| Friday, August 2, 2024 |
| Camgian AI algorithms to help Army target battlefield threats | |
 | Starkville-based software company Camgian Corporation announced Tuesday that it was awarded a $55 million contract to develop advanced kill chain automation technologies for the Army's Integrated Air and Missile Defense systems. Founder and CEO Gary Butler said it is the largest contract the company has landed since it was started in 2006. "This is a big deal for us," Butler told The Dispatch Thursday. "This is a very important problem that we want to solve as a company. We feel like being able to deliver this type of capability ... could have a tremendous impact on national security, so it's a huge motivation for us as a team and a company to go solve this problem." Camgian builds software systems that use artificial intelligence machine learning algorithms to drive faster, higher quality decisions. The primary focus, Butler said, are systems that can break down a certain decision workflow into individual tasks. Algorithms are then applied to the tasks to speed up the decision making process. "So if you think about a company or an organization, there's a lot of manual decisions that are going on today in industry, and ultimately what we do is build these software applications to speed those up, improve their quality and reduce the overall labor required to execute those decisions," he said. Butler said the contract is a strong boost to Camgian's growth. He anticipates growing by 40% by the end of this year, which means the company will be continuing to hire employees. |
| Walmart renovating 36 stores in Mississippi through 2025 | |
 | Three dozen Walmart stores across the state will be renovated as part of the retailer's modernization plans. Walmart is renovating 20 Mississippi stores this year, some of which have been completed, a spokeswoman for the company said. Another 16 will be remodeled next year. In Northeast Mississippi, renovations are underway at the New Albany Walmart, and locations in Starkville and Pontotoc also are on this year's list of stores. Each store's reopening is part of Walmart's "Signature Experience," which seeks to "inspire customers and provide them with a seamless, high-quality shopping experience." Upgraded features include improved layouts, expanded product selections and innovative technology that Walmart says allows its associates to better support customers and make shopping more convenient and enjoyable. Walmart has 86 retail locations and online through Walmart Online Grocery and Walmart.com in Mississippi and employs nearly 26,000 across the state. |
| Mary Means Business: Guadalajara restaurant closing in Starkville | |
| One of Starkville's Mexican restaurants is off the chips and salsa rotation. Guadalajara Bar and Grill, located at 211 Hwy. 12., permanently closed this month. Owner Juan Murillo confirmed the restaurant's closure to The Dispatch citing issues with "hiring good employees and keeping them." The restaurant opened a little more than a year ago in the former Pizza Hut and served some of the best ceviche I've ever had. We're sad to see this restaurant close, but the silver lining is there is recently renovated prime real estate for a new business to come to town and open up shop. Keep your eyes out for something new! |
| National politics get woven into Neshoba County Fair political speeches | |
 | The Neshoba County Fair typically serves as the opportunity for Mississippi's politicians to recap accomplishments of the past year and discuss goals of the year ahead. In major election years, they use the opportunity to make a stump speech. In the absence of a major statewide race this year, many combined both state and national politics in their comments. "We keep enacting conservative policies," said Governor Tate Reeves. "We keep improving our schools. We keep making it easier for Mississippians to live their lives." His attention turned to November in the second half of his speech when he said he was "getting pretty fired up about this election" and said he's fired up because he knows that "with Donald Trump at the helm, we have a very bright future ahead." When speaking with reporters after the speech at the podium, he discussed in more detail his concerns about the Biden-Harris administration and what that could mean if Kamala Harris were elected. "There's a lot of folks that want to talk personal about this candidate or that candidate. But the reality is the inflation that we see those are conscious decisions made by the Biden-Harris administration. They have enacted laws that made inflation go up," noted Reeves. |
| Reeves uses Neshoba speech to tout economic success, urge voters to elect Trump | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves used his speech at the Neshoba County Fair on Thursday to tout recent economic successes while asserting that voters need to elect Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump if they want to see economic momentum continue in Mississippi. The Republican governor lauded roughly $15 billion in private investments that have occurred since his last stump speech at Founder's Square in August 2023. Developments such as the $10 billion data center project by Amazon Web Services in Madison County as well as a $1.9 billion electric battery production plant in Marshall County were examples Reeves used throughout the speech. While Reeves doubled down on his endorsement of Trump, he did note that beating presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris will not be easy. "Look, it's going to be hard. There's no doubt in my mind. If any Republican across the country is sitting somewhere today believing that we're not all going to have to work hard between now and Election Day, then they're thinking the wrong way," Reeves said. "I don't like to say that I'm ever getting nervous or anything like that, but we better work hard. If we don't work hard, we're going to find our way in a difficult spot." |
