| Wednesday, April 8, 2026 |
| MSU awarded $100K Regions Foundation grant fueling entrepreneurship programs | |
 | Mississippi State University's Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach is expanding support for aspiring entrepreneurs thanks to a grant from the Regions Foundation. The award will support two accelerator initiatives led by the MSU Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach, the MSU VentureCatalyst program in Starkville and the Million Dollar Checklist program in Vicksburg. It also will power Startup Summit, Mississippi State's premier entrepreneurial pitch event. "Many students arrive on campus looking to develop the skills and knowledge to turn their ideas into new businesses," said Scott Grawe, dean of Mississippi State's College of Business. "Our Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach provides students with the opportunity to apply concepts from the classroom directly to their businesses." “We’re excited to partner with the Regions Foundation to continue strengthening Mississippi’s entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Nick Pashos, director of Mississippi State’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach. |
| Mississippi lawmakers approve new financial literacy requirements for for students | |
 | Mississippi students could soon face new financial literacy requirements under a bill that would introduce personal finance concepts in middle school and make a dedicated course a diploma requirement in high school. Supporters say the mandate is meant to address a basic problem. Many students still leave school without a solid understanding of banking, saving, credit and budgeting, even as those decisions begin shaping their lives. "People who can make smart financial decisions are good employers and they're good to have in the workforce of Mississippi," Sen. Nicole Boyd, R-Oxford, said. "And that's what we're talking about is upskilling our entire population in those decisions." Dr. Becky Smith, an economist and financial coach with Mississippi State University Extension, said the phased-in structure is one of the bill's strongest features. She said students are more likely to retain those lessons if they encounter them repeatedly before they're responsible for managing their own money. |
| State's blueberry crop hurt by March freeze | |
 | Already struggling with fewer acres in the state, the blueberry industry absorbed a smaller setback with an untimely freeze in mid-March. Jeremy Edwards, a blueberry grower and owner of Great Southern Farms in Richton, said his 160 acres of blueberries in Perry County lost maybe as much as 20% of the fruit on his Southern highbush shrubs. "All the rabbiteyes were fine, but now we have to worry about botrytis and spray for that fungus," Edwards said. "When new leaves get bit by the cold, that's a weak point for the plant and it allows the fungus to enter." Elizabeth Canales Medina, an agricultural economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said although more people have started growing blueberries in Mississippi, overall blueberry acres and production are down. |
| MSU Extension specialty crops short course set for May 7 | |
| Fruit and vegetable producers will have an opportunity to learn more about producing these specialty crops during an upcoming short course. The Mississippi State University Extension Service will host the Specialty Crop Short Course May 7 in Raymond at the Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center. The short course is open to current producers and those who are interested in growing specialty crops. Educational sessions will include information on marketing, budgets, fruit production, vegetable production, organic production, pesticide use and safety, and disease and insect management. Specialty crop options for expansion of offerings, including ornamentals and hydroponics, will also be discussed. |
| State funds MUW historic renovation, MSMS upgrades | |
| Just before the 2026 Legislative session ended last week, lawmakers passed a $253 million bill to fund local projects throughout the state, including roughly $54 million designated for special projects in the Golden Triangle. Among those projects, Senate Bill 2189 includes a $4 million appropriation designated to assist Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District with costs for building a new Starkville High School, set to be located on the north edge of Mississippi State University's campus. Roberson said the new high school campus and the school district could potentially be involved in future projects that benefit the entire state, like a STEM-focused specialty school tied to MSU's "premier programs," like cybersecurity. |
| Aldermen reject partial ban, criminalize all kratom | |
| Starting next month, possessing or selling kratom in city limits could mean jail time or a hefty fine after aldermen approved a sweeping ban on the substance during Tuesday's meeting at City Hall. The Board of Aldermen voted 5-2 to criminalize both natural and synthetic forms of kratom, a product commonly sold in convenience stores as a pain relief or energy supplement, following a second public hearing and nearly 20 minutes of board discussion. Ward 2 Alderwoman Sandra Sistrunk and Ward 1 Alderwoman Kim Moreland voted against the measure. Under the ordinance, violations will be treated as misdemeanors, punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine. Ahead of the vote, Mayor Lynn Spruill said the board received input from numerous residents on both sides of the issue. |
| Is another Amazon data center coming to Madison County? | |
 | Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has announced there will be major economic development news on Thursday. The announcement is expected to be located at 1218 West County Line Road in Ridgeland, which is adjacent to one location where Amazon Web Services is already investing $10 billion for a data center campus. Amazon has not confirmed it is building another campus. Amazon was the first to announce a data center project in Mississippi in January 2024 with its Madison County campus, which set an economic development record for the Magnolia State. If there is an announcement in Madison County on Thursday involving AWS and another data center campus, it would mark third data center campus in Mississippi for Amazon. |
| Why More People Are Dropping Out of the Job Market | |
 | The U.S. labor market bounced back last month with healthy job growth and a decline in unemployment. But another trend also came into focus: the continuing fall in labor-force participation. The share of the working-age population that is either working or looking for work -- known as the labor-force participation rate -- edged down to 61.9% in March, its lowest level since 1977, outside of the pandemic. The continued aging of the population and the Trump administration's immigration crackdown have helped drive the fall in recent months, economists said. The rate matters because it helps set the pace of economic growth. The economy grows either because more workers join it or because each worker produces more. On a positive note, the participation rate of people ages 25 to 54, known as "prime-age" workers, has held near multidecade highs. |
| Halt in strikes mostly holds after Trump, Iran agree to 2-week ceasefire | |
 | A two-week halt in the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran appeared largely to hold on Wednesday, the morning after President Donald Trump abandoned his threat to wipe out "a whole civilization" and granted an extension for diplomacy to continue, just 90 minutes before his 8 p.m. self-imposed deadline. The pause came as the war's economic and political fallout, including a near-doubling of gasoline prices in the United States and a falling approval rating as midterm elections near, had begun to mount -- deepening public anxiety. Stock futures surged and oil prices plunged following the ceasefire announcement. With Washington and Tehran each claiming victory, the agreement raised the prospect of some respite after nearly six weeks of bombing and other attacks. But major obstacles remain in any effort to achieve a durable peace accord. |
| Trump expected to meet NATO leader Rutte as he muses about pulling out of the military alliance | |
 | NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is expected to meet with President Donald Trump on Wednesday to try to smooth over the president's anger with the military alliance over the Iran war. Trump had suggested the U.S. may consider leaving the trans-Atlantic alliance after NATO member countries ignored his call to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping waterway, as Iran effectively shut it and sent gas prices soaring. The Republican president's meeting with Rutte, with whom he had a warm relationship, comes as the U.S. and Iran late Tuesday agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the strait. The nascent ceasefire was struck after Trump said he would strike Iran's power plants and bridges, threatening that "a whole civilization will die tonight." The plan to reopen the strait is still cloudy and is expected to be a central focus of the Wednesday afternoon meeting with Rutte. |
| Iran-Linked Hackers Are Sabotaging US Energy and Water Infrastructure | |
 | As US President Donald Trump threatens wholesale demolition of Iran's infrastructure in the midst of an escalating war, Iran now appears to have already reciprocated with its own form of infrastructure sabotage: A hacking campaign hitting industrial control systems across the United States, including energy and water utilities, that US agencies say has had disruptive and costly effects. In a joint advisory published Tuesday, a group of US agencies including the FBI, the National Security Agency, the Department of Energy, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned that a group of hackers affiliated with the Iranian government has targeted industrial control devices used in a series of critical infrastructure targets including in the energy sector, water and wastewater utilities, and unspecified "government facilities." |
| 'A wow moment': Democrats make big gains in key battlegrounds | |
 | Democrats just had one of their best election nights since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Again. In Wisconsin's Supreme Court election, the Democratic-backed candidate sailed to a nearly 20-point landslide victory Tuesday in a battleground Trump carried less than two years ago. Meanwhile, a Georgia Democrat slashed Trump's margin of victory by two thirds in the state's reddest district despite losing the election -- the most significant overperformance the party has seen across all seven House special elections so far this cycle. The results in the battleground states -- home to key Senate, gubernatorial and House races -- are the latest repudiation from voters of Trump and his agenda and flashing warning signs for the GOP heading into November. |
| Stung by Voters, Republican Legislators Move to Curb Citizen Initiatives | |
 | Voters frustrated by one-party control in Republican states over the last decade have increasingly turned to citizen-sponsored initiatives to enact policies that their legislatures won't. They expanded Medicaid, adopted paid sick leave, raised the minimum wage and safeguarded access to abortion. Now, the legislators are striking back. The legislators argue that the nation's founders never intended a pure democracy, and that in a representative democracy, elected legislators are entrusted to carry out their own judgments. Moreover, opponents say, citizens' initiatives -- established during the progressive era more than a century ago as a check on wealthy special interest groups -- now allow such groups to hijack the will of the people. Groups that have helped pass ballot measures see it differently. |
