| Wednesday, April 3, 2024 |
| Travis Scott, Cactus Jack partner with Mitchell & Ness to launch first collegiate-inspired apparel collection featuring MSU on April 4 | |
 | Cactus Jack, the official brand of multi-platinum, diamond certified recording artist and style icon Travis Scott, has teamed up with digital sports platform Fanatics, leading sports retailer Lids and Mitchell & Ness to announce a groundbreaking, first-of-its-kind collegiate-inspired apparel collection. The "Jack Goes Back to College" collection brings together collegiate pride and streetwear style, offering a unique selection of headwear and apparel for students across the nation. Starting April 4, the limited-edition apparel collection will be available for purchase via shop.travisscott.com, select Lids locations and campus bookstores operated by Barnes & Noble College at the participating universities, as well as Fanatics.com. Barnes & Noble at MSU will host a launch event Thursday [April 4] starting at 8 a.m. The debut collection, designed and produced by Cactus Jack, features MSU and 27 other universities. |
| City looks to FEMA grant to reopen fire station | |
 | The city hopes to use federal grant money to reopen Fire Station 5 on West Garrard Road, but officials warned Tuesday even that could prove costly to city taxpayers long-term. Aldermen approved allowing Fire Chief Charles Yarbrough to apply for a Federal Emergency Management Agency SAFER grant to fund the nine firefighters needed to staff that station over the next three years. If awarded, the grant would cover hiring salaries and benefits for the firefighters through Fiscal Year 2027, Yarbrough said. The city would be on the hook for costs like training, equipment, unscheduled overtime and incremental promotions, which Yarbrough estimated at roughly $370,000 combined over that span. In the fourth year, the city would have no obligation to keep the firefighters. If it kept them, Yarbrough estimated it would cost the city $774,377. "Either we do this, or the city will have to come up with a plan to fund it some other way," Yarbrough told The Dispatch after Tuesday's board meeting in City Hall. The city built Fire Station 5 in 2010 using grant funds, but it has only been staffed partially and sporadically. It shuttered in 2022 because the city couldn't hire the staff to run it. Not only would reopening the fire station help keep the city's Mississippi State Rating Bureau rating, which affects property insurance rates, at Class 3 -- one of the best in the state -- it would also improve call response times and make the city "safer," Yarbrough said. |
| Largest fresh egg producer in US halts production at Texas plant after bird flu found in chickens | |
 | The largest producer of fresh eggs in the United States said Tuesday that it has stopped production at a Texas plant after bird flu was found in chickens there. Ridgeland, Mississippi-based Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. said in a statement that approximately 1.6 million laying hens and 337,000 pullets, about 3.6% of its total flock, were destroyed after the infection, avian influenza, was found at the facility in Parmer County, Texas. The plant is on the Texas-New Mexico border in the Texas Panhandle about 85 miles (137 kilometers) southwest of Amarillo and about 370 miles (595 kilometers) northwest of Dallas. "The Company continues to work closely with federal, state and local government officials and focused industry groups to mitigate the risk of future outbreaks and effectively manage the response," according to the statement. "Cal-Maine Foods is working to secure production from other facilities to minimize disruption to its customers," the statement said. The company said there is no known bird flu risk associated with eggs that are currently in the market and no eggs have been recalled. The announcement by Cal-Maine comes a day after state health officials said a person had been diagnosed with bird flu after being in contact with cows presumed to be infected, and that the risk to the public remains low. |
| Cadence Bank donates $1.25M to local nonprofits | |
 | Strong communities make strong banks, and Cadence Bank hasn't shied away from that premise. For 2024, Cadence has donated $1.25 million to 17 nonprofit organizations that support programs that help Mississippians in one or more critical areas -- children's education, food insecurity or women's and family health care. Twelve new and five returning organizations received contributions. Cadence Chairman and CEO Dan Rollins said money goes to where its employees volunteer. "When our people put their personal time and energy into community organizations, the bank wants to support that. It's a win-win-win," Rollins said. Cadence Bank employees in Mississippi spent 2,669 hours in volunteer service in 2023, with many of these hours spent in service at the nonprofits receiving tax credit contributions. Cadence Bank's donations are a byproduct of its participation in the Mississippi Charitable Contributions Credits program. The Mississippi Legislature established several tax credits for voluntary cash contributions to certain qualified organizations. Depending on the type of charitable credit, there are limitations on the total amount that can be allocated, the types of taxes the credit can be used to offset, and the amount of credit that can be utilized against each tax type. The donations from Cadence are to organizations across the state. |
| Mississippi revenues exceed estimates by $87 million in March | |
 | Mississippi state revenues soared in March, coming in over $87 million above legislative revenue estimates for the month. The March jump brings the state's total revenue collections to date for the current fiscal year to $178.9 million above estimates with three months remaining in Fiscal Year 2024. According to the Mississippi Legislative Budget Office (LBO), total state tax collections for March were $87,074,990 or 16.93% above the sine die revenue estimate, making the year-to-date revenue collections through March $178,944,639 or 3.51% higher than the estimated budget. The increase in March also means the year-to-date collections are $1,572,990 or 0.03% above the prior year's revenue collections. The total state budget revenue estimate set during the 2023 legislative session was $7,523,800,000. The March 2024 LBO report shows sales tax collections for the month were above the prior year by $6.4 million while corporate income tax collections were also up over the prior year by $20.5 million. Individual income tax collections for the month of March 2024, which have lagged in previous months this fiscal year due to the implementation of the 2022 income tax cut, were above the prior year by $7.6 million. Lawmakers are currently considering the 2025 Fiscal Year state budget as the 2024 legislative session winds down. |
| Senate committee kills state retirement system reform bill. What happened? | |
 | It looks like the current makeup of the Public Employment Retirement System of Mississippi Board and its rate increase for public employer contributions is safe for now. On Tuesday at the State Capitol, the Mississippi Senate Government Structures Committee Chairman Chris Johnson, R-Hattiesburg, told lawmakers he would not take up House Bill 1590, which would have replaced several elected members of the PERS board with governor and lieutenant governor appointees and take away the board's 2% contribution rate increase on public employers. After the meeting, Johnson told the Clarion Ledger there were several reasons why he chose not to take up the bill. Those included misinformation spread online about what the bill would do and conversations he and his committee members had with several PERS board members in March, who spoke about why the board increased rates on public employers and what taking that away would do to the state's retirement system. "I think that (the bill) had the best of intentions on trying to find ways that we can ensure the soundness of PERS long term. ... But we want to make sure that we're making decisions now that keep it sound for future employees," Johnson said. "It's very dangerous to make long-term decisions based on short-term data." Both Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and House Speaker Jason White, R-West, who supported the bill last month as it passed through the House, voiced dissent on Johnson's decision Tuesday afternoon. White said in a written statement that he was "disappointed" by Johnson's inaction and that the decision could have negative impacts felt by both public employers and state taxpayers. |
| Senate committee kills bill to replace PERS Board | |
| A House plan to dissolve the member-elected board that governs Mississippi's massive public employee pension plan and replace it with a board dominated by political appointees died Tuesday in the Senate Government Structure Committee. The bill's death angered House Speaker Jason White, who called the move "irresponsible." Sen. Chris Johnson, R-Hattiesburg, chairman of the committee, said Tuesday afternoon -- hours before a deadline for action on the measure -- that he would not call the bill up for consideration. Instead, he called for the current board to become more transparent by livestreaming all of its meetings. He also urged the board to delay the start of its plan to increase by 5% the amount public entities, state and local governments, school districts and universities and colleges must contribute to the program. The 5% increase is scheduled to begin with a 2% increase in July and be phased in over three years. That planned increase, which board members said their financial experts reported was needed to ensure the long-term financial stability of the Public Employees Retirement System, caused controversy in the Legislature. It led to the House plan to replace the existing elected board. The House acted after many state agency heads and local officials said the increase would cause financial distress and a possible reduction in services. Speaker White, R-West, said in a statement he was disappointed the Senate killed the House bill. He criticized Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann specifically for the demise of the legislation. |
| Senate kills bill that would have taken PERS board from elected to appointed | |
