| Thursday, April 11, 2024 |
| Meridian's own Bully XXII 'Dak has been named the best mascot in college football | |
 | According to a bracket completed by CFB Select, Bully XXII has been named the best mascot in college football. Bully XXII, aka Dak, is owned by the Martin family in Meridian, Mississippi. Bully beat out many opponents, including Pistol Pete, Reveille, Duke Dog, and Aubie, to win the top spot. He just celebrated his 3rd birthday with friends and family at the Bulldog Shop in downtown Meridian. |
| Starkville, Oxford earn top spots in USA Today's 10Best Awards | |
 | Two of Mississippi's premiere college towns have earned recognition from USA Today. Starkville, home of Mississippi State University, was voted "Best Small Town in the South" as part of the publication's 2024 10Best Readers' Choice Awards. Commonly referred to as "StarkVegas," Starkville topped small-town destinations such as Batesville, Ark., Thomasville, Ga., West Monroe, La., and Maysville, Ky., for the top spot. "Starkville is much more than a college town," USA Today editors wrote. "You'll find a thriving arts scene, multiple historic districts, many opportunities for bird-watching, and plenty of great food. Don't miss checking out the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, a treasure trove of artifacts and correspondence." Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill called the honor well-earned, especially considering she already believed Starkville to be the best small town in the South. "The USA Today results are incredibly exciting," Spruill said. "I have always believed Starkville deserves to be recognized as a great place to live, work, play, and learn. It is especially rewarding to see that so many others believe that as well." |
| USA Today names Starkville 'Best Small Town in the South' | |
 | USA Today named Starkville the Best Small Town in the South. Travel experts nominated Starkville and 19 other towns to the list. After four weeks of voting, Starkville came out on top. The cities were judged on various categories, including relaxing getaways, cultural immersion, outdoor adventures, and culinary delights. All of the towns in the competition, which stretched from West Virginia to Louisiana, had populations of less than 25,000 people. |
| Starkville, Oxford earn spots among USA Today top 10 lists | |
 | Starkville and Oxford were both recognized by USA Today. USA Today named Starkville the "Best Small Town in the South," placing it at the top of the list after a four-week voting process. Starkville came first over towns like Batesville, Arkansas, and Sevierville, Tennessee. Their highlight of Starkville includes the town's "thriving arts scene, multiple historic districts, many opportunities for bird-watching, and plenty of great food." |
| Community members support keeping SHS basketball coach | |
 | Of the more than 100 district patrons packed into the Greensboro Center auditorium for a school board meeting Tuesday night, nine spoke publicly in support of Starkville High School boys basketball coach Qu'Varius "'Woodie" Howard keeping his job. Their words and their presence seemed to have worked for the time being. The Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District's Board of Trustees took no action Tuesday in removing him from that position, board president Debra Prince said. Howard, who appeared before the board in executive session, said he learned a couple of weeks ago the district was considering stripping him of his coaching duties, for which he receives a supplement to his teaching contract. "What I've heard is there's been concerns about the program," Howard told The Dispatch. "That's all I really know." The nine who spoke in support of Howard during the meeting's public comment portion included pastors, educators and even two of his players. Comments focused on how Howard's dedication extends beyond coaching basketball. Prince told The Dispatch the board appreciated the community's involvement in the meeting and hope it will continue. Superintendent Tony McGee echoed the same remarks, saying the district values any input from the community. However, he did not comment directly on Howard's situation. "A community that collaborates is always stronger," he told The Dispatch. "Whether that collaboration is in academics, athletics, fine arts -- we all want what's best for the boys and girls in Starkville and in our school district." |
| Severe weather takes aim at parts of the Ohio Valley after battering the South | |
 | Powerful storms rumbled over parts of the U.S. Southeast early Thursday, prompting a few tornado warnings, causing flash flooding, and delaying the start of one of the world's biggest sports events along the Georgia coast. The storm system, which has already been blamed for at least one death in Mississippi, demolished buildings and flooded streets in the New Orleans area on Wednesday. It continued to spawn flash flood and tornado warnings in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina on Thursday. More than 100,000 customers lacked power early Thursday nationwide. That included more than 30,000 in Georgia, where the bad weather was ongoing, according to PowerOutage.us. Now, forecasters say parts of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia will be near the bullseye of a new area of concern Thursday. Those areas could see some tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail, according to the latest outlooks from the Storm Prediction Center. In Augusta, Georgia, the start of the Masters golf tournament was delayed by at least one hour, tournament officials announced. They said they would monitor conditions throughout the day Thursday. A tornado struck Slidell, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of New Orleans, on Wednesday. Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer estimated at a news conference Wednesday night that about 75 homes and businesses were damaged. |
| CREATE celebrates opening of new home in downtown Tupelo | |
 | The CREATE Foundation officially opened the doors to its new headquarters on Wednesday, recognizing its donors and hosting an open house for the public. CREATE recently completed its move from its cramped former location on West Main Street to the spacious 8,100-square-foot space on the second floor of the CDF building in Fairpark. "I can't tell you what a special day it is for us to be here today," said CREATE President Mike Clayborne. "We've been on a journey to get here, and I can't tell you how proud we are to be here." Clayborne recognized Bryan Wilson, chair of the building committee, for his yeoman's effort in seeing the project through. When he was named CREATE chair in 2020, it was Wilson who mentioned to Clayborne that it was time to look for a new home. David Rumbarger the president and CEO of the CDF, lauded CREATE as "the gold standard of community foundations in the state of Mississippi." CREATE is the state's oldest and largest community foundation. |
| Amazon representative tells Millsaps audience Mississippi more nimble than others | |
 | Amazon Web Services Economic Development Director Roger Wehner told a collection of students, faculty and staff at Millsaps College on Wednesday that previously announced investment figures for two new hyperscale development center campuses will be just the tip of the iceberg. Wehner made those comments as part of the Millsaps' Tech Week programs. Amazon Web Services made big news in January when it announced it will occupy two Madison County locations for the historic buildout for hyperscale development centers. Mississippi lawmakers completed a $259 million incentive package for the Amazon Web Services $10 billion project in Canton and Madison County. Gov. Tate Reeves said the project represents the single largest corporate capital investment in state history. Amazon Web Services will build two sites, one a 927-acre site and the other a 786-acre site for two hyperscale data centers. However, Wehner said Amazon expects to invest much more when all is said and done. "We were lucky to find Mississippi," Wehner told the audience at Millsaps. "Let me make one thing clear, all of the news articles say we are going to invest $10 billion dollars. That's actually not true. That is our minimum public commitment. We are going to invest far more than $10 billion. Rest assured it will be tens of billions of dollars." Wehner also said the 1,000 jobs announced with the project in January is also a false number. "There will be far more than 1,000 jobs," he said. "That's just a number we cannot fall below based on our negotiations. There will be a lot more than 1,000 jobs." |
| House revives its school funding formula day after Senate kills it | |