| Locals Are Using AI to Fight Data Centers Being Built in Their Backyards | |
| Late at night, or when her 18-month-old daughter is napping, Jessica Sharp logs onto Chat GPT and asks it to help her in her fight to stop a data center from being built just steps away from her home. The irony isn't lost on her. Activists like Sharp, who lives in Wilmington in rural Ohio, say that despite their misgivings about the technology, artificial intelligence can speed up their volunteer work. They are using AI, which is powered by data centers, to work against its maker. Ohio, now home to more than 200 data centers, is one of the top locations in the U.S. for the tech warehouses. But backlash from residents has been severe. They fear the data centers will drive up electricity prices and damage the local environment, much of which is farm country. Across the country, locals have blocked or postponed about 20 projects, amounting to nearly $100 billion in combined investment in the second quarter of last year. |
| IHL kicks off search for Mississippi University for Women's next president | |
 | Mississippi University for Women students, faculty, staff and other stakeholders will get to weigh in on the school's next president during listening sessions scheduled next week. The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning's Board of Trustees announced Tuesday it will host listening sessions at the university and online on April 14. Sessions are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in Cochran Limbert Assembly Room of Thad and Rose Cochran Hall, according to a news release from IHL. The sessions will stream online at www.muw.edu/live. IHL is also collecting questions and comments related to the search online. Nora Miller, who became the 15th president of the W in 2018, announced in January that she plans to retire, effective June 30. |
| IHL to hold listening sessions as it searches for next Mississippi University for Women president | |
| Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community stakeholders will soon be able to weigh in on the qualifications and qualities they want to see in candidates for the next president of the Mississippi University for Women. The Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning announced Tuesday it will host a pair of listening sessions on April 14 as it searches for a new president of the roughly 2,400-student public university in Columbus. Miller has also been a steadfast proponent of MUW changing its name to better reflect its student population. The university became coeducational in 1982 and is now about 22% male. However, the state legislature has not been able to agree on the university changing its name. |
| Public invited to MUW presidential search listening sessions | |
| The search for a new president of Mississippi University for Women kicks off next week, beginning with a chance for stakeholders to share their input. The Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning will host listening sessions Tuesday for students, faculty, staff, alumni and community stakeholders to weigh in on the qualifications and qualities they want to see in the next MUW president. The sessions are the first step in the process to find a replacement for President Nora Miller, who is set to retire June 30. The board of trustees has not yet announced a timeline for the process to replace Miller. However, next steps, according to the board's bylaws, require a candidate profile and minimum qualifications for the position to be approved. Then, after a general schedule for the search is created, the position will be advertised. |
| Alcorn State becomes first HBCU to fully implement AI through partnership | |
| Alcorn State University hosted a conversation on HBCUs and artificial intelligence at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. The event drew dozens of attendees, including university leaders and representatives from NVIDIA. The university recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NVIDIA, an American technology company, to serve as the first HBCU to fully implement AI. "We have this event so we can notify the public about, hey, Alcorn State is here. Alcorn is in the game. Alcorn is going to be a part of this AI initiative, President Tracy Cook said. President Cook thanked NVIDIA for partnering with Mississippi and extending the opportunity to Lorman, a town which he said: "receives small to little to no economic support." |
| Integer Technologies opens Gulfport office, expanding Mississippi Coast defense industry | |
 | Integer Technologies cut the ribbon on its new office at the Roger F. Wicker Center for Ocean Enterprise, marking an expansion of the defense industry on the Mississippi Coast. Integer Technologies creates software for the military, specializing in seabed warfare with unmanned and autonomous vessels. Sen. Roger Wicker, the namesake of the building the office is in, said Integer is an opportunity for economic growth and a chance to build stronger defense forces. Part of Integer's venture to the coast is a partnership with the University of Southern Mississippi. It gives Integer not only a supply line of graduates, but also other major resources. "By partnering with USM, you also get access to amazing professors and research staff who are really experts in their field," said Josh Knight, co-founder and COO. |
| Southern Miss to train students for tourism jobs with new hospitality program | |