| One of the most controversial bills of this legislative session died on Tuesday after the Senate decided not to move forward with the House's initial plan for the public employees' retirement system (PERS). Sen. Chris Johnson, a Republican from Hattiesburg in charge of the Senate Government Structure Committee, told his peers that a board overhaul is not the solution to the looming PERS issue. Rather, he believes any issues within the board can be fixed with more sunlight. House Speaker Jason White, who has led the charge on a handful of avant-garde bills for a state such as Mississippi (e.g., Medicaid expansion, rewriting the current education formula) only to be stopped by the Senate, was not pleased with his cross-chamber counterparts' decision to shut down the PERS legislation. The Republican speaker went on to blame Hosemann directly, saying time is of the essence when it comes to fixing PERS and the Senate not moving forward with the bill was "irresponsible." "Refusing to address the employer's contribution increase, as recently enacted by the PERS board, will have serious ramifications for our state, our city, and county governments, and school districts, potentially resulting in historical tax increases by cities and counties," White said. "Over the next three years, and the foreseeable future if no action is taken, the proposed 5-10% increase requested to fund PERS will also have the effect of limiting government services and eliminating state and local government employees. The Lt. Governor and Senate's failure to address the long-term sustainability of our state's retirement program is irresponsible to not only PERS retirees and participants in the system but Mississippi taxpayers." |
| Medicaid expansion plans and school funding changes still alive in Mississippi Legislature | |
| Bills to expand Medicaid and rewrite the funding formula for public schools are among measures still alive in the Mississippi Legislature. Tuesday was the deadline for House and Senate committees to consider general bills and constitutional amendments originating in the other chamber. Surviving legislation moves to the full House and Senate for more debate. Budget and revenue bills have later deadlines. The Legislature's four-month session is scheduled to end in early May. Mississippi lawmakers will try to reach a compromise on expanding Medicaid in one of the poorest states in the U.S. after the Senate voted for a vastly different plan than one proposed by the House. Senate leaders want to alter the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, which is designed to give districts enough money to meet midlevel academic standards but has been fully funded only two years since becoming law in 1997. House leaders are pushing for a new formula called INSPIRE -- Investing in the Needs of Students to Prioritize, Impact and Reform Education. Senate Bill 2753 and House Bill 1607 would require public buildings to have single-sex restrooms and changing areas, or unisex spaces designated for one person. The bills create a binary definition of sex, and would prohibit people from entering spaces designated for the "opposite sex." |
| Mobile sports betting one step closer to becoming a reality in Mississippi | |
| Mobile sports betting could soon become a reality in Mississippi after more than a year of deliberation by experts and lawmakers. The Senate Gaming Committee voted to pass House Bill 774 ahead of Tuesday's deadline for committees to report on general bills originating in the other chamber. The legislation, coined the Mississippi Mobile Sports Wagering Act, would allow residents 21 and up to place legal wagers on sporting events from mobile devices outside the four walls of the state's 26 brick-and-mortar casinos. In order to protect the casinos, the legislature instilled a stipulation in the bill that requires sports betting platforms such as DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM to partner with a Mississippi-based casino to run their operations. The casinos are not allowed to partner with multiple mobile sports betting vendors but platforms will be able to partner with numerous casinos. Last legislative session, lawmakers passed a bill to create a study group to look into mobile sports betting and how it would impact the Magnolia State. Mississippi Gaming Commissioner Jay McDaniel, who served on the study group, contended that the results would help bridge the gap of the drop in revenue experienced by the state's gaming industry in recent years. "We would definitely see an increase in revenue just because it would reach all corners of the state," McDaniel said in February. "I believe we would capture some from a state like Alabama that doesn't have it right now legally." The Senate has until April 11 to hold a floor vote on HB 774. |
| Senate committee kills direct shipment bill for wine, amid protest from some liquor stores | |
| A Senate committee has killed a bill that would allow residents to have wine directly shipped to their homes from manufacturers. On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee voted narrowly to reject H.B. 430, which would allow for the direct shipment of wine to homes in certain circumstances. It also killed a strike-all of the bill, which essentially would have replaced the House version with a Senate measure. The committee's vote comes after the legislation was passed by the House just weeks ago. "We're dragging out the same old bill that we had earlier, and I can tell you that the 700 independent businesses who are the package store owners of Mississippi are opposed to this," said Sen. Lydia Chassaniol. "If you have any package stores in your district, you might want to check with them and see how they feel about it." Lawmakers have killed direct shipment bills numerous times over the years. Under this year's House version, distributors would be allowed to sell directly to consumers if those distributors obtained a director shippers' permit and if the items ordered are not available through the state's Alcohol Beverage Control Warehouse. Jackson County Sen. Jeremy England said other states allow for direct shipments and also have package stores, and retailers in those states "seem to be doing fine." He questioned why the committee wouldn't pass that bill when it only recently pushed through another proposal that would allow manufacturers here to ship to other states. |
| Eller wins Republican runoff in Mississippi 2nd District, will face Democratic Rep. Thompson | |
| Ron Eller won a Republican primary runoff Tuesday in Mississippi's 2nd Congressional District and will face longtime Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson in the Nov. 5 general election. Eller, who is a military veteran and physician assistant, defeated Andrew Scott Smith, who has worked in farming and commercial real estate. They had advanced to the Republican runoff as the top candidates in a three-person primary March 12. Thompson has represented the majority-Black district since winning a special election in 1993, and President Joe Biden won the district by 27 percentage points in 2020. Thompson is the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee and was unopposed for his party's nomination in the district this year. Thompson said he wants to decrease prescription drug costs, invest in historically Black colleges and universities, reduce student loan debt and build the middle class "by making sure the wealthy pay their fair share." Eller, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2nd District Republican nomination in 2022, has said he supports construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall and expansion of domestic energy production. After winning the runoff Tuesday, Eller told The Associated Press that he believes all Americans want good places to raise their families, with strong schools and clean air and water. |
| U.S. states are cutting off Chinese citizens and companies from land ownership | |
 | State lawmakers are producing a wave of legislation aimed at stopping what they say is a clear and growing danger to national security -- land purchases by Chinese citizens and companies. More than two thirds of states -- primarily controlled by Republicans -- have enacted or are considering laws limiting or barring foreign ownership of land. While these laws typically restrict land purchases by multiple countries with hostile U.S. relations, there's little doubt that China is the main target of these efforts -- and that politics are propelling the movement. Restrictions are being enacted across the country -- in Texas, Florida and elsewhere, almost exclusively pushed by Republicans -- even though there's little evidence of a credible threat considering Chinese interests currently own a miniscule amount of U.S. territory. They're just the latest sign that national political currents, when it comes to China, are filtering down to state capitals. Governors of all political stripes have largely shut off trade missions to the communist country, after regularly making the trek to Beijing in the first two decades of this century. Over the past year, states have enacted legislation ranging from limits on Chinese student enrollment at universities to removal of Chinese investments from state pension funds. Supporting those efforts are hawkish nonprofit advocacy groups urging state lawmakers to draft and pass legislation to mitigate those risks. But the biggest focus of state concern about potentially malign Chinese influence has been legislation to block land sales to perceived hostile foreign powers. More than 20 states are in the process of passing new restrictions on foreign land purchases or updating existing laws, according to data from the nonprofit National Agricultural Law Center. |
| Yes, we're divided. But new AP-NORC poll shows Americans still agree on most core American values | |
| Despite the country's deep political polarization, most Americans share many core beliefs about what it means to be an American, according to a new poll. The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about 9 in 10 U.S. adults say the right to vote, the right to equal protection under the law and the right to privacy are extremely important or very important to the United States' identity as a nation. The survey also found that 84% feel the same way about the freedom of religion. The results, which included perspectives on a number of different freedoms and rights, have only small variances between Republicans and Democrats except on the right to bear arms, which Republicans are more likely to see as core to the nation's identity. The overall findings are striking because they come at a time of extreme partisanship when political agreements seem rare and concerns are heightened over the potential for violence during a volatile presidential election year. "If you get a bunch of normal people at random and put them in a room together and chat about issues, there's a lot more convergence than you might imagine," said Michael Albertus, a political science professor at the University of Chicago. A more pessimistic assessment of the country was reflected in another finding -- that only about 3 in 10 Americans believe the nation's democracy is functioning well. About half say the U.S. is a poorly functioning democracy, while 14% say the U.S. is not a democracy. The tension between the broad consensus on the country's fundamental values and discontent with how well its form of government is working is not a surprise, experts say. |
