| Tuesday, September 3, 2024 |
| MSU EcoCAR team shares experiences with MCCers | |
 | The Mississippi State University EcoCAR Mobility Challenge Team members who visited Meridian Community College are driven, and they want others who are willing to take the journey to a career in the automotive industry. The EcoCAR Mobility Challenge is a collegiate competition where university teams re-engineer vehicles with advanced propulsion, electrification and automation technologies. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors, the challenge develops skills for the future automotive workforce, focusing on energy efficiency, safety and consumer appeal. Speaking with MCC's Phi Theta Kappa academic honor society members and to other MCC faculty, staff and students, the team members were invited by the Mississippi Automotive Manufacturers Association to share their experiences working on cutting-edge automotive projects. They also emphasize the value of hands-on learning. The visit was part of MAMA's efforts to promote the automotive industry in Mississippi and encourage students to consider careers in this growing field. William "Skip" Scaggs, executive director of the North Mississippi Industrial Development Association, explained that the organization has been fostering the growth of the automotive industry in Mississippi since 2006. Connor Kangheng, one of the MSU team members, said the Eco-car project allowed students to apply engineering principles in real-world settings. As a bonus, participants' experience is comparable to an internship, providing valuable industry-level exposure and preparation for future careers. |
| MSU clinic set for new location and expansion | |
 | A new location and expanded reach. Mississippi State University's Psychology Clinic cut the ribbon on its new home that features expanded space and more mental health services. MSU graduate students will receive clinical training here. And they will not only serve their fellow classmates but also the community. "We provide therapy and assessment services for all ages. So we do have a lot of local folks that come to see us, but for some people, if they need a specialized assessment, they might drive several hours to come and see us," said Emily Stafford, Director of The Psychology Clinic. "We are working together towards something beneficial to the public health and one of our concerns is that Mississippi is an area where there is a lack of service and there's a lot of mental health needs," said Tram Nguyen, a graduate student of MSU. |
| Agritourism continues to be a draw in Mississippi | |
 | Farms are one of the most prominent symbols of agritourism in Mississippi, according to the Mississippi State University (MSU) Extension Service. Fall marks the time of year when this activity is at its peak, and one easy way to experience it firsthand with minimal advance planning is the Mississippi Hills Farm to Fork Foodie Trail. The 35-stop route across 19 full counties and parts of 11 others encompasses a variety of agritourism examples in the state's northeastern quadrant. Stops include the farms where commodities are grown and produced, and the restaurants, farmers markets and local stores where goods are sold. The MSU Extension Service Center for Government and Community Development partnered with the Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area to curate the trail. "The idea behind Farm to Fork was to share the area's agricultural and culinary story with first-time visitors to the state and to show people who live in Mississippi something about food systems that they may not have known," said Rachael Carter, MSU Extension tourism specialist and instructor with the center. "The locations aren't limited to farms and restaurants. The trail also has a meadery, florist, creamery, apiary and a coffee roasting business, along with a selection of farmers markets." |
| State's Summer Drought Has Pasture, Crop Impact | |
 | This summer has not just felt hot and dry; close to half the state is in moderate to severe drought, and temperatures have been mostly in the 90s through all of August. Mike Brown is the state climatologist and Mississippi State University professor of meteorology. He said much of the northern two-thirds of the state has been fluctuating between drought and being OK. "The recent warm temperatures, lower humidity and lack of precipitation has pushed us into a drought," Brown said. "The final severity will depend upon when and how much rain we receive in the next three to four weeks." This year's drought is made worse by the drought of 2023. "While precipitation returned to normal in most locations toward the end of the year and early into 2024, normal was not enough to offset deep soil moisture loss from 2023," he said. "We need to have several months of 110 to 125% of normal rainfall in order to recharge our deep soil moisture." Little relief is in sight until the weather is expected to turn a bit cooler and become wetter in late September or early October. |
| First responders gather to test, evaluate how drones can be used to communicate with large crowds | |
| First responders from all over the country gathered to test and evaluate the effectiveness of using unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, as a tool of communication to share critical emergency information with large crowds, according to a release from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology. In July, an operational field assessment (OFA) conducting various scenarios took place at the Raspet Flight Research Laboratory, a satellite complex that is part of Mississippi State University. "The OFA is testing the maneuverability of the drone and trying to make sure that it works the way that the first responders will need it to. Is it loud enough? Is it clear enough for people to hear? The idea is to have very clear messages to the crowd, to help keep them safe, and to keep the first responders safe," said Brenda Long, a program manager in the First Responder Capability program. Developed and prototyped by Cornerstone Research Group (CRG) for the Science and Technology's First Responder Capability program, the Bellbird Aerial Communications Platform was created as a safer and more efficient tool for law enforcement and first responders to disseminate crucial emergency information to large crowds. |
| Foundation, MSU Continue Commitment to STEM Education in Mississippi Through a $180,000 Grant For Online Computer Science Classes | |
| The C Spire Foundation is continuing its commitment to K-12 students in Mississippi through a $180,000 donation to Mississippi State University that further supports STEM and the development and implementation of online computer science classes. The initiative builds on the C Spire Foundation's $1 million donation in 2021 to help train more than 3,000 K-12 teachers after the Mississippi Legislature passed House Bill 633, requiring all K-12 public schools in the state to teach computer science by the 2024-2025 academic year. To help schools meet the legislative requirement and fulfill the need for qualified computer science teachers, the C Spire Foundation has partnered with the Center for Cyber Education at MSU to provide high schools with free access to quality computer science courses for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years. "Collaborating with a partner such as the C Spire Foundation, who not only acknowledges the significance of computer science education for students but also consistently contributes financially to advance our state, speaks volumes," said Shelly Hollis, director of the Center for Cyber Education at Mississippi State University. "Our mutual commitment has directly impacted the growth we have seen in teachers empowered through computer science training and the number of students enrolled in computer science courses across the state." |
| Water, sewer rates rising for Starkville residents | |
 | Water and sewer rates are likely rising for city users, with sewer becoming the more expensive of the two. During a board of aldermen work session Friday morning, Starkville Utilities General Manager Edward Kemp presented a long-range capital improvement plan that needs at least $2 million in additional water revenue and $1 million in additional water revenue each year to fund. To raise that money, Kemp is asking aldermen to approve raising the base monthly rate for water by $2.50 and the base rate for sewer by $4.75. The variable rate, charged for monthly usage of more than 1,000 gallons, would rise 50 cents for water and $2 for sewer. Right now, customers pay a base rate of $6 and a variable rate of $4.50 for both water and sewer. "What we're seeing is the cost of what we need for capital improvements for wastewater is more than what we need for water," Kemp told The Dispatch on Friday afternoon. He also expects data Starkville Utilities is gathering on its system will show it costs more to process wastewater through its system than it does water. Jason Barrett, a water and wastewater specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, estimated the average bill for a customer using 3,000 gallons of water per month would increase by $11.68. For a 4,000-gallon user, it would increase by $13.85. Kemp told The Dispatch the average household uses about 2,800 gallons per month. Starkville Utilities asked Extension to develop a model for rate increases based on its revenue needs for capital improvement, Kemp said. |
