| Thursday, June 27, 2024 |
| Harvest nearly done on Mississippi's 2024 wheat crop | |
 | Officials with the Mississippi State University (MSU) Extension Service said wheat harvest was complete across most of the state by late June 2024. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated wheat harvest was 94% complete by June 23, well ahead of the five-year average for harvest. Mississippi growers planted just 70,000 acres in 2023, and the crop has averaged 96,000 acres since 2021. "Last year, we had an extremely dry fall," said Erick Larson, MSU Extension Service grain crops agronomist. "Until nearly Thanksgiving time, fields were too dry to promote germination of wheat that was seeded. That drove growers to withhold planting many acres that they otherwise would have planted in wheat." Wheat is not a major crop in Mississippi, but it typically is grown on about 180,000 acres. This year's wheat acreage was 40% down from that grown in 2023, and in keeping with a recent trend of very low acres. Larson said growers must choose whether they want a summer crop or a winter crop, although some try to harvest in June and plant late soybeans, which is known as double cropping. Wheat is the primary winter grain crop option for Mississippi growers, so it continues to be produced in the state. |
| Black pudding? Beans on toast? MSU student in UK tries British food | |
 | Have you ever tried black pudding? Or beans on toast? A Mississippi State University student is across the pond trying all of England's famous dishes and sharing his experiences. Hernando native Cooper Little is a master's student at the Agricultural Autonomy Institute at MSU. He's on a two-week exchange program in the United Kingdom, so Little is exploring everything the U.K. has to offer, including its cuisine. Little tries the food and posts what he thinks on TikTok and the videos have racked up millions of views. "I've always been a good connoisseur. I love to try new foods. I thought people would enjoy it just to see how things are different in another country," Little said. "Obviously, people have enjoyed my videos and that kind of brightens my day." Little said his favorite British meal so far has been Shepard's pie, which he said is like pot roast. As for the fish and chips, Little said it's hard to beat fried catfish in Mississippi. |
| Mary Means Business: Miskelly Furniture sets soft opening for July 15 | |
 | Miskelly Furniture will open in Starkville by July. The Pearl-based furniture store will occupy 35,000 square feet of the former Vowell's Marketplace on Highway 12. Vowell's closed in 2021. Roy Oswalt, through his company 44 Properties, purchased the property in 2021 and started renovations and divided the building into three separate retail spaces. Miskelly Furniture is the anchor space, with Ace Hardware as one of the other tenants. Although the original third tenant was intended to be a second Dollar Tree location, Oswalt confirmed he is moving in a different direction and working with a new, unnamed tenant. According to a Miskelly representative, the Starkville location will hold a soft opening July 15 and is currently hiring and looking for sales associates, delivery drivers and a sales manager. Although the representative did not have specific employee numbers, Miskelly stores of similar size hire 10 to 12 sales associates, two to three finance officers, one to two managers, and two to three warehouse personnel. |
| What do revenue figures say about future of income tax cuts? | |
 | A slight downward trend of state revenues continued in May, but the state remains in a solid financial position to fully fund the budget lawmakers set for the current fiscal year in 2023. However, revenue data may suggest that future legislative goals may face some uphill battles as income tax revenues continue to decline. According to a report issued by the Legislative Budget Office, the state's fiscal year to date revenue collections sit at $6.9 billion, which is about $17.9 million less than what was collected by this time in 2023. State personal income taxes, as reported by LBO, amounted to $2,040,348,272 for the year so far, which is $155,651,893 less than by May 2023, representing a 7.09% drop. Corporate income tax brought in $819,215,747, compared to $890,963,506 by May 2023, falling 8.05%, or $71,747,758 in just one year. Despite the downturn in income-tax collections, state sales-tax revenues saw improvement in May. The drop in income taxes is largely due to a phase down of the tax passed by the Mississippi Legislature in 2022, which will be cut down to a 4% personal income tax by FY 2026. At the time, several lawmakers, supporting more robust cuts, said revenue losses from the phase down and future cuts would be offset by sales tax revenue growth. House Speaker Jason White, R-West, in a May meeting with reporters at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson, said he is planning to cut the state's 7% grocery tax in half, phase down the state's personal income tax and find a new way to fund the Mississippi Department of Transportation. |