| Most Americans say criminalizing abortion is wrong -- and are divided on deportation | |
 | Americans almost unanimously reject criminalizing abortion and are strongly opposed to political violence but most also believe the country is too politically correct and are split on whether to deport immigrants in the U.S. illegally, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds. The overwhelming majority of the 1,305 respondents also agreed that President Biden won the 2020 election, which has been proven in multiple court cases. But 6 in 10 Republicans falsely maintain he did not. A majority of them also said they believe the country needs a leader to break some rules to get it back on track, and some 3 in 10 Republicans go so far as to say Americans may have to resort to violence in order to set things straight. For all the divisions the survey found, there were a couple of bright spots: 81% said they have friends with different political views than their own. 68% said the American Dream is still attainable. A majority of Americans 18 to 29 said they believe the American Dream is still attainable, but they were the least likely age group to say so. Voters 60 and older were almost 20 points more likely to say it's attainable. That tracks with the latest World Happiness Report, conducted by Gallup, that found younger Americans were far less happy than older Americanss -- and because of that, for the first time, the United States fell out of the top 20 countries when it came to happiness. |
| Trump Leads Biden in Six of Seven Swing States, WSJ Poll Finds | |
 | Donald Trump is leading President Biden in six of the seven most competitive states in the 2024 election, propelled by broad voter dissatisfaction with the national economy and deep doubts about Biden's capabilities and job performance, a new Wall Street Journal poll finds. The poll of the election's main battlegrounds shows Trump holding leads of between 2 and 8 percentage points in six states -- Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina -- on a test ballot that includes third-party and independent candidates. Trump holds similar leads when voters are asked to choose only between him and Biden. The one outlier is Wisconsin, where Biden leads by 3 points on the multiple-candidate ballot, and where the two candidates are tied in a head-to-head matchup. Overall, the poll shows substantial unhappiness with Biden among voters who will have the most influence in the outcome of the election, as expanded one-party dominance in states has left just a few as politically competitive. Biden pulled off a remarkable feat in 2020, winning three states---Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin---in the industrial North, which had been slipping from Democrats' grasp and had backed Trump in 2016. He won by even narrower margins in Georgia and Arizona, two fast-diversifying states in the South and Southwest where Democrats had long-unfulfilled hopes of victory. Two more states are also viewed as in play: Nevada, which Biden won but where Democratic margins have narrowed, and North Carolina, the state that backed Trump by the slimmest margin in 2020. |
| Biden's exercise routine a mystery amid age concerns | |
 | When President Biden moved into the White House in early 2021, a debate ensued about whether he could bring his Peloton bike with him because of the security risks it might pose. A February memo about his annual physical said Biden exercises at least five days a week and is "fit for duty." But little is known about the president's workout routine and how he stays active. Biden's age -- 81 -- has been a focus of his second White House bid, with the conversation around it reaching a fever pitch and even some Democrats expressing some worry about the issue. He has what even his doctor calls a "stiff" gait as well as "significant spinal arthritis." And cameras have caught him stumbling at times, prompting speculation among Republicans that he isn't prepared for the rigors of four more years in office. The lack of transparency about his physical fitness has raised concerns. And Democrats are worried the White House isn't doing enough to counter the narrative. "In some ways, it would be helpful for Biden to reveal more about his workout routine, since voters are clearly interested in his health, and we know that exercise is correlated to greater physical vigor and overall well-being," said Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, author of "Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America's Exercise Obsession." "It is curious that he has not shared more about his exercise program, since for decades, sharing about the personal fitness routines of presidents has been an uncontroversial way to convey their strength, discipline, and relatability," Petrzela said. "Presidents work out, too." |
| The W receives $400,000 grant to foster diversity in STEM education | |
 | The Mississippi University for Women has been awarded a grant to foster diversity in STEM education. The W announced on Tuesday that the grant of $400,000 comes as the institution joins the Tennessee Valley Tri-State LSAMP Alliance. The alliance was able to form thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation. Other institutions in the alliance include the University of North Alabama, the University of Tennessee at Martin, and Northwest-Shoals Community College. The W shared that this new program will include a Summer Bridge program, peer tutoring, faculty mentorship, student research opportunities and career development leading to the transition to graduate school or employment. |
| Hotel prices continue to surge, impacting Oxford visitors | |
 | Springtime in Oxford brings a flurry of activities for the community to enjoy. Large weekend-long events like country music superstar Morgan Wallen's concert, Double Decker Arts Festival, graduation and baseball games draw massive crowds to town. These events increase tourism and demand for hotel rooms, often leaving those hoping to visit Oxford frustrated with high prices and forced to turn to out-of-town lodging and alternatives like Airbnb. As of April 1, hotel rates for 2024 graduation weekend -- May 10 through May 12 -- rooms start at $799 a night at Home2 Suites by Hilton, $1,309 a night at The Courtyard By Marriott, $449 a night at The Hampton Inn and Conference Center off of Sisk Avenue and $417 a night The Hampton Inn Oxford-West. The Inn at Ole Miss is completely booked. When demand falls, so do prices: a summer weekend at local hotel Graduate Oxford in July starts at $232 a night. The same room will cost $959 a night on graduation weekend. Grace Glazier, an integrated marketing communications major from Tallahassee, Fla., said these prices inhibit her family's visits to Oxford. "My family does not get to come as often as they would like due to the continued rise in hotel costs and limited availability," Glazier said. "For my upcoming graduation in May, my family had a hard time finding a room for everyone attending, even though we were eight months away. The prices for the remaining rooms were through the roof. Thankfully, we were able to use a friend's condo because otherwise, there was no way we would be able to all stay in Oxford." |
| USM to host eclipse watch party on April 8 | |
 | A solar eclipse is happening on April 8, and Mississippi residents will be among those lucky enough to be able to see the effects of that rare, celestial event. The eclipse will be a total one for a large part of the U.S. In our area, we'll see about 87% coverage. "We will not get a total solar eclipse, but more than two-thirds of the sun will be covered up," said Christopher Sirola, associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Southern Mississippi. "It's a little bit more than was covered up in the eclipses we had in 2017 and last year." "The eclipse will start at 12:33 and some seconds (and) it'll hit peak coverage about 1:53 and then around three o'clock it wraps up." Southern Miss is preparing to host a special gathering to celebrate the event. Faculty and students will hold a watch party on the lawn south of the Walker Science Building, and the public is invited. "We will have some telescopes with solar filters, we will have a lot of eclipse sunglasses to loan out, we should have a few hundred of those available," Sirola said. |
| Jones College offers astronomy course to prepare students for solar eclipse | |
| In a few days, parts of the U.S. will have access to see the rare solar eclipse in the sky. Students at Jones College have been preparing for the solar eclipse next Monday. This is the first time the school has offered an astronomy class to tie into preparations for the eclipse. "I've seen a few of the eclipses, only briefly," said student Zachary Whittington. "This will be the one I know the most about and I can't wait to see it really." This class is out of this world," said student Sean Kelly. Dr. Bharath Kandula, the class instructor, said the eclipse will be a rare event and won't be back for another 20 years after Monday. All the parts of the earth won't be able to see it. "The seasons for the eclipses are like two – are at least twice in a year. we see solar eclipses. At least some parts of the earth can see the solar eclipse, but the next solar eclipse in the U.S. will be 2044," said Kandula. Kandula's been teaching the students how eclipses are formed, their seasons and the difference between solar and lunar eclipses. The college plans to make the eclipse a big watch party on the grass in front of Jones Hall. Students will have access to solar eclipse glasses, pinhole viewing devices and solar filter telescopes to watch the event safely. |
| Here's how Biloxi Council voted on a permit for Mississippi Black Spring Break | |