| As Mississippi's tourism industry grows, one of the state's universities is looking to give its students a competitive advantage in the hospitality workforce. Beginning this upcoming fall semester, the University of Southern Mississippi will launch the Hospitality Passport program, an initiative designed to have students receive hands-on training and preparation in tourism-related fields before they turn the tassel. Dr. Wei Wang, associate professor, and Wendi McLain, instructor, designed the Hospitality Passport program based on employer feedback to reflect the evolving needs of the industry. Southern Miss, with campuses in Hattiesburg and Long Beach, believes it's adequately located near tourism hot spots to give students direct access to hotels, casinos, event venues, and other destinations. |
| JSU series brings career professionals to students | |
| Jackson State University students heard from a Hollywood marketing professional from Jackson on Tuesday. Briana McElroy, executive vice president and head of worldwide digital marketing at Lionsgate, joined JSU as part of the school's THEE Industry Access Series: From Jackson to the Industry. The series brings career professionals from various fields to provide mentorship, career advice and networking opportunities to students. Callie Calicut, a senior at JSU, hosted Tuesday's conversation. "Being at an HBCU, I don't want students to think because I chose to go to this school, I may not have the resources or the support -- but when you bring bigger people in, and you can talk to them directly and have intimate conversations like we did today, it's just very inspiring and inspirational," Calicut said. |
| Trump's Forest Service shake-up to shutter U. of Kentucky lab dedicated to woodland health | |
 | A University of Kentucky lab researching Eastern U.S. forest resiliency and conservation efforts is slated for closure under a sweeping federal overhaul the U.S. Forest Service unveiled last week. The Forest Health Research and Education Center housed on UK's campus is the Lexington-based USFS research and development facility listed for closure, university officials confirmed. It remains unclear when the closure will occur and whether the center's mission to combat forest health threats, like invasive pests and diseases, wildfires, climate change and land-use shifts, will continue. It is one of 57 research facilities in 31 states the USFS says it will close. "This is a loss not only for Kentucky but a tremendous loss nationwide," said Dave Leonard, a Lexington certified arborist and former president of the Kentucky Arborists' Association. "It's a terrible setback for years worth of service." |
| USDA Beltsville laboratory closure could affect bee research | |
| Mark Welsch is no stranger to the difficulties of beekeeping. The Omaha beekeeper has been caring for hives for the last nine years -- and he understands that not every colony makes it through the cold winter months. But the winter of 2024-2025 was particularly brutal for him. He wasn't the only one. About 1.6 million colonies died across the U.S. between June 2024 and March 2025. The losses hit commercial beekeepers as well as backyard honey producers, with many losing 60% to 80% of their colonies. For decades, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Beltsville Agricultural Research Center has been the one to answer such cries for help -- a place where beekeepers turn when major disasters happen. Six months after the massive die-off, scientists from the USDA facility identified a likely cause: viruses spread by pesticide-resistant mites. But now, the Trump administration plans to close the research lab, leaving beekeepers to question the future of federal research. A number of farm groups have publicly opposed the plan. |
| Texas on pace to hit a record high for FAFSA submissions | |
| Texas is on track to see a record number of students complete the federal form to request financial aid for college, a critical step in applying to and affording college. But for students who have at least one undocumented family member, applying for federal financial aid at a time of heightened immigration enforcement means weighing the risk of sharing family information with federal officials. Financial aid applications are protected by student privacy laws, but college access advocates say such reassurances are often not enough, prompting some students to reconsider college altogether. So far, nearly 60% of high school students in Texas have completed the financial aid form, an all-time high for this point in the year. Texas has consistently had one of the country's highest completion rates. |
| Which Jobs Are Most at Risk in the Age of AI? | |
 | In the three-plus years since large language models went mainstream, college students have been inundated with the tech sector's gloomy predictions that artificial intelligence is coming for their jobs. And so far in 2026, those predictions have only become more extreme. In February, Microsoft's AI chief declared that all white-collar work would be automated within 18 months. Soon after, Anthropic's CEO doubled down on earlier assertions that AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs by the end of the decade, describing this moment as humanity's "rite of passage." But big tech companies aren't the only ones analyzing and forecasting how the widespread adoption of AI-powered products is reshaping the labor market. Last month, researchers at Tufts University published "When Wired Belts Become the New Rust Belts: AI and the Emerging Geography of American Job Risk," which ranks occupations, industries, regions and states by vulnerability "based on the most current understanding of AI's evolving impact." |