| Yazoo Backwater Study requests public feedback on Draft Environmental Impact Statement | |
| The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District, has announced the publication of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Yazoo Backwater Study Area (YSA) project and is requesting feedback from the public. USACE officials said the DEIS will publish Friday and will be open to public feedback through Monday, August 12. Collaboratively developed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the proposal reflects a commitment to public engagement and interagency water management, USACE officials said. The Yazoo Backwater area, situated in Mississippi, experiences recurrent flooding due to rain accumulation behind levees within the YSA drainage system. The DEIS proposes a new water management plan that integrates structural and non-structural elements to address flooding while prioritizing environmental considerations and minimizing wetland impacts, USACE said in a statement. USACE said the proposed water management plan for the YSA will reduce backwater flood risk to local communities and agricultural production, while minimizing impacts to important wetland resources. |
| Tindell announces leadership changes at Department of Public Safety | |
| The Mississippi Department of Public Safety (DPS) will be welcoming some changes to leadership beginning next week. Deputy Commissioner Keith Davis has been named colonel of the agency's Law Enforcement Division (LED). This division will include the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Mississippi Office of Homeland Security, Capitol Police, Crime Stoppers, and Public Safety Planning. LED will work in unison with all local, state, and federal agencies. Allen McDaniel has been appointed to fill the position of DPS chief of staff. In this role, McDaniel will develop and coordinate statewide initiatives in line with Commissioner Sean Tindell's vision to ensure a unified effort. Before joining DPS, McDaniel served as the executive director of the National Guard Association of Mississippi since 2017. Major Phillip Pope is being promoted to lieutenant colonel and chief of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. Pope has been serving as the interim in this role since February 2024. Josh Bromen has been named the executive director of the Board of Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training. The board aims to keep law enforcement officers well-educated on developments and equipped to meet society's growing needs to ensure public safety across the state. According to Tindell, the newly-appointed leaders will begin serving in their roles on Monday, July 1. |
| Supreme Court Draft Opinion Suggests It Will Allow Emergency Abortions | |
 | The Supreme Court appears ready to let emergency abortions be performed in Idaho, despite the state's near-total ban on procedure, according to a draft version of a decision the court accidentally posted on its website Wednesday and then quickly removed. By a 6-3 vote, the draft decision dismisses the state of Idaho's appeal of a lower court order temporarily permitting emergency abortions under federal law governing hospitals that accept Medicare, according to a copy posted by Bloomberg News, which discovered the document. Idaho state law forbids the procedure except when necessary to save a woman's life. The Biden administration, which sued the state, argued that federal law is more permissive, authorizing emergency abortions when needed to stabilize a patient in a health crisis. The Supreme Court issued a statement saying that no decision was final. The opinion "has not been released," the statement said. "The Court's Publications Unit inadvertently and briefly uploaded a document to the Court's website. The Court's opinion in these cases will be issued in due course." The document displayed a court, already far behind its usual schedule, deeply divided over the emergency-abortion question two years after it eliminated women's constitutional right to end unwanted pregnancies. |
| 7 in 10 Americans think Supreme Court justices put ideology over impartiality: AP-NORC poll | |
 | A solid majority of Americans say Supreme Court justices are more likely to be guided by their own ideology rather than serving as neutral arbiters of government authority, a new poll finds, as the high court is poised to rule on major cases involving former President Donald Trump and other divisive issues. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 7 in 10 Americans think the high court's justices are more influenced by ideology, while only about 3 in 10 U.S. adults think the justices are more likely to provide an independent check on other branches of government by being fair and impartial. The poll reflects the continued erosion of confidence in the Supreme Court, which enjoyed broader trust as recently as a decade ago. It underscores the challenge faced by the nine justices -- six appointed by Republican presidents and three by Democrats -- of being seen as something other than just another element of Washington's hyper-partisanship. The justices are expected to decide soon whether Trump is immune from criminal charges over his efforts to overturn his 2020 reelection defeat, but the poll suggests that many Americans are already uneasy about the justices' ability to rule impartially. |