 | Mississippi Black Spring Break is still coming to the Biloxi beach April 11-14, but without permits from the city and county for vendors, extra parking lots or amplified music on the beach. By a vote of 5-2 -- three hours into the tense meeting -- the permit for spring break was denied by the council. Voting to uphold the denial of the permit by the special events committee were George Lawrence, Dixie Newman, Paul Tisdale, Kenny Glavan and David Shoemaker. Voting against the denial were Felix Gines and Robert Deming III. Denying the permit for parking on a private lot to accommodate some of the spring breakers is "a black eye on Biloxi," Maurice Bryant told the council during citizens comments. Some residents asked the council to let spring breakers come to the city while others "begged" the city to do what they could to keep the event away. Several new ordinances were adopted to manage all special events after one person was shot and killed during last year's spring break. Five more people were shot and injured in Biloxi, including a Biloxi police officer. "We've made every other event uphold these new ordinances," said Biloxi Police Chief John Miller. He was very pleased the organizers finally came together and met with the city, Miller said. "But they stopped. They didn't move forward," he said. "We denied because it was not sufficient and that is the bottom line." |
| Lessons learned: Toyota Wellspring Career Coaches to present at national conference | |
| For the past six years, the Toyota Wellspring career coaches have sought to help students in the Pontotoc, Union, and Lee Counties Alliance (PUL) find success after graduation, and their work has inspired similar programs across Mississippi. Now, for the first time, the coaches are headed to D.C. to share their knowledge with the nation. On Sunday, April 7, five of the first 11 Wellspring career coaches hired in 2018 to serve students in the PUL area will deliver two presentations on the work they've been doing at the National Summit for Educational Equity, conducted by the National Association for Partnerships in Equity. Missy Lunceford, a career coach at Tupelo High School, and Jennifer Dale, a career coach at Pontotoc High School, will deliver a presentation called "Imagine the Possibilities: Equal Access to Career Services for All Students." One of Lunceford's favorite success stories is of a young Latino man from a non-English-speaking family with no college educations among them. Last school year, he won a prize from the Imagine the Possibilities Career Expo --- a Wellspring program. With the help of the career coaches, he started looking into colleges. He shadowed an architect and attended a law camp, after which he decided he wanted to become a lawyer. He got an internship in the Tupelo courthouse and "went after scholarships like I've never seen," Lunceford said. Now, he attends Mississippi State University on a full ride, with plans to come back to Tupelo as a lawyer to help his community. |
| Why School Absences Have 'Exploded' Almost Everywhere | |
 | In Anchorage, affluent families set off on ski trips and other lengthy vacations, with the assumption that their children can keep up with schoolwork online. In a working-class pocket of Michigan, school administrators have tried almost everything, including pajama day, to boost student attendance. And across the country, students with heightened anxiety are opting to stay home rather than face the classroom. In the four years since the pandemic closed schools, U.S. education has struggled to recover on a number of fronts, from learning loss, to enrollment, to student behavior. But perhaps no issue has been as stubborn and pervasive as a sharp increase in student absenteeism, a problem that cuts across demographics and has continued long after schools reopened. Nationally, an estimated 26 percent of public school students were considered chronically absent last school year, up from 15 percent before the pandemic, according to the most recent data, from 40 states and Washington, D.C., compiled by the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute. Chronic absence is typically defined as missing at least 10 percent of the school year, or about 18 days, for any reason. The trends suggest that something fundamental has shifted in American childhood and the culture of school, in ways that may be long lasting. What was once a deeply ingrained habit -- wake up, catch the bus, report to class -- is now something far more tenuous. "Our relationship with school became optional," said Katie Rosanbalm, a psychologist and associate research professor with the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University. The habit of daily attendance -- and many families' trust -- was severed when schools shuttered in spring 2020. |
| Jeff Long delivers 2024 Final Lecture | |
| On Monday, April 1, Jeff Long delivered the 2024 Final Lecture, a distinguished honor bestowed upon him by the student body in recognition of his contributions to the university through teaching and service. Currently serving as the assistant dean of the Harbert College of Business, Long has been an integral part of the Auburn community since 2012, initially serving as the chief operating officer for the business college. The award recognizes one of Auburn students' favorite professors and gives them the opportunity to present a short lecture on a topic of their choice. In his lecture, Long chose to reflect on invaluable life lessons he learned throughout his career and believed would be valuable for other students to learn. A graduate of Auburn himself, having earned a bachelor of science in accountancy and a Ph.D., Long shared a personal anecdote about his journey towards becoming a certified public accountant. Despite facing setbacks and challenges, including multiple attempts at the CPA exam, Long remained steadfast in his determination. He emphasized the importance of maintaining positivity amidst adversity, revealing how his perseverance ultimately led to a life changing encounter. "I took a CPA review course in Birmingham and during that review course, is where I met my wife, Lori, and we've been married for 32 years," Long said. "Had I passed the CPA exam that first time or second time or if I'd given up, I would not have met my wife." |
| Jeff Landry would choose who chairs university boards under this controversial bill | |
 | Gov. Jeff Landry is backing a bill that would grant him the power to appoint the chairs of Louisiana's five higher education boards, a move that would inject politics more overtly into who oversees the state's colleges and universities. The sponsor of the legislation, state Sen. Mike Fesi, said the proposal was brought to him by an outside group, but he couldn't remember who they were. Seven higher education insiders say the person behind it is Lee Mallett, a business owner, major campaign donor to Landry and currently the longest serving member of the LSU Board of Supervisors, who they say was so angry at being passed over last July to be the board's next chair that he skipped the board's next three meetings. Mallett acknowledged being "disappointed" that his colleagues chose trial attorney Pat Morrow of Opelousas rather than him to chair the board of Louisiana's flagship university beginning in September. He said he missed the following meetings because he was "busy with other stuff." Mallett wouldn't say whether he has talked with Landry or Fesi about the bill but praised it. "It's the most important way to finally turn around and change higher education," he said. "How do you expect a governor to be successful if he's trying to make changes and can't get done the things he wants to get done?" A spokesperson for Landry said he is supporting Senate Bill 403 because people in Louisiana want change in higher education. |
| Columbia neighbors felt betrayed by U. of South Carolina's Campus Village development. Now they're suing | |
 | Some of the University of South Carolina's neighbors warned years ago of potential consequences of Campus Village, a student housing development that at the time was planned for the south end of campus. Now, just six months after the residence halls opened, a lawsuit says their fears have been realized. Among those fears was that the housing complex, which now is home to 1,808 students, would exacerbate parking and traffic issues. The lawsuit says students can now be found traversing through nearby residential neighborhoods to find a spot for their cars. Columbia resident Kit Smith, along with the Wales Garden, Hollywood-Rose Hill and Wheeler Hill associations, are suing because they say an agreement for the project between USC and the neighborhoods was breached, according to a complaint filed against the university, university architect Derek Gruner and the City of Columbia on March 26. A university spokesman declined to comment on the litigation, and the city could not be reached for comment. Planning for Campus Village, a $240 million project on Whaley Street and the largest in USC's history, began a decade ago. It originally imagined a sprawling development to be completed in several phases, the first of which is the four buildings that are now finished, featuring classrooms, a dining hall, retail and green space. The lawsuit was a last resort, Smith said, after USC failed to address their anxieties. "We have lost all hope," Smith said. |
| Out of the Darkness Campus Walk for suicide prevention planned for Sunday at UGA | |
 | An effort to bring awareness to the problem of suicide will take place on the University of Georgia campus on Sunday. The "Out of the Darkness Campus Walk" is hosted by UGA and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The walk is meant to raise awareness, educate, reduce stigmatization and support those who lost loved ones to suicide. In February, attention was brought on the suicide of a 19-year-old student from Atlanta who took his life in a dormitory in February, the day before another young woman, Laken Riley, was slain on campus. A vigil on campus was held for both Riley and Wyatt Banks. Last year, the walk at UGA ranked third in the nation for the most money raised. "Last year there was one or two lives lost from suicide and a lot of people were impacted and the walk gave a space for people to come together as a community," said Abby Cushing, a senior student from Marietta, who is chairing this year's walk. Cushing, who said she dealt with mental health issues herself, said the walk allows people to gather "and see they are really not alone." She understands that life for a college student can be isolating and stressful. "Our community and our campus are working hard to make sure everyone feels safe and can talk about this," she said. |
| After DEI Ban, UT-Austin Eliminates a Division and Fires Its Former Diversity Staff | |
