| Friday, April 5, 2024 |
| Spring in full bloom: MSU's Horticulture Club organizes annual plant sale | |
 | The MSU Horticulture Club is hosting its annual spring plant sale. Bright and beautiful annuals and perennials cultivated by Mississippi State students will be available for purchase at the Dorman Hall greenhouses over the two-day event on Friday [April 5] from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday [April 6] from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Madelyn Gresham, a senior horticulture major from Chicago, is the club's president. She said annual spring flowers such as petunias, coleus, geraniums and more will be offered at the sale. Perennials also will be available, as well as herbs and vegetables. Gresham emphasized the extensive effort of the club's greenhouse managers to prepare for the weekend sale. "They analyze past sales records and current trends to see what consumers want. They also order and raise the plants, fertilize and create watering schedules," she said. Sale proceeds are used to fund the club's activities, future plant sales and greenhouse maintenance. The club accepts cash, check and Venmo payment methods. |
| Eclipse Monday will cover 90% of sun in Golden Triangle | |
 | The moon will pass between the Earth and sun on Monday, creating the second total solar eclipse above the United States in seven years. While the Golden Triangle is not in the direct path of the moon's shadow, area viewers will still see a partial eclipse. "For the Golden Triangle, the eclipse starts around 12:30 p.m. local time, and it will conclude a little after 3 p.m.," said Donna Pierce, an associate professor of astrophysics at Mississippi State University. "The peak of the event for us is going to happen just before 2 p.m., and at that point, approximately 90% of the sun will be covered by the moon." Pierce said the timing and percentage will be the same, give or take one minute, throughout the Golden Triangle. A total solar eclipse happens when the moon moves between the sun and Earth, blocking the face of the sun. Places within the path of totality -- the area where the moon fully covers the sun -- will see a total eclipse. On Monday, that path will stretch from Texas to Maine. Places outside the deepest part of the moon's shadow, like the Golden Triangle, will still see a deep partial eclipse. MSU's Department of Physics and Astronomy will host a viewing party alongside the College of Arts and Sciences and Office of Research and Economic Development. The viewing will run from 12:30 to 3 p.m. on the MSU Drill Field. More than 1,000 gathered on the Drill Field in 2017 for the eclipse. Pierce, who works in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, said the department is expecting a comparable crowd this year if not a larger one. |
| Here's what else you might see in the 2024 total eclipse of the sun | |
 | The sun and moon will certainly be the stars of the show during Monday's total eclipse of the sun, but if you're in the path of totality, take a few seconds to look around and see a few other celestial sights. Stars, planets and possibly a comet may also be visible during the darkness. "This is a big deal for a variety of reasons," said Donna Pierce, associate professor of astrophysics at Mississippi State University. "There are differences between the Great Eclipse of 2017 and this one in 2024. In general terms, for 2024, this eclipse favors the eastern part of the US whereas in 2017 it went across the entire continental US." And the path of totality in the U.S. runs from Texas to Maine and passes over and near many major metropolitan areas which likely means more people seeing it than the 2017 eclipse, including more first-time viewers. "I think if you're a first-time viewer of an eclipse, you'll really want to focus on the corona," Pierce said. "Here in 2024, we're close to solar maximum. When the sun is near its maximum activity it puts on a more brilliant display." Pierce said other than the corona of the eclipsed sun, the planet Venus will be the brightest object in the sky. It will be located just west of the eclipsed sun and should be visible just before and after totality as well. Although farther from the sun and therefore not as bright as Venus, the planet Jupiter should be visible to the naked eye. Pierce said to look for it to the east of the eclipsed sun. |
| Barefoot Wine founders coming to Starkville | |
 | The founders of Barefoot Wine are coming to Starkville. Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey will judge the Mississippi State University Startup Summit Final Competition and Keynote MSU E-Center Expansion Grand Opening Celebration on April 12th. They will also speak at a luncheon sponsored by the Greater Starkville Development Partnership on April 11th. After selling the world-famous Barefoot Wine brand to EJ Gallo, Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey embarked on a mission to help other business owners achieve success. They wrote the New York Times Bestseller "The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America's #1 Wine Brand", which has been used internationally in over 50 schools that teach entrepreneurship, including Mississippi State University. The book tells the story of how an unknown novelty wine became an American icon, and how the founders of the Barefoot Wine brand helped companies mitigate risk and maximize brand equity. |
| Bird flu health risks in Mississippi remain low | |
 | Officials with the Mississippi State University (MSU) Extension Service said the transmission risk of H5N1 bird flu to humans remains minimal despite a rise in confirmed cases in dairy cows and poultry in several states and the first known case of a person catching the virus from a mammal. Since the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed detections March 25 of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in dairy herds in Texas and Kansas, more cases have been confirmed in four other states. Byron Williams, an associate professor of food science with the MSU Extension Service, reiterated the CDC's stance on a low human risk to the public. "As long as people are handling and preparing food properly, which they should be doing anyway, ordinary preventative measures should reduce the risk of contracting HPAI," Williams said. "Thorough cooking and proper pasteurization temperatures have been shown to destroy almost all influenza viruses." For consumers, prevention means consuming pasteurized milk or using it to make other food and dairy products and cooking poultry to an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Other foods should be cooked and handled properly to reduce risk from HPAI, if present. For farm and poultry operations, it means wearing personal protective equipment and avoiding direct skin contact with sick or dead animals. |
| Job growth zoomed in March as payrolls jumped by 303,000 and unemployment dropped to 3.8% | |
 | Job creation in March easily topped expectations in a sign of continued acceleration for what has been a bustling and resilient labor market. Nonfarm payrolls increased 303,000 for the month, well above the Dow Jones estimate for a rise of 200,000 and higher than the downwardly revised 270,000 gain in February, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The unemployment rate edged lower to 3.8%, as expected, even though the labor force participation rate moved higher to 62.7%, a gain of 0.2 percentage point from February. A broader measure that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time positions for economic reasons held steady at 7.3%. In the key average hourly earnings measure, wages rose 0.3% for the month and 4.1% from a year ago, both in line with Wall Street estimates. Growth came from many of the usual sectors that have powered gains in recent months. Health care led with 72,000, followed by government (71,000), leisure and hospitality (49,000), and construction (39,000). Retail trade contributed 18,000 while the "other services" category added 16,000. "This is another really strong report," said Lauren Goodwin, economist and chief market strategist at New York Life Investments. "This report and the February report showed some broadening in terms of job creation, which is a very good sign." |
| Senate confirms Evans, ending Mississippi's nearly two-year run without education superintendent | |
| Mississippi finally has a new superintendent of education. On Thursday, the Senate voted to confirm the appointment of Dr. Lance Evans after the longtime educator was named to the post in December. Evans will officially begin his role on July 1, ending a nearly two-year stint without a permanent superintendent. "I am deeply honored and humbled to accept the position of state superintendent of Mississippi," Evans said following the State Board of Education's decision to hire him. "My commitment to fairness, equity, and innovation in education aligns seamlessly with the values of this great state." Evans has spent the last 24 years working in various roles within education, most recently serving as superintendent of the New Albany School District. Within two years of taking over the job, he helped the district achieve its first-ever A-rating in 2018-19. Evans' confirmation comes after what's been a whirlwind of a time trying to find a new superintendent of education following Dr. Carey Wright's retirement in 2022. Originally, the SBE released plans to name Dr. Robert Taylor as the next superintendent, but the Senate ultimately denied with some claiming "race played a role" in the decision. Since then, the state's public school system has gone through two interim leaders with Ray Morgigno filling in since July 1, 2023. |
| Legislature still searching for compromise on big issues | |