| McConnell breaks with Trump on vilification of Biden | |
 | Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) says Joe Biden is a "good guy," breaking with former President Trump's repeated efforts to villainize the president as the corrupt mastermind behind schemes to steal elections and persecute political opponents. But McConnell, who has endorsed Trump, says there are plenty of compelling policy reasons to oust Biden from office, and has laid out a road map for Trump to use at Thursday's debate and on the campaign trail to attack Biden's record in office. "I know Joe Biden pretty well. He's a good guy; I like him personally," McConnell told an audience in Louisville on Tuesday, referring to the more than 20 years they spent together in the Senate and the deals they worked on when Biden was vice president. Still, McConnell said he's not a fan of Biden's record and never bought the president's efforts to paint himself in 2020 as a moderate who would govern from the center. Al Cross, director emeritus of the Institute for Rural Journalism at the University of Kentucky and a longtime McConnell observer, said the Senate GOP leader may be sending a message to moderate Republicans who aren't fans of Trump that they should focus on the policy differences between the candidates instead of their personalities. |
| 'It may be one of the more consequential in American history': Why tonight's debate could upend the 2024 campaign. | |
 | Call it the highest-stakes hate watch of any modern presidential campaign. More than 70 percent of American voters plan to tune in to Thursday night's debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, and many of them will spend the night raging against the TV. This year's contest features the highest share of adults in at least three decades expressing negative views of both candidates, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey -- higher than even four years ago, when the candidates first matched up. For these hate-watchers -----independents and voters who do not have favorable opinions of either candidate -- expectations may be low. But it's where the battle may be won or lost, in an election likely to be decided at the margins. The stakes are only low "if you're judging it as a kind of theater," said David Axelrod, the former top Barack Obama strategist. "It may be one of the more consequential in American history." As in 2016 and 2020, voters who hold an unfavorable view of both the Democratic and Republican candidates tilt slightly toward Trump now. But polling suggests that they are more persuadable. Asked whether Americans have low expectations for both candidates ahead of Thursday evening, Haley Barbour, the former Republican Mississippi governor and former chair of the Republican National Committee, put it this way: "I would be surprised if anybody could name one that was lower." |
| UM tuition increases for 2024 to 2025 school year | |
 | Tuition at the University of Mississippi is set to increase for the 2024-2025 school year with a cost of $9,612 for in-state students, and $28,440 for out-of-state students. Compared to last year, this is a $360 increase for in-state students and a $1,620 increase for out-of-state students. The 2024-25 tuition rates were approved May 16 by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees. Jim Zook, vice chancellor for marketing and communications, explained that tuition rates are set based on providing good value for students and generating enough value to have ample resources for students. Despite efforts to keep the cost low, several students still struggle to pay tuition. "I have had friends that struggle to pay their tuition," Alyssa Garcia, a sophomore allied health studies major, said. "Most pull out loans to cover what work study, financial aid and scholarships will not cover. A very few have withdrawn from the institution because of the raise of tuition and not being able to afford it." Junior Hayden Peek, a psychology major, works several jobs to pay for tuition despite being a recipient of the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Scholarship. |
| Trent Lott Leadership Institute celebrates 25 years | |