 | The University of Texas at Austin announced on Tuesday that it was closing its Division of Campus and Community Engagement and laying off an unspecified number of people who had been working in DEI-related roles. In a joint news release, the Texas chapters of the American Association of University Professors and the NAACP said that at least 60 people were losing their jobs, about 40 in the division alone. "Some have received these pink slips even though they have received assignments and are no longer working in DEI-designated jobs," the statement said. Most of the layoffs are expected to take effect over the next three months. The layoffs were announced a week after state Sen. Brandon Creighton, the Republican sponsor of Senate Bill 17, notified public colleges that they had until May 3 to submit statements describing how they were complying with specific requirements of the law. Those include eliminating all diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and officers, ending all diversity training, and banning any preferences based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin. The job cuts include all three full-time staff members at the university's Women's Community Center, according to a source at the university who spoke to The Chronicle and asked not to be identified. Her job ends on July 5, and she said she didn't want to risk losing her position and benefits before then. The center that will be closing had already been significantly overhauled to comply with SB 17, one of the nation's most stringent anti-DEI laws. News of the dismissals came as the university's president, Jay Hartzell, announced in a campuswide email that the flagship would be closing the Division of Campus and Community Engagement and distributing most of its programs to other divisions. The Women's Community Center had been part of that division. |
| Amid a Financial Crisis and a Governor's Ire, U. of Arizona President Will Resign | |
| Months of bad press have finally taken their toll. Under fire for a financial meltdown and questions about managing the purchase of a for-profit university, the president of the University of Arizona announced Tuesday that he will step down. Robert C. Robbins will resign as soon as his successor is named, but no later than June 2026, when his current contract ends. The chair of the Arizona Board of Regents, Cecilia Mata, said in a news release that a presidential search "will move forward with expediency." "The past 18 months certainly have been difficult for our university," Robbins said in an email to the campus, "but I am confident that our passion and commitment for doing what is right, as well as our thorough and thoughtful analysis to address our ongoing challenges, will bring our institution greater stability in short order." Robbins's decision to resign marks a key inflection point in a four-month leadership saga that has roiled the institution and drawn an unusual level of attention from the state's Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs. Robbins has faced harsh criticism from Hobbs, not to mention faculty and staff, after revealing in November that the university was facing a massive and unexpected budget shortfall because of overspending and poor financial modeling. |
| Business Schools Are Going All In on AI | |
| At the Wharton School this spring, professor Ethan Mollick assigned students the task of automating away part of their jobs. Mollick tells his students at the University of Pennsylvania to expect to feel insecure about their own capabilities once they understand what artificial intelligence can do. "You haven't used AI until you've had an existential crisis," he said. "You need three sleepless nights." Top business schools are pushing M.B.A. candidates and undergraduates to use artificial intelligence as a second brain. Students are eager for the instruction as employers increasingly hire talent with AI skills. American University's Kogod School of Business is putting an unusually high emphasis on AI, threading teaching on the technology through 20 new or adapted classes, from forensic accounting to marketing, which will roll out next school year. Professors this week started training on how to use and teach AI tools. Understanding and using AI is now a foundational concept, much like learning to write or reason, said David Marchick, dean of Kogod. "Every young person needs to know how to use AI in whatever they do," he said of the decision to embed AI instruction into every part of the business school's undergraduate core curriculum. |
| A Little-Known Loan Program Meant to Help Rural Colleges May Actually Be Hurting Them | |
| The USDA has lent rural colleges and universities $2.2 billion across the last decade to build student centers, libraries, dorms, and academic centers -- at lower interest rates than those offered by private lenders. In practice, the program has become a lender of last resort for some financially strapped colleges for whom new construction promises dubious benefits. Despite the cheery words at groundbreakings, a Chronicle investigation -- based on dozens of interviews and an analysis of data obtained through open-records requests -- has found that the program, while often delivering a temporary positive bump to a campus and its balance sheet, can threaten the colleges' long-term survival by loading them up with new debt and not delivering enrollment increases. "These rural colleges and universities are providing extremely important access to education to rural communities," said Ty C. McNamee, an assistant professor of higher education at the University of Mississippi. "When you also know that students want to go to school close to home, that creates a perfect storm when one of these colleges closes down." Small, rural colleges face tough years ahead, due in large part to the phenomenon known as the enrollment cliff -- the projected dip in high-school graduates starting in 2025 and continuing for five to 10 years. This past February, the U.S. Census Bureau updated its projections to say that the drop will continue through the 2030s and isn't likely to have any drastic jumps in the following years. |
| Colleges are lawyering up to avoid becoming the next Harvard | |
| Shortly after she pressed three university presidents at a December hearing on whether calling for the genocide of Jews constituted campus harassment, Rep. Elise Stefanik went on a fundraising blitz, pleading with supporters to "turn up the heat on these 'woke' liberal presidents even further." The rush to capitalize on the much ballyhooed hearing proved successful: Stefanik (R-N.Y.) saw a record fundraising haul. It has also opened up a new front for Washington's influence industry. In campaigns, on K Street and in Congress, the machinery of the city has cashed in on the fight against perceived liberal bias on campus, as colleges have turned to consultants or lawyers to navigate the increasingly unforgiving landscape. This month, the PR firm Marathon Strategies, which launched a higher education crisis communications practice after the hearing, will run a so-called bootcamp for colleges and universities hoping to keep themselves out of similar spotlights. "There's blood in the water on the sector as a whole," said Christopher Armstrong, a partner at the law firm Holland & Knight who co-chairs its congressional investigations practice. Issues around higher education have new "political salience," he said, emphasizing that the risk to universities extends beyond just antisemitism and has been percolating for some time. |
| Congress sends colleges $1.3 billion for projects | |
 | From protecting reefs and fighting climate change to purchasing a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectrometer, projects for colleges and universities funded in the latest federal budget run a wide gamut. Colleges and universities are planning to put more than $1.3 billion to work on one-time purchases of equipment such as the University of Nevada at Reno's $2.4 million spectrometer or, in other cases, to start new academic programs that administrators say will address critical needs in their communities. The largest chunk of the money -- more than half of the money -- will go to university hospitals, healthcare programs, science and research. Congress is funding 707 projects over all, with price tags ranging from $20,000 to $36 million, through earmarks in the fiscal year 2024 budget that passed last month. The money will go to 483 institutions and foundations that support them. Inside Higher Ed's data analysis shows how colleges and universities turn to this pot of federal money to fund projects of various shapes and sizes. Colleges received less total funding via earmarks this year than in the fiscal year 2023 budget, when a handful of retiring senators sent many millions back home to their local colleges and universities. Still, the infusion of money offers a boost at a time when other resources are stretched thin for many institutions. John McAllister, a managing partner at McAllister & Quinn, a consulting firm that works with colleges on their earmark requests, said they are a great way for institutions to fund technology, equipment, research, academic programming and economic development initiatives. "If you are a college president and you are looking for a creative way to fund an important project on your campus, you should definitely be engaged in this process," he said. |
| The Latest FAFSA Problem Is 'One Giant Step Back' | |
| About 20 percent of 6.6 million federal-aid forms processed so far this year include inconsistent tax information, the U.S. Department of Education announced on Monday night. The latest snag in the rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, will cause further delays for colleges and students. And financial-aid officers now must determine how to handle yet another curveball. As The Chronicle first reported last week, the department said it was investigating reports from colleges that some processed federal-aid forms, known as Institutional Student Information Records, or ISIRs, included inaccurate tax information. Several financial-aid officers detected in late March that the FAFSA hadn't been consistently retrieving all the data points required to calculate the Student Aid Index, or SAI, a number used to determine how much federal aid an applicant should get. A financial-aid offer based on an incorrect SAI, it's fair to say, is like a house built on a faulty foundation. The department and the Internal Revenue Service later identified three problems affecting a subset of FAFSAs. Two involved applicants and contributors who had transferred their federal tax information directly from the IRS to their FAFSA; the other affected those who were required to manually enter income and tax information. So what happens next? |
| The FAFSA mess has eroded faith in Biden's Education Department | |