| From the outside looking in at the State Capitol, it seems like the biggest issues have reached a standstill. Speaker Jason White says that even though there's technically a month left on paper, lawmakers are really down to a couple of issues and the budget. "I expect us to be through with a budget by Tax Day, April 15," said Speaker Jason White. "That that's been a gentleman's agreement with the Senate." But he admits pending issues could get in the way of that. "It's tough to land the plane on an overall state budget, if half of that budget is hanging out there, because we can't agree on the funding formula," added White. He's referencing the education funding formula. The House has proposed scrapping the current funding formula and replacing it with what they called the INSPIRE act. "It's going to be a position that we're not going to retreat from," White said. The Senate seems committed to sticking with tweaks to the existing formula. We asked Senate Minority Leader Senator Derrick Simmons if he thinks the chambers will reach common ground on the big issues. "Honestly, I just don't know," said Simmons. Some like Sen. Chad McMahan are more optimistic. "Part of the process here of finding good legislation is seeking a compromise and taking the best of ideas from the House of Representatives and the best ideas from the Senate and merging those and coming up with legislation that the people support," said McMahan. "And that's good policy for the state." |
| Bill to take over Jackson water system dies in House without a vote | |
| A bill that would designate a state government appointed board to take over the Jackson water system in the near future has died in the Mississippi House of Representatives for the second year in a row. Senate Bill 2628, which passed through the Senate, 35-14, in early March, did not make it through the House Public Utilities and Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency committees by the Tuesday deadline to move general bills and constitutional amendments that originated in the other chamber out of committee. Public Utilities Chairman Rep. Brent Powell, R-Brandon, did not respond to calls inquiring why he decided not to bring up the bill or why he canceled the committee's meeting Tuesday morning. Rep. Kevin Ford, R-Vicksburg, who chairs the AET Committee, told the Clarion Ledger that his committee did not even have the chance to consider the bill since it had to pass out of Powell's first. "They had to pass it since they were the first committee referred," Ford said. This is the second year in a row that lawmakers in the House have not passed legislation to designate a third-party nonprofit to oversee the Jackson water system, which is currently in the hands of federally appointed third-party administrator Ted Henifin -- known as JXN Water. If the bill had passed, it would have created the nonprofit "Capitol Region Utility Authority," consisting of a nine-member board and a president appointed by the Jackson City Council, the governor and lieutenant governor. The authority would also require approval from the U.S. Department of Justice. |
| Senate advances judicial redistricting plan | |
| The Mississippi Senate has presented its proposal for judicial redistricting as required by law based on the 2020 Census. Redistricting must be completed by 2025. The plan was presented in the Senate Judiciary A Committee by State Senator Brice Wiggins (R), the committee chairman, and passed with little debate. "A lot of work has been put into this," said Wiggins. "This is not an easy process. I think once everybody looks at the plan that there's a lot of good things here." Senator Wiggins assured members that there was a reverse repealer in the bill and along with the changes, districts have also been renumbered. The main changes proposed in the Senate plan will remove one Circuit Court judge, leaving 54 across the state, and adding three Chancery Court judges for a total of 55. Lawmakers estimate these changes will cost the state roughly an additional $200,000 per judge. Wiggins said in crafting the plan, one of the goals was to line up Chancery and Circuit courts, meaning the same counties are in Circuit Districts as are in Chancery Districts. The Senate strike-all amendment to HB 722 was able to align 80 to 85 percent of the districts. The original House bill opened the code sections and added four additional judges in DeSoto County. "The intent is to get our judicial districts lined up based on the data, based on regional differences and similarities, and make it such that our citizens have an efficient and good working judicial system," said Wiggins. |
| Chief Justice Extols Legacy of Sandra Day O'Connor | |
 | Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. delivered a fond tribute to former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on Thursday, celebrating her legacy as the first woman on the Supreme Court and her commitment to advancing civics and civility after her retirement. During an award ceremony at Duke University to recognize her contribution to civics education, Chief Justice Roberts reiterated his admiration of his former colleague, a crucial swing justice who was often referred to as the most powerful woman in America. He eulogized her in December shortly after her death at 93. "Sandra Day O'Connor expanded the public image of what it meant to look like a judge," he said. "She sounded the alarm about the growing lack of appreciation of what it means to be a citizen." For her work in civics education, she was recognized on Thursday with the Bolch Prize for the Rule of Law, an award that has often been given to honor judges, including former Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, for lifetime achievements. The award was accepted by her son Scott O'Connor. Echoing previous public remarks memorializing her, Chief Justice Roberts paid tribute to Justice O'Connor's trailblazing role, citing how she had laid a foundation for women to follow at a time when they were not seen as equals. "I certainly felt that she felt she had a responsibility as the first woman on the Supreme Court to show that she could more than keep up with the boys," he said on Thursday. "But I think she also felt a responsibility as the most powerful woman in America to be out there, putting her best foot forward and promoting the values that help define our country." |
| Biden to get aerial view of Baltimore bridge collapse scene | |
 | Marine One is scheduled to swoop over the wreckage of the Dali container ship and the fallen Francis Scott Key Bridge on Friday, giving President Joe Biden an aerial view of the scene before he meets privately with family members of construction workers killed in the crash. Biden is slated to leave the White House just after noon aboard the executive helicopter en route to Baltimore, where the Dali lost power and struck the bridge on March 26. Six construction workers who were conducting maintenance on the bridge around 1:30 a.m. that morning were killed. Marine One, the green helicopter operated by the Marine Corps, has been flying the nation's chief executives over disaster sites for decades. Perhaps the most memorable was an aerial tour President George W. Bush took in 2005 over New Orleans amid criticism that his administration was doing too little to respond to Hurricane Katrina. Joining Biden on the aerial tour Friday will be Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a rising star in the Democratic Party who is dealing with his first disaster since taking office in January 2023. Also on board will be senior Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers leaders, according to a schedule of Biden's visit released late Thursday by the White House. Moore has pleaded publicly with Congress to abide by Biden's desire that the federal government foot the entire bill to rebuild the bridge, which CQ Roll Call has reported could be $2 billion or more. So far, Biden has sent the Old Line State $60 million, with his aides telling reporters they expect to send Congress an emergency supplemental funding request soon for the total amount. |
| Americans think a president's power should be checked, AP-NORC poll finds -- unless their side wins | |
 | Like many Americans, Richard Bidon says he'd like to see the U.S. government "go back to its original design" -- a system of checks and balances developed nearly 240 years ago to prevent any branch, especially the presidency, from becoming too powerful. But that's mainly when Republicans are in power. Bidon, an 84-year-old Democrat who lives near Los Angeles, said if President Joe Biden is reelected, he doesn't want him to have to get the approval of a possibly Republican-controlled Congress to enact policies to slow climate change. He wants presidents to have the power to change policy unilaterally -- as long as they're from the right party. "When a Democrat's in, I support" a strong presidency, Bidon said. "When Republicans are in, I don't support it that much. It's sort of a wishy-washy thing." A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Opinion Research finds that Bidon's view is common. Though Americans say don't want a president to have too much power, that view shifts if the candidate of their party wins the presidency. It's a view held by members of both parties, though it's especially common among Republicans. Overall, only about 2 in 10 Americans say it would be "a good thing" for the next president to be able to change policy without waiting on Congress or the courts. But nearly 6 in 10 Republicans say it would be good for a future President Donald Trump to take unilateral action, while about 4 in 10 Democrats say the same if Biden is reelected. |
| What to Know About R.F.K. Jr. and His Threat to Biden and Trump | |