| As the Trent Lott Leadership Institute at the University of Mississippi celebrates its 25th anniversary, it continues to break new ground in developing future leaders through its unique programs. "The Lott Leadership Institute has profoundly impacted many lives and embodies our university's strengths by enhancing leadership skills in bright, energetic students," Chancellor Glenn Boyce said. "It's one of the key reasons why the University of Mississippi is known for cultivating leaders. "We're grateful to Sen. Lott and all who make the institute the success it is today. We can't wait to see what the next 25 years will bring." Earlier this month, institute leaders held an anniversary celebration at the offices of Altria in Washington, D.C. Among the guests were Lott and his family, Boyce, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, Sen. Roger Wicker and dozens of other guests, including alumni. "I think the institute has been a big success," Lott said. "We have students in our programs now from all over the country. It's become a feeder program to Washington. We've got graduates of that program working for Sen. Wicker, Sen. Hyde-Smith, Sen. Hagerty of Tennessee and (as) the chief of staff to Congressman Kustoff in Tennessee. It really has become a great recruiting tool and it's producing tremendous future leaders." |
| In the heart of Birmingham: Auburn's new building enhances opportunities | |
| Formerly a vacant reminder of what once was, a downtown Birmingham building has a new look and purpose. Auburn University President Chris Roberts and faculty members unveiled one of Auburn's newest off-campus buildings on May 23. The building's purpose is to provide a permanent home for the College of Architecture, Design and Construction's Urban Studio and a center for Harbert College of Business. Previously called the Hood-McPherson building, the former showroom is located on Fourth Avenue North and houses CADC's Urban Studio, Harbert College of Business and administrative space for the Provost Office. Auburn purchased the building in 2018 and began renovation in 2022. The building has been a notable landmark in downtown Birmingham since its construction in 1914. Nearby are other historical buildings like the Harbert Center and the Cathredral of Saint Paul. The renovation of the six-story building cost $22 million and took six years to complete. Encompassing approximately 44-thousand square feet, Williams Blackstock Architects developed the building plans with insights from the Urban Studio. The architects helped transform the furniture showroom by implementing floor plans that included a new entrance, classrooms, loungerooms and gallery and event space. |
| U. of Tennessee guaranteed admission now requires ACT or SAT | |
 | The University of Tennessee System has standardized its language across all campuses to include standardized test scores in its guaranteed admissions requirements for top-performing high school seniors. The biggest change to the guaranteed admissions policy, which is less than one year old, most applies to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. The flagship campus previously did not require an ACT or SAT score for guaranteed admission. UT Chattanooga, UT Martin and UT Southern did. The ACT and SAT score requirements, which vary between universities, are in addition to requirements related to student performance and class standing. Previously, UT Knoxville only required a 4.0 cumulative GPA or that students finish in the top 10% of their class for guaranteed admission. Other campuses had their own requirements, including a lower GPA benchmark and an ACT score. The original guaranteed admissions policy was approved in September 2023 as a way to give top-earning high schoolers in Tennessee the opportunity to receive early admission to any UT campus across the state. |
| Retiring UC Berkeley chancellor sounds off on protests, enrollment, housing | |
 | UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ took the helm seven years ago, amid roiling discontent over free speech conflicts, financial woes, sexual assault scandals and a leadership crisis under her predecessor. During her tenure, the crises never seemed to let up. The pandemic hit. Another budget shortfall opened. Opposition exploded over her housing plan at People's Park. Ever-increasing enrollment strained the campus. Pro-Palestinian protests tore the community apart. But there were also high points. A record-shattering $7.4-billion fundraising campaign. Visionary academic ventures, including the first new college in more than 50 years, dedicated to computing and data science. A surge of research and a Nobel Prize to a Berkeley professor for advances in gene-editing methods. Christ is stepping down Friday, more than 50 years after first arriving at Berkeley as an assistant professor in the English Department and serving in varied leadership roles before taking the top job. In a recent interview, Christ shared candid, even self-described "heretical" thoughts, about the highs and lows of her term and the hot-button issues she has confronted. She departs at the most agonizing chapter of her tenure on campus. "This conflict over Israel and Palestine is just ripping the community apart," Christ said. "It's student against student, faculty member against faculty member. It creates the highest level of anxiety, fear and protest that I've certainly seen in my lifetime." |