| Colleges are trying to boost student voting. A Trump probe freezes data for that work | |
 | After the 2022 midterm election, a gap appeared to be shrinking on U.S. college campuses. The turnout rate for student voters at community colleges was catching up with the rate at public four-year institutions, data suggested. What was a gap of 9 percentage points for the 2020 election had shrunk to just 3 in 2022. "This told us that we needed to be doing more to support community colleges in their efforts to engage their students," says Clarissa Unger, executive director of the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition, a nonpartisan network focused on boosting civic engagement on campuses. But that data is now on ice. It's all part of the fallout from an extraordinary investigation into the study by the Trump administration's Education Department. |
| After Inflation, Faculty Salaries Declined This Fall | |
| Average salaries for full-time faculty members fell 0.4 percent between fall 2024 and fall 2025 after adjusting for inflation -- the first real-dollar decrease in three years, according to data from the American Association of University Professors' annual faculty compensation survey. Real-dollar faculty salaries have not yet recovered from a cumulative 7.5 percent drop between fall 2019 and fall 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey includes employment data for 360,000 full-time and over 125,000 part-time faculty members from more than 780 institutions. Continuing faculty -- defined as full-time faculty members who remained at the same institution between fall 2024 and fall 2025 -- saw an average salary increase of 0.7 percent after adjusting for inflation. |
| A new take on an old question about who Mississippians trust with life-altering decisions | |
| Columnist Sid Salter writes: Mississippi has wrestled with challenging questions before about who we trust to make life‑and‑death decisions. In the death‑penalty era of the late 20th century, the U.S. Supreme Court interrupted executions in Mississippi and across the South, troubled by jury instructions allowing executions if a crime was deemed "especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel." The 1988 case Maynard v. Cartwright and the subsequent 1990 case Clemons v. Mississippi set in motion a spate of retrials of Death Row inmates in Mississippi based on the premise that they were convicted under jury instructions that used the language "especially heinous, atrocious and cruel" that the high court ruled were too vague to be understood by the average juror. Vagueness, the Court said, invited arbitrariness. Mississippi juries, it seemed, could not be trusted to define moral gravity on their own. Fast‑forward several decades, and we arrive at a new, eerily familiar crossroads. |
SPORTS
| Ron Polk Ring of Honor adds Bulldog legends from three generations | |
| Mississippi State baseball may not have had the best weekend on the field against Georgia, but the conclusion of Game 3 came with a trip down memory lane to honor a new class in the Ron Polk Ring of Honor. Chris Stratton and Nat "Buck" Showalter were both in attendance with the family of the late Alex Grammas for the ceremony on Saturday at Humphrey Coliseum to honor the three inductees. Stratton, one of the more recent Bulldogs added to the Ring of Honor, recently called it a day on a 10-year career in Major League Baseball. Stratton reached the highest stage of the sport with the Texas Rangers on their 2023 World Series run, and bounced around a couple of different spots before retiring after the 2025 season. Throughout that time, he's been happy to keep up with the team as a fan, and keep in contact with his fellow Bulldogs in The Show. |
| Baseball: No. 9 State Secures Midweek Win Over UAB | |
| No. 9 Mississippi State rode a pair of early home runs and a steady bullpen effort to a 5-3 victory over UAB on Tuesday night at Dudy Noble Field. The Diamond Dawgs (26-7) jumped on the Blazers early and never relinquished control, getting key swings from Ace Reese and Jacob Parker while piecing together the final five innings on the mound. State finished with nine hits. UAB threatened throughout, tallying eight hits but left 11 runners on base as the Bulldogs' bullpen repeatedly worked out of trouble to preserve the win. Mississippi State returns to action this weekend hosting Tennessee for a three-game series starting on Friday at 6 p.m. on SEC Network+. |
| 'We're looking for balance': Pieces coming together ahead of spring scrimmage | |
| The looks at the 2026 Mississippi State football team have been limited, but fans will get their first glimpses at the new squad this weekend at an open scrimmage. It won't be the same Maroon and White game format, but those in attendance can expect a live look at the work in progress on a team with new leaders, but the same eye for the home-run ball and getting guys in space. Much like the first fall scrimmage back in August, head coach Jeff Lebby came away from the first spring scrimmage in search of more from the offense, but he was happy to see growth after the most recent 11-on-11. The Bulldogs will run at least 100 plays in a scrimmage free and open to the public at Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday, starting at 9:15 a.m. Gates will open at 8:45 a.m. |
| Softball: Seven Bulldogs Selected To National Team Player Pools | |
| Seven current, former or future Mississippi State softball players have been named to either the United States or American Samoa Women's National Team player pools. Both nations will compete at the USA Softball International Cup from July 30-Aug. 3 in Oklahoma City this summer. Team American Samoa, led by MSU head coach Samantha Ricketts, has named six Bulldogs to its player pool. The group is headlined by Chloe Malau'ulu, who won gold at the Pacific Mini Games in Palau last July with American Samoa. She is joined by fellow Bulldog alumni Fa Leilua and Matalasi Faapito. Current senior Kiarra Sells and her sister, sophomore Kalani Sells, have been tabbed to the pool along with incoming signee Taylor Faga. |