| House leaders resuscitated their revised school funding formula Wednesday -- a day after the Senate killed it. House Education Chair Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, successfully amended a bill dealing with failing school districts to insert into the legislation the Investing in the Needs of Students to Prioritize, Impact and Reform Education, or INSPIRE. INSPIRE would replace the longstanding Mississippi Adequate Education Program as the vehicle used to provide state funds to local school districts for their basic operation. INSPIRE also would remove for the first time since the 1950s an objective funding formula as a determinant of how much each local school district should receive. For years various public officials have been calling for the elimination of the MAEP because they said the state could not afford the spending it calls for. On Wednesday in reviving INSPIRE, Roberson said, "This will give us one more opportunity to give the Senate a chance to look at this and do what is best and right for our school children." The amended bill passed 103-16 and now goes back to the Senate. Before the vote, Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, and Sen. Derrick Simmons, D-Greenville, their respective chambers' minority leaders, issued a joint statement questioning the wisdom of the House's effort to rush to passage of INSPIRE. Senate leaders said they have agreed to meet with House leaders and education officials to work on a possible new funding formula to be considered during next year's session. |
| Part two of Governor Reeves' Medicaid reimbursement reforms gains CMS approval | |
| In September 2023, Governor Tate Reeves (R) announced a set of Medicaid reimbursement reforms estimated to generate over $700 million in new revenue for hospitals in Mississippi. The first proposal, which was approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in December 2023, increases the Mississippi Hospital Access Program reimbursement rate for Medicaid patients who participate in the managed care system. Under the plan, hospitals will now be reimbursed near the average commercial rate for services provided through managed care. The second proposal announced by Reeves last year would supplement Medicaid base payment rates for hospitals by reimbursing inpatient and outpatient hospital services in the fee-for-service system up to the Medicare upper payment limit. On Thursday, the Governor's office announced that CMS had approved the second proposal. Of note, the estimated result of the proposal will provide an additional $160 million for hospitals annually, which is $23 million more than originally projected. The Governor's office says the Mississippi Division of Medicaid is taking steps to deliver the first round of payments to hospitals in the coming weeks. News of the second approval comes as lawmakers continue to debate whether to expand Medicaid in Mississippi as the 2024 legislative session winds down. Talks are underway on if and how the legislation will be advanced before sine die. |
| Mississippi hospital officials say marketplace insurance helps, but not as much as Medicaid | |
| Mississippi Senate leaders point to one component of the federal Affordable Care Act health care law as a reason not to expand Medicaid to provide health care coverage to the working poor. The Senate has passed legislation to allow only those earning less than 100% of the federal poverty level (about $15,000 annually for an individual) and who are working to be covered by Medicaid. A state House plan would provide Medicaid coverage to those earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level (about $20,000 annually) as is allowed under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. House and Senate leaders are expected to begin negotiations in the coming days in an attempt to work out the differences between the two chambers. One reason Senate leaders give for not expanding to provide Medicaid coverage to those earning between 100% and 138% of the federal poverty level is that people who fall into that income category can obtain private insurance through another component of the ACA -- the Affordable Care Act Marketplace or "exchange." People can receive private insurance through the exchange and receive federal help to pay for the policy. While the exchange policies assist people who otherwise would not have access to health care coverage, the problem, according to Mississippi hospital officials, is that they often lose money when treating low income people who have the marketplace coverage. |
| Lawmakers working to finalize bill moving to state-based health insurance exchange | |
| The Mississippi legislature is working to send a bill to the desk of Gov. Tate Reeves that would create a state-based health insurance exchange and potentially save the state millions of dollars. House Bill 1647 would move Mississippi away from the federal exchange created through the Affordable Care Act, which currently costs the state roughly $15 million annually. In turn, the state's exchange would allow an independent actuarial firm and a regulatory board to determine rates for health insurance. The Senate, after discussing with Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney earlier in the week, passed an amended version of the legislation on Wednesday with a 38-14 vote. The majority of lawmakers in both chambers tend to agree that health insurance costs need to be lessened and this could be a route to do that. Under a state-based exchange, customers would have the chance to choose their personalized coverage. That coverage would likely qualify for a tax benefit. After being insured in the state plan, bills accumulated by the user would then be sent to federal insurance operators. "House Bill 1647 will allow Mississippi to create a state-based health insurance exchange in which any citizen can participate," Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann wrote on X. "The major benefit: it will allow us to create a support system to help people find a health insurance plan that fits their needs." |
| Mississippi Senate amends judicial redistricting plan | |
| The Mississippi Senate has amended their plan for judicial redistricting, which is due to be completed by July 2025. Originally, the proposal saw the loss of one judgeship for the Circuit Courts system, leaving 54 spots, and an increase of three judges in Chancery Courts, bringing the total seats to 55. However, an amendment on the Senate floor on Wednesday left both the Chancery and Circuit Courts both with 55 judges, including subdistricts. The strike-all amendment also contains a new numbering for districts, moving the 19th Chancery District from North Mississippi to the previous 12th District while creating the 13th District out of a portion of the former 2nd District. The proposal also splits the 14th, 17th and 11th Chancery Districts into subdistricts. For Circuit Courts, the 6thand 7th Districts were also split into subdistricts and former subdistricts in Districts 5 and 14 were dissolved and renumbered. Some of these revisions from the original bill will leave the districts as they are currently drawn. During the initial planning process, State Senator Brice Wiggins (R), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary A Committee, said there was a goal to do away with one judge district and ensure that every district had at least two judges, while also working to line up the Circuit and Chancery counties. State Senator Hob Bryan (D) also spoke on the bill and pointed out that judges across the state seem content with how the districts are currently drawn. Bryan, who represents parts of Northeast Mississippi, said local leadership from county supervisors to community developers and lawyers have written letters asking for their judicial districts to be left alone. |
| Mississippi bill would limit where transgender people can use bathrooms in public buildings | |
| Mississippi's Republican-controlled House voted Wednesday in favor of a measure that would restrict transgender people's use of bathrooms and locker rooms in public buildings, including university dormitories. The bill, which now goes back to the Republican-led Senate, says people are either male or female "as observed or clinically verified at birth" and must use the corresponding facilities. It also requires that public buildings have restrooms or changing areas designated for men only or women only, or single-person spaces that may be used by anyone. Democrats who opposed the measure accused conservatives of marginalizing transgender people to try to score points with voters. "They used to run on race, colors, and all of that," said Rep. Willie Bailey, a Democrat from Greenville. "Then they started running against people on abortion. Now they've got to have an issue on transgender -- it's just silly." Republican Rep. Joey Hood of Ackerman, chairman of the Mississippi House Judiciary A Committee and a prominent backer of the bill, said it aims to ensure people are using facilities that align with their sex at birth. The Mississippi House and Senate have passed different versions of a "Mississippi Women's Bill of Rights," which defines the terms woman, man, mother, father, female, male and sex in ways that support the idea that sex is defined at birth. The two chambers would need to agree on a single version before the bill could go to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves. |