 | Early this year the Education Department shared what appeared to be objectively good news. Millions of college financial aid forms -- commonly referred to as FAFSAs, or Free Applications for Federal Student Aid -- had been successfully submitted, the agency said in an announcement Jan. 30. Federal officials had also updated their aid calculations to make it "as simple and easy as possible for families to get help paying for college," according to the agency. But tucked into the fifth paragraph of that bulletin was a troubling tidbit: Colleges and universities would not receive students' financial aid data until the first half of March, more than a month later than the government had promised. It was the first time the agency acknowledged the setback, another wrench thrown in the financial aid process for colleges and students. Many schools, it turned out, did not get a critical mass of the records they needed until the end of March. What's more, the "update" the department touted as a victory was more of a correction to a massive problem. Yet the dissonance between the department's seemingly rosy missives and the realities students have been facing prompted some to accuse officials of spreading a "false positive narrative." Critics argue the federal government's less-than-transparent messaging cast a pall over one of the most important higher education reforms in recent decades. "It's hard to trust anything by now that the department is saying," said David Sheridan, the director of financial aid at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. |
| The New College Financial-Aid Form Miscalculated 20% of Applications | |
| Up to 20% of those who applied for college financial aid using the federal government's new online form received incorrect results that could reduce aid packages. The revamped Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which had already been plagued by delays, didn't have the right tax information on more than one million forms out of the 6.5 million submitted, the Education Department said Monday. The errors are related to inconsistent data from three groups of applicants -- families who claimed education tax credits, those who had an amended tax return in 2022, and those who manually entered their tax information as the form directed. Recent tax filings are used to calculate a family's financial need. "Some of the tax information on the tax return is not transferring over to the Fafsa correctly," said Brad Barnett, financial-aid director at James Madison University. "It's not working the way it's supposed to work." College administrators and higher-education advocates say the changes are most likely to affect middle-income families that are near the threshold to qualify for a federal Pell Grant, and for whom price is a major factor in choosing a college. "I'm particularly worried about that population of students who are teetering on the edge of attending college at all, and these delays could push them away from college," said Shannon Vasconcelos, senior director of college finance for college-admissions advising firm Bright Horizons College Coach. |
| Free Speech Is Alive and Well at Vanderbilt University | |
| Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier writes in The Wall Street Journal: The purpose of a university is to assemble a talented group of students from a range of backgrounds and help them grow and learn as part of a community. This includes teaching them how to appreciate a range of perspectives -- and to learn how, not what, to think. The university remains one of the last places in society where people with diverse viewpoints can engage in the kind of civil dialogue that allows them to explore complex topics -- and find innovative solutions to difficult problems -- together. To this end, university students should debate one another respectfully. They should challenge each other's ideas, as well as their own. If part of that process involves protest, then they should engage in that, too. Protesting is something that Vanderbilt students have been doing weekly since the start of the war in Gaza. While protests have turned disruptive and even violent elsewhere, those at Vanderbilt had remained peaceful and resulted in civil exchange, including counterprotests, lectures and debates. This commitment to civil discourse is typical for our students. Last month, our College Democrats and College Republicans held a joint debate on another divisive issue: gun control. Despite the charged subject matter, the student-led event was notable for its substance and civility. ... These commitments were tested for about 24 hours starting March 26. |
| PERS inaction amounts to fiddling while Rome burns | |
| Magnolia Tribune's Russ Latino writes: In 64 A.D. a fire started in the Circus Maximus in Rome. It quickly consumed 10 of 14 districts in the ancient Italian capital. Whether true or not, Rome's emperor, Nero, supposedly fiddled while the city burned. Two thousand years later, the concept of "fiddling while Rome burns" stands as a euphemism for doing nothing in the face of calamity. Mississippi may not be on literal fire, but left unchecked our retirement system for public employees (PERS) could burn state and local fiscal solvency to the ground. The fund designed to pay retirement benefits to public employees currently reports a $25 billion unfunded liability. In other words, PERS projects that in the next 30 years, it will have $25 billion too few dollars to pay retirees what they are owed. The current system is funded at a paltry 56 percent -- one of only a handful of state retirement plans categorized as "unsafe" or "distressed" in the U.S. Worse still, leaders afraid of upsetting public employees with even a whisper of change, have fiddled for nearly two decades as the flames got higher. With each passing year, the fire becomes harder and more costly to contain. ... Yesterday, HB 1590 died in the Mississippi Senate. The bill could have been amended or stripped to "keep the conversation alive," a frequently heard quip around the Capitol when legislators lack the courage to say they are actually for something. Even understanding the pressure exerted, it is hard to reconcile the Senate taking no action with it being "the major issue" of the session. |
| Historian Dan Jordan left a nationally renowned legacy in leading Jefferson's Monticello | |
| Columnist Sid Salter writes: Daniel Porter Jordan Jr.'s passing was noted in many of the nation's leading newspapers, including The Washington Post. Jordan, one of America's most distinguished and respected historians, died March 21 of a heart attack was 85. Jordan's life was a series of noteworthy achievements, beginning in his hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi, and continuing throughout his productive life. He was the son of Philadelphia dentist Dr. Daniel Porter Jordan Sr. and Mildred Dobbs Jordan, a homemaker. After a stellar academic and athletic career first at Philadelphia High School and later at Ole Miss, the then 22-year-old U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Jordan was awarded the 1960 Neshoba County Youth Achievement Award at the racetrack grandstand at the Neshoba County Fair -- an institution in which the Jordan family was active all of his life. ... In 1985, Jordan was invited to join the staff at Thomas Jefferson's plantation home Monticello as director of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. He would serve and grow Monticello from 1985 until his retirement as president and CEO in 2008. The Washington Post obituary on Jordan included this high praise, calling him a "historian who guided Monticello into the 21st century, safeguarding...Jefferson's mountaintop plantation while broadening its educational programs to encompass discussions of slavery and race" and quoted Monticello's current leader Jane Kamensky as calling Jordan "the most consequential president on the Mountaintop since Jefferson himself." During Jordan's higher education years, his hometown of Philadelphia was the scene of a notorious civil rights atrocity in 1964 in which three civil rights workers were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan. Yet Jordan steadfastly embraced his Mississippi roots, returning to the Neshoba County Fair and the family cabin on Founder's Square. |
SPORTS
| Bulldogs' Four-Game Road Trip Begins In Birmingham Wednesday | |
| A rematch is on-tap for No. 16/16 Mississippi State softball this week as the Bulldogs open a four-game road trip at UAB on Wednesday night. First pitch from Mary Bowers Field is set for 5 p.m. CT, and the game will be available to watch on ESPN+. State (25-9, 6-6 SEC) is coming of a hard-fought series with No. 10/10 Florida that saw two games decided by just one run. Impressed by the Bulldogs' efforts, the national polls have raised MSU to the doorstep of its highest national ranking in school history. The Bulldogs were tabbed No. 15 in both the NFCA and USA Softball rankings in 2008. MSU and UAB met on Opening Weekend in Starkville where State won by scores of 11-0 in five innings and 6-2. The Bulldogs have seen impressive performances from both their veterans and their rookies this year. Fifth-year infielder Madisyn Kennedy was tabbed the top first baseman in the country for the month of March by Softball America on Tuesday. Meanwhile, two of the top five freshmen in the SEC in terms of batting average call Starkville home in Ella Wesolowski (.397; 2nd) and Salen Hawkins (.337; 5th). UAB is coming off of being swept by Tulsa over the weekend, losing in walk-off fashion on the opening day of the series before dropping a pair of two-run contests to close it out. The Blazers have already played seven games against SEC teams, going 1-6 in those matchups. State will stay on the road, heading directly to Columbia, South Carolina, on Thursday following the game. The Bulldogs will face No. 22/25 South Carolina on April 5-7 with the Saturday game airing on SEC Network at 1 p.m. CT. |
| Meet the Mississippi State basketball team playing at Final Four that did some crazy things to get there | |
| The college basketball world will gather in Arizona this weekend for the Final Four and national championship game. While Mississippi State won't partake in the action after its first-round exit against Michigan State, the Bulldogs will be represented. Phoenix will be the site of the Manager Games -- a tournament of eight teams' student managers. The field of eight was selected through polls posted on X (formerly Twitter). Using a system generated from matchups of managers in the regular season, teams were ranked and voting was weighted to reflect it. No. 11 seed Mississippi State needed to beat No. 6 seed IUPUI in the first round. MSU won with 67% of the votes. In the second round against No. 3 seed Purdue, Mississippi State needed 55% of the votes to win. It got exactly that. MSU needed 55% again to defeat No. 2 seed Michigan in the third round. They believed they could do it after defeating Purdue, so the managers implemented an intriguing do-it-yourself marketing campaign. "The first thing we did was get a bunch of fliers with a QR code on them, and we hung them around all over campus," graduate MSU manager Reagan Jordan told the Clarion Ledger. "Then, Henry (Zimmerman) and Griffin (Cherry) were tracking people down on campus getting them to vote." "We had to go to, like, Walmart and Kroger and stand outside grocery stores to flag people down," Zimmerman, a sophomore manager, added. "That's not probably the best environment to do that – 8 o'clock at night on a Wednesday asking someone to vote for your (X) poll." They also got help from MSU athletics director Zac Selmon, coach Chris Jans and various players promoting the poll via social media. Jordan even reached out to Ohio State's managers to help defeat the Wolverines. |