| Vice mayor wants to delay city raises, buy more cameras | |
| The city's vice mayor wants to delay city employee raises by three months and purchase double the planned number of police cameras next fiscal year. Otherwise, he plans to oppose the Fiscal Year 2025 budget when it comes up for a vote during Tuesday's board of aldermen meeting at City Hall. Roy A. Perkins, who represents Ward 6 on the board in addition to serving as vice mayor, emailed a statement of his intentions Saturday to The Dispatch. "It is urgent and necessitous that the city provides the necessary funding for a grand total of 40 new, additional security cameras, as requested, for the upcoming fiscal year, so that the city can continue to provide and implement the safest environment and the highest level of protection in our city for all persons within our city," part of the email reads. Police Chief Mark Ballard asked aldermen in May to purchase 40 cameras over the next two years, as well as add two employees to monitor the video feeds. Now, there is only one employee doing that job. Tripling the team would allow for 24-hour live monitoring. Perkins proposes delaying planned raises for city employees until Jan. 1, which he said would free up the $140,000 needed for 20 cameras without having to raise taxes. He told The Dispatch on Monday the cameras are his "to concern" for the budget due to their benefit to public safety. |
| Boeing Company Announces Manufacturing Expansion in Mississippi | |
| Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing company, kicked-off a significant expansion of its manufacturing facility near the Golden Triangle Regional Airport in Columbus, Mississippi. The project will expand the facility by 50,000 square feet, renovate 40,000 square feet of existing space and add new automation equipment, robotics and non-destructive inspection technologies to support Aurora's growing aerosystems business. Aurora Mississippi specializes in manufacturing advanced composite components and assemblies for military and commercial aircraft. First opened at Mississippi State University's Raspet Flight Research Laboratory in Starkville in 2005, the company moved to its current site in Columbus two years later. Starting with 21,000 square feet of space, the site has since expanded to more than 120,000 square feet and hosts advanced manufacturing technologies such as automated fiber placement. Aurora's latest capital investment, now under way, will support increased volume in composite components for executive jets as well as production of MQ-25 Stingray composite skins for Aurora's parent company, Boeing. Part of the growing aerospace and advanced manufacturing community in Mississippi, Aurora partners with Mississippi State University (MSU) and East Mississippi Community College (EMCC) to strengthen advanced manufacturing research, higher education and workforce development. |
| Mississippi has nation's lowest workforce participation rate, report shows | |
| Mississippi has the lowest labor force participation rate in the nation, and it's impacting women and their families. A recent report by the nonprofit Empower Mississippi found the state's labor force participation rate -- the percentage of working-age people who have jobs or are looking for jobs -- is 53.9%. This is despite record economic growth and low unemployment. The report found that the most important factors in labor force participation were education, age, gender and race. Men have a higher labor force participation rate than women, 59.8% and 48.5%, respectively. This is despite there being more working-age women than men, and women's and men's labor force participation rates declining at similar levels. Matt Williams from the Mississippi Low-Income Child Care Initiative said the lack of affordable child care, lack of time and money for education and training, and low wages are barriers for women in the workforce. State Economist Corey Miller. Miller said low educational attainment at high school and college levels and high rates of disability and incarceration also are major issues with labor force participation. Empower Mississippi commissioned the National Strategic Planning & Analysis Research Center to conduct the quantitative research, which interviewed over 50 stakeholders, including legislators, professors and business leaders. |
| Military families free to choose schools beyond district lines | |
| Under a new state law, military families in Columbus have more flexibility when it comes to deciding where their kids will go to school. The law, which went into effect July 1, allows active service members -- no matter where they live -- or civilian military personnel who reside on a military base to send their children to any public school district in the state. Col. James Blech, commander for the 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus Air Force Base, said the freedom provided by the law is crucial for families relocating to Columbus. "This flexibility helps reduce the stress and challenges of relocation, ensuring our airmen and their families have improved quality of life and greater resilience to accomplish our mission to train world class pilots," Blech wrote in a statement to The Dispatch. Previously, state law allowed parents residing on a military base to send their children to the district zoned for the base or an adjacent district within 30 miles. For CAFB parents specifically, students living on base could attend schools in either Columbus Municipal School District or Lowndes County School District, said Linda Gates, community relations representative for the Base Community Council. If they lived off base, they had to attend school in the school district where they resided. Now parents who are active service members, regardless of their residence, can enroll their children in any school in any district across the state. |
| Even if they can't always agree at Capitol, lawmakers bond over the blues in downtown Jackson | |
| On Monday nights during the Mississippi legislative session -- sure as the looming sine die -- legislators gather around dimly lit tables in downtown Jackson. It's a backroom deal, but not the type of which you might be thinking. They're not here in the name of policy, but in celebration of Mississippi culture. This is Blue Monday, a 17-year-old tradition organized by the Central Mississippi Blues Society. For more than 15 of those years, the weekly concerts have been hosted at Hal & Mal's, the legendary restaurant and musical institution. "Monday night in the blues is a very special night because of the songs and the history that have gone into it," says Malcolm Shepherd, member of the Blue Monday Band and President of the Central Mississippi Blues Society. "Friday rolls around, you get paid. Saturday, you go out to play. Sunday, you go to church. And Monday, the blues returns to you." Blue Monday concerts at Hal & Mal's are antidotes for this soul sickness, and during the early months of the year when state lawmakers are in session, they happen to fall on legislative "travel days" when members are just revving up their week. "A lot of legislators are looking for interesting things to do on Monday nights," says Sen. John Horhn, a Democrat from Jackson. "... And the arts, and in particular, the blues, have always been great convening points where people from different backgrounds can come together and enjoy the art form, but also hopefully get to know each other better." |
| Military readiness driving goal for Sen. Roger Wicker | |
 | Roger Wicker, of Tupelo, has spent decades in public service, but he says the six years ahead are the most important of his lifetime. He is running for reelection to what would be his third full term in the United States Senate. He was initially elected to the Senate in 2008 when he left his post in the U.S. House of Representatives to fill the balance of Trent Lott's unexpired term after the latter resigned at the end of 2007. Wicker was appointed to the Senate seat by Gov. Haley Barbour, won the seat outright in a subsequent special election, and has been twice reelected to full terms in the post since. Prior to his time in the Senate, Wicker had held the House seat for Mississippi's first congressional district since 1994, succeeding longtime Representative Jamie Whitten. In this November's election, Wicker will face Democratic nominee Ty Pinkins. Service on the Senate Armed Services Committee has been among Wicker's most impactful work. He is the ranking member and, if Republicans succeed to a majority in the Senate through November's elections, he is poised to become the first Mississippian to chair that committee since John C. Stennis filled the post some 35 years ago. Wicker brings to the post his personal experience in the military. He did his undergraduate work in college courtesy of an Air Force ROTC scholarship, afterward served four years on active duty, then spent many years in the Air Force reserves. |