| Mississippi House passes transgender restriction bill | |
 | Despite objections from Democrats, the Mississippi House of Representatives moved forward a bill Wednesday to define where men and women, regardless of gender identity, can use sex-specific facilities such as public bathrooms and changing rooms. Senate Bill 2753, dubbed the Safer Act, passed the House after about one hour of debate 80-32, largely along party line. If approved by the Senate and signed by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, SB 2753 would designate bathrooms, changerooms and other gender specific areas in public buildings be used by people according to their assigned sex at birth. Transgender people who no longer identify with their birth-assigned sex would not be permitted to use those facilities that match their chosen identity. "Boys will go to boys' bathrooms, girls will go to girls' bathrooms," said Rep. Joey Hood, R-Ackerman, who presented the bill to House lawmakers Wednesday. "Changing facilities will be for boys, and will be for girls." However, the bill does include a provision that states if any part of the proposed law is found unconstitutional, they shall be struck from state law and leave the rest of the bill as is. "We've got a catch all for any type of situation," Hood said. |
| Bill to protect women's spaces moves forward in Mississippi | |
| Mississippi Republican lawmakers continue to seek protections for women in the most vulnerable of spaces by advancing the SAFER Act, authored by State Senator Josh Harkins. SB 2753 passed the Senate by a vote of 40-12 in mid-March. The legislation was then amended in the House, passing on the floor by a vote of 80-31 on Wednesday after a robust challenge from Democrats opposing the bill, claiming it was nothing more than playing politics. One Democratic lawmaker, State Rep. Zakiya Summers, said the bill would cause transgender people and their supporters not to move to the state while another Democrat, State Rep. Jeffrey Harness, warned of lawsuits should the bill become law. The SAFER Act seeks to define sex-based terms such as woman, female, man, and male on biological sex instead of following trends in blue states that are using gender identify, or how a male or female view themselves, as the defining factor. The SAFER Act also aims to protect women's safe spaces, such as in bathrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms. The legislation builds on the Mississippi Fairness Act, passed into law in 2021, which prevents males from competing in girls and women sports. Language that would have protected single-sex spaces was not in the final version of that bill, meaning for those seeking to protect those spaces for women additional legislation is needed. |
| A congressman wanted to understand AI. So he went back to a college classroom to learn | |
| Don Beyer's car dealerships were among the first in the U.S. to set up a website. As a representative, the Virginia Democrat leads a bipartisan group focused on promoting fusion energy. He reads books about geometry for fun. So when questions about regulating artificial intelligence emerged, the 73-year-old Beyer took what for him seemed like an obvious step, enrolling at George Mason University to get a master's degree in machine learning. In an era when lawmakers and Supreme Court justices sometimes concede they don't understand emerging technology, Beyer's journey is an outlier, but it highlights a broader effort by members of Congress to educate themselves about artificial intelligence as they consider laws that would shape its development. Frightening to some, thrilling to others, baffling to many: Artificial intelligence has been called a transformative technology, a threat to democracy or even an existential risk for humanity. It will fall to members of Congress to figure out how to regulate the industry in a way that encourages its potential benefits while mitigating the worst risks. But first they have to understand what AI is, and what it isn't. "I tend to be an AI optimist," Beyer told The Associated Press following a recent afternoon class on George Mason's campus in suburban Virginia. "We can't even imagine how different our lives will be in five years, 10 years, 20 years, because of AI. ... There won't be robots with red eyes coming after us any time soon. But there are other deeper existential risks that we need to pay attention to." |
| Japan's Kishida to address Congress as its military role expands | |
 | Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's address to a joint meeting of Congress on Thursday, along with the White House's red-carpet welcome for a state visit, is expected to underline how much the ground has shifted to bring the two nations closer together in a way that few thought possible when a previous Japanese leader gave his own historic address to Congress nearly a decade ago. The climate surrounding Kishida's speech is remarkably different owing to successive governments moving Japan away from self-imposed pacifist policies that restricted its military capabilities and its ability to be a true mutual defense partner of the U.S.; a worsening pattern of coercive and belligerent actions by China and Russia; and the Biden administration's efforts to build and strengthen what officials call a "latticework" of Indo-Pacific defense alliances and coalitions. By contrast, the focus when Prime Minster Shinzo Abe addressed Congress in spring 2015 -- a first for a Japanese leader -- was backward facing, to World War II, and concerned questions of whether he would apologize for Japanese wartime conduct and whether Tokyo had taken adequate steps to compensate Korean victims of human rights crimes. The U.S.-Japan alliance has evolved in the past decade from what was "largely a regional alliance" to what is now "a global partnership" that has become "if not our most important global alliance, then among the most important," said a senior Biden administration official in a background call with reporters Tuesday. |
| Why Inflation Is Biden's Most Stubborn Political Problem | |
 | Inflation has emerged as the most intractable domestic policy issue facing President Biden less than seven months before the election -- but there isn't a whole lot the White House can do to fix it. The issue roared back to life this week, undercutting a string of positive economic and political developments that have helped improve Biden's standing in recent polls. The consumer-price index, a measure of goods and services prices across the economy, rose 3.5% in March from a year earlier, a stronger-than-anticipated inflation reading that was met with exasperation by many of the president's advisers. The White House moved quickly to respond, issuing a statement from the president that acknowledged the federal government has "more to do to lower costs for hardworking families." Behind the scenes, administration officials said there was no magic bullet to slow rising prices immediately, an issue that has dogged the president for years. For now, officials said, Biden and his senior aides aren't planning any major policy or rhetorical shifts. They plan to continue talking about the president's proposals to lower the cost of housing and prescription drugs, while slashing student-loan debt and eliminating surcharges tacked on to everything from concert tickets to banking services. The economy -- particularly inflation -- has long been Biden's biggest weakness compared with his predecessor, whose presidency is remembered by many voters as a time of stable prices. The economy took a significant hit during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, but prices didn't rise significantly until Biden's first year in office. |
| Republicans remade the judiciary. It's haunting Donald Trump. | |
 | Conservatives spent a generation stacking the bench with anti-abortion judges. Donald Trump is now paying the price. The former president is reckoning with high court rulings in Alabama, Florida and, most recently, Arizona, which have kept abortion and reproductive health care in the spotlight when he and much of the GOP would rather be talking about inflation or the border. Taken together, they underscore the difficulty Trump and his campaign have in controlling a narrative that at any minute can be redefined by any judge in America. Trump's Monday announcement that abortion should be left to the states was supposed to neutralize an issue that has dogged Republican candidates since Roe v. Wade was overturned nearly two years ago. But by Tuesday -- when an Arizona court ruled that an 1864 near-total abortion ban was enforceable -- it was clear that it was futile to try to leave the issue behind. Before Tuesday, "Arizona leaned Trump," said Barrett Marson, an Arizona-based GOP strategist. "I would put Arizona now as lean Biden." Trump, sensing as much, tried Wednesday to distance himself from the decision. "It's all about state's rights and it will be straightened out," Trump said at a campaign event in Atlanta when asked if Arizona's ruling went too far. "And I'm sure the governor and everybody else have got to bring it back into reason and that it will be taken care of." |