| Former Bulldog Justin Foscue called up by Texas Rangers | |
| Justin Foscue has become the 69th former Mississippi State baseball player to reach the major leagues after being called up by the Texas Rangers on Tuesday. The 14th overall pick by the Rangers in the 2020 MLB Draft, Foscue reached the Double-A level by 2021 and spent all of last season at Triple-A, where he batted .266 with 18 home runs and 84 runs batted in. He replaces Texas third baseman Josh Jung, who was placed on the injured list with a broken wrist. Foscue grew up in Huntsville, Ala. and put up a .297/.380/.482 triple slash with the Bulldogs from 2018-20. He started all 67 games in 2019, splitting time between second base and third base, and hit 22 doubles and 14 homers with 60 RBI to help MSU reach the Men's College World Series. He was off to a strong start again in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic brought the season to a halt after 16 games. Both of the Bulldogs' 2020 first-round picks are now in the majors. Jordan Westburg, another infielder, was taken 30th by the Baltimore Orioles and had 228 plate appearances in the big leagues last year. On Monday night, Westburg hit a walk-off home run in the ninth inning as the Orioles defeated the Kansas City Royals. Foscue and Westburg were just the second set of MSU teammates to be drafted in the first round, joining the renowned duo of Will Clark and Rafael Palmeiro in 1985. |
| Baseball: Late rally comes up short as Bulldogs drop midweek to Central Arkansas | |
| Even after managing just one hit through eight innings of Tuesday's midweek game against Central Arkansas, Mississippi State was right where it wanted to be in the ninth. The No. 23 Bulldogs had rallied for four runs in the final frame to trim what was once a six-run deficit to a single tally. After the Bears chose to intentionally walk David Mershon to set up a force at every base, MSU had its two best hitters, Dakota Jordan and Hunter Hines, due up with one out and the tying and winning runs both in scoring position. But neither slugger could put the ball in play. Charlie Christensen got Jordan to chase a pitch outside the strike zone for the second out, then blew a fastball past Hines to end the game and hand the Bulldogs a 7-6 defeat. "We were big all day long. Not just those two, everybody. And we just stayed big," MSU head coach Chris Lemonis said. "Those are two of the best players in the country. You want them at the plate right there, and unfortunately we don't get contact." "Midweeks, when you're a Power Five school, are games where you cannot mentally check out," said catcher Johnny Long, who previously played at both Florida Gulf Coast and Pittsburgh. "We weren't treating it as if it was a Friday night SEC game, and that's why we end up being in these situations in the ninth inning where we're having to compete and fight back. Today, things weren't able to go the way we would like them to." |
| Mississippi is a college baseball hotbed, so why is Minor League Baseball struggling? | |
| Bubbles were rising from beyond the outfield wall when Dakota Jordan, with his jersey already torn off by teammates, had a frigid Gatorade tub dumped on his back. Amid the sound of more than 16,000 fans gathered at Dudy Noble Field, Mississippi State baseball celebrated a walk-off victory against rival Ole Miss. It was a disappointing mid-April afternoon for the Rebels and an exhilarating one for their rivals, but the day provided another reminder of the prominence of college baseball in the Magnolia State. The announced attendance of 16,423 set an NCAA on-campus record. "A fun day at the park," MSU coach Chris Lemonis called it postgame. A week before, about 130 miles away, a different in-state matchup took place. The Mississippi Braves were at Trustmark Park in Pearl hosting the Biloxi Shuckers. However, the excitement couldn't counter what the SEC programs in the state were about to deliver. The Saturday night matchup drew a crowd of 2,678. The collegiate teams in the state have unlocked sustained success on the field and in the stands. Meanwhile, the Braves and Shuckers averaged 2,545 and 2,440 fans, respectively, in 2023. Those were the two worst figures among 30 Double-A organizations. At the end of the 2024 campaign, the Braves will move to Columbus, Georgia. |
| Men's track and field earns No. 6 national ranking | |
| After a weekend of record-breaking performances at the Battle on the Bayou in Baton Rouge, La., the Mississippi State men's track and field team is ranked No. 6 in the second edition of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Ratings Index, announced Monday. MSU is ranked inside the top 10 for two consecutive weeks for the first time since the first two weeks of the 2018 season. The Bulldogs currently have one member ranked first in the nation, two members ranked in the top five and five members ranked in the top ten. Jordan Ware ranks first in the nation in the 200m with a time of 20.18 earned at the Bulldog Alumni Relays. He is currently tied for 15th in the 100m with a time of 10.16 earned at the Hurricane Invitational. Ware also ran the 4x100m relay and the 4x400m relay this past weekend at the Battle on the Bayou. Tyrese Reid broke into the national rankings for the first time following his first 800m race of the season, where his time of 1:45.76 at the Battle on the Bayou ranks second in the nation and fourth on State's all-time top-five list. The men's 4x400m relay, which ranks eighth nationally, broke into State's all-time top-five performance list at No. 5 with a time of 3:03.29. The squad featuring senior Sema'J Daniels, juniors Doval Simmonds and Alfonso Hale Jr. and freshman Jordan Ware improved its time by four seconds since the season opener at the Hurricane Invitational. The Bulldogs return to action this weekend for the Crimson Tide Invitational hosted by Alabama. |
| Jimmy Bell Jr. to begin working out with Mississippi State football | |
| Jimmy Bell Jr. may be out of NCAA eligibility as a basketball player, but he will be trying to continue his athletic exploits on the gridiron. Bell will join the Mississippi State football team later this week as the Bulldogs continue spring practice, a source with knowledge of the move told The Dispatch. Listed at 6-foot-10 and 280 pounds, Bell will work to earn a spot on MSU's offensive line. This is not the first time Bell has attempted to switch sports. After playing the 2022-23 basketball season at West Virginia, Bell worked with the Mountaineers' football program but did not appear in a game. NCAA rules allow an athlete with exhausted eligibility in their primary sport to play one more year in a different sport. Pat Spencer, a former lacrosse standout at Loyola-Maryland, played a postgraduate year of basketball at Northwestern and has played in three games this season with the Golden State Warriors. Tyler Buchner played quarterback at Notre Dame before transferring to Alabama, and this offseason chose to return to Notre Dame to play lacrosse. Bell played left tackle in high school and had offers to play football at Akron and Eastern Michigan. |
| Martinez-Montoya Honored as 2024 Phi Beta Kappa Society Inductee | |
| The Gamma of Mississippi Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society proudly announced the induction of Aitana Martinez-Montoya into their esteemed ranks on Monday. This recognition underscores Martinez-Montoya's exceptional commitment to academic excellence and leadership both on and off the field. Hailing from Madrid, Spain, Martinez-Montoya is pursuing a degree in Psychology. Martinez-Montoya has not only showcased her athletic prowess in her time as a Bulldog, but has also excelled academically, maintaining an outstanding GPA while pursuing her degree. Her dedication to both her sport and studies serves as a testament to her unwavering work ethic and determination. During her junior year in 2023, Martinez-Montoya appeared in 23 matches with 22 starts. She made an immediate impact by scoring in her first game as a Bulldog at Grand Canyon (8/17), followed by goals against Northwestern State (8/24) and Miami (9/3), among others. Notably, she scored the equalizer against Alabama in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals (10/26). Martinez-Montoya led the team in goals (6) and amassed 13 points while logging 1,405 minutes of play. Martinez-Montoya earned a spot on the 2023 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll after having Top Dawg Honors for the fall, sporting a perfect 4.0 GPA. |
| Commissioner Leonard Bentz cited for illegally hunting, putting future as wildlife official in jeopardy | |
| Less than a day after the news broke that Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Commissioner Leonard Bentz, Jr., was under investigation for illegally hunting on baited land, it has been confirmed that Bentz was cited. The commissioner told SuperTalk Mississippi News via email early Tuesday morning that conservation officers notified him that he had been issued a citation following the incident that took place Friday. The confirmation came after sources told us that Bentz and at least one of his sons were among a group of hunters allegedly breaking a state law that says it's illegal to hunt or trap any wild animal or wild bird with the aid of bait. According to the commissioner, conservation officers said the landowner and caretaker of the 500-acre plot in Holmes County had released crickets onto the property days before he and his crew arrived. Bentz maintains that he had no prior awareness that the bugs had been dispersed across the land in an attempt to attract turkeys. "Under the law, even though I was told by officers that they knew I was not aware the crickets were on the property, I am in violation because I hunted the property where the crickets were placed," Bentz wrote. The timing of the latest controversy for Bentz is not ideal as his reconfirmation is set to be taken up by the Senate prior to the chamber's May 5 sine die. Sources in the capitol have said on the condition of anonymity that if Bentz does not resign, there is an effort already underway to block his reconfirmation. |