| Mississippi officials focus on red meat, presidential race in Neshoba County Fair stump speeches | |
| Most of the Neshoba County Fair crowd stood Thursday and chanted "fight, fight, fight" at the behest of Republican Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson who vowed to battle the "liberal, woke agenda that has America in its jaws." Fight was the cry of former President Donald Trump as he was helped up by Secret Service agents after barely escaping an assassination attempt at a recent Pennsylvania rally. Fight also is what Trump urged his followers to do in 2021 before they attacked the U.S. Capitol in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the certification of Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election. The animated crowd was an example of how the second day of political speaking at the red dirt Founder's Square at the Neshoba County Fair on Thursday was mostly highlighted by red-meat statements stressing the importance of electing Donald Trump as president and less on state policy positions. One fair visitor making the rounds at cabins and glad-handing was the source of much talk Thursday: billionaire businessman Thomas Duff, a potential Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2027. Duff, the co-wealthiest Mississippian along with his brother, has helped fund numerous other politicians' campaigns over the years and could self-fund a serious one for himself. Asked about any plans to run for governor as he met with movers and shakers at the fair, Duff said: "I'm very much considering it, and I'm very much interested in it." |
| Gipson considering run for governor, state leaders talk elections during Neshoba County Fair | |
 | At least one more political speaker at Thursday's Neshoba County Fair announced he is considering running for governor in 2027, while several others threw support behind Donald Trump in his race for the nation's highest office. Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Andy Gipson on Thursday became the third political speaker this week at the Neshoba County Fair to say he is considering a campaign for the state governor's office in 2027. State Auditor Shad White and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann also made nods to a potential run in 2027 on Wednesday. In an interview with reporters regarding a speech Gipson gave at the fair Thursday morning, Gipson said he is considering whether to run for the state's highest office, but he is mostly focusing on his role as Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner. "I'm praying about that," Gipson said. "I'm carefully considering it, and I've not made a decision, but I will keep praying. I want to be the best Agriculture Commissioner. That's my goal." Gipson said he has recently had a few fundraisers and spoke to his staff about campaign financing. "I have started looking into that," Gipson said. |
| Crowded, experienced field vying for pair of contested Mississippi Supreme Court seats | |
| Two of four open Mississippi Supreme Court seats are being contested, with five candidates battling for a central district position. While southern district incumbent Justice Dawn Beam is running head-to-head against Gulfport attorney David Sullivan in District 2, the central district's incumbent Justice Jim Kitchens faces a full stable of contenders to retain his seat. The latter race took the spotlight at the Neshoba County Fair on Thursday in front of District 1 voters. In a relatively quiet statewide election year, a packed Founder's Pavilion was keener than usual on the nonpartisan court seat race as one of their own, Neshoba County native Jenifer Branning, is aiming to unseat Kitchens. While Kitchens and Branning drew the most attention, two of the three other challengers spoke and emphasized a wealth of experience. Perhaps the largest cheer of the day came when Neshoba native Jenifer Branning took the stage. With the upcoming presidential election commanding the attention of most politicos, the Philadelphia native and current state senator reminded voters of the importance of court elections this season. "I fully realize the presidential election is on everyone's mind, because we all know how incredibly important it is to our future," Branning said. "But, for the next few minutes, I'm asking you to give the same attention to the Mississippi Supreme Court election because it's equally as important to our future and has tangible effects on your life." |
| McRae emphasizes returning unclaimed money, funding programs making college more affordable | |