| Democrat Woos Dairy Farmers to Keep Crucial Senate Seat | |
 | Sen. Tammy Baldwin had an unusual talent during her last election: convincing rural supporters of Republican Donald Trump that they should vote for her, too. This November, Senate Democrats need Baldwin to do it again. Wisconsin is a prime battleground to determine the next president, but Democrats also need a win in the Badger State to keep control of the Senate. Baldwin's campaign for a third term against the wealthy banker Eric Hovde, who says the Democrat is an out-of-touch career politician, has sent her down country roads in sparsely populated counties that cut through farmland and curve around lakes. "I might not have met every farmer, but I think I found over time that word gets out," said Baldwin, 62 years old, after a long day of campaigning outside Leinenkugel's brewery in Chippewa Falls. Voters might be frustrated with gridlock, she said, "But to know somebody's out there fighting for them, it's a big deal." Baldwin has to win for Democrats to have a chance of hanging on to the Senate, where the party clings to a 51-49 majority and faces a difficult map this fall. Randy Roecker, 60, a dairy farmer in Loganville, Wis., said he usually supports conservative candidates but will vote for Baldwin, in part because of the mental-health resources she secured. He said he supports her fight to keep the label "milk" off nondairy beverages made of almonds, oats and other alternatives. "Tammy is the only Democrat that I really have trusted," he said. "I think she cares. That's truly what it is.... These other ones just want to get elected and hold their power." |
| Harris and Trump brace for final sprint in 'snap election' | |
 | At a moment when presidential campaigns traditionally formulate their closing arguments, Kamala Harris is still making her introductions. The vice president has flipped the enthusiasm gap, the money gap and the polling gap in her favor in the six weeks since she replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee. But the race between Harris and Donald Trump remains not only tight nationally, but in a broader range of states than before. The resulting two-month sprint to come is what Donna Brazile, the Harris confidante who managed Al Gore's 2000 campaign, described as America's first "snap election." The challenge Harris' campaign is now confronting is how to extend its late-summer surge through the fall. "She has had as good of a first five weeks or last five weeks that I have seen since Barack Obama won [South Carolina's 2008 primary] and went on a roll and locked up the nomination," said Jim Messina, Obama's 2012 campaign manager who has served as an informal adviser to Harris. "But in every single battleground state, we're still within the margin of error." Trump, who has yet to find an attack on Harris that sticks, enters next week's head-to-head debate in a far less comfortable position than when he left the stage after pummeling Biden on June 27. It may be his best remaining opportunity to blunt his opponent's momentum and change the trajectory of the race. And a misstep by Harris on that stage -- or any other -- could do just that. |
| Federal workers around nation's capital worry over Trump's plans to send some of them elsewhere | |
 | Worries of being uprooted from their jobs have returned for Laura Dodson and other federal workers, who have long been the economic backbone of the nation's capital and its suburbs. During former President Donald Trump 's administration, her office under the U.S. Department of Agriculture was told it would be moving. About 75 people were going to be relocated to Kansas City, Missouri, Dodson said, but less than 40 actually moved. A rushed process that failed to consider the need to find homes, jobs for spouses and schools for children prompted some retirements, she said, and some took other federal jobs, hurting the agency in the end. Now, with Trump proposing the relocation of up to 100,000 federal jobs from Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia under his Agenda 47 plan, concerns about being abruptly moved are again troubling federal workers. Karen Hult, a political science professor at Virginia Tech, said the move could harm Trump's chances in Virginia. "Federal workers around Northern Virginia, and in the D.C. metro area generally, are, in fact, a bit of a voting bloc," Hult said "The other thing, of course, are all the contractors -- the beltway bandits. They make a big difference, too." But Hult also said the idea of relocating federal workers could resonate with Virginians outside of the northern part of the state, who may feel a distrust of the D.C. bureaucracy. |
| Harris sees signs of surging enthusiasm among young voters | |
 | Vice President Harris is trouncing former President Trump among young voters in the latest polls, a promising sign as her campaign courts the demographic that's been energized online by coconut tree memes and jokes that the Democratic nominee is "brat." A USA Today/Suffolk University poll released Thursday found young people swung a massive 24 points between June and August, from favoring former President Trump over President Biden by 11 points to picking Harris over Trump by 13 points. Still, organizers face the challenge of harnessing online excitement and translating it into action at the ballot box from an age group that tends to turn out at lower rates than older counterparts. "It's very easy to put a hashtag and say, 'Oh ... I support it.' But does that translate into actually getting votes, getting people into the voting booth?" asked Melissa Deckman, CEO of the nonpartisan research firm PRRI and the author of "The Politics of Gen Z: How the Youngest Voters Will Shape Our Democracy." The enthusiasm before and after the Democrats' historic ticket switch-up is "night and day," Deckman said, but "it's always a challenge to get younger people out." |
| Political opponents Harris and Vance show Americans modern, interfaith marriages | |
 | At the Democratic National Convention, second gentleman Doug Emhoff wanted to show another side of his wife. "Kamala has connected me more deeply to my faith, even though it's not the same as hers," he said, highlighting his interfaith marriage to Vice President Harris. Emhoff is Jewish and Harris is Christian. He said she attends High Holiday services with him, and he attends Easter services with her. And, he said, they share their food traditions. "I get to enjoy her mom's chili relleno recipe every Christmas, and she makes a mean brisket for Passover," Emhoff said to applause. A growing number of Americans are part of interfaith relationships --- a reality that is also reflected in the candidates on both major-party presidential tickets this year. On the Republican ticket, the vice presidential nominee, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, is also in an interfaith marriage. Vance spoke about his relationship at an event hosted by the conservative Faith and Freedom Coalition on the day after he'd addressed the Republican National Convention in July. "What really brought me back to Christ was finding a wife," Vance said. Vance said he was motivated to rediscover his faith as he thought about how to become a better husband and father. Gaston Espinosa, a religious studies professor at Claremont McKenna College who writes about religion and the presidency, says American politics have slowly become more open to religious diversity. |
| As millions leave organized religion, spiritual and secular communities offer refuge | |
 | Brad Ruggles had already begun wrestling with his evangelical faith when he was called to launch a small church in a north Indianapolis suburb. As he pastored over his 200-member congregation, he found himself struggling with members' resistance to issues of LGBTQ inclusion or questions raised by the murder of George Floyd. Eventually, in 2021, he stepped down and away from his faith -- but ultimately craved the brotherhood he'd enjoyed as part of a congregation. Then he found C3, an inclusive Sunday collective in west Michigan that had undergone its own transformation and now describes itself not as a church but a home for the spiritually homeless, dedicated to pondering existential questions and living out shared values. "This place is such a unicorn," said Ruggles, now lead teacher at C3, whose name is a nod to its previous existence as Christ Community Church. "These are some of the most openminded people I've ever met." Communities like C3 show how, despite Americans' ongoing abandonment of traditional organized religion, many longing to maintain some sense of spirituality and community in their lives are finding it in places both religious and non-religious. The exodus from mainstream religious paths has taken place over the last several decades: In the early 1990s, nine in 10 Americans identified as Christian; by last year that figure had dropped to 63%. More recently the shift has been driven by young women, reversing patterns of generations past. |
| AI may not steal many jobs after all. It may just make workers more efficient | |