| Former MSU head coach Stansbury headed to LSU | |
| LSU men's basketball head coach Will Wade announced Tuesday that former longtime head coach Rick Stansbury will join his staff as associate head coach. Stansbury is best known for his stints as head coach at Mississippi State (1998-2012) and Western Kentucky (2016-23). Stansbury most recently served as an assistant at Memphis for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. "I am looking forward to having Rick Stanbury join our coaching staff at LSU," Wade said. "His time at Mississippi State and Western Kentucky speaks for itself. His solid recruiting classes and his on-floor coaching abilities will help LSU move forward quickly with our basketball program." |
| NCAA proposing major changes to eligibility rules, including age limits | |
| The NCAA is considering a significant change to its eligibility rules. An NCAA committee next week is expected to explore a new age-based standard for athlete eligibility as part of a proposal that's been in the works for weeks, but only recently has been socialized with high-level conference and school administrators. Those with knowledge of the proposal spoke to Yahoo Sports under condition of anonymity. According to the concept, NCAA athletes would have five full years of eligibility from the time of their 19th birthday or their high school graduation, whichever is earliest. No waiver requests, redshirts or exceptions will be permitted, except for a small group of outliers (those on maternity leave, military service or religious missions). Members of the NCAA Division I Cabinet are set to review the proposal at their meeting next week. |
| NCAA boss Charlie Baker addresses reporters in Indianapolis | |
| NCAA President Charlie Baker has been a busy man. He spent the last week bouncing between the Women's Final Four in Phoenix and the organization's home base in Indianapolis for the men's tournament. Throw in President Donald Trump issuing his long-awaited executive order on college sports legislation Friday afternoon and it's quite the stretch for Baker and his staff. "The first thing I'd say is that we appreciate the attention that he's brought to this issue. There's no question that the conversations in the House and the senate both picked up after we had our big group meeting in D.C.," Baker said. "A number of the issues that he raises in the executive order, which are things certainly that we've been dealing with, we've either moved to solve or are currently working on." |
| Donald Trump's 'Save College Sports' executive order lands with a shrug inside college football | |
| When the White House issued an executive order last week to "Save College Sports," one SEC general manager couldn't help but laugh. A few of his coaches called asking what the order meant. The coaches wanted to know what changed. The answer, at least for now, is not much -- unless Congress acts or courts uphold it. "It's just going to lead to more lawsuits and BS," the GM said. "It changes absolutely nothing to me. The coaches were like, 'What do you mean, it's an executive order?' "But it doesn't do anything. The most powerful man in the world issues something and you're like, whatever. That's what this sport has become." An executive order can steer federal agencies, but it doesn't rewrite NCAA bylaws or instantly create new federal law. Asked if he thought the order would change anything in college football, one Big 12 GM said: "God, I hope so." Hope is abundant. Optimism, though, is in short supply. |
| Third-party NIL deals for athletes worth up to $2,500 can now avoid some scrutiny | |
| The value of name, image and likeness deals that can avoid review by the College Sports Commission over whether they are appropriately priced has risen from $600 to $2,500, providing an athlete doesn't make more than $15,000 total, according to guidance the commission issued Tuesday. The CSC, formed to oversee NIL payments to athletes in college sports, sent out a four-page reminder to Division I schools, timed with the opening of the transfer portal in college basketball. The memo said that the CSC board approved the increase last month. At first, any deal worth $600 or more had to be evaluated for whether the athletes were being paid a fair amount for what they were providing. The raised amount is expected to allow the commission to act faster in approving deals and focus more on the big-money arrangements between players and third parties that need more scrutiny. The $15,000 total cap was added to ensure schools and athletes don't enter multiple four-digit deals and avoid all scrutiny. |
| Student-athletes more likely to attend school than peers, new research finds | |
| Student-athletes are less likely to skip school than other students, even in the offseason, new research finds, supporting an emerging consensus that connections to activities, teachers and peers are critical to combating the absenteeism crisis. Sports may have a particularly strong effect, as coaches often require students to attend classes to participate in practices and games. Varsity athletes had higher attendance rates than other students, even when their sports were not in-season, according to research released Wednesday by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank. Researchers also have found that fostering a positive school climate and nurturing relationships is associated with attendance. |
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