| State Treasurer David McRae highlighted his role in returning historic amounts of money to Mississippians, maximizing the state's investment returns, and dedication to locking in affordable tuition rates for college students. In the past five years, McRae's office has delivered a record-breaking $100 million in unclaimed money, the lawmaker announced at the Neshoba County Fair on Thursday. The recently re-elected treasurer has made it his mission in office to give these funds, which he does not want to sit in the government's coffers, back to the rightful owners. In addition to money being allocated to the people, the state saw a hefty return on its investments. According to McRae, who is tasked with managing the state's cash flow, Mississippi collected $375 million in interest during the last fiscal year. With a bulk of the money anticipated to go into Mississippi's general fund, the earnings are expected to ease potential financial burdens on taxpayers. McRae further noted that the Mississippi Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (MPACT) Legacy Plan, or contracts purchased before 2014, is now 99.7% funded. When McRae took office in 2019, the program covering public in-state undergraduate tuition rates and some fees, was only 72% funded, leaving contract holders concerned as to whether or not they would see any of the program's benefits. As for the Horizon Plan, or MPACT contracts purchased since 2014, the program is fully funded at 145%. McRae celebrated the feat as a successful effort by his office to make the Magnolia State a unique place to live and a hospitable environment for families to thrive. |
| More than a year later, hospitals receive remainder of state grant to offset COVID-19 losses | |
| After a series of roadblocks, hospitals across the state have received millions of dollars in grant funding allotted to them by the state Legislature in 2023. Over 100 Mississippi hospitals -- or 97.4% of eligible facilities -- received grants ranging from $12,356 to $1 million, meant to offset the challenges health care facilities faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though lawmakers intended to award hospitals $103 million, the grants ultimately totaled just over $81 million. State officials responsible for administering the money breathed a sigh of relief at a recent State Board of Health meeting, marking the successful disbursement of the last funds to 32 additional hospitals. The Mississippi Hospital Sustainability Grant is "done and done, never to be spoken of again," said State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney. Initially lauded as a boon for hospitals in dire financial straits, lawmakers created the grant program last year. Legislators originally intended to fund the grant with state money, but somewhere in the legislative process, the funding source was switched to federal COVID-19 relief money. That switch made some hospitals ineligible to receive the money. This spring, legislators passed a corrective bill authorizing $20.4 million from the state's general fund to hospitals left in the lurch by the statute's error last year. |
| Job report: Employers added just 114,000 jobs in July as unemployment jumped to 4.3% | |
 | U.S. hiring slowed substantially in July as employers added a disappointing 114,000 jobs amid historically high interest rates, persistent inflation and growing household financial stress. The unemployment rate rose from 4.1% to 4.3%, highest since October 2021, the Labor Department said Friday. The rise, along with the pullback in payroll gains and slowing wage growth bolsters the Federal Reserve's case for cutting interest rates in September. Economists had estimated that 175,000 jobs were added last month, according to a Bloomberg survey. Compounding the picture of a flagging job market: Employment gains for May and June were revised down by total 29,000. The unexpected sharp rise in the jobless rate triggers the Sahm rule. It says that if unemployment, based on a three-month average, rises by at least a half percentage point over the past 12 months, the nation is probably in a recession. While the rule has correctly predicted all U.S. recessions since the 1970s, many economists say this time is different. An immigration surge, along with the return of many Americans to the workforce after COVID, has caused unemployment to climb without the usual spread of layoffs because many people who are looking for jobs haven't yet landed positions. Still, the rising unemployment rate underscores that the job market is weakening and it eventually could set off a downturn, says Wells Fargo economist Sarah House. |
| $310 million: Grassroots enthusiasm fuels Kamala Harris' record month of fundraising | |