| U. of Oklahoma President Joseph Harroz Jr. talks proposed entertainment district, intercollegiate athletics | |
| University of Oklahoma President Joseph Harroz Jr. sat down with OU Daily editors Tuesday afternoon to discuss Norman's proposed entertainment district, transition to the Southeastern Conference and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. In his Evans Hall office, Harroz told OU Daily that if Norman City Council does not approve the proposed $1 billion entertainment district that would feature a new arena for OU athletics, then the university, alongside donors, would look to other cities to build an arena for which its basketball and women's gymnastics teams would be anchor tenants and possibly the entertainment district as a whole. "I'm very hopeful and do everything I can to keep it here in Norman," Harroz said. "But if this isn't approved by the city council for whatever reason, then we're going to be looking at other (cities), Oklahoma City, Moore, surrounding areas and figure out where is there a group that wants to do this." The Norman Planning Commission will meet on April 11 to possibly discuss and move forward development plans for the entertainment district, which was first proposed in September and would feature an 80/20 split of private donors and public financing through a tax increment finance district in the area. "I know, it's a big ask," Harroz said in March. "I really think that the future of Norman depends on it, and I don't think that's an overstatement. And so we need to get it right the first time. Obviously, we tried this a number of years back. I think it's different this time. ... I'm optimistic. It's not certain, but I'm optimistic." On Tuesday, Harroz was more direct, saying Norman has invested in OU in the past and needs to invest in it again. |
| Southern Jaguars are pride of HBCU baseball after its upset of defending national champion LSU | |
| In a sport committed to increasing its number of Black players, Southern University's upset of LSU this week was a victory for all HBCU baseball programs. The level of play and coaching at historically Black colleges and universities has risen in recent years but wins over Power Five programs, let alone a defending national champion, have been rare. Southern's 12-7 victory Monday at Alex Box Stadium -- 20 minutes south of its campus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana -- was only the sixth since 2020 by an HBCU against an opponent from Division I's top level. "It helps HBCUs because kids across the board will see a Southern and think if they can beat an LSU, maybe I can be on that roster as a student-athlete and try to elevate that program," said Michael Coker, who has written about HBCU baseball for 25 years and runs the website Black College Nines. "That's the significance of an HBCU knocking off a (top) team -- they tend to get a few more really good players who would have not even considered an HBCU." One of those good players who migrated to Southern is Tyeler Hawkins. He spent four years at Louisville and got limited playing time after being ranked the No. 2 outfielder in Kentucky by Perfect Game and making all-state three times during his prep career in Lexington. Southern coach Chris Crenshaw went into the transfer portal last summer to land Hawkins, a graduate student who said an HBCU seemed like a good place to "ball out." Hawkins did just that against LSU, going 3 for 6 with a home run and three RBIs. "That was probably the greatest moment I've ever had on a baseball field, genuinely, and I'm glad I had it with these dudes," Hawkins said. "I'm genuinely happy here. I'm blessed. We are blessed." |
| Louisiana Gov. says athletes should 'risk their athletic scholarship' if absent for national anthem after LSU-Iowa | |
| The 2023 championship rematch between Iowa and LSU in this year's Elite Eight was a scintillating production that stockpiled praise from celebrities, athletes and fans alike, while shattering the record for the most-watched women's college basketball game ever. But Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry was unimpressed before a basketball even bounced Monday after LSU was not present for the national anthem, calling for a policy to be put in place that risks a student-athlete's scholarship if the player is absent during "The Star-Spangled Banner." "My mother coached women's high school basketball during the height of desegregation, no one has a greater respect for the sport and for Coach Mulkey," Gov. Landry wrote on X on Tuesday. "However, above respect for that game is a deeper respect for those that serve to protect us and unite us under one flag! It is time that all college boards, including Regent, put a policy in place that student athletes be present for the national anthem or risk their athletic scholarship! This is a matter of respect that all collegiate coaches should instill." LSU coach Kim Mulkey said postgame that she was unaware of what time the anthem played and that her team's routine is to head from the court into the locker room at the 12-minute mark. Iowa was present for the anthem and lined up along its foul line with all players holding hands. "I'm sorry, listen, that's nothing intentionally done," Mulkey said postgame. In college sports, it's not required to be present for the national anthem or uncommon for one or both teams to be in their respective locker rooms during it. College football teams are not typically present for it during regular-season matchups or even bowl games. |
| AD John Cohen on Auburn's apparel deal: Fans will be 'pleased' with state of negotiations | |
| Auburn has been partnered with Under Armour as its apparel provider since 2006, but the agreement between the two sides is set to expire after June 2025. The university entered a negotiating period Sept. 1 that allows it to have communication with other potential providers. Will the Tigers move on and agree to terms with Nike or another more prominent brand? That's for athletics director John Cohen to decide, and he spoke to The Next Round on Tuesday to give the latest update. "We feel like we're in a very, very positive place right now," Cohen said. "I think our fanbase (and) everyone connected with Auburn is going to be very pleased with where we are. Just not ready to release because not all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed. ... We're excited about where we are and excited the future in that area. We feel like, again, our student-athletes all the way to our fans and alumni are really going to enjoy it." Cohen told the Montgomery Advertiser in October that the university was "not in a sprint right now" to make any decisions regarding its apparel partner: "We'll do our due diligence, and we'll be ready to have conversations about the future of Auburn and our apparel partner," he said. "... We'll see where it takes us in the future." Some fans believe partnering with a more popular brand will assist Auburn in its recruiting efforts across different sports. Others have pointed to the quality of the products the athletes must wear depending on who the university is partnered with. Cohen touched on the latter Tuesday. "We got a lot of input from student-athletes, we got a lot of input from fans, we got a lot of input from our coaches and staff members," Cohen added Tuesday. |
| March Madness: How the shoe company influence has been neutralized | |
| For about 40 years Nike and Adidas ran college basketball. They sponsored the teams. They paid the coaches. They stocked the rosters ... via everything from running vast grassroots systems in order to identify and control recruits to flat out paying players to sign with their preferred "blue blood" programs. Their top teams, not surprisingly, dominated the game in general and March Madness in particular. The past couple Final Fours suggest Nike's and Adidas' influence over the on-court results may be waning, at least to the extremes of the past. A year after a Final Four with three first-time participants (Florida Atlantic, Miami, San Diego State), here comes three more who either have never been (Alabama), or are ending lengthy droughts that date to 1983 (North Carolina State) and 1980 (Purdue). Each of them were constructed in ways that wouldn't have made sense even five years ago. Connecticut, meanwhile, is back and looking for consecutive national championships, but despite a Nike deal, it has never had the shoe company lean in heavily to do its recruiting. Under Dan Hurley, like Jim Calhoun before him, the Huskies are a product of intense coaching and culture as much as anything. It begs a question, did the confluence of NIL, the FBI and the transfer portal combine to finally break the decades-long stronghold Nike and Adidas had on college basketball? "It's nothing like it was," said one connected basketball middle man. "The shoe companies have become second fiddle to NIL thinking." "Way less influence than pre-NIL," said one college coach. |
| Longtime Mississippi State AD: College athletics is broken, he knows whose fault it is, and it won't stay this way | |
| Parrish Alford writes for the Magnolia Tribune: If you fondly remember a time when "Senior Day" was celebrated by players who had been on campus for four years, Larry Templeton knows where to place the blame. Maybe you think college athletes sharing in the riches they produce is right and just but that Name, Image and Likeness has gone off the rails. Maybe the modern landscape is a mess with a two-team Pac-12 and a looming super conference showdown. Templeton can help you target your frustrations. It's all his fault. Not his alone, of course. It's hard to reach this intersection with just one man or woman at the wheel. There are lots of fingerprints on this malfunction, but his are there. You reap what you sow, he says. "Those of us who were in leadership of intercollegiate athletics failed the system. We sat there and let this happen. It's the reason we're in this predicament today," said Templeton, a Starkville native and the athletics director at his alma mater, Mississippi State, from 1987-2007. "I used to feel strongly that we were academic institution-based with amateur athletes, but because of the way we led, I'm totally convinced I'm on the side of the student-athlete now. They deserve everything they're getting, and we, as athletic leaders, deserve everything we're having to deal with. The leadership of the NCAA and the leadership of those of us involved in athletics saw this coming. We had a system in place. We couldn't change it. Through our lack of taking control, of changing our system, we just sat there and let this happen," Templeton said. |
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