| Imagine a customer-service center that speaks your language, no matter what it is. Alorica, a company in Irvine, California, that runs customer-service centers around the world, has introduced an artificial intelligence translation tool that lets its representatives talk with customers who speak 200 different languages and 75 dialects. So an Alorica representative who speaks, say, only Spanish can field a complaint about a balky printer or an incorrect bank statement from a Cantonese speaker in Hong Kong. Alorica wouldn't need to hire a rep who speaks Cantonese. Such is the power of AI. And, potentially, the threat: Perhaps companies won't need as many employees -- and will slash some jobs -- if chatbots can handle the workload instead. But the thing is, Alorica isn't cutting jobs. It's still hiring aggressively. The experience at Alorica -- and at other companies, including furniture retailer IKEA -- suggests that AI may not prove to be the job killer that many people fear. Instead, the technology might turn out to be more like breakthroughs of the past -- the steam engine, electricity, the Internet: That is, eliminate some jobs while creating others. And probably making workers more productive in general, to the eventual benefit of themselves, their employers and the economy. |
| Americans are spending a lot and not saving much. Economists aren't too worried. Yet. | |
| July personal consumption expenditures data might've lined up with expectations, but there's a trend in here that is unsustainable, and it's about how much Americans are saving -- or not. Consumers' savings rate dipped to its lowest rate in more than two years in July -- 2.9% -- and consumer spending increased, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The spending part is a sign of a strong economy. But the data shows we're continuing to buy stuff while not putting money away. You can see the problem here. There are a few signs of a strong economy: wage growth, a lower inflation rate, as well as increased consumer spending. That last test consumers are passing with flying colors, said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics. Now that we've hit the lowest savings rate since June 2022, consumers have been relying on another way to bankroll their spending habits, said Paul Shea, an economics professor at Bates College: They're starting to take on more debt. "That's the only way you can have spending holding up as well as it is with the economy starting to slow down. But it's still relatively early in that process," he said. Shea said it's not that saving rates are frighteningly low, it's just that they're coming down from when they were really high early in the pandemic, when people had money to spend and nothing to spend it on. Now things are different. |
| Young People Are Taking Over the Workplace, and That's a Problem for Bosses | |
| Gen Z workers are expected to outnumber baby boomers in the U.S. workforce this year. If only their bosses could understand them. Companies find their youngest employees the most difficult to work with, surveys show. Now executives are making efforts to engage them more. They are arranging mentorship for employees who entered the workforce remotely during the pandemic; they are giving guidance on how to communicate and when to keep their thoughts to themselves; and they are offering new kinds of perks, like an on-site therapist. Each new generation coming up in the workforce tends to confuse corporate management, at least initially. Members of Gen Z -- generally defined as born between 1997 and 2012 -- are no exception. Dozens of board members from public companies gathered in June at the Sheraton hotel in Palo Alto, Calif., to discuss the questions this latest cohort raises. Christine Heckart, who has worked as an executive in Silicon Valley for more than 25 years, told the audience that younger generations want meaning, mentorship and a sense of purpose. The message didn't go over well with everyone in the room. One board member in attendance asked why any of those things should be the company's responsibility. Heckart, who says she has been heckled in the past on the subject, still makes the case that companies will benefit from helping to fulfill the needs of younger workers because then they will be better employees. |
| Ask the Dispatch: What is The W's economic impact? | |
| During the 2024 legislative session, several bills were introduced that called Mississippi University for Women's future into question. Since the session ended in April, the university has been preparing a plan to bolster support across the state ahead of the next session in January. The university distributed talking points about The W's value during a Legislative Engagement and Advocacy Partnership rally last week. One point consistently used in support of The W is its economic contributions in the region and the state. Lowndes County Board of Supervisors President Trip Hairston told supporters at the rally that losing The W would be a loss of economic activity for the county. He also mentioned the university's impact on local workforce development, specifically with nursing. "We hear a lot from the state level about workforce development," Hairston said during the rally last week. "If you limit access to education by shutting down The W, it will hurt the workforce, especially in our hospital." What economic impact does The W have on the Golden Triangle? What about the state? What does workforce development look like at The W, and how does it help the state? |
| MUW's Legal Studies Program earns reapproval from the ABA | |
| The Department of Legal Studies at Mississippi University for Women was recently reapproved by the Delegates of the American Bar Association. The continuous approval since 1987 distinguishes the program as one of only two ABA-approved paralegal programs in the state of Mississippi. "We are incredibly proud of this reapproval, which reflects the hard work and dedication of legal studies faculty and students," said Wesley Garrett, director of the Department of Legal Studies. "Our program is uniquely positioned to prepare students for the challenges of law school and the demands of the legal profession. This milestone reaffirms our commitment to providing an education that is both rigorous and relevant." According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of paralegals and legal assistants is projected to grow 4 percent from 2022 to 2032. About 38,000 openings for paralegals and legal assistants are projected each year, on average, over the decade. "This reapproval is a testament to the incredible dedication and expertise of our faculty, many of whom I had the privilege of teaching myself," said David Smith, professor of legal studies. |
| Mississippi auditor Shad White speaks to Ole Miss College Republicans | |
 | Mississippi State Auditor Shad White spoke at the Ole Miss College Republicans' first meeting of the school year on Tuesday, Aug. 27. "Young people can make a huge difference in Mississippi, and I saw that when I was a College Republican here getting involved in campaigns," White said. "One of the reasons I love coming back is to tell students to dig in, find policy areas or things that the government does or doesn't do that you can sink your teeth into." White focused a lot on the importance of young people and their role in shaping a new landscape of Mississippi politics. Ole Miss College Republicans President Cass Rutledge opened the event by addressing students who might not agree with the organization's values or beliefs. "If you're an independent (or) if you're a Democrat, you have a place," Rutledge said. "Even if you disagree with us, if you stick around long enough you might make a friend." White detailed his journey to the office of state auditor, experience as an Ole Miss student and Rhodes Scholar and beginnings in state politics. White also offered career advice, drawing from an early moment in his Mississippi political career when he swept a room after a fundraiser. "My advice to you is to pick up the broom and sweep through it," White said. |
| 'It's a tremendous honor': Ebony Lumumba receives faculty fellowship | |
| A Jackson State University department chair has received a "tremendous honor." Ebony Lumumba, Ph.D., chair of the Department of English and Modern Languages at Jackson State University, has been named a 2025 Association of Writers and Writing Programs HBCU Faculty Fellow. "It's a tremendous honor to have been selected. Black writers and Black schools deserve this support and attention," Lumumba said in a statement. "Some of the most brilliant stories of our time were crafted by minds educated at HBCUs. I am elated that I get to work with the new vanguard of our field and support their writing journeys." According to a news release, the fellowship program is designed to help Historically Black Colleges and Universities faculty members build and enhance creative writing programs at their schools, and Lumumba's work at Jackson State "is a testament to this mission." Among her achievements, Lumumba co-created her department's creative writing program and has raised more than $100,000 to support it. Students at Jackson State can receive degrees with a minor or a concentration in creative writing. She is the wife of Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and has two children. |