 | Vice President Harris' presidential campaign says it raised more than $310 million in July, driven by a record-breaking $200 million in the first week after she replaced President Biden as the likely Democratic presidential nominee. Last month's totals include a number of shattered fundraising records, the campaign says, including the fastest time to raise a billion dollars and the weeklong outpouring of donations after a struggling Biden said he would no longer run for president. Two-thirds of the donations made last month came from first-time donors, according to the Harris campaign. The avalanche of contributions and grassroots enthusiasm for Harris heading into this month's Democratic National Convention has virtually erased a fundraising and cash lead that Trump held over Biden this summer, but the former president's financial picture is still strong. Trump's July fundraising numbers are among the largest he has seen, in a month that saw the former president survive an assassination attempt, have the classified document criminal case against him dismissed, and included a triumphant Republican National Convention where he announced Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance as his running mate. The $139 million announced by his campaign Thursday is just under the $141 million in May when he was convicted in the New York hush-money case and an increase from June's $112 million. |
| Trump splits with GOP lawmakers on national security, raising alarm | |
 | National security-minded Republican lawmakers are alarmed by what they see as a growing split between themselves and former President Trump on key issues, including the war in Ukraine, preserving the NATO alliance and protecting Taiwan from Chinese aggression. Trump's actions over the past three weeks have stirred confusion and concern among Republican senators who voted earlier this year to approve tens of billions of dollars to contain Russia's invasion of Ukraine and to deter China from attacking Taiwan, an important U.S. ally and trading partner. Defense-minded GOP senators viewed Trump's invitation to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to visit him at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after the NATO summit in Washington as a worrisome development, given Orbán's close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his efforts to undermine NATO's support for the defense of Ukraine. GOP senators who support U.S. involvement in the war in Ukraine were dismayed when Trump selected Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), who led the opposition to the Ukrainian assistance package, as his running mate. And Senate Republicans are feeling uneasy about Trump's assertion that Taiwan should pay more for its defense and refusal to commit to defending the island. |
| Inside the Secret Negotiations to Free Evan Gershkovich | |
 | Evan Gershkovich's mother, Ella, arrived for an urgent 10:30 a.m. meeting at the White House with President Biden on Thursday, the 491st day of her son's detention. She had been told to bring her husband Mikhail and her daughter Danielle in a three-minute call that ended with a strict instruction: Tell no one. Five thousand miles away, Evan Gershkovich was in his final hours in Russia's custody, aboard a Tupolev-204 government jet bound for a Turkish airport where orange-vested security personnel were waiting nervously. The Wall Street Journal reporter, 32 years old, had been documenting Russia's descent into repression when agents grabbed him from a steakhouse and turned him into the story he'd been trying to cover. Now he was set to be a central component in one of the most complicated prisoner swaps in history. Across Europe, planes were ferrying the other human pieces of a fragile puzzle: among them, two other Americans and eight Russians who had together served decades in political prisons and penal colonies. They ranged from hardened dissidents who had braved poisoning and hunger strikes to ordinary Americans who found themselves reduced to bargaining chips in a yearslong geopolitical tug of war with Vladimir Putin. At the center of the struggle were the U.S. and Germany, two allies grappling with the moral and strategic calculus of freeing guilty prisoners to bring their innocent citizens home. |
| It's orientation week for the more than 200 new students in the College of Osteopathic Medicine at William Carey University. | |
 | More than 200 new students in William Carey University's College of Osteopathic Medicine were officially welcomed to campus Thursday. Members of the Class of 2028 have been getting ID badges and parking decals, taking tours of campus and getting individual and group photos taken. University administrators and members of the Mississippi State Medical Association welcomed the group. "We are welcoming 202 new students here," said Italo Subbarao, the College of Osteopathic Medicine dean. "Once again, the vast majority of our students are from the Gulf South, but these students that come in, we're here to cultivate their hearts and minds and, hopefully, they're going to one day come and practice here in Mississippi, soon after." Classes for the new students begin on Monday. |
| 'A New Low': Civil Rights Chief Calls Out Discrimination on Campuses | |
 | Since the start of the war in Gaza last fall, as pro-Palestinian protesters amassed on many college campuses, criticizing Israel and chanting, "From the river to the sea," college officials have struggled to find the line between what's protected free speech and what's discriminatory conduct. But Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Education Department, said Thursday during a panel discussion on campus free speech that there is not necessarily a conflict between the two. "One of the things that I'm still astonished by is the degree of paralysis on this question," Lhamon said. "I see so many universities taking the position that they can't even address it because it's free speech. And actually, that's not right." "It may be that you can't discipline the speaker, because the speech is protected. And I support that," she explained. "But that's not the end of the inquiry. The inquiry has to also be, are the students who are Jewish, Palestinian, Arab on campus safe?" Thursday's event was the one of few times Lhamon has commented extensively about the protests and debates on campus in the past year, though her agency has provided guidance letters to colleges about how they can comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin, including antisemitism and Islamophobia. Other details about the agency's view have come out through resolution agreements. |
