| Tuesday, February 11, 2025 |
| Off-roading gets autonomous at MSU's CAVS | |
 | Positioned adjacent to Mississippi State University's Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS) is 55 acres of lowlands, wooded trails, sandy flats, rock and gravel littered paths and waist-high grass. Plowing through the unpaved terrain is the MRZR, a four-wheeled, autonomous, off-roading vehicle CAVS designed. The 2 1/2 miles of dirt and gravel paths it travels along are part of CAVS' Proving Grounds used to test and develop new vehicles. "We say it's the first, it is the best proving ground that's ever been developed for autonomous off-road vehicles," said Clayton Walden, executive director for CAVS. "There's an awful lot of vegetation variation, there's an awful lot of terrain variation, which are all things you would like to see in a test area for these types of vehicles." Members of the Starkville Rotary Club watched Monday at Hilton Garden Inn as Walden directed their attention to photos of the vehicle fleet, four autonomous vehicles of varying size and shape, all of which have been developed by CAVS to further develop research on autonomous vehicles, both on and off the road. "We think a lot about the on-road autonomy, Tesla and others," Walden explained. "But why would you want that in an off-road setting?" Walden answered his own question, noting the possibility of self-driving tractors and their potential benefits in farming. He also mentioned military applications. |
| MSU shares its research on self-driving vehicles | |
 | You've probably seen self-driving or autonomous vehicles on TV or maybe even close up, but did you know some of the research driving them is being done at Mississippi State University? The Executive Director of the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, or CAVS, took some time out today to brief area business and community leaders about some of the work they're doing. Clay Walden said the research at CAVS is being used in several different sectors from agriculture to the military. One thing they've had to do is develop their own software to help sort the massive amount of data that drives their research. "And so, what we do as a human, we have a lot of intuitiveness in how we drive. And, so, trying to develop a machine that will do that is a real, big challenge," said Walden. CAVS has partnerships with the Communiversity and manufacturers, including Steel Dynamics, to help develop materials and training programs that can benefit all partners. |
| Mississippi State introduces new minor in audio production | |
 | Mississippi State's Department of Music is now offering a minor in audio production to prepare students for careers in music technology, recording and audio engineering. According to Mississippi State University (MSU), the new minor combines hands-on training with theoretical knowledge to equip students for success in today's fast-paced audio industry. It consists of 19 credit hours and offers a diverse curriculum, blending foundational courses in music theory and ear training with cutting-edge instruction in music technology and business practices. "The audio production minor is an exciting addition to MSU's Department of Music," said Richard Human, associate professor and developer of the program. "It's designed to bridge the gap between traditional music education and the rapidly evolving field of audio technology, giving students a competitive edge in their future careers. Whether you're aspiring to be a music producer, sound engineer or live sound technician, this program offers the tools and knowledge to help you excel." |
| Decluttering can be stressful -- a clinical psychologist explains how personal values can make it easier | |
 | Mississippi State University's Mary E. Dozier writes for The Conversation: I recently helped my mom sort through boxes she inherited when my grandparents passed away. One box was labeled -- either ironically or genuinely -- "toothpick holders and other treasures." Inside were many keepsakes from moments now lost to history -- although we found no toothpick holders. My favorite of the items we sorted through was a solitary puzzle piece, an artifact reflecting my late grandmother's penchant for hiding the final piece to a jigsaw puzzle just to swoop in at the last moment and finish it. After several hours of reminiscing, my mom and I threw away 90% of what we had sorted. "Why did I keep this?" is a question I hear frequently, both from my family and friends and from patients. I am a licensed clinical psychologist whose research focuses on the characterization, assessment and treatment of hoarding disorder, particularly for adults 60 years of age or older. As such, I spend a great deal of my time thinking about this question. Hoarding disorder is a psychiatric condition defined by urges to save items and difficulty discarding current possessions. For adults with "clinically severe" hoarding disorder, this leads to a level of household clutter that impairs daily functioning and can even create a fire hazard. In my professional experience, however, many adults struggle with clutter even if they do not meet the clinical criteria for hoarding disorder. |
| Education: MSU's Rokooei uses Fulbright Specialist award for Uzbekistan urban planning project | |
| A Mississippi State faculty member in the Department of Building Construction Science is the university's latest recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Specialist Program award. Associate Professor Saeed Rokooei traveled to Uzbekistan this past fall for six weeks, immersing himself in various educational and research activities including teaching, workshops, curriculum development, research collaboration and cultural presentations. He completed an urban planning project at Fergana Polytechnic Institute as part of the program that fosters exchanging knowledge and establishing partnerships between institutions and communities both in the U.S. and overseas. Rokooei said the Fulbright Specialist Program continues to be a catalyst for his research, which focuses on community resilience, simulation and visualization, data analytics and emerging technologies in construction. Selections for the prestigious Fulbright Specialist Program award, part of the larger Fulbright Program, are based on academic and professional achievement, demonstrated leadership within a participant's field and potential to foster long-term cooperation between institutions in the U.S. and abroad. |
| Internationally acclaimed pianist headlines VOiCE event hosted at MSU | |
 | Mississippi State's Department of Music is hosting its annual Vocal Odyssey in Creativity and Education conference Friday and Saturday, Feb. 14-15. With a diverse lineup of engaging workshops and performances, the event -- also known as VOiCE -- celebrates the art of music and its role in education and creativity. The public conference is designed for high school and college students and educators seeking professional development or continuing education unit credits. It features presenters and artists from across the country and takes place in MSU's Music Building, located at 124 Hardy Road. Internationally acclaimed Steinway Artist Julian Gargiulo, known as the "Pianist with the Hair," headlines the event with a Friday recital, 7:30 p.m., in the Recital Hall. He has graced prestigious stages worldwide, including Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House. Gargiulo will be joined by soprano Nyla Thomas, a distinguished MSU alumna and Eastman School of Music graduate, alongside MSU pianist Anne Katherine Ragsdale and other faculty members. |
| 2025 Sale of Junior Champions sets new record | |
| The Dixie National Sale of Junior Champions set a new record in 2025! Forty-nine animals were auctioned off with total sales of $591,287, breaking last year's record of $484,010. In addition, 41 scholarships totaling $85,000 were awarded to Mississippi 4-H and FFA youth. The Sale of Junior Champions is one of the premier events of the Dixie National Livestock Show and Rodeo. During the sale, the prizewinning livestock of the Champions and Reserve Champions of the Junior Round-Up are auctioned off. In 2025, 1,269 4-H and FFA members from across Mississippi participated in the Dixie National Junior Round-Up Livestock Show, showing 1,941 head of livestock including pigs, sheep, cattle and goats. Prior to participating in the Dixie National Junior Round Up, youth livestock exhibitors spend months taking care of and raising their animals. Of the 1,941 head of livestock shown in the Dixie National Junior Round-Up Livestock Show, 49 animals went on to the Sale of Champions. |
| Newk's adds new menu items, kiosks to grow in and outside of South | |
 | Newk's humble beginnings started in Oxford in 2004. In the 20 years since, the fast-casual eatery has grown into a chain with over 125 restaurants in 15 states, including franchised locations. The chain recently made some updates including new menu items and self-serve kiosks to keep the growth going. For CEO Frank Paci, however, Newk's success has less to do with changing menus and technological advancements than the restaurant's commitment to higher-quality ingredients, which makes Newk's stand apart from competitors. "Our goal has always been to have the best quality food in what they call the 'fast casual' segment of the business," Paci said. "We've always felt like we differentiate ourselves with the quality of the food. For example, if you look at who our nearest competitors are, it would be McAllister's, which is another Mississippi-based company, and Panera. But, you look at our menu, we've got a 6-ounce salmon filet that we sell on a salmon Caesar salad. They don't have anything like that on their menu. They don't have any shrimp on their menu." As for new menu items, Paci said the team is focusing on salads and wraps at the moment. Right now, Newk's is still considered a Southern chain. Some states outside the South do have Newk's -- there is one location in Baltimore, Maryland, and two locations in Colorado. Paci said there is a strong possibility of continuing that expansion. |