| The independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has emerged as a wild card of the 2024 election, attracting a motley mix of ideologically diverse supporters, raising piles of cash and drawing legal attacks from Democrats and verbal barrages from former President Donald J. Trump. Mr. Kennedy, 70, the son of Robert F. Kennedy and an heir to an American political dynasty, had a troubled youth and young adulthood marked by drug abuse. He became an environmental lawyer, most famous for suing corporate polluters in an effort to clean up the Hudson Valley watershed. In the past decade, he has become a prominent voice in the anti-vaccine movement, promoting falsehoods and conspiracy theories about the risks of childhood vaccinations and other public health measures. That work gave him a large platform during the coronavirus pandemic, when he questioned the safety of Covid vaccines and the official narratives of the virus's origins. With the centrist group No Labels announcing on April 4 that it would not run a presidential ticket, Mr. Kennedy is the most prominent independent or third-party presence in the 2024 race. His supporters have created a new party, We the People, to help him secure ballot access in a few states: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi and North Carolina. |
| Gov. Kay Ivey: Auto worker union a 'threat from Detroit' that doesn't want Alabama to succeed | |
 | Gov. Kay Ivey has again pushed back at the United Auto Workers gains in Alabama. After AL.com published an article about Alabama becoming the No.1 state to export passenger vehicles, Ivey took to X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, to voice opposition of the auto union's attempted move into Alabama. "It's no wonder the UAW wants a piece of the pie here in Alabama," the governor's office posted Thursday afternoon. "And let's be clear about something: This threat from Detroit has no interest in seeing the people of Alabama succeed, our OEMs succeed, and in turn, the state to succeed like we are now." OEMs, or original equipment manufacturers, have long been the fulcrum of Alabama's export economy, and passenger vehicles make up the largest portion of exports -- accounting for more than $14.8 billion in 2023, according to the World Institute of Strategic Economic Trade. And over the past several years, Alabama has seen automakers move in and expand, prompting UAW's efforts in the state. The union's plan is to sign up nearly 70% of auto workers and electric-battery workers at non-union plants, then petition the companies to recognize the union. If that doesn't work, it'll ask the National Labor Relations Board to set up a vote. In February, more than half of the employees at Mercedes-Benz's Vance plant signed union cards. At the same time, UAW said 30% percent of the employees at Hyundai's Montgomery plant have also signed cards. Ivey, along with Alabama Secretary of Commerce Ellen McNair, have publicly opposed the efforts. |
| New Mississippi University For Women Marker Honors Founders | |
| Outside Callaway Hall on Mississippi University for Women's campus sits a new historic land marker honoring the institution's three founding women: Sallie Reneau, Olivia Hastings and Annie Coleman Peyton. The university honored the women with a dedication and unveiled the historic marker on March 28 to celebrate Women's History Month and 140 years of MUW. Reneau was from Panola County, Miss., Peyton was from Hazlehurst, Miss., and Hastings was from Port Gibson, Miss. Before the Civil War ended in 1865, the women urged lawmakers to create a college for white women. But it took until 1884 for the Mississippi Legislature to pass the Martin Bill and create the Mississippi Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls. "During the 19th century, Sallie Reneau, Olivia Hastings, Annie Coleman Peyton challenged our community, state and nation to live up to one of our most basic truths: That women and men are created equally and deserve equal opportunities," Mississippi School for Math and Science African American history teacher Chuck Yarborough said on March 28 at the unveiling ceremony. The university would not accept Black women until 1966 and only began accepting men in 1982. MUW English and women's studies professor Bridget Pieschel has worked to uncover and preserve the history of MUW's founding. She said Hastings wanted the college to offer free job training for women, and Peyton and Reneau wanted a four-year collegiate curriculum that rivaled men's colleges and universities in the Northeast U.S. |
| UM to host third annual Mississippi Day | |
 | The university will host the third annual Mississippi Day on Saturday, April 13, from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. in the Circle, Union Plaza and Galtney-Lott Plaza. With each academic department having its own tent, it will be a day full of activities that entertain and inform the community about everything happening at the university. The event is open to students and the public and will showcase the best of UM's achievements, involvements and programs on campus. There will also be a variety of food trucks and activities for students and families to enjoy, such as a rock climbing wall, stuff-a-pup booth, a bounce house, photo booth, snow cones and more. "Mississippi Day 2024 will be similar to previous events in that visitors can expect to engage in hands-on learning activities offered by UM's academic departments," Emily Ferris, Mississippi Day coordinator and associate director of the Division of Outreach and Continuing Education, said. "These activities will allow visitors of all ages to participate in learning and academic discovery." Along with all 10 colleges at UM participating in the event, more than 70 individual academic departments will participate as well. Current students are also encouraged to attend the event -- each year, thousands of students come from hours away to attend the University of Mississippi. Whether for SEC culture, Greek life or academics, every individual has their purpose. But when students find their niche, it is often hard to venture outside of their initial interests and see what else this university has to offer. |
| Familiar face takes reins as USM's new chief communications officer | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi officially has a new voice though the face will be quite familiar. Nicole Ruhnke, a communications professional with more than 15 years of experience serving organizations throughout the Pine Belt, has been named director of University Communications/Chief Communication Officer at USM. Ruhnke, a Pine Belt native and 2008 USM graduate, has been serving as interim chief communication officer since October 2023. In her role, Ruhnke serves as USM's official spokesperson, advises university leadership on issues impacting stakeholders and directs senior-level communications. She will oversee the Office of University Communications, which includes staff members on the Hattiesburg and Gulf Park campuses. "Nicole has demonstrated a remarkable vision for elevating Southern Miss communication and public relations," USM President Dr. Joseph S. Paul said. "I am confident her strategic leadership will enhance collaboration across the institution as we align marketing and communication efforts and raise the profile of the university." Additionally, Ruhnke will be responsible for the development and oversight of a comprehensive communication plan designed to advance institutional priorities. |
| Can you believe your eyes? Villie's Subs reopens in Hattiesburg 11 years after tornado | |
 | Eleven years after a tornado took out the building where it once stood, a popular Hattiesburg sandwich shop announced it has opened its doors once more. In February 2013, an EF4 tornado tore through Hattiesburg, creating a swath of destruction along the way. Among the casualties was the Village Green, a strip mall across U.S. 49 from the University of Southern Mississippi. Today the former Village Green is a barren field between thriving restaurants on the U.S. 49 service road just a stone's throw from campus. While Village Green, Southern Miss and other areas of Hattiesburg and Petal suffered millions in damages, no lives were lost. Some businesses were able to recover quickly. Others took a long time to reopen. And some, like Villie's Subs and More, made the closure permanent. That is until a new owner decided to revive the brand and open the sandwich shop in a new location. Villie's Subs and More opened Wednesday at 2511 West Fourth St., next to Fourth Street Bar, within walking distance of Southern Miss. For those who don't know, Villie's was a longtime staple in Hattiesburg, created and started by the Villereal family. Ownership had changed a few times over the years, with the tornado giving the restaurant a final resting place until it was revived by Jim Thompson. Villie's officially opened Wednesday, but had a soft opening the week before, to work out the bugs and find holes to plug before welcoming the public. |
| Jones College student works to rebuild reputation after being falsely accused of murdering JSU student | |