| A drone factory in Utah is at the epicenter of anti-China fervor | |
 | When George Matus was in high school in Salt Lake City, he had a vision of small drones flitting at people's shoulders to help them explore. At 17, he founded Teal Drones, named after a speedy breed of duck. "At the beginning, it was more focused on the joy of flight," Matus said. But after launching Teal Drones in 2015, Matus was soon struggling to keep it afloat. A drone-maker in China called DJI had dominated the global market with sleek, easy-to-use consumer drones at prices that were simply impossible for a U.S.-based company to match. At some point, Matus realized that if he wanted to keep his dream alive, he'd have to change the dream. Today, Matus says Teal sells most of its drones to the Pentagon to help soldiers with reconnaissance, with other sales to municipal police departments and U.S. Customs and Border Protection ("They've got our drones deployed on both borders," he says). The company adopted the slogan "Dominate the Night" to tout its drones' ability to spot targets in the dark. "Most of our focus is DOD (Department of Defense)," said Matus, now 26. "Since the invasion of Ukraine, it has become very clear that drones are incredibly impactful to war." The U.S. small drone industry is experiencing a renaissance after having been all but given up for lost, due to the impossibility of competing with China on production costs. The reason for the resurgence is a grim one: Small drones have proven a potent battle tool in the Ukraine war, with soldiers strapping bombs on them and sending them on one-way missions. |
| UM Garden Club, Grove Grocery fight food insecurity | |
 | It's growing season at the University of Mississippi. A collaboration between the UM Garden Club and Grove Grocery will expand the UM Campus Garden, located directly behind Residential College South, to grow produce for the Grove Grocery food pantry. This new initiative is a recipient of the UM Green Fund, which financially supports sustainability projects on campus. Past project recipients of the UM Green Fund include the UM Compost Collective and the implementation of water fountains in several campus buildings. This collaboration was initially established in an effort to promote student involvement in the university's garden and provide food for those in need. "If you talk to the majority of students, they would really have no idea that we have a campus garden," senior international studies and Chinese double major and Campus Garden Coordinator Sydney Woodard said. "I wanted to find a way to kind of reach out to the Ole Miss community and engage more students while also ideally filling a void." Food insecurity is still a prevalent problem in the Oxford community. According to a 2023 Feeding America report, which presents data from 2021, the food insecurity rate in Lafayette County is estimated to be around 13.3%. Feeding America defines food insecurity as the lack of access to an adequate amount of food. |
| Birmingham-Southern to lay off 213 employees without severance pay: 'No funds are available' | |
 | More than 200 people are expected to lose their jobs without severance pay when Birmingham-Southern College closes in two months. Many of the small private college's employees are still searching for new jobs, said Virginia Gilbert Loftin, Birmingham-Southern's vice president for advancement and communications. She said 203 people will be laid off in two initial phases during the last week of May. Another group of 10 employees will be laid off in mid-June, followed by a smaller group that will stay on to help facilitate the closure. "No funds are available for severance for any employees," Gilbert Loftin said in a statement to AL.com. While the number is ever-changing, 73 faculty members and 120 staff were still in search of work this week, she said. Others will retire or have already lined up new jobs. Birmingham-Southern will host a jobs fair for faculty, staff and graduating senior students this Wednesday, Gilbert Loftin said. So far, 45 employers -- including higher education institutions, nonprofits and public and private companies -- have signed up to attend. The institution has also offered resume workshops and other assistance to people on the job hunt, she said. Faculty members' contracts still run through August, and they'll be paid into July. Meanwhile, the institution is also working to connect its students with other colleges and universities to finish their degrees. |
| U. of South Carolina's housing shortage leaves upperclassmen scrambling, with no plans to close the gap | |
 | Vanessa Alaimo sits in her freshman dorm, stress building by the moment as she types desperately on her laptop. She's just received a rejection email from the University of South Carolina's housing department -- they won't have a bed for her next year -- and she's growing frantic, not knowing where she'll live come fall and quickly trying to figure out her options. It's only February, but already her choices are limited. She's combing through apartment websites, but many off-campus student apartments have already sold out of leases. The ones closest to campus, such as Greene Crossing, The Hub and The Station, have but a few spots left. The more Alaimo searches, the more she worries. Questions like, "How will I afford monthly rent?" and "Will my financial aid help?" start flooding her mind. She's running out of time to find her next home. And she's not the only one struggling. Each year, thousands of students at South Carolina's flagship university scramble to find places to live in the heart of the capital, often forced to make difficult -- and quick -- choices between high-priced, newly built private apartments downtown or cheaper but sometimes poorly maintained housing farther from classes and campus life. All the while, USC doesn't come close to providing enough beds for its 28,429 undergraduates and in recent years has done little to make up for the shortage of housing available for its ever-growing student body. Despite growing its student body by more than 9,000 over the past 15 years, USC's on-campus housing stock has only increased by some 2,840 beds in roughly the same time. |
| Vanderbilt University faculty, staff want to 'repeal all suspensions and criminal charges' following student protest | |
| Some Vanderbilt University students are not accepting the penalties for a pro-Palestinian protest without a fight. On March 26, 26 student protestors rushed the Kirkland building. "Normally how sit-ins work is that either the administration speaks to the students or they remove students pretty quickly," said Ezri Tyler, a sophomore at Vanderbilt University. "Instead, they left us in there for 21 hours; they restricted our access to food, water, and bathrooms. Students were having to pee in bottles and bags. It was completely dehumanizing." Vanderbilt administrators claim the building was closed for ongoing construction. The university plans to expel three students who were arrested and charged with a Class A misdemeanor for pushing a community service officer and staff member. Several other students were suspended or placed on probation for trespassing. The impacted students told News 2 their education is now suffering. "For all 27 students, we weren't allowed to attend class for those last two weeks, which obviously put a huge dent in people's ability to be successful in their academics," Tyler said. Over 125 faculty members signed a letter to the administration saying in part: " [..] we, the undersigned Vanderbilt faculty, are deeply troubled by the suppression of student activism and speech on campus." The statement continued on to demand that students return to campus: "We call on the administration to repeal all suspensions and criminal charges against the students and immediately reinstate their access to campus housing, meal plans, healthcare, and educational activities." |
| Vanderbilt University claims a commitment to free speech. But does it deliver? | |