| Mississippi biomass plant closed after getting millions in incentives | |
 | The company that operates a $140 million wood pellet manufacturing plant in Lucedale and a $60 million shipping terminal at the Port of Pascagoula is closing its plant in northeast Mississippi. Enviva LLC announced that the biomass plant in Amory closed on Feb. 7. Enviva is the largest supplier of wood pellets in the world. The Amory facility was the company's first plant operated in the United States and was acquired in 2010. The closure is the latest in what has been a challenging time for Enviva since the company opened its Lucedale plant in 2022. At that time, locals applauded the jobs and economic development for George County, while critics warned of the potential for environmental damage from the operation. Enviva was welcomed to South Mississippi with millions of dollars in grants and incentives tied to job creation. Mississippi Development Authority awarded the company $4 million for a water tank, well and other infrastructure in Lucedale and George County provided tax breaks and other incentives to bring the company there. Enviva said it will continue to operate both at Lucedale and Pascagoula, where they employ about 100 workers. The company also was planning to build another plant at Bond, near Wiggins, in Stone County. The project was put on hold when the company filed Chapter 11. |
| Speaker White frustrated by 'crickets' from Senate on tax plan: Legislative recap | |
| Last week, with the legislative session clock ticking towards midway, House Speaker Jason White was growing more frustrated with the "crickets" he's heard from his Republican Senate counterpart Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann on the House's sea-change tax overhaul plan. "It's frustrating for us to try to move something this big, and at the other end of the building, they just refuse to engage," White said in an interview with Mississippi Today as the three-month session nears the halfway mark. "... There's a plan to have a plan, but, nobody's seen the plan ... "To just get crickets on the whole thing, that just doesn't work." White and the GOP majority House -- and Republican Gov. Tate Reeves -- have made no secret they believe eliminating the income tax is priority No. 1 for this session. The House worked through the summer on a plan, holding public hearings, a public summit and providing details of its plan as the session started. Hosemann and the GOP majority Senate leadership have indicated they, too, have a sea-change tax overhaul coming. But so far Hosemann has outlined only a few particulars he expects will be in the Senate plan, and some of his lieutenants have criticized parts of the House proposal. But reportedly, through recent days, the Senate plan is still being devised, debated and tweaked behind closed doors. Senate leaders indicated it will be unveiled this week. |
| Auditor White: Failed Senate bill 'bad politics' | |
| State Auditor Shad White (R) responded to the failed Senate bill aimed at rolling back some of his office's power during a Stennis Press Forum in Jackson on Monday. "There really is only one question: Can anyone say how this bill makes Mississippi better?" he asked of SB 2847, introduced by Senator David Parker (R). The bill, which White refers to as "The Mississippi Corruption Act," would have prevented the Auditor's office from filing lawsuits to recoup money on behalf of the state without prior approval from the governor or the Legislature. Additionally, it would have eliminated the power of the auditor's office to hire consulting firms for "managerial studies." Both of these issues have been at the forefront of public disputes between Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann (R), Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R), and White in recent months. Last week, Senator Parker tabled the bill, effectively killing it. White said it was "bad politics." The Auditor's Office learned of the bill late on a Friday and, over the weekend, did a "deep dive" into the 13-page piece of legislation. Several red flags were raised for the office, White said. He reiterated Monday that it was his belief Lt. Governor Hosemann pushed the bill, an accusation Parker denied during his committee speech prior to bringing the bill to the floor and then again when he withdrew the measure. |
| State Auditor criticizes Senate bill targeting his office | |
 | State Auditor Shad White is continuing to speak out against a Senate bill he calls a "corrupt" attempt to strip some powers from his office. Senate Bill 2847 would have removed the ability of the auditor's office to investigate nonprofits handling less than $10 million of government money and sue people for nonpayment of demands issued by the auditor. During a Stennis Capitol Press Forum on Monday, White said the bill was motivated by politics and not a desire to improve state government. "In my opinion, it was a bill that was written because some folks don't like me doing my job," White said. ... "They get uncomfortable when we identify fraud, waste or abuse, particularly if it's a program that they care about or it involves a friend of theirs or a powerful constituent of theirs. That's what they don't like." White says if the Senate bill had been law during his office's investigations related to the state's sprawling welfare funds scandal, much of the misspending wouldn't have been uncovered. White also says seeing Mississippians reach out to their senator to voice opposition to the bill has increased his motivation to run for governor in 2027. He and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, the leader of the Senate, are seen as potential front-runners for the Republican nomination in the governor's race. |
| State Auditor criticizes bill he said would have 'gutted' his office | |
| State Auditor Shad White on Monday continued to criticize legislation that attempted to alter the scope of powers his office has in auditing nonprofit companies, continuing the statewide officials' clash with the Republican-majority Senate. White, a Republican, told attendees at the Stennis Capitol Press Forum that the legislation would have "gutted" his office and prevented his staff from adequately investigating organizations that receive federal or state funds. Sen. David Parker, a Republican from Olive Branch, authored the Senate Bill 2847 but killed the measure last week. Parker said the legislation was not politically motivated. He advocated for its passage because he did not like how White handled the arrest of a DeSoto County alderman accused of illegally obtaining unemployment insurance. "This bill is not about personal attacks or political agendas," Parker said. "It's about making sure our system is fair, balanced and transparent -- and that we don't rush to judgment in ways that can damage lives." |
| Shad White says dispute with fellow elected officials has pushed him closer to gubernatorial run | |
| An ongoing rift between Republican State Auditor Shad White and a growing number of elected officials in Mississippi has widened over the last month. The second-term auditor said Monday the pushback has only served to spur him closer to taking a swing at the governor's seat in 2027. White has boasted a no-holds-barred approach to keeping state government accountable since being appointed to the position by then-Gov. Phil Bryant in 2018. He has since been elected to the statewide office twice, with the beginning of his current term bringing a maelstrom of controversy and resistance from other leaders who take issue with his increasingly aggressive approach. The backlash from both public detractors and political counterparts has been a consistent backdrop in his second full term. White has been transparent about his consideration of a gubernatorial run in 2027, possibly pitting him against two of his staunchest detractors – Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and Republican Attorney General Lynn Fitch. "This past month has dramatically increased the chance that I get into that race," White concluded. "Because I'm seeing that normal people are just as fed up with this stuff as I am. That's really encouraging." |
| State Auditor Shad White hints at gubernatorial run amid legislative conflict | |
| Mississippi State Auditor Shad White hinted at a gubernatorial run following a legislative fight over his investigative authority. White is on the heels of a statewide welfare scandal that saw seven people face charges. He said the fact that he had to fight off a bill in the Senate that would have restricted his ability to investigate has greatly increased his chances of running for governor. "In part because the bill was authored by a key chairman for Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, but also as y'all know, the lieutenant governor's office has the ability to file a bill in whatever committee they want," White said. White spoke Monday before the Stennis Institute Press Luncheon, which was held at Hal & Mal's in Jackson. |