| Imagine gearing up to play football at a four-year-university, only to be wrongfully imprisoned for a crime you did not commit. That was the unfortunate reality for Jones College teen, Joshua Brown. Brown spent more than three weeks behind bars in connection to the October killing of a Jackson State University student at the University Pointe Apartment Complex on JSU's campus. The 19-year-old was released from jail after 3 On Your Side uncovered alleged video evidence of Brown more than an hour and a half away from Jackson State around the time of the homicide. "I was coming down from my room to go get something to eat, and as I was going down there, I saw one of my coaches. He was making eye contact with me, and he was like, 'Where have you been? I've been trying to call you.' Then he was just like, 'They're here to get you,' and I was kind of like, 'Are you for real?' Just kind of in shock," Brown said. Authorities accused Brown of taking the life of JSU student Jaylen Burns, whose family is still, to this day, in shock -- not just over the loss of their son but also the apparent wrongful arrest of Brown. "Everybody's life has been changed. [Brown's] life has been changed, our lives have been changed, [Brown's] family's life, everybody," Burn's father, Jason said. "Our faith is just like... we really don't have any right now because of how the investigation was handled in the beginning. It was pretty bad." Despite being quick to hold a press conference about the arrest of a murder suspect who later had his charges dropped, JSU officials have not called to tell the Browns anything either, according to their attorney. |
| Mississippi Children's Museum announces expansion of programs and facilities | |
| The Mississippi Children's Museum announced plans to expand its educational and workforce programs. Museum staff along with after-school students from McWillie Elementary School, gathered at the State Capitol for the exciting news. This comes after the museum was recently ranked as one of the top three children's museums in the country by USA Today. With this recognition, the museum plans to expand its 'Lift' program, which stands for learn, inspire, fulfill, and teach. This puts all of their programs under one umbrella, offering learning opportunities for not only students but educators as well. Susan Garrad, president and CEO of the museum, explained the importance of this expansion. "We want to not just serve the children that come to those facilities, whether they come for after school, or for a visitors experience, we want to get outside of our walls and impact more children, and with these new programs, we can do that," said Garrad. |
| Legislature considers giving colleges more financial independence | |
| Louisiana's colleges and universities could soon have more control over tuition, fees and maintenance projects under bills the Legislature will consider. The proposals seek to give higher education institutions more financial independence from the Legislature, whose members currently have final say on what they can charge students to attend and how they spend campus construction dollars House Bill 940 by Rep. Chris Turner, R-Ruston, would allow schools to get money for some maintenance work without going through the annual legislative process to set aside funds for state projects. Currently, most deferred maintenance projects on college campuses have to go through the capital outlay process. Each school submits their new building projects and fix-it list to lawmakers, who get final say in what gets funded. Turner said higher education leaders have asked instead for a set amount of money annually, which they could then decide how to spend themselves. This would prevent long-needed maintenance projects from filling up House Bill 2, the annual capital outlay bill, he said. Turner's bill sets up a 10-year program through which the Legislature would appropriate up to $1.7 billion dollars, approximately equal to the current deferred maintenance backlog for all four state higher education systems, excluding those at university hospitals, which could be paid for with federal dollars. "These campuses, hopefully over the next seven to 10 years, can work on their projects and fix their deferred maintenance so we're just not building buildings we cannot take care of," Turner said in an interview. |
| Arkansas higher education faces reduction in Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders budget proposal | |
| Under a proposed budget released in March by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, public funding for higher education in Arkansas would be reduced by more than $2.4 million. Nearly all of the schools in the University of Arkansas system would each see funding cuts in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, along with cuts for two-year state institutions. University of Arkansas-Fayetteville was the only four-year state university campus that saw its funding increase in the budget proposal -- a modest by 0.29%. University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff will receive an increase in funding, as is required by federal law because of its status as a land-grant university. The proposed budget would also increase the Children's Education Freedom Account, which funds vouchers for private and parochial K-12 education, by nearly $66 million, or over 200%. "I am proud that this year's budget puts an end to government's spiraling growth, while still fulfilling the priorities Arkansans elected me to implement," Sanders wrote in a March letter to the General Assembly's Joint Budget Committee. But not everyone is pleased with the proposal. Hershel Hartford, president of the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville Education Association, said that these funding cuts are part of a pattern across the country of programs and even departments being shut down or consolidated "because the programs are not profitable. ... That concerns me." |
| Vanderbilt University announces outside review of journalist arrest during student protests | |
 | Vanderbilt University has announced the hiring of a local attorney to review the school's response to the arrest of a local reporter at student demonstrations that began last week, which resulted in the arrest of four students and the suspension of many more. Aubrey B. Harwell, Jr., of Neal & Harwell, PLC, will review what led to "the decision to detain the Nashville Scene reporter," "explore any steps that could or should have been taken before his detention," as well as "consider how Vanderbilt can best balance its commitment to free expression with its need to maintain safety, privacy and operations of the campus community," the university said in a statement Thursday. Harwell will also review the campus media access policy, which has come under fire since the demonstrations for being restrictive of media rights. In an interview with The Tennessean, Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said the university's response to media on campus was a "rightful concern" and a "free speech issue." "The arrest of the reporter needs to be addressed," he said. Jacob Mchangama, executive director of The Future of Free Speech project, a nonpartisan think tank located at Vanderbilt University, expressed optimism on Thursday regarding the university's review of its response. |
| Texas A&M partners with Travis Scott for apparel collection | |
 | Hundreds of students waited in line for hours outside of the Texas A&M University Barnes & Noble Bookstore early Thursday for a chance to purchase exclusive apparel made in collaboration with rapper Travis Scott and his company Cactus Jack. Texas A&M was one of just 12 universities to offer an in-person pop-up shop for university-specific branded clothing as part of the "Jack Goes Back to College" collection. This first-of-a-kind partnership involved several different entities including Texas A&M, Cactus Jack Records, Lids Sports Group, Fanatics and Mitchell & Ness. In total, 28 collegiate universities participated. Texas A&M's collaboration with the artist --- whose real name is Jacques Bermon Webster II -- comes less than three years after a senior was among the 10 concertgoers who died as a result of a crowd surge at Scott's sold-out Astroworld music festival in his hometown of Houston. According to Billboard Magazine, the Astroworld concert has resulted in lawsuits from over 2,500 people against Scott and the organizer, Live Nation. According to court documents filed in Houston, Scott's lawyers maintain that he was only a performer and had no role in establishing the venue's safety measures. Joanna Koliba, the regional manager for Barnes & Noble College, said the collegiate collection had been secretly in the works for over a year before being officially announced earlier this week. Pop-up shops for special brand collaborations have become a growing trend over the past few years as brick-and-mortar realtors try to find new ways to compete with online shopping, Koliba said. |
| DEI ban at U. of Texas following SB17 rattles campus community | |
 | University of Texas junior Isabel Bellard was part of the Fearless Leadership Institute, a program that supported Black and Hispanic female students. The program helped her find a community on campus with shared experiences and gave her access to opportunities she wouldn't have otherwise had, such as taking her first-ever flight to New York to network with businesses. Then on Jan. 1, the state's anti-DEI law went into effect. The legislation signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last year banned Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices and initiatives at public universities and colleges. At UT Austin, that meant the leadership institute shifted to support all women regardless of ethnicity. The university's Gender and Sexuality Center became the Women's Community Center. And the Division of Diversity and Campus Engagement, of which both programs were a part, morphed into the Division of Campus and Community Engagement to comply with the law. This week, the university began laying off at least 60 staff members, according to two people with knowledge who spoke to the Austin American-Statesman, part of the USA TODAY Network, on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the terminations publicly. In an email to the university community Tuesday, UT Austin President Jay Hartzell said that in implementing changes required under the law, the university would close the new campus division altogether and eliminate programs that "now overlap with our efforts elsewhere." |