| Persistence and Retention Rates Exceed Pre-Pandemic Levels | |
 | College students' persistence and retention rates have climbed back to pre-pandemic levels -- and then some. In fact, the rate of students who returned for their second year of college last year was the highest in a decade, according to new research by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Using data from students who entered college in fall 2022, the clearinghouse reported a persistence rate of 76.5 percent, up from 75.7 percent the previous year and 73.8 percent among those who began college in 2019 -- the cohort most impacted by the onset of COVID-19 in spring 2020. Persistence measures the share of students who stayed in college from freshman to sophomore year, while retention refers specifically to those who stayed at the same institution. Doug Shapiro, the research center's executive director, said that changes in persistence and retention rates are generally very slight, so an increase of about a percentage point each year is noteworthy. "It's good for institutions ... Their overall enrollment rates should be more stable going forward," he said. This year's increases were smaller among certain racial groups, with Hispanic students' persistence rates (71.6 percent) hovering just below the pre-pandemic level of 71.8 percent for the cohort that began in 2018. The same holds true for Native American students (62.4 percent for the cohort that began in 2022 versus 63.3 versus for the 2018 cohort). On the other hand, the increase in the persistence rate of Black students is on par with the national data. |
| DEI programs toppled amid a surge of conservative lawsuits | |
 | Right-leaning public interest groups have filed a barrage of federal lawsuits intended to dismantle long-standing corporate and government programs that consider race in awarding jobs and other perks, and their litigation already is eroding the use of affirmative action in an array of American institutions. One year after the Supreme Court struck down race-based admissions at Harvard and other schools, court rulings have forced the removal of racial preferences from two major covid relief programs, a federal contracting program that doles out $20 billion a year, and even the U.S. Minority Business Development Agency, a 55-year-old agency that was ordered in March to open its doors to all races. Meanwhile, private companies are acting preemptively, seeking to avoid litigation by terminating fellowships and executive bonus programs aimed at employing minorities. Recent victories in court -- along with a rising volume of complaints filed in districts with conservative judges -- suggest this wave of litigation could substantially alter how American institutions handle issues of race. Even advocates of diversity programs acknowledge that some long-standing practices are endangered. Any organization that provides a palpable benefit to a person based on race, national origin or sex now runs a potential legal risk, said Kenji Yoshino, a professor at New York University and the director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. Under the current direction of the Supreme Court, Yoshino said, it will be "virtually always illegal" for a government or private entity to use racial classifications for hiring, promotion or other benefits. |
| Higher Ed Has Questions for Biden and Trump | |
| For an industry that employs four million Americans and attempts to educate 15 million more, higher education is, strangely, routinely ignored in presidential elections. Every four years, higher ed types wonder if this will turn out to be the long-awaited "higher ed election." And every November, they realize that aside from some jibes at "woke" students and the occasional proposal for free community college or Title IX reform, the topics that matter to colleges and universities barely came up at all. But there's hope for 2024, though not for the best of reasons. Skepticism of a college degree's value has risen to the level of a public relations crisis. The post–Oct. 7 unrest that roiled some campuses turned them -- and their students and faculty -- into convenient political objects of loathing and derision for populist Republicans and invited congressional investigations into their handling of antisemitism charges. The rise in state control over public universities bubbled up in the primary, in the form of Florida governor Ron DeSantis, and even Donald Trump declared that "firing the accreditors" -- an unlikely wedge issue if ever there was one -- would be his "secret weapon" for winning back the White House. Meanwhile, President Biden has struggled to make good on his promises to undo Trump's Title IX reforms and push through mass student loan forgiveness. At the same time, he's alienated many young voters -- who could well decide the election in closely contested swing states -- with his staunch backing of Israel. And both candidates, aiming to win over Black voters, have boasted about how much they've done for HBCUs. |