| Thousands were arrested at college protests. For students, the fallout was only beginning | |
 | Since her arrest at a protest at the University of Massachusetts, Annie McGrew has been pivoting between two sets of hearings: one for the misdemeanor charges she faces in court, and another for violations of the college's conduct code. It has kept the graduate student from work toward finishing her dissertation in economics. "It's been a really rough few months for me since my arrest," McGrew said. "I never imagined this is how UMass (administration) would respond." Some 3,200 people were arrested this spring during a wave of pro-Palestinian tent encampments protesting the war in Gaza. While some colleges ended demonstrations by striking deals with the students, or simply waited them out, others called in police when protesters refused to leave. Many students have already seen those charges dismissed. But the cases have yet to be resolved for hundreds of people at campuses that saw the highest number of arrests, according to an analysis of data gathered by The Associated Press and partner newsrooms. Along with the legal limbo, those students face uncertainty in their academic careers. Some remain steadfast, saying they would have made the same decisions to protest even if they had known the consequences. Others have struggled with the aftermath of the arrests, harboring doubts about whether to stay enrolled in college at all. |
| Senate Eyes Pell Grant Boost, More Money for Federal Student Aid | |
| Senate appropriators on Thursday signed off on a bipartisan spending plan that would provide low-income students with more money for college and send $100 million more to the cash-strapped Office of Federal Student Aid. The plan is a stark contrast to the sweeping cuts to the Education Department's budget proposed by House Republicans earlier this summer. Their legislation would keep funding flat for the Pell Grant program while eliminating 17 other programs and cutting $529 million from Federal Student Aid's budget. The House has yet to vote on that bill, which made it out of committee on a party-line vote. Congress has until Sept. 30 to pass a budget for fiscal year 2025 in order to avert a government shutdown. Most analysts don't expect to see a shutdown in an election year and say it's more likely lawmakers will pass a short-term measure that would keep funding at current levels and give themselves more time to reach an agreement. The legislation would give the National Institutes of Health an additional $2 billion, which could mean more money for research at universities, and send nearly $1 billion more to the Education Department. The House plan would cut the department's budget by $11 billion. |
| Biden administration takes another crack at student debt relief | |
| President Joe Biden's administration is taking another crack at student debt relief. It proposed a rules change under an existing higher education law that would give some borrowers a break on interest charges. The administration hopes this plan will be more durable against legal challenges. This latest effort would waive some of the interest accrued by a few narrow groups of student borrowers, but could still bring relief to some 30 million people. The plan comes after Biden's attempt at broader debt relief was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court and while his administration's income-driven repayment plan is stalled on appeal. "It's another bite at the apple, essentially," said Cary Coglianese, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. This time around, he said that the administration is going the regulatory route, eyeing statutory rules changes to waive accrued interest. But "the administration knows they'll be challenged in court -- no one would expect otherwise," he said. And while the new plan addresses some of the old one's legal vulnerabilities, Coglianese said that federal judges could still strike it down on grounds that the White House is acting outside its authority. "So it's a risky strategy," he said. That's likely to take the debt relief question back to the U.S. Supreme Court. |
| Why Howard U. Has Gone Mute on Kamala Harris, Its Famous Alum | |