| Honesty in seafood labeling law advances for restaurants | |
 | Mississippi consumers would know whether their seafood and crawfish are domestic or foreign under a law the House unanimously passed Monday, months after two Biloxi businesses pleaded guilty in a federal case to selling foreign fish as Gulf fresh. The seafood labeling law expands a current state law that applies only to shrimp and crawfish served in restaurants. The proposed law makes it illegal in Mississippi for wholesalers, processors, retailers, restaurants and other food service establishments to represent foreign seafood and crawfish as domestic, either verbally or in writing. "We haven't received any opposition whatsoever," said the bill's author, Rep. Brent Anderson of Bay St. Louis, who expects the bill to pass the Senate. "I believe the consumer or tourist in Mississippi has a right to know what they're purchasing. There have been cases of misleading." Anderson said the law also is designed to protect South Mississippi's fishing industry, which has suffered from a flood of foreign imports. Under the bill, the origin of seafood and crawfish must be on a label, menu, sales display or other material used to sell the products. The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce and the Department of Marine Resources would enforce the law. The law the House passed now heads to the Senate. |
| Powell says Fed not 'in a hurry' to cut interest rates with 'economy remaining strong' | |
 | Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday the central bank doesn't "need to be in a hurry" to resume its interest rate cutting campaign, noting officials reduced the rate significantly last year and the economy remains sturdy. "With our policy stance now significantly less restrictive than it had been and the economy remaining strong, we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance," Powell said in testimony before the Senate banking committee. His remarks echo those he made at a news conference last month after the Fed left its key short-term interest rate unchanged. After hiking its key interest rate to a 23-year high of 5.25% to 5.5% in 2022 and 2023 to tame a pandemic-induced inflation surge, the Fed cut the rate by a total percentage point at three meetings late in 2024, citing slowing consumer price increases. The Fed's preferred annual inflation measure has fallen from a peak of 5.6% to 2.8%. With annual inflation stuck at about 2.8% since fall, the economy performing well and President Donald Trump's economic policies generating uncertainty about the outlook, the Fed left rates unchanged in late January and has signaled the pace of rate cuts would slow this year. "The economy is strong overall and has made significant progress toward our goals over the past two years," Powell said in his prepared testimony. "Labor market conditions have cooled from their formerly overheated state." |
| Trump's Conflicting Business Policies Sow Economic Uncertainty | |
 | It usually takes years for a president to leave his mark on the economy. Donald Trump has done it in just a few weeks. His plan to raise tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China has rattled markets and boardrooms. Some businesses are seeing signs that deportations could affect their workforces. More than 40,000 federal employees are preparing to resign and others are rethinking their futures under pressure from Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. At the same time, President Trump's pro-business, pro-fossil fuel agenda has excited many businesses who have made multibillion-dollar investment announcements. The end goal seems to be an economy with a smaller role for imports, immigrants and the federal government and a bigger one for private investment. But the execution has generated intense uncertainty -- among business owners, workers and trade partners--- -- hat could damp growth, at least temporarily. While Trump's election was fueled in part by voter concerns about inflation and standards of living, he nonetheless inherited a solid economy. Many firms are bullish about Trump's presidency, with surveys of chief executives, chief financial officers and small-business owners after the election showing notable increases in optimism. But events since the inauguration have dented that optimism. |
| GOP senators fall in line behind Trump's nominees, even the contentious ones | |
 | Efforts by conservatives to pressure Republican senators to support President Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees have largely been successful so far, as the Senate appears set to maintain its fast rate of confirmations this week. Since Trump's victory last fall, an array of conservative outside groups and activists launched campaigns urging Senate Republicans to support the president's picks or openly warned incumbents who expressed initial concerns about certain nominees that they risked drawing primary challengers ahead of next year's midterm elections. "From our perspective, this is going very, very well," said Ryan Walker, executive vice president at Heritage Action for America, the political arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation. Two of Trump's Cabinet nominees with the biggest question marks appear on track to be confirmed. The full Senate voted Monday evening to advance former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's nomination to be the director of national intelligence. Senators are also set to vote as soon as this week on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. So far, just one Cabinet pick, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has lost any Republican support on the floor, although former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration to be Trump's attorney general last year. |
| Trump is slashing agencies long hated by the GOP. The next cuts might be harder. | |
 | Strong poll numbers and weaker-than-expected resistance are emboldening President Donald Trump and his allies to push harder in their war against the federal government. But some Trump allies believe the next programs on the chopping block could prove more politically dicey. The early targets of billionaire Elon Musk and conservative technocrat Russ Vought -- including the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -- were chosen because they carry little political risk, especially among conservatives, according to three people close to the Trump administration, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the strategy. The agencies are little-known and opaque to most Americans. Trump and his allies, meanwhile, have sold them to their base as examples of an unchecked bureaucracy that is aiding other countries, creating more red tape, researching climate change or promoting policies out of step with their agenda. "You gotta light things on fire that burn the brightest and have the most distinctive smell of waste, fraud and abuse," said one White House ally, granted anonymity to share insights on the cuts. The next phase of the dismantling -- which is likely to include the Department of Education, the Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services, according to some of the people close to the administration and the president himself -- could be more challenging, as it takes aim at programs that are better-known, more popular and have much more support on Capitol Hill. |
| Pope rebukes Trump administration over migrant deportations, and appears to take direct aim at Vance | |
 | Pope Francis issued a major rebuke Tuesday to the Trump administration's mass deportation of migrants, warning that the forceful removal of people purely because of their illegal status deprives them of their inherent dignity and "will end badly." Francis took the remarkable step of addressing the U.S. migrant crackdown in a letter to U.S. bishops in which he appeared to take direct aim at Vice President JD Vance's defense of the deportation program on theological grounds. Vance, a Catholic convert, has defended the administration's America-first crackdown by citing a concept from medieval Catholic theology known in Latin as "ordo amoris." He has contended that the concept delineates a hierarchy of care -- to family first, followed by neighbor, community, fellow citizens and lastly those elsewhere. In his letter, Francis appeared to correct Vance's understanding of the concept. "Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups," he wrote. "The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the 'Good Samaritan,' that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception." David Gibson, director of the center for religion and culture at Fordham University, said in a social media post that Francis' letter "takes aim at every single absurd theological claim by JD Vance and his allies in conservative Catholicism (and the Catholic electorate)." |
| Mace alleges sexual abuse, rape in stunning House floor speech | |
 | Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) made a series of allegations of sexual abuse, rape and voyeurism perpetrated against herself and other women by a group of four men in a personal -- and highly unusual -- speech on the House floor Monday evening. Mace, who has served in the House since 2021, spoke for nearly an hour in the lower chamber, accusing four South Carolina men of being "predators" and displaying their names and photos on a poster board on the House floor. "You have bought yourself a one-way ticket to hell. It is nonstop, there are no connections, so I and all your victims can watch you rot in eternity," Mace said on the House floor, in a speech she said she titled "Iron Sharpens Iron." She made a number of specific allegations. Mace also went into further graphic detail, but The Hill has not independently verified the allegations. While Mace said she has evidence to back up her claims, she has not yet presented it. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) confirmed Monday that it had opened an investigation into one of the men Mace named in December 2023, shortly after Mace said she discovered the abuse, after being contacted by U.S. Capitol Police. No criminal charges have been filed, and some of the men denied the allegations in statements to The Hill and said they were considering legal action. A provision of the Constitution known as the "speech or debate clause" gives members of Congress broad protection from prosecution for what they say while performing legislative duties. |
| Bayer backs broadened effort to shield popular weedkiller from claims it failed to warn of cancer | |
| A renewed and expanded effort from chemical giant Bayer to shield itself from lawsuits that claim its popular weedkiller Roundup causes cancer brought dozens of protesters to the Iowa Capitol building Monday begging lawmakers to reject it. The legislation, pending in Iowa and at least seven other states, would protect pesticide companies from claims they failed to warn that their product causes cancer if the product label otherwise complies with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's regulations. Similar efforts failed during 2024 legislative sessions in Iowa, Missouri and Idaho. But this year, Bayer and a coalition of agricultural groups are doubling down. A broader media campaign is highlighting the importance of glyphosate-based Roundup for American agriculture. And they are getting help from a group that ran a Super Bowl ad in Missouri asserting the legislation is necessary to combat Chinese influence over the U.S. food supply. This year, legislation providing legal protection against failure-to-warn claims already has passed the North Dakota House without any opposition. Similar bills have cleared initial committees in Iowa, Mississippi and Missouri and are pending in legislative committees in Florida, Oklahoma and Tennessee. One of the many attorneys involved in the lawsuits against Bayer is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump's nominee to serve as secretary of Health and Human Services. |
| Annual Ole Miss marathon continues mission to make a lasting impact on state's children | |
| For Maddie Grace Lightsey, RebelTHON is more than just a good time. For her, it is personal. The University of Mississippi junior from Hattiesburg has participated in the annual dance marathon fundraiser for the last three years. Since its founding 14 years ago, RebelTHON has raised more than $2 million for Children's of Mississippi. Last year's event raised a record $272,616. Lightsey's younger brother has cerebral palsy and receives care from Children's of Mississippi. "My little brother, Mason, has cerebral palsy, so he is in a wheelchair, and he's attended Children's since he was an infant," said Lightsey, who is serving as the event's vice president of internal operations. "He's the light of my life. I like to say he can make anyone laugh without talking, which is a talent. "His circumstances have been super inspiring for me through everything, and everything that I do ties back to him." This year's RebelTHON is set for Saturday, Feb. 15, in the Gertrude C. Ford Ole Miss Student Union. Nearly 1,200 Ole Miss students have registered to participate in the event. |
| USM baseball team visits DuBard School before home opener | |
 | The students at the DuBard School for Language Disorders started the week with some excitement. Conversations, autographs and cheering happened at the DuBard School's Black and Gold Day. University of Southern Mississippi's baseball team stopped by the school to meet students and hang out. According to DuBard's interim director, this is a long-lasting tradition that brings joy to everyone in the community. "DuBard School has been on this campus since 1962. We've been an integral part of being able to shape not only our children that we have here, but those in our community and our USM students," said Alison Webster, DuBard's Interim Director. The day allowed students to meet the people they admire, face to face. "It's always fun for them to see they have someone here to look up to that works really hard, just as much as they do, on and off the field," Webster said. |
| Education: New dorms, sidewalks, career technical building among planned improvement | |
| Multiple capital improvement projects are under way on East Mississippi Community College's Scooba and Golden Triangle campuses, with others in the works. They range from new student housing on the Scooba campus to major sidewalk additions and an expanded footprint for Division of Nursing and Health Sciences programs on both campuses, to name a few things. The former Center for Manufacturing Technology Excellence (CMTE) building on EMCC's Golden Triangle campus will undergo an estimated $4 million renovation to house the Division of Nursing and Health Sciences programs. The project is out for bids and hopes are that work will begin soon. Hawkins Hall on EMCC's Scooba campus will also be renovated to accommodate expansion of health-related programs on that campus. On the Golden Triangle campus, the main entry was relocated to the road leading to the student union and new signage was installed. The project also included erecting a fence along South Frontage Road. Also, at the Golden Triangle campus, work is taking place to decommission the sewage lagoon, or effluent pond, following a switch-over to a Lowndes County treatment facility, which will take place after new drainage lines are installed. That work is under way. |
| The spirit of the Auburn University Bookstore remains untouched by change | |
| After providing nearly 80 years of service to the Auburn Family, the Auburn University Bookstore has continuously evolved, yet its mission remains dedicated to the student experience first by focusing on affordability and upholding traditions. According to a July 1945 edition of The Auburn Plainsman, the AU Bookstore, originally known as "The College Supply Store," first opened in the fall of 1945 following then Alabama Polytechnic Institute's purchasing of the Future Farmers of America bookstore, which provided supplies to Alabama GI Bill and vocational rehab students. Manager of Communications and Marketing for the Auburn University Bookstore Chris Green explained that since its inception, the shop has been located across various campus locations that no longer stand, such as the Student Union Building, which is where Foy Hall is located. Following a move to the Haley Center in 1969 and a name change to "Auburn University Bookstore" in 1981, the bookstore began to resemble the store it is known as today. Some of the store's most notable additions in recent years include its 2024 launch of Auburn-branded Lululemon merchandise, becoming an Apple Authorized Service Provider, and the 2013 pilot of its digital textbook program All Access. Over the next year, there will be more changes to come, like its Nike merchandise rollout with the university's rebrand and plans for a student advisory board. For Weldon, student feedback is vital to ensure that the bookstore's mission stays centered on boosting the student experience. |
| Professor's lawsuit against LSU can proceed, Jeff Landry must turn over documents, judge rules | |
 | A lawsuit accusing LSU of violating a law professor's right to free speech, academic freedom and due process can go forward, and Gov. Jeff Landry must hand over records related to the professor's suspension, an East Baton Rouge Parish district court judge said Monday. Ken Levy, a tenured LSU law professor, sued the university last month after he was suspended over what the university said were "student complaints of inappropriate statements." Levy is asking the court to make LSU return him to the classroom and to block LSU from interfering with his employment because of his constitutionally protected free speech and due process rights. In the courtroom Monday, LSU's attorney, Jimmy Faircloth Jr., argued that Levy should have first addressed his grievance over the suspension through a university process outlined in the faculty handbook, and it was too early to file a lawsuit. But Jill Craft, Levy's attorney, argued the dispute wasn't about whether or not Levy should have followed a university procedure. But District Court Judge Tarvald Smith sided with Craft: "Professor Levy has every right, in this court's opinion, to bring this action, because removing a tenured professor from his duties is a harm to that professor." Smith also sided with Craft on records she sought from Landry's office. She subpoened phone records, text messages, emails, recommendations and investigations between the governor and LSU President William Tate, law school Dean Alena Allen, LSU Board of Supervisors Chair Scott Ballard, members of the Board of Supervisors and Lindsay Madatic, director of employee relations for LSU human resources. |
