of those in an otherwise meaningless regular-season finale against the Chargers with a wild sideline celebration with his teammates. "I was happy for him," Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said with a smile. "We all were." Then came the longest of longshot parlays, one that seemed outlandish at first and downright ridiculous midway through the season, when the Chiefs had lost five of eight games and looked nothing like a championship team: Jones would earn another $1 million if he was voted an All-Pro and managed to help the Chiefs reach their fourth Super Bowl in five seasons. Check. And check. |
| Tickets for college baseball at Trustmark Park on sale Friday | |
| In less than 48 hours, tickets for the College Baseball Series at Trustmark Park will go on sale. As is tradition, Trustmark Park will host three college baseball games for the 2024 season, with Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Southern Miss playing one another. The first game of the series will be between the Bulldogs and Golden Eagles, on Tuesday, March 5. Gates open at 5:00, with first pitch at 6:00. Southern Miss will be the home team and be in the third base dugout. Ticket prices are: Club VIP - $65, Diamond - $55, Field - $42, General Admission Reserved - $32, Berm - $22. The Golden Eagles and Rebels will play on Tuesday, March 19. Gates open at 5:00, with first pitch at 6:00. Ole Miss will be the home team and be in the third base dugout. Ticket prices are: Club VIP - $65, Diamond - $55, Field - $42, General Admission Reserved - $32, Berm - $22. Fans with tickets to last year's Southern Miss/Ole Miss game on March 28, 2023, may exchange their tickets for this game at the Trustmark Park box office. The final game of the series will be the Governor's Cup, between Mississippi State and Ole Miss. That game is scheduled for Wednesday, May 1, gates open at 5:00, with first pitch at 6:00. Mississippi State will be the home team and be in the third base dugout. Ticket prices are: Club VIP - $80, Diamond - $70, Field - $60, General Admission Reserved - $50, Berm - $32. Tickets go on sale Friday, February 2 at 11 a.m. |
| Judge drops Ole Miss player's lawsuit against Lane Kiffin | |
| Ole Miss defensive tackle DeSanto Rollins' lawsuit against coach Lane Kiffin and the university was dismissed Wednesday by Judge Michael P. Wills in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, according to court documents. Rollins filed a lawsuit against Kiffin and Ole Miss in September for failure to provide equal protection, racial and sexual discrimination, and multiple other allegations. Rollins, whose career has been marred by injuries, has appealed the decision to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. He was seeking $10 million in compensatory damages and $30 million in punitive damages. Attorneys for Kiffin and Ole Miss filed for the case to be dismissed in November and cited that the coach and university were "immune" from some of Rollins' claims and that his "remaining allegations fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." In Wednesday's ruling, Mills wrote that "the evidence shows that it was up to Rollins when or if he resumed team activities" and that "the decision was entirely his own." He wrote that claims of Kiffin's negligence "fails because [Rollins] made no showing of discriminatory intent" and that Rollins did not allege any constitutional right violations in his case. Mills also ruled against Rollins' claims that Kiffin intentionally inflicted emotional distress. |
| Decision made on alcohol sales for Georgia football games in 2024 in Sanford Stadium | |
 | Alcohol sales for the general public are coming to Sanford Stadium for the 2024 Georgia football season. It's a move that some fans have been long waiting for as other football stadiums in the SEC have already been selling beer in their venues. Athletic director Josh Brooks unveiled the change Wednesday afternoon to the Georgia Athletic Association board of directors at its winter meeting at the Georgia Center. Alcohol was already available in premium areas of the 92,746 seat stadium. Now beer and seltzer will be available for purchase to any fan of drinking age for a home schedule with six games in 2024. Brooks said the SEC deregulated what could alcohol be sold at games, but Georgia won't expand its offerings. Georgia and Auburn were the two remaining holdouts of selling alcohol among what will be a 16-team league this fall. Auburn will also start alcohol sales in 2024, according to AL.com Georgia already sold beer for men's and women's basketball games at Stegeman Coliseum since the 2021-2022 season and rolled out sales as well in baseball's Foley Field, softball's Jack Turner Stadium in 2022 and the Dan Magill Tennis Complex for men's and women's matches in 2023. "We wanted to be methodical about it, we wanted to take our time to do it right," Brooks said after the meeting. |
| Tennessee, Virginia AGs suing NCAA over NIL-related recruiting rules with Vols under investigation | |
| The attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA on Wednesday that challenged its ban on the use of name, image and likeness compensation in the recruitment of college athletes, and in response to the association's investigation of University of Tennessee. The lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Tennessee seeks to undercut NCAA rules against recruiting inducements and claims the association is "enforcing rules that unfairly restrict how athletes can commercially use their name, image and likeness at a critical juncture in the recruiting calendar." "These anticompetitive restrictions violate the Sherman Act, harm the States and the welfare of their athletes, and should be declared unlawful and enjoined." Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti and Virginia's Jason Miyares followed up by asking the court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction by Feb. 6 that would prohibit the NCAA from enforcing NIL recruiting rules while the lawsuit plays out. The latest legal attack on the NCAA came a day after the University of Tennessee's chancellor ripped the association for investigating the school for potential recruiting violations related to NIL deals struck between athletes and a booster-funded and run organization that provides Volunteers athletes a chance to cash in on their fame. The NCAA already is facing a lawsuit by a group of state attorneys general challenging the association's transfer rules, plus it is the defendant in antitrust suits targeting employment status for athletes and billions in television revenue that schools and conferences make off big-time college sports. |