| U. of Missouri campus master plan will look at challenges that include classrooms, traffic, dining | |
 | Work is underway for a campus master plan for the University of Missouri and faculty heard an update Wednesday at the Spring General Faculty Meeting in Memorial Union. Emily Leary, an assistant professor in the School of Medicine, won the individual shared governance award, while MU Extension faculty won the group award. Ayers Saint Gross design firm is developing the master plan for MU and the company's Jessica Leonard made the presentation. Campus positives include the MU Botanic Gardens, a compact academic core and the Student Recreation Center. Challenges listed include unsafe crossings at busy roads and limited dining options. The campus has many front doors, Leonard said. The campus has many interesting buildings and features, she said. "How do you maintain the legacy that makes Mizzou Mizzou," Leonard said. Many classrooms are outdated, she said. There also are areas of safety concern related to traffic circulation. Other areas may be considered as additional campus entrances, Leonard said. |
| U. of Missouri System extends enrollment deadline amid FAFSA delays | |
 | After multiple delays with the revised Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the University of Missouri System announced it would extend its enrollment deadline for incoming freshmen. Prospective students at MU, the Missouri University of Science and Technology, University of Missouri-Kansas City and University of Missouri-St. Louis will now have until May 15 to make enrollment decisions. Students typically must enroll by May 1. Applications and enrollment at MU continue to set records despite the FAFSA delays. As of April 1, the Columbia campus had recorded 23,976 applications from first-time college students, a 13% increase over last year, and had accepted 6,006 of those, a 12% increase. Applications from transfer students also are setting records, with 1,881 applicants, up 8%. MU has accepted 619 of those, a 10% increase. Officials expect enrolling students will begin to receive their financial aid package offers in late April. A UM System news release said current students should expect their offers to be delivered in June. A spokesperson says other university deadlines, such as housing, have not changed at this time. |
| Campus spending on existing buildings jumped over 26% in 2023 | |
| Investment in existing campus facilities grew more than 26% year over year in 2023 and is up by one-third since 2021, according to the latest report from building intelligence firm Gordian. In its report, Gordion called last year's spike in spending "a remarkable shift," indicating that campus leaders are devoting resources and attention to maintaining their existing facilities, and they recognize "the value of physical assets to the campus experience." That's the good news. The bad news is that inflation in construction services and building supplies has grown significantly over the same period, and a large gap still exists between need and spending on maintaining facilities. College spending on facilities bottomed out during the pandemic, as might be expected. In that period, the gap between need and spending on existing buildings widened to 43%, according to Gordian's analysis. But the chasm existed long before the pandemic. Since the Great Recession, the investment gap has never been smaller than 16%, according to the report, which was culled from Gordian's database of 43,000 campus buildings and $13.5 billion worth of capital and operating budgets. New and old buildings have long competed for budget dollars and officials' attention. |
| More students take gender studies, even as it comes under attack | |
 | Professors of women and gender studies nationwide say that students' interest in the field is blossoming, even as their work is being impacted by right-wing criticism, according to a new report by the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA). The report, entitled "Protecting Our Futures: Challenges & Strategies for Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies," uses data gathered from 244 women and gender studies departments across the country in early 2023. It is the first survey the association has ever conducted of its member departments, according to report co-author Angela Clark-Taylor, executive director of the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women and a research assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University. The research was prompted in large part by attacks against the women and gender studies discipline, as well as against diversity, equity and inclusion more broadly. Numerous states, including Wyoming and Florida, have introduced legislation to defund or ban such programs; at New College of Florida, DeSantis-appointed trustee Christopher Rufo successfully introduced a motion to remove the women and gender studies department. But despite attacks on the field, which critics have called "an ideology not a science," students are apparently taking an increased interest in it. Undergraduate enrollment in women and gender studies classes has increased in about half of all departments, the report shows, remained the same in about 30 percent and declined in 20 percent. According to the report, national political events, including the repeal of Roe v. Wade, have played a role in increasing student interest in women and gender studies. |
| Is Pluralism the Next DEI? | |
 | Eboo Patel has a vision for colleges and universities embroiled in fights over race, gender, sexuality, and, more recently, the war in Gaza. The founder and president of Interfaith America, which tries to help institutions, groups, and people find common ground, wants to make "pluralism" central to a liberal-arts education at colleges across the country. Instead of escalating their conflicts into conflagration, Patel believes that students can be taught to engage with different viewpoints and transform their disagreements into learning experiences. Earlier this week, he came to Washington to present those ideas to higher-education administrators at a convening titled "Advancing Campus Pluralism: Bridgebuilding Across Difference." "A college is a place where students are initiated into the conflict inherent to a diverse democracy," Patel told the audience. Many students have demanded that their campuses not serve as a platform for people who promote racist ideas and tropes. Patel is leading a movement that is calling for engagement in those conversations no matter how tough. "Did you not think there were going to be conflicts?" Patel asked. He is suggesting a return to the ideals of a classical liberal-arts education, one where rigorous debate between contrasting viewpoints is an essential part of learning. When set against the current backdrop of campus clashes over race and identity, the premise can seem quaint. |
| Republican attorneys general blast Federal Work-Study guidance on election-related jobs | |
| Sixteen Republican attorneys general urged the U.S. Department of Education in a letter this week to reconsider recent guidance allowing college students to get paid for nonpartisan voter registration efforts under the Federal Work-Study program. The Education Department issued guidance in late February saying that Federal Work-Study funding could support students working for public agencies on election-related activities if they are "not associated with a particular interest or group." The department said eligible duties include get-out-the-vote drives, voter registration, assisting voters at polling places or on voter hotlines, or serving as poll workers. The attorneys general, however, argued that even voter registration activities that seem nonpartisan can "serve overtly political functions" by focusing on localities where people are more likely to favor a particular candidate. The Federal-Work Study program provided roughly $1.2 billion in student aid during the 2023 fiscal year. Around 600,000 students benefit annually, according to a 2021 report from the Community College Research Center. In February, Vice President Kamala Harris pointed to the Education Department's new guidance as part of the Biden administration's larger effort to safeguard voting rights. "We have been doing work to promote voter participation for students," Harris said in prepared remarks for a White House meeting with voting rights leaders. But the attorneys general voiced concerns that the efforts would be used to tilt elections, arguing that the guidance "ignores the dangers that come with entangling public dollars in political functions." |
| Biden to Make Second Attempt at Large-Scale Student Loan Forgiveness | |
 | The Biden administration is poised to issue a proposal aimed at reducing or eliminating student loan balances for millions of borrowers, according to people familiar with the matter, marking President Biden's second attempt at large-scale loan forgiveness. The regulations, which are set to be issued as soon as next week, come after the Supreme Court last year overturned the administration's first debt cancellation plan, which would have wiped away up to $20,000 in student debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year. Biden is planning to outline the broad strokes of the new proposal during a speech on Monday in Madison, Wis., where he is expected to tout his administration's wide-ranging efforts to chip away at the student debt burden facing more than 40 million Americans, the people said. A White House spokesman declined to comment. The president's advisers hope to use the rules to begin canceling waves of student debt in the run-up to the November election, but the exact timing of the effort will depend on how quickly the administration can finalize the regulations. The debt forgiveness push could give Biden a political boost, especially among young people, amid polls that show him trailing former President Donald Trump, his GOP opponent, in several key states. But the proposal, once it is completed, is likely to face legal action from Republican attorneys general, who will again try to convince the courts to block it. With seven months to Election Day, Biden is underperforming with young voters, a constituency that forms a central plank of the Democratic coalition. |