| Federal funding cap on colleges would cut at least $40M from research at U. of Kentucky | |
 | A directive from President Donald Trump to cap federal funding for medical research at U.S. colleges would cut at least $40 million from the University of Kentucky, President Eli Capilouto said Monday. The National Institutes of Health, a major source of funding for higher education medical research, announced Friday it was installing a cap on what's known as "indirect funding." Under the directive from the Trump administration, indirect funding -- which covers the costs of building maintenance, utilities and support staff needed to conduct research at universities -- could not make up more than 15% of colleges' indirect funding. UK received about $163 million from the NIH last year, according to university records, but it was not immediately clear how much is considered indirect funding. Capilouto said the rate of indirect funding is negotiated between institutions and the NIH, and it can range from 20% to 54%, depending on the research and grant. The university did not provide a total breakdown of that money, and such a breakdown is not included in the university budget. "If this policy change is enacted, it will impact the way we do research at the University of Kentucky," Capilouto said in a statement. "It will cost UK tens of millions of dollars annually and will hit our local and state economies. More important than any numbers, though, it will impact the work we do to advance the health of Kentucky in those areas most critical to our future -- including cancer, heart disease, children's health, Alzheimer's and opioid use disorder." |
| Report shows state's investment in Kentucky higher education offers strong financial returns | |
| A new report by the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at the University of Kentucky examines Kentucky's return on investment for funding allocated to public colleges and universities and state financial aid programs. The tax revenue generated from Kentucky college graduates is four-and-a-half times greater than the state's initial investment in their degrees. Additionally, consumer spending generated by college graduates is 17 times greater, which supports local businesses across the Commonwealth. These returns are conservative estimates since they don't account for the financial benefits associated with higher degree attainment. These include lower unemployment rates, less chronic disease, lower crime rates and less reliance on public assistance. "To put it simply, every dollar the Kentucky General Assembly spends on postsecondary education returns $4.50 to state and local governments through income, sales and property taxes," a CBER research associate and report author, Michael Childress said. "That dollar also generates $17 for local businesses, which means more jobs and stronger local economies." |
| UF/IFAS researchers working to prevent a disease threatening chocolate | |
 | As you nibble on a chocolate truffle or bite into a chocolate-dipped strawberry on Valentine's Day, consider the elongated, ribbed pods of the cacao tree, which made that sweet treat possible. A group of University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences plant pathologists has partnered with the Mars confectionary company to safeguard those pods -- and the precious beans nestled inside -- from a devastating disease: black pod rot. Black pod rot is a disease caused by species in the genus Phytophthora. Meaning "plant destroyer" in Greek, Phytophthora is infamous as including the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine in the mid-19th century. Phytophthora-infected cacao pods develop dark lesions, which eventually host white fluffy growth before the pods shrivel into a mummified, inedible state. Phytophthora megakarya is an especially aggressive species responsible for destroying up to 80% of farmers' cacao crops, said Mariana Herrera Corzo, a UF/IFAS doctoral student leading part of the project and working under the supervision of Erica Goss, professor, and Jeremy Brawner, courtesy faculty member, both in the plant pathology department. |
| U. of Missouri soybean research project shuts down as Trump cuts off funding | |
 | A major soybean research project, which collaborates with the University of Missouri, will shut down April 15 due to President Donald Trump's dismantling of funding to the U.S. Agency for International Development. The Soybean Innovation Lab, based at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, formed in 2011 to provide researchers and organizations with the resources needed to advance soybean development. The lab is comprised of over 100 technical soybean experts from 24 countries, each representing a variety of institutions. The land grant system will lose 19 innovation labs across 17 states, including Missouri. MU has been involved in the Soybean Innovation Lab since 2013, said Kerry Clark, an MU researcher who leads the mechanization division for the lab. Clark said MU's sector of the Soybean Innovation Lab research received $1.2 million, or about $150,000 annually, before losing funding. "Soybeans are such an important crop for the state of Missouri," said Brady Deaton, a former MU chancellor and member of the Soybean Innovation Lab advisory board. " ... So new knowledge, which is being generated by this innovation lab, flows to all producers and consumers of soybeans, and in that sense, has some direct effect." |
| Colleges rebrand humanities majors as job-friendly | |
| Olivia Howe was hesitant at first to add French to her major in finance at the University of Arizona, fearing that it wouldn't be very useful in the labor market. Then her language skills helped her land a job at the multinational technology company Siemens, which will be waiting for her when she graduates this spring. "The reason I got the job is because of my French. I didn't see it as a practical choice, but now I do," said Howe, who, to communicate with colleagues and clients, also plans to take up German. "The humanities taught me I could do it." The simple message that majoring in the humanities pays off is being pushed aggressively by this university and a handful of others; they hope to reverse decades of plummeting enrollment in subjects that teach skills employers say they need from graduates but aren't getting. "What we are up against is the constant negative storytelling about how the humanities are useless," said Alain-Philippe Durand, dean of the University of Arizona's College of Humanities and a professor of French. Higher education has largely struggled to counteract this. Presidents and deans use vague arguments that the humanities impart knowledge and create citizens of the world, when what tuition-paying consumers want to know is what they'll get for their money and how they'll repay their student loan debt. |
| Trump's education chief comes from the boardroom, not the classroom. Backers say that's her strength | |
| Linda McMahon once described herself as an outsider stepping into the world of education, a business leader with an "inquiring mind" who would challenge the status quo and demand more for students. That was 15 years ago, when McMahon was beginning a stint on the Connecticut Board of Education. But her backers describe her similarly today as she seeks to become the nation's next education chief. She has few of the qualifications typical of the job, yet supporters see that as a strength. She has a clinical business mind and few allegiances in an industry that President Donald Trump promises to upend -- starting with his vow to abolish the U.S. Education Department itself. "Her most important qualification is her private-sector experience," said Ed Patru, a friend and former spokesperson during her 2010 Senate campaign. "The public's perception of what constitutes a qualified candidate has changed dramatically. Americans are more distrustful of government." On higher education, McMahon has voiced support for apprenticeships and other alternatives to traditional degrees. At the K-12 level, she has called for expanded school choice and more transparency in classroom curriculum. |
| Trump administration targets Education Department research arm in latest cuts | |
 | An independent research arm within the U.S. Department of Education is being all but shut down, employees of the department say. The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is responsible for gathering and disseminating data on a wide range of topics, including research-backed teaching practices and the state of U.S. student achievement. Many contracts have already been canceled, according to two employees briefed on the moves. They shared screenshots with NPR of emails sent on Monday notifying them of terminated contracts. The employees said they learned of the cuts at an emergency meeting called Monday afternoon by leaders of IES, a nonpartisan division of the Education Department that includes the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The employees asked that their names not be used because they feared for their jobs. The research collected by IES is used by educators, state and local departments of education, school districts, colleges and other researchers to better understand student achievement, enrollment and a host of other important functions that shape the education system in this country. According to the employees NPR spoke with, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), will be preserved, at least for now. NAEP, also known as The Nation's Report Card, is the gold standard in assessments of student achievement and releases widely used data on how K-12 students are faring in core subjects including math and reading. |