SPORTS
| Jans Announces Men's Hoops Staff Additions | |
| Doug Wagemester and Jordan Sperber will join the Mississippi State men's basketball staff announced Wednesday by head coach Chris Jans. Wagemester will serve as State's Senior Associate Athletics Director of Men's Basketball, while Sperber comes in as State's Senior Director of Basketball Strategy. "I've known Coach Wags my entire adult life," Jans said. "Our relationship has been long and trustworthy. Wags will bring a multi-faceted skill set to our program. He knows me, knows ball and is a highly organized communicator who will serve our program well in the office, on campus, and in the community. We can't wait to welcome Doug, Kim and his family to Starkville." Sperber worked for Jans as a video coordinator and analytics specialist at New Mexico State in 2017-18 where the Aggies posted a 28-6 record en route to a NCAA Tournament berth. He also was on staff for New Mexico State's NCAA Tournament bid in 2016-17 under Paul Weir. "The college basketball industry knows and respects Jordan Sperber," Jans said. "Jordan is a relentless worker that possesses a rare talent. His ability to absorb and process information to help our team gain a competitive advantage is second to none. I've worked with Jordan and witnessed firsthand the analytical skills he will use to help us succeed. Mississippi State basketball got significantly better with the additions of Doug and Jordan to our staff." |
| Will Sanderson Farms keep sponsoring PGA tournament in Mississippi? | |
| The news that Wayne-Sanderson Farms laid off 40 employees at its Laurel campus could have deeper meaning for Mississippi's only PGA event. Ever since Cargill and privately held Continental Grain formed a joint venture to acquire Sanderson Farms in 2021 for $4.53 billion, questions have swirled about whether the giant chicken company would continue to sponsor the Sanderson Farms Championships at the Country Club of Jackson. Before the merger, Sanderson Farms had been a Mississippi-owned company, with its home base in Laurel. It had been run by long-time CEO and chairman of the board, Joe Sanderson, who championed the PGA being in the Magnolia State. Since Sanderson Farms and Wayne have been a part of the tournament, they have raised more than $17 million for charity. The 2024 event will be the third since the merger into Wayne-Sanderson Farms. The original contract with Sanderson Farms to sponsor the tournament runs through 2026. Steve Jent, the executive director of the Sanderson Farms Championship, however, says he is still bullish on the tournament in Jackson, which will be played the week of September 30 this year. "I like our date with the opportunity to get some great players to come in here," said Jent, who will be working his 11th Sanderson Farms Championships. "As far as beyond (2026), those are conversations that we will have to have as we go along, but I feel good about (Wayne-Sanderson Farms') involvement, but we are also watching to see where the PGA's relationship with a public investment fund goes and how that shakes out." |
| The Baseball Coach Who Reignited College Football's Most Toxic Rivalry | |
| Mere minutes after leading the Texas A&M baseball team to within a single win of its first College World Series championship, Jim Schlossnagle insisted he had no intention of leaving. He even threw in some choice words toward a reporter who inquired about his future plans. "I think it's pretty selfish of you to ask me that question, to be honest with you," Schlossnagle said following Monday's 6-5 loss to Tennessee. "I left my family to be the coach at Texas A&M. I took the job at Texas A&M to never take another job again -- and that hasn't changed in my mind." Apparently, something has changed. On Tuesday, Schlossnagle informed Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts that he was departing. That would've been devastating enough for a famously unstable fan base that already believes the school's entire athletics operation is under the influence of an unbreakable curse. But the real gut punch was the destination. Schlossnagle ditched the Aggies hours after a brutal loss to become the head coach at Texas. It's basically the employment equivalent of skipping out on your bride at the altar and then eloping with her sister. Schlossnagle's move comes at a time when, thanks to the conference realignment transforming the college sports landscape, the blood feud between Texas and Texas A&M is on the verge of exploding. By fleeing to Texas, Schlossnagle delivered the opening salvo in the Great Sports War of Texas. |
| Expanded College Football Playoff's biggest challenge? NFL's 'manifest destiny' strategy | |