| FAFSA Whiplash: Education Dept.'s Latest Move Reveals the Tension Between Two Competing Forces | |
| The financial-aid process isn't supposed to be a choose-your-own-adventure story, but the federal government's latest decision essentially guarantees that, this year, it will be. The U.S. Department of Education on Thursday announced that, in response to feedback from colleges, it would reprocess all federal-aid forms containing recently reported tax discrepancies. The decision reversed the agency's announcement on Monday that it would reprocess and resend only those forms with errors that, if left uncorrected, would deprive applicants of federal aid they're eligible for. But one part of the department's latest announcement troubled some financial-aid officers. Colleges, the department said, "can choose" which record to use -- the original, with the incorrect data, or the corrected, reprocessed one -- when creating financial-aid offers. "We encourage schools that choose to move forward with the original," the department said, "to start packaging aid offers as quickly as possible." The announcement points to the tension between two competing concerns for colleges: getting offers out the door as soon as they can -- and ensuring the accuracy and fairness of the financial-aid process. By telling institutions that they're free to base their offers on forms that include inaccurate data, the government is giving colleges the green light to move forward with aid packaging. But it's also giving financial-aid officers permission to do something that goes against their nature. |
| Plunge in FAFSA completion could spark an enrollment crisis | |
| In a typical year at LEAD Academy High School in Nashville, a college prep–focused charter school where Kelly Pietkiewicz used to work as a counselor, about 80 percent of students fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA). This year, with only a few weeks until graduation, that number has dropped to 20 percent. "It's an actual nightmare," said Pietkiewicz, who now serves as scholarship coordinator for the charity nonprofit Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. "We're still trying to get scholarships out to students, but most of the work I'm doing now is going to local high schools and helping their counselors answer questions about financial aid because they're stretched so thin." Nashville is no outlier. As of March 22, only 33.7 percent of high school seniors had completed a FAFSA, down 28.8 percent from last year, according to data from the National College Attainment Network (NCAN), which has been tracking completion rates throughout this tumultuous financial aid cycle. The network estimates that at the going rate, about half a million fewer students in the class of 2024 will submit a FAFSA compared to last year. And that's probably an optimistic estimate, said Bill DeBaun, NCAN's senior director of data and strategic initiatives; if the pace of completion doesn't pick up, the decline could be closer to 700,000 students. |
| What Liberals Get Wrong About 'White Rural Rage' -- Almost Everything | |
 | Colby College political scientist Nicholas Jacobs writes for POLITICO: If you've been watching television or tracking trending topics over the last few weeks, you've probably seen or read something about "white rural rage." This is owed to the publication of a new book, White Rural Rage, by Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman, whose thesis is that white rural Americans, despite representing just 16 percent of the American electorate, are a "threat to the world's oldest constitutional democracy." ... This premise has triggered a backlash towards rural voters from some on the left. ... This latest obsession with rural rage is nothing new. After 2016, when rural voters in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania put former President Donald Trump over the top, Democrats tried to figure out why they had gone so sour on the Democratic Party. ... But don't be misled. The publication and widespread celebration of White Rural Rage among progressive circles is doing something different than those post-2016 post-mortems. It is not an attempt to understand the needs and concerns of rural America. Instead, it's an outpouring of frustration with rural America that might feel cathartic for liberals, but will only serve to further marginalize and demonize a segment of the American population that already feels forgotten and dismissed by the experts and elites. ... The problem with this "rage" thesis is much larger than the fact that my research, and that of others, is being misinterpreted and misunderstood. What the authors are getting wrong about rural America is exactly what many Democrats have been getting wrong for decades -- and appear to be doing so again in this critical presidential election year. |
| Shocker: Mississippi lawmakers not keen on sharing power with masses, more transparency for themselves | |
| Mississippi Today's Geoff Pender writes: Mississippi senators recently beat the stew out of a bill that would have applied more transparency and rules to their campaign finances, leaving the bill gutted, on life support and likely to die. They gave similar treatment to a measure to restore voters' right to sidestep the Legislature and put measures directly on a statewide ballot. The right was nullified by the state Supreme Court three years ago. The milquetoast move to restore it is once again dead. Read that: Special interests, 2; unwashed masses, 0. Now, if you asked the common ordinary Mississippian whether they should have the right to ballot initiative and to know who is buying their politicians and for how much, they'd say heck-yes. So why are lawmakers killing what would appear to be basic, populistic initiatives? Such is the nature of representative government, politicians' self interest, special interests and voters' short attention spans. Here's a couple little secrets and axioms: Politicians don't like relinquishing any power, even to their constituents. And when it comes to policing and transparency over the money they get from special interests, they are a hive mind -- transparency and rules for thee, not for me. |
| From the publisher: A flawed study on expansion | |
| Mississippi newspaper publisher and columnist Wyatt Emmerich writes: As the state legislature debates expanding Medicaid, the Wall Street Journal recently published a column from a think tank arguing that Medicaid expansion has caused hospital profits to drop, thus Medicaid expansion is bad. The title of the piece was: "As Medicaid Expands, Hospitals Close." This was followed by a sub-headline stating: "Ten states have refused to sign up. They should keep resisting the pressure." The column was produced by a think tank called the Foundation for Government Accountability, which started in 2011 in Florida and expanded nationally. Their website states: "FGA employs more than 45 marketing, research, and outreach experts with more than 50 on-the-ground liaisons in 30 states, and partners with more than 450 policymakers across the country." A conservative friend of mine emailed me the article and asked me what I thought. The article was intriguing but the first thing I noticed was that the math didn't add up. ... Anytime I see such a clear mistake in basic number crunching, it makes me suspicious of the motives of the study. In this case, it was a conservative think tank wanting to produce anti-expansion results. And they did. As Mark Twain said, there are liars, damn liars and statistics. |
SPORTS
| MSU president discusses future of college football, NCAA | |
 | Conference realignment and college athletes getting money for their name, image and likeness have some questioning whether the NCAA will soon be on its way out. Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum does not see that happening -- at least at the moment. "We like the NCAA umbrella for managing our tournaments," said Keenum. However, the man who leads the group of executives overseeing the College Football Playoff says there is an issue when it comes to governing schools in the power conferences. "We (the Division l schools) have to have more true autonomy," Keenum added. "The challenges, the budgets, the issues that we deal with are so different than Division ll and Division lll institutions." He says if schools in the power conferences cannot find a way to get the balance they are seeking, they could look at other options for governing college athletics. Keenum is also aware of one idea being considered by some that would dramatically change college football. The Athletic reports the proposal calls for dissolving the conferences and creating a top tier of 70 college football programs and giving the remaining schools ten slots to join that tier and compete for playoff spots. "I don't see us moving in that direction anytime soon," said Keenum. |
| Diamond Dawgs Host Georgia In SEC Play | |