 | In 2019, hours after announcing her first presidential run, Kamala Harris held an impassioned news conference on the campus of Howard University, her alma mater and one of the highest-profile historically Black institutions. "Some people are asking, 'Why are you bringing everyone together here?'" Harris said. "It is because Howard University is one of the most important aspects of my life." When she was inaugurated months later as the nation's vice president, Howard's then-president pledged the university's "unwavering support." "Harris's ascendence is a powerful symbol of the progress our country has made," Wayne A.I. Frederick said in his statement at the time. "To be sure, that progress has been inconsistent, and our country is far from perfect. But we would be remiss to overlook the significance of what Harris's inauguration represents." Now, Harris is the presumed Democratic nominee for president of the United States, and in the two weeks since her announcement, Ben Vinson III, Howard's current president, has been noticeably mute. No congratulations. No rallies. No reminders to the nation that Harris is a "daughter of Howard." In the last few years, college presidents have come under rapid fire for saying anything deemed political. Politicians have reminded colleges about their nonprofit status, which prohibits institutional endorsement of candidates or political parties, and some boards of trustees have blocked college presidents through policy from saying anything deemed overtly political. The pressure to stay politically neutral is especially acute for Howard, which is uniquely tethered to the whims of the federal government. |
| You say it's your birthday | |
| Mississippi newspaper publisher and columnist Wyatt Emmerich writes: It's my birthday. I'm 66 years old. I kind of dread birthdays, not because they remind me that I'm getting older, but because the day is filled with distracting texts, emails and Facebook posts wishing me happy birthday. What a Scrooge I am! ... So far, I have been blessed with excellent health. I really don't feel any different than when I was 35. Last week I shot my best round of golf of my life (and not from the senior tees!). I can still run fast on the tennis court. It's just that the stakes are higher. Injuries happen quicker and take longer to heal. So I say "good shot" more often. My son Lawrence can now beat me at tennis, a generational change. But I can still win if I'm willing to injure myself. One more year and my young Ruth will be out of college. That's a weight off my shoulders. I feel like I have done my duty for God and children. I have done my best to raise another generation. I love my family. ... If I could sit down with each of you, I could spend two hours describing my life experience and you would think I was the luckiest person ever born. Or I could spend two hours describing my life and you would think I was a modern day Job. It's which events you choose to focus on. Life is a mix of joy and tragedy. |
SPORTS
| The Start Of Stacking Days: Dawgs open preseason camp by pleasing head coach Jeff Lebby with focus and intensity. | |
| At long last, football is back. On a beautiful summer morning in Starkville on Thursday, new Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby led his Bulldogs through their first practice of the 2024 preseason. There was of course no scoreboard. No pads are even on yet. However, Lebby couldn't help but come out of Thursday's action encouraged by what he saw. "Our guys had great energy [and were] just being intentional," Lebby said. "They worked their butt off this summer to get us to this point. We have so much work to do and so much to clean up, but again, our guys' energy, our effort, our focus and our want to get better is what it's all about on day one." Soon enough, August 31 will arrive and there'll be an accurate way to measure victories and losses when the games begin. There are little things to look for between now and then though -- things that are precursors to success. The Bulldogs return to the practice fields on Friday. |
| 'It's hard and it's supposed to be': New-look Bulldogs kick off fall camp | |
| The Mississippi summer heat is still visible just above the turf field at the Leo Seal Jr. complex, but college football is just 30 days away from returning to Starkville. In that heat stood first-year Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby, barking about footwork to his quarterbacks as he and his team prepared for what they hope is the start of a new era of Bulldogs football. "We want to see guys who are very intentional and getting better," Lebby said after the first day of preparation for the new season. "Taking to the coaching, finding ways to get coached, a 'Coach me, coach,' attitude every rep, and finding ways to strain." Lebby took over a team that finished 5-7 with the worst offense in the Southeastern Conference in 2023 and made an immediate impression in recruiting the 2024 high school class and transfer portal. Now he has a group with a lot of new faces, but with a productive spring practice period under their belts, most of them are quickly getting up to speed. "Our guys have retained in a really good way because they've worked at it," he said. "It's not like they haven't picked up the playbook since we got off the field in the spring game. They've put in the time and we're so much further ahead than we were when we ended the spring, and now it's about getting the young guys and the new guys up to speed and getting them working." |
| What Jeff Lebby said about first Mississippi State football practice | |