 | A string of student demonstrations on Vanderbilt University's campus over the past two weeks has caused a rift at the private university, with student and faculty concerns over their free speech rights at odds with university administration. In late March, nearly fifty students descended on Kirkland Hall, the towering administration building in heart of Vanderbilt's campus, for a sit-in of Chancellor Daniel Deirmeier's office. The students were protesting the removal of a proposed amendment from a student ballot, which if approved would have prevented student government funds from going to certain businesses that support Israel. Four students were arrested, with three of those expelled. Others who protested inside the building were either suspended or placed on disciplinary probation. The university said that while it is committed to "free expression" and "civil discourse," the students' actions violated university policy and were "not peaceful," citing the moment students pushed their way past a university employee to get into the administration building. In an interview with The Tennessean last week, Diermeier emphasized that free speech is "alive and well" on campus, and that calling concerns over the student demonstrations a "free-speech issue" was a "red herring." "I think the whole free speech angle is a total red herring," he said. "It has nothing to do with the issues. We have plenty of opportunities for our students to engage with free speech without breaking fundamental university rules. So this was something else, and I'm not quite sure what they're trying to do. There was an attempt to occupy something -- I don't know, maybe they have to explain what they were doing. That's their business. But from our point of view, our free speech, just like I said, is still alive and well." |
| Big Orange Pantry aims to dethrone Auburn in 'SEC Food Fight' donation drive | |
| From April 5-18, the University of Tennessee's Big Orange Pantry will be participating in the fourth annual "SEC Food Fight" donation drive. "The SEC Food Fight is a friendly competition between SEC schools benefiting each campus' food pantry," said Blake Weiss, program director for basic needs for the Office of the Dean of Students. For each item or dollar collected in the drive, UT is awarded one point toward their total score in the competition. Donations can range from grocery bags to canned goods to basic hygiene products. "We are accepting all items we typically accept in the pantry, but we are emphasizing the need for hygiene products, grocery bags, canned proteins, peanut butter and monetary donations," Weiss said. "One of the easiest items to donate to the Big Orange Pantry is a grocery bag. We are always in need of grocery bags, so if you have grocery bags saved up from all your grocery trips, drop them off at any of our locations." Weiss stressed the fact that grocery bags, a vital need of Big Orange Pantry, hold the same one-point value as a dollar or any other single item, providing a low-cost way to contribute to a potential UT victory. Historically, Auburn has excelled in this event, winning all three installments of SEC Food Fight thus far. "I'd love to see a different shade of orange on the leaderboard. Our primary goal is supporting the Big Orange Pantry -- if we can do that well, I know we'll have a shot at winning," Weiss said. |
| Students to brainstorm recycling improvement ideas as part of UF IGNITE program | |
 | A student-led organization at the University of Florida's Engineering Innovation Institute will host an event Saturday to address issues and improvements with the recycling of glass and plastic in Gainesville. UF IGNITE (Innovation Gator Network for Inspiring Technological Entrepreneurship), started in September 2023, is an innovation leadership group inspired and led by students. Based out of the Engineering Innovation Institute (EII), the group aims to provide a culture of innovation, networking and entrepreneurship within the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering and across the university itself. Over the weekend, IGNITE's Creativity for Engineers Program will host its first Design Thinking Social Project which will allow UF students -- through the power of design thinking -- to improve the recycling of waste in the community. "When it comes to the recycling center, it's mixed glass, and there's a lot of plastic that also gets mixed into it, and they really don't have a good way of filtering it without using an incredible amount of resources," said Dow Walker, IGNITE Creativity in Engineering coordinator and UF student. The IGNITE Creativity for Engineers Program aims to inspire innovative solutions to challenges in engineering through collaboration among students from various fields such as business, engineering and art. |
| Food trucks serve the U. of Missouri campus community | |
 | The latest dining options on the University of Missouri campus aren't just found in dining halls. Twelve food trucks are approved to sell food on campus. From tacos to espresso, students and faculty have a wide spread of food options. Trucks can park in a "premiere lunch location" -- by Speaker's Circle or outside the Student Center, one of the newest positions. Or they can park in a "select lunch location," such as South Providence Medical Center or the Research Park area. For 2023-2024, the premiere version costs $1200 with 15 slots available, and the select costs $400 with 10 slots available. endors can also pay a flat fee of $600 to vend different events throughout the year or a $300 dollar fee for individual, one-time events. These are waived if a vendor has paid for a premiere lunch location. To be approved to park and sell on campus, food trucks must undergo a vetting process by MU's Office of Environmental Health and Safety. To begin the process, truck vendors need to fill out an application form, which asks for basic information like identification numbers, contact names and inspection results. Once vendors are approved, they sign a contract. Kara Pennington, the sanitarian at MU, typically visits each food truck vendor the first time they are on campus. |
| 'Please leave!' A Jewish UC Berkeley dean confronts pro-Palestinian activist at his home | |
 | What was supposed to be a celebratory dinner at a dean's home for graduating UC Berkeley law students on Tuesday turned into an angry confrontation over the Israel-Hamas war, free speech and accusations of anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish hatred. Several dozen law school students were invited to the Oakland home of School of Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and his wife, law school professor Catherine Fisk, for the first of three dinners they planned to host. The event, which took place in the couple's backyard garden with white-cloth-covered tables and students seated among lemon trees, was to recognize the work of law students and provide an opportunity to enjoy casual time with the two prominent professors. But the dinner quickly devolved after a Palestinian American law student who was invited stood up in front of guests and attempted to give a speech about Palestinians dying in Gaza and her desire for the university to divest from corporations involved in Israel's war and its occupation and blockade of Palestinian lands. Chemerinsky approached the student with his arms folded and shouted at her: "Please leave. No. Please leave. Please leave." Fisk grabbed away the student's microphone, while saying, "It is not your house. It is my house. And I want you to leave." The student who spoke, Malak Afaneh, said that Fisk assaulted her and that her free speech rights were denied. Chemerinsky, who is Jewish, says that the incident is the latest in antisemitic attacks on him and that free speech does not extend to his home. The university, which has been embroiled in months of protests over the Israel-Hamas war, is standing behind the dean. |
| One Scientist Neglected His Grant Reports. Now U.S. Agencies Are Withholding Grants for an Entire University. | |
 | The National Institutes of Health, the Office of Naval Research, and the U.S. Army are withholding all of their grants from the University of California at San Diego because one scientist failed to turn in required final reports for two of his grants, according to a message sent to the campus community on Tuesday. "This action is the result of one Principal Investigator's extended non-submission of final technical reports for two awards," Corinne Peek-Asa, vice chancellor for research and innovation, wrote in the message. "If you are a PI receiving a new or continuing award from one of these agencies, you will receive a notice that the award will be delayed." UC San Diego has a total of $688 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health, distributed over nearly 1,200 projects, according to the NIH's RePORTER database. The university has $10.4 million in grants from the Office of Naval Research for the fiscal year 2024, and $7.8 million from the Department of the Army, according to USASpending.gov. The Chronicle reached Isaacson by phone and asked if he was the one who didn't turn in his reports: "Well, apparently," he said. Isaacson retired in June 2022 and said he hasn't been in close contact with the university since then. "The first time I was personally aware that there was some issue involving these project reports was yesterday," he said. He received a call from his former chair on Tuesday, telling him that because of these reports he hadn't submitted, the university couldn't receive government funding. "I'm in the process of submitting these reports right now," Isaacson said. "My understanding was, frankly, when I left UCSD, I thought UCSD would take care of these things." |