| The Mississippi State Diamond Dawgs are back at Dudy Noble Field for a three-game SEC series against the Georgia Bulldogs with action starting on Friday night. First pitch Friday is set for 6 p.m., 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Friday and Sunday's games will be aired on SECN+ and Saturday's game will be broadcasted on SECN and will also be carried on the Bulldog Sports Network powered by LEARFIELD, along with a live audio stream via HailState.com/OnDemand. Georgia enters the weekend series with a 23-6 record and a 4-5 SEC record. Georgia is tied for fourth in the SEC East. Georgia is 2-5 in away games this season. UGA has one of the top offenses in college baseball this season as they lead the nation in home runs with 84 on the season. They have the 12th best team batting average (.325) and scored 289 runs, fifth most in the nation. The Bulldogs have a 5.33 ERA and have tallied 275 strikeouts. MSU will face Charlie Goldstein (4-0, 4.08 ERA) on Friday. He has tossed 28 2/3 innings on the season with 31 strikeouts. Leighton Finley (2-1, 5.14 ERA) gets the start Saturday. Finley has thrown 28 innings and has 22 punchouts. Mississippi State leads the all-time series 51-50. The last time the Dawgs and Bulldogs faced off was in Athens and the Dawgs won 20-3. The Diamond Dawgs hold a 26-20 record at Dudy Noble Field when playing Georgia. |
| What to watch, keys to victory for Mississippi State baseball against Georgia | |
| Following a tough midweek loss Tuesday to Central Arkansas in which Mississippi State's bats took eight innings to come alive, the Bulldogs return to Southeastern Conference play this weekend for a three-game series against Georgia at Dudy Noble Field. UGA (23-6, 4-5 SEC) is the most prolific power-hitting team in all of college baseball, leading the country by a good margin with 84 home runs. Sophomore first baseman Charlie Condon, the nation's individual home run leader, has 19 of those long balls to go along with a .481 batting average and 1.130 slugging percentage. And he's far from the only big bopper in Georgia's lineup --- a batting order that includes a familiar face for MSU fans. Third baseman Slate Alford started 40 games last season at the hot corner for State and was solid offensively with nine homers and 36 runs batted in, but defense was not his forte --- Alford committed 13 errors with a fielding percentage of just .835. He transferred to UGA last summer and got off to a scorching-hot start with three homers in his first two games, and although he has since cooled off, he's still batting .331 and slugging .577 with eight home runs. UGA's pitching, though, is another matter. Left-hander Charlie Goldstein (4.08 ERA in 28 2/3 innings pitched) will start Friday night's game for Georgia against MSU's Khal Stephen, and Leighton Finley (5.14 ERA in 28 innings) starts Saturday for the visitors opposite Jurrangelo Cijntje. |
| Mississippi State, SuperTalk broadcaster Jim Ellis to be inducted into Ron Polk Ring of Honor | |
| One of SuperTalk Mississippi Media's very own is being inducted into the Ron Polk Ring of Honor at Mississippi State. Jim Ellis, who hosts The Sports Edge and Today in the Golden Triangle on SuperTalk Golden Triangle, will join former Mississippi State players Bobby Reed and Buddy Myer in having their plaques unveiled in the right field plaza where Polk's statue stands. Since 1979, Ellis has been calling sports for the Bulldogs, and according to him, Polk was the one who gave the final nod for school officials to hire him as "The Voice of the Diamond Dawgs." At the time, Polk was in his third year of what would turn into a three-decade tenure as Mississippi State's head baseball coach. Over the course of his career, Ellis has called a laundry list of iconic moments for Mississippi State baseball, including the school's first national championship in 2021. A native of West Point, Ellis has been behind the microphone for 32 NCAA Regional appearances, seven SEC Tournament titles, and 11 trips to the College World Series. He is a four-time Outstanding Broadcaster in Mississippi Award winner. The Ron Polk Ring of Honor class of 2024 will be inducted on Saturday, April 6, at 2 p.m. in the Adkerson Plaza. Fans are invited to come celebrate the trio before game two of the Bulldogs' series against Georgia begins at 7 p.m. |
| Bulldogs Arrive In Columbia For Series At No. 22 South Carolina | |
| Another ranked road series awaits No. 16/16 Mississippi State this weekend as the Bulldogs meet No. 22/25 South Carolina for three games. Saturday's contest will be nationally televised on the SEC Network at 1 p.m. CT. The Bulldogs are coming off their school-record-tying 13th run-rule victory of the season and their eighth shutout having won 14-0 in five innings at UAB on Wednesday night. A pair of fifth-year players reached milestones in that game with Aspen Wesley securing her 300th career strikeout and Madisyn Kennedy hitting career homer No. 37 to move into the MSU top five. State (26-9, 6-6 SEC) brings in one of the nation's top offenses, ranking in the top 10 in the country in scoring, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, RBIs and walks. Meanwhile, South Carolina (27-10, 3-6 SEC) has been more noteworthy on the defensive side of the ball. The Gamecocks boast a 1.63 team ERA that is sixth nationally with 11 shutouts. They are also one of five teams to turn a triple play this year and rank 13th nationally in double plays. South Carolina defeated Winthrop in 11 innings on Wednesday, improving its extra-innings record to 6-2. The Gamecocks have played the most 10-inning games in the nation. State has another four-game week ahead of it, returning home to Nusz Park next week to host South Alabama and No. 6/4 Tennessee. The Bulldogs and Jaguars will meet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10. MSU welcomes its second top-10 opponent of the year to Nusz Park when the Lady Vols come to town on April 12-14. |
| What Mississippi State football's Jeff Lebby said about Seth Davis' injury, running back concerns | |
| Mississippi State football coach Jeff Lebby is still seeking answers at running back as he goes through his first spring leading the program. That search includes uncertainty regarding the health of sophomore Seth Davis. During MSU's loss against Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl on Nov. 23, Davis suffered an apparent knee injury and didn't return to action. His status for the upcoming season is unclear, though Lebby isn't ruling him out yet. "He's actually got a couple appointments coming up that'll be telling," Lebby said Thursday. "We'll see where that ends." Keyvone Lee, who transferred to Mississippi State from Penn State ahead of the 2023 season, was the first-team running back during a 20-minute viewing period available to reporters on March 26. However, Lee only ran for 75 yards on 12 attempts in his first season with the Bulldogs. "I like where Keyvone is at," Lebby said. "Keyvone has done a really good job. He's coachable. He takes the coaching. He's detail-oriented. He's a big, physical guy that can do some things." Behind him, junior college products are the top options. Jeffery Pittman signed with MSU out of Hinds Community College and collected 268 rushing yards on 54 attempts last season − his first at MSU. Lebby spoke highly of Johnnie Daniels when Mississippi State signed him from Copiah-Lincoln Community College in December, but he has yet to play against SEC competition. |
| State Hosts Tennessee In Top 15 Tennis Showdown | |
| No. 14 Mississippi State will take the courts for the final time at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre during the regular season as it prepares to play seventh-ranked Tennessee on Friday at 3 p.m. Prior to the match, the Bulldogs will honor seniors No. 107 Nemanja Malesevic and Carles Hernandez as well as student trainer Lydia Walsh. Malesevic and Hernandez – both All-SEC performers last season -- have combined for 234 career wins and made their marks in the MSU record books. Malesevic has accumulated 57 dual match singles victories during his career which ties him with Laurent Miquelard (1992-95) for the 10th-most in school history. Hernandez's 21 dual match singles' wins last spring put him in a seventh-place tie with Shelby Ware (1979), Joc Simmons (1994) and George Coupland (2012) for the most in a single-season at State. The Bulldogs have produced back-to-back SEC Players of the Week the past two weeks. No. 42 Petar Jovanovic claimed the honor last week and was followed by Hernandez this week. Hernandez went a perfect 4-0 in victories over then No. 56 Ole Miss (7-0) and No. 21 Alabama (4-3) last weekend. He clinched the doubles point and also the match against the Crimson Tide. With Malesevic also winning SEC Player of the Week earlier this season, MSU is the only school in the conference to have three different players earn that honor in 2024. |
| UGA Golf Course one of many courses to go green, operating in a more sustainable way | |
 | In preparation for the upcoming Masters Tournament, extra care is taken into account for upkeep in an effort to run in an environmentally friendly way. "It takes a lot to maintain golf courses," said Scott Griffith, associate director of agronomy at the University of Georgia golf course. "And we have to maintain them on a daily basis. There are a lot of misconceptions regarding fertilizers. If the grass is growing too fast, that creates more work for us. It creates a negative situation not only on our staff and our customers but also our budgets. Slow release fertilizers are used judiciously." In spring of 2023, the University of Georgia Golf Course was designated as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses. "I've always been environmentally conscious," said Griffith. "A lot of the things that were listed in this program we were already doing. For me, it was important, because it represents UGA. Our motto is, 'Elevate the G'. Anything we can do to elevate the University of Georgia and this is one way for us to do that." "Our goal is to help people, especially non-golfers, to see the golf course as more than just a golf course. In highly suburbanized and urban areas, golf courses act as a great natural filtration for stormwater that comes onto the course from other areas. A golf course can provide habitat for wildlife. A golf course can provide a cooling effect in the summertime," said Frank LaVandera, director of environmental programs for golf with Audubon International. |