| NCAA takes rare step of commenting on investigation into Tennessee NIL | |
 | The NCAA responded to criticism from the University of Tennessee with a public statement, an action it rarely takes during an ongoing investigation. The NCAA is investigating allegations that UT broke rules involving name, image and likeness benefits of athletes. It has not issued a notice of allegations, but UT Chancellor Donde Plowman released a scathing letter she sent NCAA President Charlie Baker about the probe. On Wednesday, the NCAA released a lengthy statement about the UT investigation: "While the NCAA generally does not comment on specific infractions cases, it is important to remember that NCAA member schools and conferences not only make the rules but routinely call for greater enforcement of those rules and holding violators accountable. In recent years, this has been especially true as it relates to establishing and enforcing a consistent set of national rules intended to manage the name, image and likeness environment. This legal action would exacerbate what our members themselves have frequently described as a 'wild west' atmosphere, further tilting competitive imbalance among schools in neighboring states, and diminishing protections for student-athletes from potential exploitation. The NCAA remains firmly committed to protecting and expanding student-athletes' NIL rights and opportunities. However, our membership has steadfastly supported the prohibition on impermissible recruiting contacts, booster involvement in recruiting prospects and the use of NIL offers as recruiting inducements." |
| Why Tennessee, NCAA NIL battle matters for all of college sports | |
| After 30 months of avoiding the inevitable, the NCAA has arrived at its inflection point. Since taking the job nearly a year ago, NCAA president Charlie Baker has done everything to right the governing body. Find an escape hatch in Washington, DC. Working with administrators to right the world of NIL. But now the NCAA has formally launched an investigation into Tennessee athletics, inquiring about multiple NIL violations. The NCAA issuing a notice of allegations is just a formality. But the Volunteers, similar to other institutions across the college football landscape, have no plans of sitting by the wayside. The attorney generals in the State of Tennessee and Commonwealth of Virginia filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in the Eastern District of Tennessee, challenging the NCAA's ban on NIL in high school recruiting. At its root, it's an antitrust lawsuit arguing the body does not have the right to put restrictions on compensating college athletes. This all boils down to the NCAA trying to govern the world of NIL. Booster-driven collectives have become crucial in retaining and attracting top talent. Collectives make up roughly 90% of all dollars in the space. They have become the recruiting tool in college football. The NCAA recently levied sanctions on Florida State and is also investigating Florida for the Jaden Rashada saga. The NCAA's problems are not just in Tennessee. Court cases across the nation are aiming for the body. If the NCAA fails to win, college sports would be looking at athletes being classified as employees, unionization, unlimited transfers and recruits negotiating agreements before enrolling at an institution. Simply put, the NCAA is holding on for its life as college sports approaches a professional model. |
| NIL Donor Collectives Are Drawing Scrutiny. How Do They Work? | |
| Three universities have recently found themselves in hot water as the National Collegiate Athletic Association seeks to enforce its rules governing how players can earn money from their names, images, and likenesses (NIL, for short). Earlier this month, the association penalized Florida State University after it found an assistant coach had driven a football player from another college to a meeting with a booster. At the meeting, "the booster encouraged the prospect to enroll at Florida State" and offered a contract "worth approximately $15,000 per month during his first year at the school," the NCAA's January 11 press release said. The booster was the chief executive of an NIL collective, a new type of organization that brokers deals for players -- ostensibly without the involvement of the institution they play for. Often, they take donations and divvy up the proceeds among players. Florida State was, among other things, forced to sever ties with the collective, which the association did not name. It's the first time the NCAA has handed out that penalty, but it may not be the last. The organization is also investigating the University of Florida at Gainesville, according to news reports, over the failed recruitment of a quarterback, which reportedly included an eye-popping NIL deal. These investigations are a sign that colleges are entering a new phase of what is already a rapidly changing reality for their players and athletic programs. Though the NCAA and Florida State agreed that rules were broken, much of what happened between the coach, the player, and the outside organization is actually kosher. |
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