| NOAA told to search grant programs for climate-related terms | |
| The Commerce Department has sent NOAA officials a broad set of keywords to search grants in ways that would cover most climate change-related projects. NOAA is one of the world's top weather and climate agencies and provides funding to universities and researchers to improve the understanding and prediction of extreme weather and climate change. Any potential challenges to NOAA's peer-reviewed grants are "myopic and misguided," said Rick Spinrad, who led NOAA during the Biden administration. The search is related to President Trump's recent executive orders, some of which were signed on his first day in office. It appears to be separate from DEI-related searches of internal NOAA websites conducted by Elon Musk's DOGE staff last week. The list of keywords, a copy of which was seen by Axios, includes DEI-related language and terms pertaining to a range of Trump's executive orders to date. Commerce's interpretation of Trump's orders on environmental agreements and energy covers the terms "climate," "methane," "nitrous oxide," "greenhouse gas," "climate science," "carbon," the "Paris Agreement," and other terminology. According to a NOAA source who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, each of NOAA's divisions -- referred to as line offices -- have been tasked with searching their grants and any other outside funding support for the same set of keywords. |
| Ban on D.E.I. Language Sweeps Through the Sciences | |
 | The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine is an independent, 162-year-old nongovernmental agency tasked with investigating and reporting on a wide range of subjects. In recent years, diversity, equity and inclusion -- collectively known as D.E.I. -- have been central to its agenda. But the Academies' priorities changed abruptly on Jan. 31. Shortly after receiving a "stop work" order from the Trump administration, the institute closed its Office of Diversity and Inclusion, removed prominent links to its work on D.E.I. from its website's homepage and paused projects on related themes. Now the website highlights the Academies' interest in artificial intelligence and "our work to build a robust economy." The quick about-face reflects the widespread impact that President Trump's executive order on D.E.I. is having on scientific institutions across the nation, both governmental and private. The crackdown is altering scientific exploration and research agendas across a broad swath of fields. One NASA program affected is FarmFlux, a research initiative on agricultural emissions that redacted plans to recruit from "diverse student groups" for its team. Mentions of another, called Here to Observe, which partners with smaller academic institutions to expose historically underrepresented students to planetary science, have been removed from the space agency's website. Peter Eley, a dean at Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University who, in 2023, worked as a liaison for minority-serving institutions in NASA's Office of STEM, noted that such programs often support students from lower-income rural communities, regardless of their racial background. |
| GOP State Lawmakers Targeting DEI and Tenure Again | |
 | Last week, the Indiana Senate passed a bill targeting diversity, equity and inclusion across state government, including in K-12 and higher education. Senate Bill 289 would ban DEI consultants, internal DEI audits and any offices or workers whose "primary duties" include providing noncredit DEI programs at public colleges and universities. The state attorney general could ask courts to fine institutions up to $250,000 per violation. The state Senate Democrats -- outnumbered four to one by their Republican counterparts in Indianapolis -- gave speech after speech Thursday against the legislation. Senator Shelli Yoder, the minority caucus leader, said the bill was about "silencing essential truths and reinstating discrimination under the false pretense of neutrality, or words like 'merit.'" But Dr. Tyler Johnson, a Republican senator and one of the bill's authors, said SB 289 would actually combat discrimination. He said he was inspired to take action more than two years ago, after a student he mentored felt discriminated against in medical school admissions at an Indiana university that Johnson declined to name. "Our goal here is to remove divisive and discriminatory top-down manipulative ideology," Johnson said. "You can't fix discrimination with discrimination." The bill is just one example -- though perhaps the closest to passage so far -- of renewed efforts by Republican lawmakers in multiple states to enact legislation to diminish DEI. |
| Trump's NIH challenges the model that underlies U.S. scientific dominance | |
 | At Mark Peifer's University of North Carolina lab, scientists study the elaborate machinery that cells use to communicate with one another, which often goes awry in colon cancer. Last week, the "cold room" on his floor went down. No cold room, no experiments -- at least until university facilities personnel were able to fix it. The maintenance of research facilities is included in about $208,000 for "indirect costs" that are part of Peifer's nearly $600,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health -- money that allows his whole enterprise to continue functioning. But in a bombshell announcement Friday night, NIH said it would immediately impose a dramatic cut in funding for such indirect expenditures, the latest abrupt action by the Trump administration. "Without overhead, universities cannot support labs like mine," Peifer said in an email. "The aging building in which I work will literally fall apart around me if the maintenance is removed. No new faculty will be hired. I guess I'll have to manage my $375,000/year budget with a calculator?" For 80 years the great research institutions of America have enjoyed a special relationship with the federal government, one that has powered scientific and technological innovation and made the nation's universities a magnet for the world's most brilliant scientists and engineers. Research leaders contend that the NIH decision will damage America's ability to compete with China and other nations on the frontier of biomedicine. Although it is framed as a simple cost-cutting move, it is part of aggressive actions from the administration that have shaken the scientific and medical establishment. |
| NIH Cuts On Hold After States Sue | |
| A federal judge blocked the National Institutes of Health administration from carrying out a plan to cap payments for costs indirectly related to research after a coalition of 22 Democratic attorneys general challenged the policy in a lawsuit filed Monday morning. The policy change, which was announced late Friday and briefly in place Monday before the judge blocked it, would likely cost colleges billions if it goes into full effect. The White House said the cap would make more money available for "legitimate scientific research," though NIH officials touted the change as a way to save more than $4 billion. "Without relief from NIH's action, these institutions' cutting-edge work to cure and treat human disease will grind to a halt," the states argued in the lawsuit. "These universities and research institutions are vital economic and social institutions in each state, employing thousands of their citizens, educating and training thousands more, and creating investment and partnering opportunities with the private sector." The states asked a federal judge to temporarily block guidance that caps indirect expenses at 15 percent of the direct research costs -- down from the average of 28 percent -- which goes to pay for laboratory space and hazardous waste removal, among other expenses associated with research projects. Although Trump has cast indirect costs as another example of wasteful federal spending, university officials warned in court filings of operational chaos and job losses as colleges adjust to the immediate financial losses. |
| Trump Wants to Cut Billions in Research Spending. Here's How Much It Might Cost Your University. | |
 | A plan by the Trump administration to reduce government spending on research by billions of dollars has raised anxieties within higher education and among those who carry out the nation's biomedical research. A memo released late on Friday announced that the National Institutes of Health would limit indirect-cost funding to 15 percent, approximately half of the average rate it previously offered. Twenty-two states sued the NIH over its new overhead-funding cap and requested a federal judge issue an injunction against the new policy, saying that "work to cure and treat human disease will grind to a halt" because of the move, which was set to take effect on Monday. A judge in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts on Monday night temporarily blocked implementation of the policy in those 22 states. A second lawsuit was also filed in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts later on Monday by associations representing medical colleges, colleges of pharmacy, schools of public health, and teaching hospitals. A third lawsuit, filed in the same court, was brought by the Association of American Universities, the American Council on Education, and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, as well as 12 academic institutions and systems. To better understand how the government's proposal might affect university finances in the future, The Chronicle undertook an analysis of funding from the NIH to organizations like universities and colleges. Here's what we found. |