| Alabama Basketball Kept Falling Short. Then Nick Saban Turned the Tide. | |
| When the No. 1 seed Alabama men's basketball team suffered an upset loss in the Sweet 16 last year, coach Nate Oats sought out advice from one of the greatest coaches of all time, someone with a history of winning national championships and whose office was just a 3-pointer away. Except in his sport, 3-pointers are called field goals. "I called Coach Saban," Oats said. "What have we got to do?" It will come as no surprise to learn that Nick Saban, the seven-time title-winning football coach, had some wisdom to offer his Crimson Tide colleague. And not all of it involved the nutritional benefits of eating oatmeal cookies for breakfast. Saban emphasized the importance of not dwelling on the opportunity the team had just lost, but focusing on the next opportunity to come. "Next, next, next," Oats said. Not for the first time, Saban's approach paid off. Despite losing more games and earning a lower March Madness seed than it did last year, the 2024 Crimson Tide team knocked off Clemson last weekend to reach the first Final Four in the program's 111-year history. "It's a great philosophy in life," Oats said this week. "There's a lot of adversity you hit...You live in the past, you're not going to be very good in the present." If anyone was going to turn Saban's gridiron playbook into hardwood success, Oats might be the perfect candidate. Over his 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa, Saban espoused "The Process" -- a system that valued attentive, daily work over focusing on the season's endpoint. |
| Arkansas seeks new head coach as Eric Musselman heads to USC | |
| The University of Arkansas men's basketball team is in the market for a new head coach. Eric Musselman is leaving Arkansas after five seasons to become Southern Cal's coach, sources told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Thursday afternoon. Musselman, 59, led the Razorbacks to a 111-59 record and three NCAA Tournament appearances. "My family and I couldn't be more excited for this incredible opportunity at USC," Musselman said in a news release. "I am grateful to President [Carol] Folt and [Athletic Director] Jen Cohen for the chance to lead the men's basketball program at such a world-class university with a rich tradition of success. We will be committed to the development of our student-athletes and upholding the values that make the Trojan Family so special. We will hit the ground running and work tirelessly to make our great alumni, fans and all of Los Angeles proud." It's the first time in 39 years a men's basketball coach resigned at Arkansas to take another position. Eddie Sutton left Arkansas to accept the Kentucky job after the 1984-85 season. USC is the fourth head coaching job in California for Musselman, but first at the collegiate level. He previously was an NBA coach for the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings and a G-League coach for the Los Angeles D-Fenders. Musselman was a backup point guard at the University of San Diego from 1984-87 and during the summers he worked part-time for the San Diego Padres in customer service. His mother, Kris, lives in San Diego. |
| Report: Ole Miss basketball's Chris Beard among Arkansas' top candidates | |
| Ole Miss basketball's Chris Beard has emerged as a top candidate for the coaching vacancy at Arkansas, according to a report from college basketball insider Jeff Goodman. The Razorbacks are searching for Eric Musselman's replacement after he was hired Thursday by Southern California. Beard's coaching career includes one year at Little Rock (2015-16) in which he led the team to a 30-5 record and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Beard is coming off his first season with the Rebels. His tenure started on a promising note with Ole Miss winning all 13 nonconference games and opening SEC play with a 5-3 record. However, the Rebels lost nine of their last 11, missed the NCAA Tournament and preemptively announced they'd turn down an NIT bid. On March 13, prior to Ole Miss' loss against Texas A&M in the second round of the SEC tournament, the athletic department announced a contract extension for Beard was agreed upon. Recent reports have surfaced suggesting Beard never signed that extension. However, according to records obtained by the Clarion Ledger, Beard signed his new state contract. The contract did not provide financial terms or buyout information. Beard was hired at Ole Miss on March 13, 2023, after a midseason dismissal at Texas. He was in his second season at his alma mater before he was fired after an alleged domestic incident involving his then-fiancee. |
| Florida State motions to dismiss ACC lawsuit denied by N.C. judge | |
| A Mecklenburg County judge on Thursday denied two motions by Florida State to dismiss or stay a lawsuit filed by the ACC that the league hopes will force the school to honor its grant of rights agreement and pay the conference more than $500 million if it hopes to exit for another conference before 2036. The ruling by Judge Louis A. Bledsoe III is seen as a significant win for the ACC, as it would likely mean the battle between the league and Florida State would proceed in North Carolina rather than Florida, where FSU filed its own lawsuit against the conference. The ACC filed its lawsuit in Charlotte on Dec. 21 in anticipation of a lawsuit by FSU in Florida, which came after approval by the school's board of trustees the following day. FSU's lawsuit seeks to extricate the university from the ACC's grant of rights, a contract that gives the conference ownership of Florida State's television media rights through June 2036. The ACC's suit seeks to uphold the grant of rights. Florida law typically offers preference to the entity that files the first lawsuit, which in this case is the ACC. "We are pleased with today's decision, which confirms North Carolina courts are the proper place to enforce the ACC's agreements and bylaws," the ACC said in a statement. "We remain committed to acting in the best interests of the league's members and will see this process through to protect and advance the ACC." |
| As Final Four nears, dangers of college prop betting come under scrutiny | |
| As the men's and women's Final Four play out this weekend, some financially invested fans will have their focus on the game behind the games: For an untold number of bettors, they aren't just on the edge of their seats over game outcomes or margin of victories. Rather, they've gone all-in on prop bets -- short for proposition bets -- wagered on the individual performances of the college athletes. Will Purdue's Zach Edey score more than 25.5 points? Will UConn's Paige Bueckers grab more than 6.5 rebounds? Think there are any prop bets for Iowa's Caitlin Clark, the face of all college basketball? A quick scroll through FanDuel's app reveals no less than 10 prop bets for Clark: points, assists, rebounds, made 3-pointers, a triple-double – whatever strikes your prop betting fancy. As the American Gaming Association estimates that $2.7 billion will be bet on this year's March Madness, there is intensifying scrutiny on the dangers of college prop betting. Just last week, NCAA President Charlie Baker called for a ban on college athlete prop bets in states with legal sports wagering. And just this week, Louisiana became the latest state to order the banning of college prop betting, effective this summer. Claiming sports betting issues are on the rise nationally, Baker, who has been strident over the past year in voicing concern about a myriad of sports wagering concerns, said that college prop bets continue to "threaten the integrity of competition" and lead to athletes getting harassed. "The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats," Baker added, "and many are responding by banning college prop bets." |
| NCAA working to give colleges a more hands-on role in NIL deals for athletes | |
| Colleges are growing closer to having more of a hands-on role in arranging name, image and likeness (NIL) deals for their athletes than ever before. The NCAA's NIL working group has introduced a proposal that permits schools to provide "assistance and services" to their athletes in pursuit of NIL opportunities, including identifying opportunities for them as well as even facilitating deals with third parties. The working group is recommending that the NCAA Division I Council adopt the proposal as expedited legislation at its meeting later this month, according to a memo sent to members on Monday and obtained by Yahoo Sports. The proposal was publicized in January but has since been refined to focus specifically on a school's involvement in arranging NIL deals. The proposal is on a parallel track and interconnected with the NIL "protections" legislation that the council adopted in January. That legislation creates (1) a voluntary registration process for NIL professional service providers such as agents and advisors; (2) a disclosure database of athlete NIL deals of $600 or more; and (3) standardized NIL contracts as well as a comprehensive educational plan. The NCAA awarded the management of the agent registry, disclosure database and educational plan to Teamworks, sources told Yahoo Sports. Teamworks is a technology platform and app already widely used within many college athletic departments. The deal between the NCAA and Teamworks has not been finalized. |
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