| Center of William Carey campus getting new look with outdoor stage | |
 | The center of campus at William Carey University soon will have a new area for outdoor concerts, theater productions and other programs. The new, outdoor stage area is being built near the King Student Center. When complete, the area will feature both brick-paved and grass seating areas. Hattiesburg construction company/contractor Hanco Corp. is overseeing the project. "We've also landscaped a whole mall area with new sod, trees that are fully grown, for our students to enjoy," WCU President Dr. Ben Burnett said. "So, it's going to be a beautiful addition to the campus, but also, for the City of Hattiesburg to enjoy." An Oct. 21 ribbon-cutting ceremony has been scheduled. |
| Anti-DEI law shuts U. of Alabama Black Student Union office, queer resource center | |
 | There was one major deciding factor in Cierra Gilliam's decision about where to go to college. When she toured the University of Alabama's flagship campus in Tuscaloosa, her guide took her to the Black Student Union office on the first floor of the student center. Gilliam said there were Black students there offering resources for trips to and from the airport, as well as hair salons in Tuscaloosa that could style Black hair, and insights about what it was like to live at a predominantly white institution. Gilliam said that the Black Student Union's visible presence on campus was one of the main reasons that her parents let her go to school a nine-hour drive away in an unfamiliar state. Last week, however, at the outset of her senior year, the Black Student Union announced that the group would no longer have a designated place on campus, in compliance with recent statewide legislation that prohibits public universities and state agencies from allocating resources to diversity, equity and inclusion programs often referred to as DEI. "It feels terrible, like there is no place to go," Gilliam said. "They ripped all the signage and things down, and there is nothing left." |
| Majoring in video games? A new wave of degrees underscores the pressures on colleges | |
| Stephanie Gomez-Sanchez has loved video games since third grade. It wasn't until the election of Donald Trump, who famously referred to Mexican immigrants as "rapists," that she saw a potential career in them. After the 23-year-old graduates from college this fall, she plans to go into the video game industry. Her goal? To soften the immigration debate in the U.S. by creating characters that look like her Mexican-American family. The University of Delaware, where Gomez-Sanchez is a student, is one of many colleges and universities embracing new programs tailored to pushing students into the multibillion-dollar field of online gaming and esports (the school just graduated its first cohort of about two dozen students). Majors like hers are part of a broader wave of less conventional, avant-garde majors, in specialties such as artificial intelligence, that are taking root in American higher education, as colleges grapple with changes in the economy and a shrinking pool of students. Arguments over how much of a college education should be geared toward training for specific jobs have existed as long as universities have been around, said Donald Hossler, a former vice chancellor of student enrollment services at Indiana University Bloomington. “I’m a big believer in the liberal arts, but universities don’t get to print money,” he said. “If enrollment interests are shifting, they have to be able to hire faculty to teach in those areas. Money has to come from someplace.” |
| Schools, colleges faced record-breaking year of ransomware attacks in 2023 | |
| Schools and colleges saw a record-breaking number of ransomware attacks in 2023, with 121 incidents last year compared to 71 in 2022, according to an analysis released Tuesday by Comparitech, a cybersecurity and online privacy product review website. On average, the education sector lost 12.6 school days in 2023 as a result of ransomware attacks, slightly rising from the average downtime of 8.7 days in 2021, the report found. Based on the overall ransomware recovery costs reported across 26 educational institutions between 2018 and 2024, Comparitech estimates the average cost of downtime to total $548,185 per day. Without any universal reporting requirements, the number of ransomware attacks targeting schools and colleges remains difficult to accurately measure. Comparitech compiled its data on ransomware attacks by looking through specialist IT news, data breach reports and state reporting tools. However, researchers acknowledged that there are "limitations with uncovering these types of breaches," and their findings likely "only scratch the surface of the problem." Between 2018 and July 2024, Comparitech found a total of 491 ransomware attacks on educational institutions. There's a chance, however, that more schools and colleges will be required to report such cyberattacks when the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022, or CIRCIA, goes into effect no later than October 2025. |
| College plans to deal with protests face tests as students return | |
| The countdown for universities to develop plans on how to deal with protests on campus has ended as students move back to campus after disputes over pro-Palestinian encampments caused chaos at the end of last academic year. Numerous lawsuits are making their way through the legal system and Columbia University's president recently resigned after a tumultuous ending to classes in May that led to more than 2,000 arrested on campus. Experts are skeptical of how prepared schools are for another round, but believe the protests won't reach the size or momentum they had before. Adam Swart, founder and CEO of Crowds on Demand, an organization that helps causes with marketing and protest organization, said he thinks fading intensity and divides among protestors will make for a calmer fall semester. "I think you're going to see a divide between the pragmatists, who see a Harris presidency is probably the best way to overall advance the Palestinian cause" and more progressive wings of the party don't "see any nuance" between Trump and Harris on the issue. " "This group is going to protest continuously, and perhaps even using more hard-knuckled tactics because of their smaller numbers," he added. Multiple schools created new rules for protesting over the summer, particularly around encampments that lasted for weeks and blocked entrances to buildings at some colleges. |
| Campus Engagement Tip: Encouraging Student Voting | |
 | In 2020, college students voted at a record-high rate, falling short of the overall national voting rate by one percentage point. As the 2024 presidential election approaches this fall, campus leaders and others are working to get students ready to vote by providing civic education and voter registration initiatives. A spring 2024 poll from the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School found, among young people aged 18 to 29, more than half say they will definitely be voting in the presidential election. College students voted at lower rates in the 2022 midterm elections than they did in 2018, with only around 31 percent of college students voting, according to data from the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement. Voter registration rates among college students rose in 2022, however, from 73.3 percent in 2018 to 76.1 percent. In 2020, 83 percent of college students were registered to vote. Voting is often challenging for college students, with varying state laws about allowing student identification to be used as proof of ID and residency requirements. Some states also require voters to be registered a certain number of days prior to the election, while other states make it easier with same-day registration. To mobilize student voters, campus stakeholders have implemented a number of strategies. |
| Howard University's capstone moment: Kamala Harris at top of the ticket | |
| As a young college student, Kamala Harris made the nearly 3-mile trip from Howard University to the National Mall to protest against apartheid in South Africa. In 2017, as a senator, she returned to her alma mater to deliver the commencement address. In July, when she received word that she would be likely be the Democratic presidential nominee, she was wearing her Howard sweatshirt in the vice president's residence. Howard, one of the nation's best known historically Black colleges, has been central to Harris' origin story, and now, as she seeks to become the first woman elected president, the university is having a capstone moment. The school has produced luminaries like Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, whose legacy inspired Harris to attend Howard, and author Toni Morrison, among others. Some at the university see Harris' elevation as vice president as another validation of one of the school's core missions of service. "There's clearly a direct relationship between Howard and its relationship to democracy and the democracy that we envision, one that is practiced in a way that includes all of us," said Melanie Carter, the founding director of the Howard University Center for HBCU Research, Leadership and Policy. If Harris won the White House, she would be the first woman elected president and the first graduate of a historically Black college to hold that office. With many HBCUs, like a number of liberal arts colleges, struggling financially, her ascent has bathed Howard in a positive light. |