| Full-time Faculty Raises Finally Beat Inflation ... Just Barely | |
 | For the first time since the pandemic began, the average salary has risen for full-time U.S. faculty members after adjusting for inflation, according to the American Association of University Professors' annual pay survey. But while that's welcome news, the raise was small -- only about a half-percent uptick from fall 2022 to this past fall. The tiny pay bump comes after years of COVID-19–era inflation eating away at faculty compensation, including entirely consuming institutions' significant efforts in 2022 to raise wages. But at the same time, the AAUP found that inflation still outpaced salary increases at more than half of the 870 colleges and universities that reported full-time faculty pay information for the survey. And the news is worse for part-time faculty members, whose per-course-section pay actually declined in the new survey when adjusted for inflation. The organization published the study's preliminary results online Tuesday. It includes data from over 375,000 full-time and 92,000 part-time faculty members. Institutions must admit first-time undergraduate students to be included, so standalone graduate schools are excluded. Brendan Cantwell, a professor of higher education at Michigan State University, said he thinks the increase in the average real wage "will be welcome news for faculty, but it will not fully address the concerns that many faculty have about the eroding purchasing power of their salaries." He added, "what we're not seeing is a real nationwide recognition of wage stagnation as a problem or a major priority for higher education." |
| College aid officials warn FAFSA mess will delay many grant and loan offers until May | |
 | Leaders of the college financial aid system assailed the Education Department over this year's FAFSA debacle, warning that ongoing delays are extending institutions' timelines for offering packages that many students' decisions hinge on. "If there was a financial aid director or even a college president that delayed financial aid on their campus for up to six months, the professional price that would be paid for that would be pretty steep," Justin Draeger, head of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, told lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. The hearing by the GOP-led House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development came one day after Education Department officials disclosed that at least 30% of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms submitted so far this year could contain errors resulting from widespread application glitches or other issues. Those forms are set to be reprocessed in coming weeks, and many will start being sent to schools by May 1, the agency said. The federal government can typically turn around FAFSA information within days, but the lags this year have extended for months. Colleges and universities are already well behind schedule due to the botched overhaul of the application process --- one that was meant to be easier and in many cases more generous, but has instead landed millions of households and campus officials in bureaucratic limbo. "It's not a trivial task to roll this out, but this rollout has been disastrous and, frankly, inexcusable," Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y., said Wednesday. The hearing signaled growing bipartisan frustrations over the FAFSA chaos, much of it focusing on the Education Department, which Draeger said faced a "crisis of credibility." |
| 'Game-Changing Crisis': Lawmakers, Experts Vent FAFSA Frustrations | |
| "Disaster." "Mess." "Crisis." Those were a few terms used by Republicans and Democrats to describe the launch of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) during a Wednesday hearing of the House higher education subcommittee that revealed their deep frustrations with the Biden administration's handling of the project, which has run months behind schedule and been riddled with issues. "We've had 32 years of a functioning system that served hundreds of millions of students and thousands of institutions," said Utah representative Burgess Owens, the Republican chair of the higher education subcommittee. "Within three years, Biden's Department of Education has managed to bring the education industry a possible game-changing crisis." After the hearing, some Republicans wanted heads to roll. The House Education and Workforce Committee said on social media that "it's time for Richard Cordray to GO." Cordray is the chief operating office of the Office of Federal Student Aid, which has overseen the FAFSA overhaul. The hearing gave college-access advocates and financial aid experts a chance to air their grievances along with committee members. The department has provided vague and ever-changing guidance, they said, along with press releases that seem to sugarcoat the situation. "We've done, undone and redone work more times this year than I can count," said Rachelle Feldman, vice provost of enrollment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "Financial aid professionals and schools feel like the rug keeps getting yanked out from under them." |
| Student Aid Woes Stalk Education Secretary in Appearance on Capitol Hill | |
 | As Miguel A. Cardona, the education secretary, appeared before lawmakers on Wednesday to make his agency's case for funding next year, members of both parties had something else on their minds: this year's chaotic college admissions process. Republicans peppered him with questions about the botched rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, which has derailed college admissions this year. Several of them asked whether the agency had diverted resources away from the project in its pursuit of canceling student debt. "There's nothing more important right now at the Department of Education," Mr. Cardona told the House Appropriations Committee of the aid form, saying that the agency was successfully juggling multiple priorities with the resources available. "We're working on this around the clock." While Mr. Cardona was testifying, the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a separate hearing where lawmakers from both parties said the problems with the aid form had harmed aspiring college students. "This isn't just a petty list of grievances," Justin Draeger, the chief executive of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, told lawmakers. "This really adds up to a crisis of credibility for the Department of Education." "The data portend a catastrophic decline in college enrollment this fall for the high school class of 2024 unless something changes very quickly," testified Kim Cook, the chief executive of the National College Attainment Network. |
SPORTS
| SEC Prepares For Fourth Annual 'All For Alex' Weekend | |
| The SEC softball community will again be united on April 13 when all 13 teams participate in the fourth annual "All for Alex" weekend to honor the legacy of Mississippi State's Alex Wilcox. Wilcox was a member of the 2018 Mississippi State softball team who inspired the nation with her courageous fight against ovarian cancer. That fight ultimately took her life in the summer of 2018. This weekend will be the second time that State has met Tennessee during "All For Alex" weekend, with the last coming in Knoxville in 2022. The Bulldogs will wear their white uniforms with teal lettering while the Lady Vols will be in teal jersey tops. All 13 SEC teams will wear teal uniforms or teal accents on Saturday. There are six conference games scheduled, and Ole Miss will host Western Kentucky. Additionally, multiple non-conference teams nationwide are expected to participate, including South Alabama where Wilcox's sister, Kassidy, played. Former Bulldog coaches and players now on coaching staffs at UTSA and UT Arlington have brought the campaign to those programs as well. The campaign is a joint effort of LSU head coach Beth Torina and MSU head coach Samantha Ricketts and was approved at the SEC coaches' meetings in the fall of 2019 before being put on hold when the 2020 conference season was canceled. This weekend Mississippi State is set to play its fifth consecutive ranked series when No. 4 Tennessee visits Nusz Park. The Bulldogs also finish the SEC regular season with series at No. 14 Missouri and at home against No. 7 Georgia. |
| What to watch, keys to victory for Mississippi State softball against Tennessee | |
