| Tuesday, June 2, 2026 |
| State's oldest college officially renamed to Mississippi Christian University | |
 | Mississippi's oldest higher learning institution has officially been renamed. Mississippi College officially transitioned to Mississippi Christian University on Monday, June 1, with officials announcing that the name change was on the horizon in November 2024. University President Blake Thompson said the private school in Clinton's new name is a strategic title that better reflects the school's Christian mission, academic scope and long-term vision. Officials notably implemented the Mississippi Christian University title as part of the school's 200th anniversary celebration. Discussions about a potential name change had been ongoing at for decades, with Mississippi Christian University being selected as it allows the school to keep its longstanding "MC" logo and moniker. Along with the decision to rename the university was a move to shutter the football program for financial purposes. |
| More megachurches want to be your alma mater | |
| In the heart of the Bible Belt, a small Methodist college graduated its final class in May 2024, shutting its doors after 168 years. Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama, was a Christian private liberal arts school that counted among its graduates members of Congress, famous musicians, Pulitzer Prize winners and the former executive editor of The New York Times. Yet it had been unable to endure years of financial losses. About 15 minutes southeast, toward the Birmingham suburbs, the inaugural freshman class at Highlands College was finishing its first year that same spring. The private Christian school, which has just gotten permission from the state to award bachelor's degrees, was born out of the nondenominational Church of the Highlands, the biggest religious congregation in the state and one of the largest in the nation. It claims a weekly attendance of 60,000 across more than two dozen campuses in Alabama and Georgia. Long-established, religiously affiliated small colleges such as Birmingham-Southern are battling the same existential pressures weighing on non-religious liberal arts colleges nationwide: declining enrollment, rising operational costs and a deepening skepticism of higher education among families who fear ideological influence on their children or question whether steep tuition and fees are worth it. But a different model of Christian education is on the upswing: Some of the nation's biggest megachurches are getting into the college business, prioritizing job training and church culture over traditional liberal arts. A franchise-style model from a Christian university in Florida has made it easier than ever for them to launch. |
| Young and unemployed? Remote work, not AI, may be the problem, study finds | |
 | The rise of remote work since the pandemic has made businesses more reluctant to hire young, inexperienced workers and is the key driver of higher unemployment rates for recent college graduates, a study released Monday has found. The study, by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, compared occupations that can be done remotely -- such as software development -- with those that are done in person, such as nursing. The study, led by New York Fed research economist Natalia Emanuel, concludes that businesses are reluctant to hire new college grads into remote work because it is harder to train and mentor them if they work outside of the office. The authors of the study calculate that remote work is responsible for nearly two-thirds of the rise in the unemployment rate for young college graduates since the pandemic. The study lands amid widespread concern over the employment prospects of college graduates as artificial intelligence makes inroads into a variety of white-collar jobs, including finance, law, entertainment, and media. But the study notes that the worsening employment picture for young college grads pre-dates the development of artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT. And when the authors looked at the exposure different occupations had to AI, it found that AI had little impact on youth unemployment. |
SPORTS
| Offensive mastermind Mike Leach, who died in 2022, heads ballot for College Football Hall of Fame | |
| Mike Leach, the eccentric and revolutionary offensive savant whose teams set dozens of scoring and passing records over his 21-year head coaching career, is among the nominees for the 2027 College Football Hall of Fame class. The National Football Foundation released the ballot Monday for the class that will be announced in January. It includes 80 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 99 players and 39 coaches from lower levels. A player is eligible 10 full seasons after his last year in college and must have received first-team All-America honors by a major selector. The nominee's college football achievements are a prime consideration, but his post-football record as a citizen also is a factor. Leach, who died in 2022 at age 61, became eligible for induction under adjusted criteria for coaches to be considered. The NFF announced last year the minimum career winning percentage required would go from .600 to .595 beginning in 2027. Leach had a .596 winning percentage with a 158-107 record at Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State. |
| Leach on college football HOF ballot for first time | |
| Mike Leach is on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, following an adjustment to eligibility criteria for coaches. Leach, whose use of the Air Raid offense, widespread coaching tree and distinct personality left a significant impression on the sport, had been kept off of previous ballots because his career winning percentage at Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State -- .596 (158-107) -- fell below the previous threshold of .600. In 2025, the National Football Foundation, which oversees the Hall of Fame, announced that the winning percentage required for coaching eligibility would be adjusted to .595. Leach died in December 2022 at 61 from complications related to a heart condition, while still coaching at Mississippi State. Leach's previous ineligibility for the Hall of Fame led to extensive criticism of the process from coaches, media members and others. Jackie Sherrill, who had a career winning percentage of .592 at Washington State, Pitt, Texas A&M and Mississippi State, also appears on the ballot for the first time. |
| Sorsby and NCAA await ruling after judge hears case as QB seeks eligibility after admitting bets | |
| Attorneys for Brendan Sorsby and the NCAA presented arguments before a district judge Monday as the Texas Tech transfer quarterback seeks an injunction to allow him to play next season after he acknowledged making thousands of impermissible bets while in college. There was no immediate ruling from Senior Judge Ken Curry after the two-hour hearing, or any indication of when he would rule on a temporary injunction against the NCAA. An injunction would not change Sorsby being declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA, but would put that on hold as the case proceeds. Sorsby did not attend the hearing in the 99th District Court in Lubbock County, where Texas Tech is located. Jeffrey Kessler, the attorney who negotiated the House settlement against the NCAA and is now representing Sorsby, requested a ruling by June 15. That would be a week before the deadline for Sorsby to apply for the NFL supplemental draft if he remains ineligible to play for the Red Raiders this fall. NCAA lead attorney Taylor Askew questioned how being allowed to play again in college, and putting him back into the situation that triggered his behavior, would help Sorsby's mental health. As for NCAA rules, Askew said, Sorsby would have been ruled ineligible long ago had his gambling been known in the past. |
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