| Frank Neville takes on Millsaps challenge | |
| Columnist Bill Crawford writes: Write about Millsaps he said. But the fascinating story about Millsaps College right now is him, the new president. Frank Neville had athletic offers from major colleges, but none would let him play multiple sports. He chose Carleton College, a small liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, where he could play three sports – football, baseball, and basketball. However, his basketball career as a five-foot-ten center never got off the ground. Instead he found himself on the track team ... as a hammer thrower his senior year. "I only broke the cage once," he said of his new sport. Through hard work he got good enough to qualify for his conference championship "and did not come in last." This story depicts a young man of purpose and determination. These attributes remained evident in his higher education career, as the scope and complexity of his responsibilities burgeoned. |
| Latest lawsuit continues long trend of fighting efforts to improve Mississippi voter access | |
| Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison writes: It should not be a surprise that the entire Mississippi Election Commission, made up of Gov. Tate Reeves, Attorney General Lynn Fitch and Secretary of State Michael Watson, have joined a lawsuit trying to stop federal agencies from working to improve access to voting. After all, Mississippi politicians have a decades-long history of opposing federal efforts to improve voter access in Mississippi. Most of the Jim Crow provisions of the state's notorious 1890 Constitution designed to deny Black Mississippians access to the ballot were not struck down by Mississippi politicians, but by federal courts and the U.S. Congress. In the modern era, Mississippi is one of only three states without some form of no-excuse early voting and one of seven that does not allow online voter registration. And to vote by mail with an excuse, a Mississippian must get two separate documents notarized. In the 1990s, Mississippi was the last state to conform to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, known as "motor voter," and did so with some Mississippi politicians kicking and screaming. |
| Mississippians flourish when working | |
| Rebekah Staples writes for the Magnolia Tribune: It's Labor Day weekend, and I've been thinking a lot recently about how we can improve our state's economy, particularly our declining labor force participation rate. Of one thing I am certain: we won't understand the issue of work if we don't understand its most important element – the human one. Humans are more than categorized numbers on a government spreadsheet (although they are that, too); they are families, communities, societies, cultures. ... As a Contributing Fellow on Work for Empower Mississippi, I've been focused on our state's lagging labor force participation, a government measure of who's working and/or looking for a job. ... To provide quantitative analysis on this topic, Empower Mississippi commissioned the National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center (NSPARC) at Mississippi State University to evaluate the state's labor force participation rate and provide high level findings on Mississippi trends. The NSPARC study covers a 2010 to 2023 timeframe (thus capturing the aftermath of the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic) and looked at factors like age, education level, race, and gender. In short, Mississippi's labor force participation rate has been the lowest or near-lowest in the nation since statistics were first collected by the federal government. It |
SPORTS
| Explosiveness on display for Mississippi State in blowout win over Eastern Kentucky | |
| The deep shot was supposed to come on Mississippi State's first offensive play, but the Bulldogs didn't like the look Eastern Kentucky was giving them and opted for a shorter pass instead. No matter. The explosive offense that head coach Jeff Lebby promised upon being hired showed up on the third play from scrimmage Saturday, when quarterback Blake Shapen went up over the top to Jordan Mosley, who took advantage of blown coverage to race 65 yards for a touchdown that put MSU in front just 32 seconds into the game. The Bulldogs were not perfect, but they were dynamic on offense and sturdy on defense, handling their business in a 56-7 rout of the Colonels heading into next week's game at Arizona State. "We knew we were going to catch them off guard at some point, and it just happened the way it did," Mosley said. "(Cornerback Vito Tisdale) was flat-footed, and I just ran past him, and looked up and the ball was in the air. Everything just slowed down. I really didn't even know what to do when I got in the end zone; I kind of just hopped around. But it was a great moment." Shapen, the primary starter at Baylor the last three years with mixed results, looked completely comfortable in Lebby's spread-out, fast-paced offense. MSU (1-0) hustled to the line of scrimmage early in the game, hardly ever huddling and frequently snapping the ball before Eastern Kentucky's defense could get set. Shapen completed 15 of 20 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns and did not turn the ball over. |
| Jeff Lebby says Mississippi State football didn't put on a good enough show. Here's how he's wrong | |
 | Jeff Lebby isn't just trying to form Mississippi State football into an offensive powerhouse. The first-year coach is also attempting to change the culture, and that started right away when he created "Showtime at State." It quickly turned into a MSU rally motto. It's used as a hashtag on team social media posts, printed on T-shirts and even displayed on the Davis Wade Stadium video boards. Mississippi State sure seemed to demonstrate what "Showtime at State" can be in Saturday's breezy 56-7 season-opening win over Eastern Kentucky. But Lebby, when asked by a reporter after the game if he believes MSU (1-0) accomplished putting on a show, quickly said it was "not good enough." "At the end of the day, again, our guys did a bunch of good," he said. "I said that many times. We've got to play better, we've got to play cleaner. The expectation is to not kick field goals down there when we have to. We got to go bang them through." Was Mississippi State's performance perfect? Certainly not. But it was still a precursor of an exciting show to come. Many fans were itching to see what Lebby's high-flying offense he brought from Oklahoma would look like. The third play of the game was a 65-yard touchdown pass from Blake Shapen to Jordan Mosley. That set the tone for a no-sweat win that saw MSU ahead 35-0 in the second quarter. |
| Kalvin Dinkins a game-time decision for Saturday, Kelly Akharaiyi 'getting closer' | |
| Mississippi State defensive lineman Kalvin Dinkins appears to have avoided a major injury this time after leaving Saturday's game against Eastern Kentucky in the second quarter. Dinkins was on the ground for several minutes before being helped off the field, and he did not return to the game. Head coach Jeff Lebby said Dinkins is improving day by day and will be a game-time decision for Saturday night when the Bulldogs (1-0) visit Arizona State. "He's doing a lot better today than he was yesterday, and he was a lot better yesterday than he was Saturday night," Lebby said. "Right now, he's got a chance to travel with us and go play." After redshirting as a true freshman in 2022, Dinkins made three tackles in his collegiate debut in the 2023 season opener against Southeastern Louisiana but missed the rest of the season with an injury. In his first appearance in 364 days, Dinkins brought down Colonels quarterback Matt Morrissey for a sack but was on the grass clutching his right knee three plays later. Lebby also said wide receiver Kelly Akharaiyi's condition is improving, though he was not listed on MSU's Week 2 depth chart and is unlikely to play against the Sun Devils. The depth chart remained unchanged from last week, without wide receiver JJ Harrell, safety Corey Ellington or running back Jeffery Pittman. Cornerbacks Traveon Wright and DeAgo Brumfield were listed on the depth chart after missing the EKU game. |
| Arizona State student section shows out in opener | |