| Mississippi State is among the Southeastern Conference's best in several offensive categories -- second in batting average, on-base percentage and runs scored -- but the Bulldogs will face their stiffest test yet this weekend. No. 4 Tennessee is coming to Nusz Park for a three-game series, and the Volunteers boast the best pitching staff in all of college softball. Ashley Rogers led the way last year for a team that won both the SEC regular season and tournament titles and reached the Women's College World Series for the first time since 2015, but Tennessee might be even better in the circle this year without her. The Volunteers (30-6, 10-2 SEC) are once again atop the conference standings, led by spectacular sophomore Karlyn Pickens. In 112 ⅓ innings, Pickens is 15-3 with an ERA of 0.81 and 143 strikeouts. The reigning SEC Freshman of the Year threw her second career perfect game against Loyola Marymount in February. The Bulldogs' pitching staff, led by fifth-year Aspen Wesley and sophomore Josey Marron, will need to have a good sense of how their pitches play against each batter in Tennessee's lineup. As good as the Volunteers are offensively, there are a few hitters toward the bottom of their order who aren't quite so scary, so keeping them off the basepaths feels like a must. |
| Bulldogs mark third week ranked in the Top 10 | |
| Mississippi State Track and Field has now seen its men's team finish in the Top 10 of the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Rankings for three consecutive weeks. MSU came in at No. 8 in the new rankings on Tuesday, making it the first time since 2018 the team has accomplished this feat. The high ranking comes after a series of successful team and individual performances, including freshman Jordan Ware's No. 1 ranking in the 200m event. The two-time SEC Runner of the Week also leads a No. 5 ranked Bulldog 200m event squad which includes Junior Keldrick Turner Jr. and seniors Shamar Rose and Sema'J Daniels. In addition to the 200m, the Bulldogs boast a No. 3 ranked javelin team, a No. 7 ranked 400m hurdle team, and a No. 8 ranked 4x400m team. The javelin and 400m hurdle groups featured in the national rankings for the second week in a row. Other nationally ranked individuals include Tyrese Reid at No. 2 in the 800m rankings, Roury McCloyen at No. 8 in the shot put rankings, and Remi Rougetet at No. 6 in the javelin rankings. |
| Foscue makes MLB debut, drives in run on first-career hit | |
| The call which Justin Foscue had been waiting for his entire life came earlier than expected, but the former Mississippi State standout can't quibble. On April 2, 2024, the Texas Rangers recalled Foscue, 24, their No. 5 prospect for 2024 according to MLB Pipeline, from Triple-A Round Rock after third baseman Josh Jung went on the 10-day injured list with a fractured right wrist. The 14th pick in the 2020 Amateur Draft following three seasons in Starkville, Foscue figured his call to the show would come sometime in 2024, but not this quickly. "I didn't expect it to be this early. Obviously, with Josh (Jung) going down, it's unfortunate," Foscue said. "I didn't expect it to be the first week since I didn't break (camp) with the team. I knew it was going to be this year but I'm glad just to make that debut, get out there. It feels really good to accomplish something I've dreamed of my entire life." One thing not lost on Foscue about making his debut is that he is now part of the fraternity of State products to reach the show, a list he is honored to now be included on. "Mississippi State is such a historic program. They have a history of building players and big-league players," he said. "I'm very happy I made that decision in high school. Going there definitely helped me set up for a really good career. I couldn't have been more thankful to everybody at Mississippi State for working with me, improving me as a player, making me the player I am today." |
| Hot dog-eating champ to chomp down at Grove Bowl Games | |
| University of Mississippi football coach Lane Kiffin is bringing some new twists to this year's Grove Bowl which is now called the Grove Bowl Games. The event this weekend will include seven-on-seven action and some skills competition fun. "Some fraternity and sororities will be involved," Kiffin said at a recent press conference. "There will be an obstacle course, a dunk competition and a hot dog eating competition." Joining the hot dog eating competition will be champion competitive eater, Joseph Chestnut. Chestnut, 40, won his 16th Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest this past July and also holds world records in chicken win eating contests, Krystal burger, hard-boiled eggs and even Twinkies. In getting Chestnut to come to the Grove Bowl Games, Kiffin said he just did "what everybody does nowadays." "I just DM'd him. I slid into his DMs," Kiffin said. "It should be exciting for people to watch and see and I think it'll be pretty cool for our fans," Kiffin said. All competition in the Grove Bowl Games will be offense vs. defense with points applied to the skills tests in addition to the scoring in the 7v7. Also part of the weekend will be an Ole Miss baseball home series against Mississippi State. The Rebels and Bulldogs begin the three-game set with a Friday night matchup at 7 p.m. (SECN), followed by Saturday at 7:30 (ESPN2) and Sunday at 1:30 (SECN+). |
| John Calipari officially the new men's coach at the U. of Arkansas | |
| The worst-kept secret in college basketball became official early Wednesday when John Calipari was announced as the new men's coach at the University of Arkansas. It had been widely reported since Monday that Calipari, Kentucky's coach the previous 15 seasons, would take the Arkansas job and replace Eric Musselman, who resigned last Thursday after five seasons to become Southern Cal's coach. Calipari's hiring became official when the Arkansas Board of Trustees met Wednesday in Little Rock -- some members in person and some via Zoom -- and voted unanimously to approve his contract. Calipari, 65, has signed a five-year contract with a salary beginning at $7 million per season, according to the Arkansas news release. The contract runs through April 30, 2029, with a maximum of two automatic rollover years for NCAA Tournament appearances that would extend the contract to 2031. The contract includes a $1 million signing bonus and retention bonuses of $500,000 each year of the contract, along with one-time bonuses for making the NCAA Tournament, reaching the second round, Sweet 16, Final Four and winning a national championship. Calipari, who had an annual salary of $8.5 million at Kentucky, is the highest-paid Arkansas coach ever in any sport. Musselman was paid $4.2 million. Sam Pittman, the Razorbacks' football coach, has an annual salary of $5.25 million. "The financial [commitment] is significant, but our program is worth it," Kelly Eichler, chairwoman of the Board of Trustees, said when asked about Calipari's salary. "What he will bring to the Arkansas program is worth the expenditure and we're happy to do it." |
| John Calipari Leaves Kentucky for Arkansas, and a College Basketball Era Ends | |
| Not long ago, John Calipari was so beloved by the University of Kentucky that the athletic department extended him a de facto lifetime contract. Now, after a run of promising seasons ended in early flameouts in the NCAA tournament -- and mounting pressure from a fan base with astronomic expectations -- Calipari is leaving the Wildcats. "The last few weeks, we've come to realize that this program probably needs to hear another voice," Calipari said Tuesday of a decision made with his wife. "We've loved it here, but we think it's time to step away." Calipari is not stepping away from coaching altogether, however. Instead, he's taking over fellow Southeastern Conference team Arkansas. "As I visited with Coach Calipari during this process, he acknowledged the tremendous opportunity we have at the University of Arkansas to attract and retain top players and compete for championships," Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek said in a statement on Wednesday. For Arkansas, that marks a high-priced bet that Calipari can return to the serial winner he was when he arrived in Lexington in 2009 and turned Kentucky into a perennial fixture in the Final Four. For all that early success, Calipari's tenure ended not with a bang, but a whimper -- his final game was a grim loss to Oakland, a No. 14 seed, in the Round of 64. That will require Calipari to adjust to the larger trends reshaping college basketball, in which rosters are older and more experienced than ever and the DNA of championship-caliber teams no longer resembles the freshmen-lead squads upon which he staked much of his career. It's a shift that even Calipari couldn't deny. |
| Auburn's unofficial ties with Nike have run long | |
 | The first official tease of Auburn's big apparel news highlighted a simple fact: Some of the biggest names in the school's athletic history have been adorned with the swoosh for the majority of their playing career. Auburn athletics director John Cohen tweeted the 19-second clip minutes before his athletic department officially announced its move to Nike, and it was simple messaging. In the clip, a text chain between Cohen, Auburn legends Charles Barkley and Bo Jackson, and Auburn alumnus and Apple CEO Tim Cook lit up with questions about the ensuing move as a teaser. But them leading off the roll out for such a seismic change pointed to Auburn's ties to one of the biggest athletic apparel companies in the world. It's by no means a tie as deep as Oregon's, where Nike founder Phil Knight attended college and keeps famously deep ties with the Ducks. But beyond having some standout alumni play professionally with Nikes on their feet, Auburn has ties in the Nike boardroom as much as it does on the playing field. Jackson's storied history with the Nike brand included one of its biggest advertising campaigns, second only to perhaps its rollout of the Jordan brand. Jackson's "Bo Knows" commercials for the company's cross-training shoe in 1989 and 1990 featured Michael Jordan, tennis star John McEnroe, Olympian Joan Benoit and hockey star Wayne Gretzky, as well as renowned blues guitarist Bo Diddley, among many others. |