| Still six months away, it's time to circle Dec. 21 on your calendars. With a College Football Playoff opening-round tripleheader on tap, you'll have a front-row seat for the newly expanded 12-team event as well as another showdown that figures to be a lopsided affair: the emerging winter battle for eyeballs between the CFP and the NFL. As thriving college football -- fresh off its most-watched season across all networks -- stages its inaugural expanded tournament, it carries the unenviable burden of trying to schedule against the NFL. And it comes at a time when Roger Goodell has shown no hesitation in flexing the league's considerable muscle to demolish everything in its programming path. "The NFL has a manifest destiny media strategy," John Kosner, who led digital media at ESPN from 2003-2017 and is president of media consulting firm Kosner Media, told On3. The CFP's task in scheduling against the NFL, he said, is "super challenging" but "this is the world going forward." |
| California bill mandating college athletes' welfare withdrawn before vote | |
 | A bill in the California legislature that would have created wide-ranging changes aimed at mandating and regulating college athletes' health and welfare was withdrawn by its sponsor Wednesday, the day it was scheduled for a hearing and vote by a state Senate committee. Because of the legislature's calendar and legislative deadlines, the action effectively kills the bill for the remainder of a two-year session that finishes at the end of August. In addition, the bill's sponsor, Assemblyman Chris Holden, D, will reach the state-mandated 12-year limit on lifetime service in the legislature this year. An even more expansive version of the bill, which included a provision calling for college athletes in the state to receive payments from their schools based on their respective team revenue, schools narrowly passed the Assembly last June. Since then, Holden had dropped a number of elements of that version, including the revenue-sharing component. He announced that adjustment in the wake of the proposed settlement of three college-athlete compensation antitrust suits that would include a $2.8 billion damages pool and give schools the opportunity to pay athletes. In 2019, California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom, D, handed athlete advocates one of their most significant legislative victories when they enacted the first law that allowed college athletes to make money from activities connected to their name, image and likeness. |
| College Jersey Patches Next Major Revenue Opportunity, Valuations Say | |
| Multibillion-dollar broadcasting rights deals, NIL agreements and a landmark settlement for compensating athletes have changed the landscape of finances in college sports. Yet there's another frontier for colleges looking to generate revenue through sports that has yet to be explored -- the sacred jersey. Elevate's Insights and College Division has released estimated jersey patch valuations for the top 50 college football and men's college basketball teams ahead of the 2025-26 fiscal year. Among the top 50 programs with the highest revenue potential for patch sales, the top patch valuation for a college football program is $6 million, while the top for a men's college basketball program is $2.2 million. When correlated with Sportico's own research, it's assumed that the No. 1 college football team would be the Alabama Crimson Tide, and the Duke Blue Devils would be the leaders of the pack in men's college basketball. Further separating the wheat from the chaff would be the valuations of the top 10 schools for both sports. The range for the upper tier of football programs is between $3.5 million and $6 million, with an average valuation of $4.6 million. For the top 10 men's basketball programs, the range is from $754,000 to $2.2 million, with an average valuation of $1.2 million. Among all 50 programs for both sports, the average valuations are $2.2 million for a football team and $590,000 for a men's basketball team. |
| Sportswear industry is booming, but Nike is having a hard time riding the wave | |
| Nike announces its quarterly earnings this afternoon. The sportswear industry is worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year globally and is growing. But Nike and the old guard of the industry aren't necessarily cashing in. It's a pretty good time to be in the sportswear business. Participation in women's sports is growing and dress codes have loosened, per Jessica Ramírez with Jane Hali and Associates. "We entered a comfort zone in terms of trend quite some years ago," she said. But industry titans like Nike aren't taking any victory laps. Cool, young upstarts are chasing them down, Ramírez said. Think Hoka, Lululemon and On Running. "So everyone's out to get a piece of the sneaker business," Ramírez said. And some consumers may see Nike as a dinosaur brand, according to Neil Saunders with GlobalData. "It's still the undoubted leader in market share terms," he said, "but in terms of the growth profile, Nike's performance can best be described as 'lackluster.'" |
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