| The Arizona State student section was out in full force at Mountain America Stadium for the Sun Devils' 48-7 win over Wyoming on Saturday. "The student section tonight was absolutely incredible," head coach Kenny Dillingham said before joking that it's hard to keep fans in their seats for entire games when it's a blowout. It was the second-largest student attendance since 2010 at 13,698, the university said. The mark was less than 400 shy of the record set in 2013 when the Sun Devils hosted UCLA. "The crowd showed out. I don't think they realize how much of an impact they have," linebacker Keyshaun Elliott said. The ASU athletic department geared up to the opener with an enhanced game day experience that included half-price parking and water. New value and signature concessions were added as well, such as elk bratwurst for the Wyoming game and alligator po'boy for the upcoming Mississippi State game. "It was pretty dope. I didn't think it would be that loud running out," quarterback Sam Leavitt said. "Hopefully more people start showing up and we get this thing really rocking." Overall attendance was announced at 48,108 for the game, though only fragments remained late with the win in hand. "We've never won an SEC game in Arizona State history," the head coach said. "So we need a sold out crowd with the biggest student section that there's ever been. We need it loud for four quarters all night long next Saturday." |
| Lebby, Shapen deliver Opening Day hope for Bulldogs | |
| Parrish Alford writes for the Magnolia Tribune: Across the nation curtains rose. The secrecy of August practice withered away, and, because coaches can't mandate that the games be played in private, fans saw their college football teams. They processed the good and bad and formed opinions. In Oxford, it was, "They are who we thought they were." In Starkville, it was, "They are who we hoped they were." These opinions should be accepted in moderation because the Rebels and Bulldogs defeated FCS opponents by a combined count of 132-7. But what blowout wins do show is focus, and in both places there was execution and attention to detail. Four penalties for State, a team in a new offensive system, all of them minor. No taunting, targeting or late hits. Three penalties for 35 yards for Ole Miss. State fumbled three times but didn't lose one. Ole Miss had no turnovers. That could have changed had a Furman defender been a little more sure-handed. Things were far less rosy for Southern Miss which opened with a legitimate opponent, Kentucky, and was dealt a legitimate defeat to kick off Will Hall's fourth season as coach. By his own admission it's a big one for his future. |
| MSU Films' documentary on first post-Sept. 11 football game to make national television debut | |
 | Nine days following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that shook the nation, Mississippi State hosted one of the most impactful football games in American history. "9/20″, an MSU Films documentary that follows the 2001 SEC football game between Mississippi State and South Carolina, the first major post-9/11 sporting event held in the United States, is set to make its national television debut on SEC Network at 7 p.m. on Sept. 11. More than 40,000 fans filled Davis Wade Stadium as ESPN's national broadcast captured moments of patriotism, as fans chanted "U-S-A!", the Famous Maroon Band played "America the Beautiful", and Bulldog and Gamecock players unveiled an American Flag that spanned the width of the field. The documentary is told through archival footage and showcases interviews of those who made the game happen both on and off the field. Mississippi State filmmakers shed light on a moment when Americans turned to sports as an escape from tragedy and a return to normalcy. |
| Soccer: Dawgs Strike Late To Secure Sunday Victory Over South Alabama | |
| Mississippi State soccer (5-1-0) secured a hard-fought 1-nil victory over South Alabama (2-3-0) in a thrilling contest at the MSU Soccer Field on Sunday. With the cowbells roaring throughout the match, the Dawgs delivered a last-minute win, thanks to a clutch goal by Ally Perry in the 89th minute. State dominated the offensive side, outshooting South Alabama 29-3 and maintaining pressure with eight corner kicks compared to South Alabama's one. Despite creating chances throughout the day, the Bulldogs searched for the go ahead goal until the final moments of the match. In the 89th minute, Rylie Combs set up the decisive play with a precise assist to Ally Perry, who netted her first goal of the season. The goal marked Perry's second career game-winner and her fourth goal in the Maroon and White. The grit and determination of captain Macey Hodge to keep the ball in the box allowed the play to develop fully as Jaguars and Bulldogs fought valiantly to secure possession for their side, with the Dawgs taking the opportunity to add another win to their growing résumé. Mississippi State will look to carry this week's momentum on the road for their next contest when they travel to Ruston for a meeting with Louisiana Tech on Thursday. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. and will be streamed via ESPN+ |
| Ally Perry's late winner secures fifth win for Bulldogs | |
| Mississippi State women's soccer improved to 5-1 this weekend with a 1-0 victory over South Alabama. Bulldogs midfielder Ally Perry fired the winning goal into the back of the net with exactly one minute remaining on the clock. "The girls were patient and kept going all the way until the final whistle," head coach James Armstrong said after the game. "I think that says a lot about their character and the belief within the group. They all felt that they were going to get (a goal), it was just a matter of when. Thankfully we were able to get one before the final whistle and it was a great finish by Ally Perry." It was yet another match where the Bulldogs dominated their opponent in terms of possession and goal scoring chances but only managed to break through once. Perry, who has hit nearly every part of the goal frame this season with some thundering shots from distance, finally found the back of the net at just the right time for her team. "I have been waiting a long time," Perry said of finally getting her goal. "It was a very rewarding feeling, it means we have something to work off of for the next game, but I am very happy I could put this in the back of the net for our team." |
| Bulldogs split season-opening matches in Birmingham | |
| Mississippi State's comeback effort fell short in its first match of the season Friday night at Samford, but the Bulldogs earned their first win of the year the next day at Alabama-Birmingham. Samford took the first two sets from MSU, 25-19 and 25-22, before State rallied to win sets three and four 25-20 and 25-23, respectively. But the hosts closed it out with a 15-9 fifth-set victory with a .444 hitting percentage in that final set. Amina Shackelford and newcomer Kailin Newsome led MSU with 13 kills apiece, with Shackelford hitting an impressive .414. Setter Ceci Harness, making her MSU debut after transferring from North Texas, had 27 assists and 12 digs. Mary Neal added 17 digs and Newsome chipped in with 16. On Saturday, the Bulldogs defeated the Blazers 25-22, 25-18, 22-25, 25-21 and were especially dominant offensively in the second set, when they hit .520 with 14 kills and just one attack error. Fifth-year senior Karli Schmidt led MSU with 19 kills, Shackelford had 15 and Newsome 10. Harness had 33 assists running the offense and freshman Cayley Hanson added 19. Neal and Newsome each had 13 digs. |
| C Spire teams up with college athletes to promote positive social media usage | |
| Mississippi-based C Spire has announced a partnership with two major college athletes to promote healthy social media usage. The telecommunications company announced Friday that it is collaborating with Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart and Mississippi State basketball guard Josh Hubbard to promote positive digital technology and social media habits while helping make the digital world safer for people and businesses. Hubbard, coming off a sensational freshman campaign with the Bulldogs, believes the partnership is important for encouraging others to use social media for positive purposes while also cultivating relationships with others outside of internet spheres. The Madison-Ridgeland Academy alum and reigning Howell Trophy says social media has been important for him, but not his source of joy. "Growing up, social media has always been a part of the conversation, but I haven't allowed that to tell my story," Hubbard said. "Social media has a ton of benefits, but developing deep relationships with my family, friends, and coaches outside of social media has always been important to me, too." |
| ESPN networks, ABC and Disney channels go dark on DirecTV on a busy night for sports | |
| ESPN has gone off the air on a major carrier for the second straight year during the U.S. Open tennis tournament and in the midst of the first full weekend of college football. Disney Entertainment channels went dark on DirecTV Sunday night after the sides were unable to reach a new carriage agreement. The move angered some sports fans, who posted their displeasure on social media. And the U.S. Tennis Association wasn't pleased with another carriage dispute. ESPN was showing the fourth round of the U.S. Open when it went off the air on DirecTV at 7:20 p.m. EDT. That was a half-hour before the start of the match between Frances Tiafoe, an American who reached the 2022 U.S. Open semifinals, and Alexei Popyrin, an Australian who eliminated defending champion Novak Djokovic on Friday. It also happened 10 minutes before the start of the college football game between No. 13 LSU and 23rd-ranked Southern California in Las Vegas. The impasse comes as networks and distributors continue to be at odds over content. Distributors and subscribers would like to see a model where they can buy channels a la carte instead of subscribing to a bundling package. Distributors are also frustrated with production companies putting some of their premium programing on direct-to-consumer platforms before they show up on channels. DirecTV cited the miniseries "Shogun" appearing on Hulu before FX. |