| Mississippi State football opened preseason practice Thursday, which new coach Jeff Lebby said marked an exciting day for him. He said every first practice translates to the start of a lengthy journey - especially while being at the helm of the MSU football program. "There was great excitement around being able to finally get started and get going and get back on the grass, without a doubt," Lebby said. "I think for me, day one is always been very similar from an excitement standpoint. "We're starting this journey together. We're going to chase it together. Now I've got the opportunity to lead the entire program, which, you know, I love and I'm thankful for." Lebby is in a similar situation with many transfers and incoming freshmen. It's also his first preseason practice in Starkville since being hired in November, and he said the energy from the start of the 9 a.m. practice was present from the outset. "Our guys had great energy," he said. "Just being intentional and worked their butt off this summer to get us to this point." |
| Position preview: Looking at Mississippi State's tight ends room for the 2024 season | |
| The countdown to this year's college football season has begun in earnest with less than five weeks until Mississippi State opens the season on Aug. 31 against Eastern Kentucky at Davis Wade Stadium. The Bulldogs, under first-year head coach Jeff Lebby, opened fall camp on Thursday. As camp progresses, The Dispatch will be taking a look at each position group on MSU's roster, noting who could be the potential starters, backups and impact players to look out for on the gridiron. After getting very little production from their tight ends last year, the Bulldogs are excited about what the room can contribute this fall. London native Seydou Traore sat out last season after transferring twice in the same year but is eligible to play now, and brothers Justin and Cameron Ball should make an impact after arriving via the transfer portal. Here is all you need to know about MSU's tight ends heading into the 2024 campaign. |
| Women's Golf Announces 2024-25 Schedule | |
| Coming off the program's first SEC Championship last season, head coach Charlie Ewing announced the schedule for the 2024-25 campaign, which sees Mississippi State compete in nine tournaments throughout the regular season. For the third straight season, the Bulldogs will begin their campaign hosting the Carmel Cup at the renowned Pebble Beach Golf Links on August 30. The course, which has featured seven U.S. Open Championships, saw its first U.S. Women's Open Championship take place in 2023. On September 20th, State will then return to the Mason Rudolph Championship for the first time since 2022, which saw that year's squad take home the team title. Next up, the team will return to the Blessings Collegiate Invitational on September 30th for the third straight year. Like the Mason Rudolph, the Bulldogs took home the 2022 and team title, as well as the individual title after a stellar performance from Julia Lopez Ramirez. Last year's Blessings saw State finish second in a weathered shortened tournament. State will conclude their fall season when they return to Old Waverly Golf Club on October 21st to host their annual home tournament, The Ally. The Bulldogs finished runner up in West Point last season after a career-best tournament from Surapa Janthamunee. The spring season will see State take on five tournaments in preparation for postseason play. |
| Finebaum, ESPN agree to multi-year extension: 'I consider myself incredibly blessed' | |
 | Paul Finebaum and ESPN have agreed on a multi-year contract extension, it was announced Thursday. Finebaum will continue his role as the host of "The Paul Finebaum Show" and as a commentator on "SEC Nation." In addition, "Finebaum Friday" will travel to SEC campuses and game sites this fall. "I consider myself incredibly blessed to be a member of this talented team at ESPN and get to do what I do on a daily basis," Finebaum said in a press release. "I'd like to thank everyone at ESPN, as well as our loyal listeners and viewers, for their continued support. Finebaum is a mainstay in the SEC, having served as host of the Paul Finebaum Radio Network (2001- 2012) and previously spent decades as an award-winning columnist and investigative reporter for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" and later the "Mobile Press-Register." The first #FinebaumFriday of the new season will originate from Gainesville, Fla. on Aug. 30 as "The Paul Finebaum Show" and "SEC Nation" head to The Swamp for Miami vs. Florida. |
| A&M Regents green light contract completion for baseball coach Michael Earley | |
 | Texas A&M's Board of Regents approved an item Thursday to give A&M President Mark A. Welsh III authorization to rubberstamp contracts for new A&M head baseball coach Michael Earley and an unspecified assistant baseball coach. The terms of Earley's contract are not available yet. Regents discussed the agenda item during executive session Wednesday. There was no discussion on the item during open session Thursday. Earley's hiring was made official June 30. He had been an assistant for the Aggies under former coach Jim Schlossnagle for the last three seasons overseeing hitters and coaching first base. He briefly followed Schlossnagle to Texas in the same role when the Longhorns hired the former A&M skipper one day the Aggies' run to the College World Series finals, but returned to Aggieland less than a week later to take over the program. ... Regents also authorized A&M System leaders to begin designing the second building for A&M's research campus in Fort Worth. The building could cost a total of $260 million and feature 150,000 gross square feet of offices and lab space for the A&M System with an estimated cost of $150 million. The rest of the space would be used for private partners and parking areas for campus tenants and the public. Tenants of the building would include members from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and the Texas Division of Emergency Management. |
| Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti talks Pac-12 arrivals, his work with Greg Sankey and negotiating within the Power Four | |
| The Big Ten's rookie commissioner touched down in enemy territory and set about his secret mission: Find common ground with the SEC and establish a partnership that could haul college sports into a new era. It was the spring of 2023 and Tony Petitti was in his first month on the job, fresh off a series of meetings with Big Ten presidents and athletic directors. "Working with the SEC was a priority," Petitti told the Hotline last week during Big Ten football media days at Lucas Oil Stadium. "So many challenges are similar. The resources are similar. The decision-making. The influence in terms of fans. The size of it ... So I flew to Birmingham a few weeks into the job." Upon arrival, a funny thing happened: Petitti did not feel like the road team. He was comfortable with everything -- with the Birmingham vibe, with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and with the ethos of a conference that, despite the Big Ten's best efforts, has dominated the sport for years. In some ways, Petitti was on familiar ground. Three decades earlier, during his tenure with CBS Sports, Petitti had walked into the SEC offices alongside fellow executive Mike Aresco and president Sean McManus to negotiate a groundbreaking television deal. "At the time, it was the SEC and the Big East on CBS," Petitti recalled. "And we made the decision to make it the SEC only. So we flew to see (commissioner) Roy Kramer. We had this idea: 'You can be the first conference to have your own network. We'll give you 3:30 p.m. (Eastern), and you give us the best game.' |
| Why revenue sharing with college athletes remains complicated amid antitrust settlement pushing forward | |
| If only there was just one thing missing from the House v. NCAA settlement agreement filed last week. Instead, there are several thousand: the athletes themselves. The landmark settlement -- still awaiting final approval in court -- formalizes schools compensating athletes for their on-field talents. It's OK to say it out loud: Pay for play has arrived. Actually, pay for play is here against the will of some of those who opposed it. Deal with it. "That is something that for over 100 years they fought desperately," said Jim Cavale, founder of Athletes.org, a college athletes association. "You can pull tons of statements from coaches, ADs, commissioners and presidents saying that day would never come. Some of them are still active. And it's here. It's going to happen." But in what form? With a few days for the settlement implications to, well, settle, it's clear there is a giant hole in the 133-page document. Not one athlete was at the table with a voice when the deal was hammered out. "You have a bunch of lawyers working with the NCAA without athlete involvement to sort of work out these issues," said sports law attorney and athlete advocate Maddie Salamone. "Maybe athletes get in a room and they decide these are things they're in favor of and they're bargaining. This is not that. It really comes across as an effort to settle the case and collect fees." |
| Boosters and collectives would be targeted by mandatory disclosure of NIL deals. Is that legal? | |
| College sports leaders believe they have found a way through a massive antitrust settlement to finally separate "true NIL" for athletes from booster-funded payments they say are actually pay-for-play or recruiting inducements masquerading as endorsement deals. If the settlement is approved by a federal judge, mandatory disclosure rules, an outside clearinghouse to assess deals and an enforcement process that includes neutral arbitrators will be used to scrutinize name, image and likeness transactions between athletes and third parties for fair-market value, with a keen eye toward so-called NIL collectives. For some, the plan looks like an overstep by the NCAA and power conferences that will eventually lead them back to court. "Honest question here for those in the #NIL space, as well as all fans of sports: WHY should a college athlete be required to submit, for approval by the NCAA (or any other group) an NIL deal over $600 (as proposed by the NCAA)?" Russell White, the head of The Collective Association, posted on social media. Other legal experts see ample precedent in professional sports leagues to support the attempt to regulate NIL. "The idea that there's going to be a whole lot of litigation around this disclosure requirement, to me, was not completely well thought out," said Jay Ezelle, an Alabama attorney who has been involved in NCAA cases and antitrust lawsuits. |
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