| A New Kind of Crisis for American Universities | |
| "I personally think that the post–World War II system of big research universities funded heavily by the government will not continue." That's how one professor at a big state research university responded when I asked how he was feeling about our shared profession. That system is the cornerstone of U.S. higher education -- at Harvard or Princeton, yes, but also the University of Michigan and Texas A&M. The research university has helped establish the meaning of "college" as Americans know it. But that meaning may now be up for grabs. In the past two weeks, higher ed has been hit by a series of startling and, in some cases, potentially illegal budget cuts. ... The "post–World War II system" of research that the state-school professor mentioned can be traced back almost entirely to one man: Vannevar Bush. His diverse accomplishments included his vision, published in The Atlantic, for a networked information system that would inspire hypertext and the World Wide Web. In 1941, Bush became the first director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, funded by Congress to carry out research for military, industrial, medical, and other purposes, including that which led to the atom bomb. Universities in America received little public-research funding at the time. Bush thought that should change. In 1945, he put out an influential report, "Science: The Endless Frontier," arguing that the federal government should pay for basic research in peacetime, with decisions about what to fund being made not by bureaucrats, but by the scientific community itself. Bush advocated for a new kind of organization to fund science in universities with federal money, which was realized in 1950 as the National Science Foundation. Then his model spread to the NIH and beyond. |
SPORTS
| Men's Basketball: Five Things To Know: No. 22 State-No. 3 Florida | |
| No. 22 Mississippi State faces its fifth top 10 challenge of the season and its seventh ranked opponent during its last nine games when No. 3 Florida visits Humphrey Coliseum on Tuesday evening. The Bulldogs (17-6, 5-5 SEC) are one of seven SEC squads (Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M) and are one of 24 teams nationally to produce at least 9 combined NCAA NET Quad 1 and 2 victories on the season. State is joined by Memphis and Tennessee as the only teams in the nation to collect a pair of true non-conference road wins over NCAA NET Quad 1 foes. The Bulldogs are one of eight programs (Alabama, Auburn, Marquette, Memphis, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas A&M) in the country to amass at least five non-conference victories. Only State coupled with Auburn, Oklahoma and Oregon have amassed a 5-1 record or better against NCAA NET Quad 1 and Quad 2 non-conference opponents. Earlier this week, State checked in at No. 22 in this week's Associated Press Top 25. The Bulldogs are ranked inside the AP poll for the eight straight week. State has secured as high as a No. 14 ranking on three occasions in 2024-25, the latest being 01/27, which remains a program watermark under Coach Jans. State has won four of the last seven meetings over the Gators since the 2018-19 seasons which includes a 2-1 mark in Starkville. The Bulldogs last win in the series came in overtime, 69-68, at the 2023 SEC Tournament. |
| Storylines to watch as No. 3 Florida basketball faces another road test at MSU | |
| Florida basketball proved it could play with anyone in the country, even on the road, when it upset No. 1 Auburn 90-81 on Saturday on The Plains. Off an emotional win, the No. 3 Florida Gators (20-3, 7-3 SEC) will face another road challenge on Tuesday when they play at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs (17-6, 5-5 SEC) have been ranked in the Top 25 on and off throughout the 2024-25 season and snapped a two-game losing streak with a 76-75 win at Georgia last Saturday. "We have a target on our back," Florida basketball coach Todd Golden said. "Our guys are learning that, especially after Saturday. We're going to have to perform really, really well on the road Tuesday night to win." Florida is 4-2 in true road games this season. The Gators could be without a starting guard for a third straight game, as grad transfer Alijah Martin remains questionable with a hip injury. Senior point guard Walter Clayton Jr. returned from injury and sparked UF in its upset win over Auburn, finishing the game with 19 points and nine assists. Clayton doesn't expect a hangover Tuesday night after the emotional win. "Everybody is ready," Clayton said. "I think we all understand we can't get too high, we can't too low. I think everybody understands what we've got to do, just go out there, do you job, do your assignment and we're going to win the game." |
| Florida expects Alijah Martin back from hip injury at Mississippi State | |
| No. 3 Florida expects guard Alijah Martin to play at Mississippi State on Tuesday night. Martin missed the team's upset at top-ranked Auburn on Saturday because of a hip pointer. But coach Todd Golden said Monday that Martin was "moving around really well" in practice and should be back in the starting lineup against the 22nd-ranked Bulldogs. "I think he'll play," Golden said. "I anticipate he'll play, but it's a funny little injury and a little pull here and there can bother him. But he looked really good (Sunday)." Martin ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.3 points a game. He also averages 4.9 rebounds and ranks second on the team with 58 assists. |
| What Chris Lemonis sees in Mississippi State baseball as it strives to return to CWS | |
| The Omaha Room under the stands of Dudy Noble Field has images from floor to ceiling on all four walls of Mississippi State baseball's 12 College World Series appearances. One corner has an image of Ron Polk, the legendary Bulldogs coach who led them to six College World Series. Nearby is the celebration from the 2021 national championship, the only in program history. The space serves as Mississippi State's film and meeting room, but the team is longing for the walls to be updated. That requires another College World Series appearance. Coach Chris Lemonis has said it several times before the 2025 season opener versus Manhattan on Friday (4 p.m. CT, SEC Network+). Making it back to Omaha, Nebraska, site of the College World Series, is the season's goal. "I think that's always the one," Lemonis said before the first preseason practice in January. "To go to Omaha, you got to host (an NCAA tournament regional). And so I think the message has been about being consistent, taking care of all your games, not just the big ones on Friday night, and putting yourself in a really good position so you can host." |
| Baseball Coaches Continue To Adapt As Future Of College Athletics Evolves | |
| Kevin O'Sullivan leaned against the dugout railing, his sharp gaze scanning the field where his players were finishing a spirited round of batting practice. For a moment, the accomplished Gators coach who has built a perennial powerhouse in Gainesville, allowed himself to admire the work he and his staff had done to assemble a roster they believe would once again give them a shot at Omaha. He applauds how the sport has surged into the national spotlight with record-breaking viewership, expanded media coverage and a pipeline of players who go on to rapidly reach the big leagues. Still, though, as his mind shifted back to the players who might be the next to make that leap, his optimism about the state of the college game clouded slightly. While O'Sullivan lauds the strides the NCAA has made, he worries the same organization might be unwittingly slowing the sport's momentum. Behind the buzz and booming growth, he sees potential roadblocks -- policies and missed opportunities that could stall the game's evolution just as it reaches new heights. O'Sullivan is hardly alone in his stance, as similar sentiments have taken hold across all levels of the sport. Southern Mississippi head coach Christian Ostrander worries about incoming freshmen as rosters shrink and transfer portal talent continues to take the front stage in recruiting for so many programs. "Opportunities are shrinking," Ostrander said. "And who does that help?" Echoed Mississippi State head coach Chris Lemonis: "I think we're taking opportunities away from kids. Our sport is different than most, and I feel like if you look around, baseball was reduced more dramatically than anybody else. There were some programs that even got more. We got more scholarships, maybe, but it's just tough for me. I've been at every level of college baseball for the most part, so I understand it. It's just disappointing." |