| Mike Norvell addresses Florida State's 'failure' after loss | |
| Florida State coach Mike Norvell ran off his home field after a 28-13 loss to Boston College on Monday night, his stone-faced expression speaking for him. Nobody around the Seminoles program expected what has unfolded over two weeks in front of a national television audience: An 0-2 start with issues across the board, including an inability to run the ball, an overmatched and oftentimes flummoxed defensive front and a passing game that has struggled with a completely overhauled roster. If the 24-21 season-opening loss to Georgia Tech could be explained away because it happened a continent away in Ireland, Florida State's loss to Boston College exposed many of the same issues that came up against the Yellow Jackets. Norvell was hard-pressed for answers in his postgame news conference, simply saying, "I'm sick to how this season started. Tonight, I failed in preparing the team to go out and respond." Norvell spoke repeatedly about players having to trust one another more on the field, about pressing, about how the team has to come together now to fix its issues. The Seminoles have an open date before hosting Memphis on Sept. 14. "There's going to be plenty of negativity around this program. I understand that. When we perform the way we just did, that's all part of it." |
| Scott Stricklin 'rain checks' podcast appearance amid Florida football, Billy Napier drama | |
| Some tough questions are getting asked around Florida right now following their 24-point loss to Miami to open the season on Saturday. Whether related or not, one opportunity to get answers from AD Scott Stricklin this week is now cancelled. Stricklin was going to speak with Pat Dooley on Thursday on 'Another Dooley Noted Podcast'. However, as he shared in his opening on Monday, the Gators' athletic director will no longer be appearing on the show. "Coach Spurrier will be on today. I'm not sure who the Thursday guest is," said Dooley. "It was going to be Scott Stricklin and he has asked for a rain check." "I'm not going to say anything about that. I assume there must be something going on, meetings and stuff. I hope he's not ducking me because I'm going to ask tough questions," chuckled Dooley. "We'll talk about that. It is Overreaction Monday. We'll see who we end up getting on the Thursday show and I'll let you know." Dooley admits he was going to take it easy with Stricklin due to their relationship. With that said, he also was going to have to address the current issues in Gainesville in some sense, especially since he's the one who has hired the last two head coaches there in football. "I didn't want to get in to that with him. I would have been throwing him a lot of softballs because he's a good friend. But there would have been some tough questions," said Dooley. "I don't know what's going to happen, if he's going to come on later." |
| Critical week arrives for House settlement, revenue sharing in college athletics | |
| The long-form House v. NCAA settlement -- the agreement that will usher in revenue sharing and owe $2.776 billion in back damages to former athletes -- is set for its first court date. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken will rule on preliminary approval of the landscape-shifting settlement on Thursday. Power Four conferences, the NCAA and attorneys for plaintiffs will all argue in support of the 333-page settlement document. If Wilken provides preliminary approval, current and former athletes will be notified about how they can earn back damages. Even if the judge grants preliminary approval, it does not secure Wilken's final approval. If she does not preliminarily approve of the settlement, both sides could be sent back to the negotiating table. According to sports law expert Michael McCann, Wilken is responsible for ensuring the settlement is "fair, reasonable and adequate." "Plaintiffs have secured a revolutionary settlement agreement with the NCAA and its five major conferences that will have a profoundly positive impact on the tens of thousands of college athletes at the hundreds of colleges and universities that play Division I sports each year," the House v. NCAA settlement states. |
| NCAA Proposed Changes Further Empower Athletes, Report Says | |
| The NCAA's Division I Council is set to consider a host of rule proposals that, if adopted, would remove additional barriers against athlete compensation, Yahoo! Sports' Ross Dellenger reported Sunday. The NCAA has defended these barriers in antitrust litigations and Congressional testimonies over the years, but they could soon become artifacts of a college sports system undergoing tectonic changes. The Council includes athletic directors and oversees day-to-day operations of D1 sports. One reported change is the elimination of the National Letter of Intent, a document that binds recruits to programs. Critics have labeled the NLI as "contract of adhesion" in that it is a take-it-or-leave-it model without meaningful opportunities for recruits to negotiate terms. Another change would allow athletes to earn prize money before college. That move would drop a longstanding NCAA practice that receipt of payment before college renders an athlete ineligible for amateur status. A third change would expand the scope of permissible activities of agents to advise college athletes and recruits on professional opportunities without forfeiting eligibility. A fourth change would concern redshirt eligibility, which grants athletes a chance of having five years of collegiate eligibility instead of four. |
| Docs: NCAA considering applying football redshirt rule to athletes in all sports | |
| The NCAA is considering more historic changes to its amateurism rules. Member schools plan to seriously consider granting athletes in all sports, not just football, the ability to participate in up to a certain percentage of games in a fifth season and still use their redshirt; permit athletes to earn prize money before they enroll in college; and eliminate the National Letter of Intent. The potential changes are part of what is expected to be a year-long comprehensive review of NCAA athlete-eligibility rules to reflect and operationalize the House settlement terms, according to documents obtained by Yahoo Sports. The documents will be reviewed this coming week during a video call of the NCAA Division I Council. Recommendations and approval of the athlete-eligibility rules are expected to occur on a rolling basis and be presented to the DI Council for consideration at regular quarterly meetings through October 2025. However, a new signing model with the elimination of the National Letter of Intent could be approved as soon as October, according to documents distributed to administrators. While expected given the arrival of athlete revenue sharing next year, the changes under consideration are historic and significant in nature -- the latest steps in college sports' evolution away from the amateurism model that has cost it billions in legal losses. |
| Sen. Ted Cruz calls to reform 'wild west' NIL in college athletics. Is it doable? | |
| Just as he did last year before a big game at Kyle Field, Ted Cruz pledged once again on Saturday to try to save college sports from the excesses of NIL, a campaign as Quixotic as anything Ralph Nader ever mounted. Cruz's attempts in the U.S. Senate went nowhere last year. Why should we expect anything different now? Because if Republicans take control of the upper house, he said, he'll be the next chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over nearly half of the U.S. economy, including athletics. "And I can promise you," he said at an informal news conference before Texas A&M's game against seventh-ranked Notre Dame, "if and when I'm the chairman of the commerce committee, NIL reform, ensuring real competitiveness, so that these programs can continue going on for years and decades and centuries, that is going to be a very, very high priority." The plan is not for the federal government to run college sports, he said. Rather, any legislation would empower the NCAA to come up with a set of rules. Cruz said he believes a settlement reached this spring that would allow schools to pay players more directly "provides some impetus for federal action now." He's hoping it will provide a framework for the type of bipartisan buy-in congressional action will require. "They were not willing to move this year," he said. "I'm very hopeful next year with the gavel, that'll change." |
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