| U. of Alabama expects more than 50,000 fans for A-Day game | |
 | The University of Alabama is preparing to welcome more than 50,000 fans to Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday for the 2024 A-Day Game in Tuscaloosa. People can expect sunny skies and temperatures in the low 80s this weekend for the spring football game, according to the National Weather Service in Birmingham. Admission to the A-Day game is free. Bryant-Denny Stadium's gates will open at noon and kickoff is set for 3 p.m., with ESPN televising. Nick Frenz, UA associate director of event management, said A-Day is an exciting event for fans who are passionate about Alabama football. He said people from all over the country come to Tuscaloosa for UA athletic events, especially Alabama football. "Between A-Day and seven regular season games, you get to see 90,000-plus people pour into campus and take in what's great about the university and University of Alabama athletics," Frenz said. In 2007, Alabama fans filled more than 92,000 seats at Bryant-Denny Stadium for then-coach Nick Saban's first A-Day game. Saban retired in January after 17 seasons at UA. With new UA football coach Kalen DeBoer's first A-Day game set for this Saturday, UA must prepare as if the stadium will be filled to its now 100,077-seat capacity, Frenz said. "We're expecting a full house this time... that's the first that we've seen anything like that in several years for an A-Day game," Frenz said. |
| Louisiana college sports venues could soon be forced to accept cash | |
| Cashless concession stands at college football stadiums could soon be a thing of the past under a bill advancing in the Louisiana Legislature. The House Education Committee Tuesday advanced House Bill 5 by Rep. Charles Owen, R-Rosepine, which would require public colleges and universities to accept cash at events, including sporting events. The bill passed on an 11-2 vote, with Reps. Barbara Freiberg, R-Baton Rouge, and Kim Carver, R-Mandeville, opposing the bill. Most college sporting venues have gone cashless in the past few years, inconveniencing some attendees, primarily teenagers and older fans who primarily rely on cash in their day-to-day lives. "We have these big events where families may have to save up a lot of money to go get a ticket to go to a ballgame or to a concert or to a speaking event or something like that... but when they get there they want to buy some water or a hamburger or a T-shirt with and they can't use their cash," Owen told committee members. Some universities have raised concerns about the bill. LSU reported in a fiscal note that Owen's bill could lead to a $75,000 annual loss of revenue for its third-party game day vendors and could slow down concession lines. |
| As 'avalanche' hits NCAA and paying players debate continues, change is coming | |
| With College Football Playoff expansion and NCAA men's basketball tournament rights totaling $2.4 billion annually and women's basketball's most marketable player in history -- Iowa's Caitlin Clark -- launching her sport to unprecedented television viewership, collegiate sports appear healthy, vibrant and lucrative. That goes for everyone except the participants. Questions are brewing from college officials to legal scholars about whether athletes should receive a piece of the postseason revenue. Those discussions have spilled over to athlete rights and employment status, both of which likely will be determined in federal court. NCAA president Charlie Baker, who spoke briefly before Sunday's women's championship game, said he wants "to make some changes to how support for student-athletes works in Division I." But where does the membership stand on paying players? Judging from a recent panel discussion at the University of Iowa, legal scholars and experts are all over the place. With lawsuits threatening to blow apart the current amateur model and the prospect of a college football super league looming in case it does, the questions are endless. But authorities agree change is coming -- fast. "The avalanche has officially hit the NCAA," said Dan Matheson, Iowa's director of sport and recreation management program and a former NCAA associate director of enforcement. |
| Insurance: The issue high-profile athletes need to consider in NIL Era | |
| Rewind the clock to the pre-NIL world: If a well-known college quarterback rear-ended a driver at a red light, the athlete may make pleasantries, exchange insurance information and be quickly on his way to grab a campus burrito for lunch. Nowadays? That's a million-dollar quarterback behind the wheel of a flashy vehicle who is rear-ending a driver -- a potential five-alarm financial fire. "If you get rear-ended by the quarterback now, you think you won the lottery," Bill Gatewood of insurance wholesaler Burns & Wilcox told On3. "You're going to lawyer up. You're going to sue that kid for everything you can. As opposed to some other senior who is driving a 12-year-old pickup truck rear-ending you – and you're just kind of pissed off that you have the aggravation of it, you exchange numbers and everybody goes about their business. "Athletes are always targets for lawsuits. It's just being pushed even younger. It's a fascinating thing to see what all this NIL money and exposure are going to do." As the NIL Era approaches its third birthday, this is an unexciting, often-overlooked aspect of the changing dynamic for college athletes. With an increasing number of power conference revenue-producing athletes enjoying high six-figure (or more) compensation packages, and with even more dollars on the way because of a coming revenue-sharing model, a new world of heightened risk is emerging that some high-profile athletes may not have ever considered. |
| No inflation here: Affordable Masters' menu still includes $1.50 pimento cheese sandwiches | |
| Jordan Janes knew when he arrived at the Masters for the first time a pimento cheese sandwich was a must-have. He wanted to soak in the Augusta National experience, and that has long included the iconic staple on the affordable Masters menu. And no, Janes was not worrying about the 556 calories and 35 grams of fat the sandwich contains, according to MyFitnessPal.com. "I'm a healthy guy and I dial it in when I'm at home," said Janes, 42, from St. Louis. "But I'm going to let go a little while I'm here. And I've already done 17,000 steps today, so I'm not going to feel guilty about it for a minute. ... And it was worth it." Jimmy Murray, 32 from Minneapolis, also tried the pimento sandwich -- which consists of shredded cheese, mayonnaise, diced pimentos, and various seasonings on two slices of white bread -- as well as the egg salad sandwich for the first time. "It's fantastic, actually," Murray said of the pimento sandwich. Inflation may be driving up the food cost around the country, but patrons generally won't see those increases at Augusta National. The prices here have mostly remained fixed for years. A club sandwich or barbeque sandwich still goes for $3, and can be topped off with a Georgia peach ice cream sandwich for $3. The price of a beer did increase to $6 dollars this year, jumping up from $5 in 2023. |
| Why Sam Burns of LSU and Scottie Scheffler are ready to withdraw from the Masters if needed | |
 | The Masters is the tournament every golfer wants to win. But good friends Sam Burns of LSU and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler are both prepared to pull out of the season's first major if they get "that call." Both of their wives are back at home expecting each couple's first child. Caroline Burns is due in just over a week, while Meredith Scheffler is due later this month. Their husbands are staying together at a rented home in Augusta for the Masters. "I miss Caroline," Burns said. "I wish she was here, but it's been fun, too. I know she wants me to be here, so hopefully no baby this week. "Hopefully stays in there until after Sunday." Scheffler and Burns played together during Wednesday's Par-3 contest. During the round Scheffler, the 2022 Masters champion and heavy pre-tournament favorite, was asked by ESPN's Sean McDonough about his plans to leave if his wife goes into labor. "I'll be out of here," Scheffler said. "The birth of your first child wins out over many things in my life." |
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