| Chaffin shines as No. 24 Mississippi State goes 4-1 at NFCA Leadoff Classic | |
| Just a few months ago, Raelin Chaffin was undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer shortly after transferring to Mississippi State from LSU. But she was at the top of her game in her first weekend as a Bulldog, helping No. 24 MSU win four of five games at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida. In the season opener Friday against No. 13 Texas Tech, Chaffin emerged victorious in an eight-inning pitchers' duel with NiJaree Canady, the best pitcher in the country last year. Canady struck out 12 Bulldogs and issued just one walk, but Chaffin matched her out for out until MSU broke through in extras. "Raelin's performance was awesome. I'm so excited for her. We knew bringing her in that there was just a little something in her, just that competitive edge. She just still wanted to prove herself in her last season," MSU head coach Samantha Ricketts said. MSU (4-1) will open Nusz Park for the 2025 season this coming weekend with The Snowman: Alex Wilcox Memorial tournament -- named in honor of former outfielder Alex Wilcox, who died from ovarian cancer following her freshman year in 2018. The Bulldogs will play Southern Illinois, North Texas, Bradley and Georgia Tech. |
| No. 13 MSU men's tennis earns two more wins against Memphis and Jackson State | |
| Mississippi State men's tennis closed out non-conference play on a positive note Sunday, with the No. 13 Bulldogs shutting out both Memphis and Jackson State at home. The No. 1 doubles team of juniors Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez, ranked 12th in the country, clinched the opening point against Memphis with a 6-1 victory. That came after MSU's No. 3 pairing of senior Dusan Milanovic and junior Michal Novansky earned a 6-0 win. In singles, sophomore Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes started things off with a quick 6-1, 6-0 win at the sixth position, and freshman Niccolo Baroni also made quick work of his opponent at No. 4. Junior Mario Martinez Serrano clinched the match by winning in straight sets at No. 5. Milanovic secured a win with a second-set tiebreak at No. 3, and Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez each won via a super-tiebreak to complete the shutout. "We use each match as feedback for areas we can improve, and our non-conference schedule was great feedback for where we are as a team," Bulldogs head coach Matt Roberts said. "The guys love getting better and applying what they learned from matches on the weekend. This team is a lot of fun." |
| Sports radio host Paul Finebaum buys Mountain Brook mansion | |
| A longtime sports radio host recently bought a mansion in Mountain Brook. According to public records, Paul A. Finebaum -- longtime sports radio host, reporter, columnist and author -- and his wife, Linda K. Hudson, bought a 12,165-square-foot estate at 2866 Southwood Road. The property sits on 2.3 acres, according to the listing. Finebaum bought the property for $5.162 million, according to the deed. The sellers were Rance and Angie Sanders. Rance Sanders is president and CEO of The Sanders Trust. "We came in for a quick visit during Christmas," Finebaum told the BBJ. "At the last second, our agent, Mary Harmon Muir-Taylor, took us by the Mountain Brook house and we were smitten." The five-bedroom, eight-bath home features a grand foyer with a double staircase and chandelier imported from Florence, Italy, according to the listing. The house also comes with a fully stocked fitness center and wine cellar as well as an outside fountain, patio and grill, green-space and a 26-station irrigation system. Currently in Charlotte, Finebaum confirmed he will be moving back to Birmingham full time. |
| Finebaum moving back to Alabama, purchases $5.1 million estate | |
 | Paul Finebaum is moving back to the state of Alabama. The SEC Network analyst confirmed the move to AL.com on Monday afternoon. "We have been talking about moving back for several years," Finebaum said of he and his wife, Linda. "We have been gone nearly 12 years and felt this was the right time." In August, Finebaum and ESPN agreed on a multi-year contract extension. His role as host of "The Paul Finebaum Show" and as a commentator on "SEC Nation" have continued. In addition, "Finebaum Friday" continues to travel to SEC campuses and game sites. "While Paul is shifting his primary residence back to Birmingham, 'The Paul Finebaum Show' will continue to originate from Charlotte," an ESPN spokesman told AL.com. Finebaum is expected to continue in his current capacity after the move. 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. |
| FIFA president visits U. of Tennessee to see World Cup turf development firsthand | |
 | Ahead of the next FIFA World Cup in 2026, the international soccer organization's president paid his first visit to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville for an update on the university's progress in developing a pitch-perfect turf for the biggest soccer event in the world. UT is collaborating with Michigan State University to research real turf for the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025 and for the 2026 FIFA World Cup -- the next event in the once-every-four-years tradition − set to take place across 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Sod farmers will grow the turf around the continent to provide a consistent quality of pitch for each of the 104 games in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, regardless of the sun exposure, elevation, climate and time zone of the host stadium. So far, FIFA President Gianni Infantino is pleased with the progress made so far. "We want to make sure that the quality of the grass - of the pitch - is the same for all teams, for all players, in all cities, because we're organizing the World Cup," he said during his visit to Knoxville on Feb. 10. "We started this project here, which is truly revolutionary, together a few years ago. We're very excited about it, and we look forward to the results on the pitch, but ... also the creation of conditions as they are in the different cities in different areas." |
| Big Ten athletic departments' 2024 financial statements: Seven lessons from a data deep dive | |
| The athletic departments of the Big Ten's 16 public universities generated nearly $2.84 billion in revenue during the 2024 fiscal year but collectively spent nearly $3 billion, according to financial data sent to the NCAA and obtained recently by The Athletic through state open-records laws. Of those athletic departments, half finished the 2024 fiscal year with a deficit, and four of those eight were at least $15 million in the hole. Most of the shortfalls were covered by department reserves, university loans or institutional support. Private universities Northwestern and USC aren't required by law to release their documents and do not. Of the 13 public universities collecting Big Ten funding during fiscal 2024, 11 secured around $50.8 million as part of the league's media contract plus $11 million or so for other disbursals, including bowl revenue. Maryland and Rutgers received lower amounts as part of their payback process after borrowing during their six years of non-vested membership. Perhaps the most jarring number within the data involved college football's new national champions: Ohio State's athletic department spent nearly $292.7 million in the 2023-24 school year, almost $38 million more than its $254.9 million in reported revenue. That's an eye-popping deficit, there are reasons why the Buckeyes' shortfall was exclusive to this particular year. |
| Has Texas Tech built a college football power in the portal? | |
| The goal going into December was to spend $5 million. That was the price tag that Cody Campbell, Texas Tech's billionaire booster and the leader of The Matador Club NIL collective, initially anticipated for the Red Raiders' transfer portal haul. In college football's constantly evolving world of transfer recruiting, that's still considered a lot of money. In late November, Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire told reporters he was bringing in approximately 10 transfers for next season. McGuire, Campbell and general manager James Blanchard had spent months preparing for the Dec. 9 start of portal season. They had an ambitious plan. And then the plan worked a little too well. The quality of players hitting the market -- proven starters, potential all-conference performers, real NFL prospects -- who were willing to listen to Texas Tech's pitch exceeded expectations. So, why stop at 10? This trio wholeheartedly believed the Red Raiders had just come up a few plays -- and players -- short of the first Big 12 championship game in school history, finishing one game behind the teams tied for first place. This was their moment to take a big swing. "I talked with Cody and Coach McGuire," Blanchard said, "and Coach was like, 'Man, if they can help us win the Big 12, let's just go ahead and go all-in. Let's do it.'" Texas Tech brought in 17 new players in December, including seven of the top 75 players in ESPN's transfers rankings, good enough for the No. 2 ranked portal class in early January. And nobody outside of Lubbock, Texas, saw it coming. The total cost of the splurge? More than $10 million. |
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