| Friday, January 19, 2018 |
| MSU-Meridian extending registration deadline | |
 | Snow days have resulted in MSU-Meridian extending their deadline to register for classes until Friday at 5 p.m. Recent snowfall and icy roads have canceled classes at schools earlier this week. These cancellations have caused registration deadlines at MSU-Meridian to be extended until Friday at 5 p.m. "It's still not too late to get registered for classes. So if you are a former student that has not had an opportunity to get back in class or if you still have that application pending, give the advising center a call and we'll be happy to work you through the rest of that process," says Kristi Dearing, coordinator of advising for MSU-Meridian. "With the community colleges also being closed due to the weather, this is allowing students extra time to stop by there, pick up those transcripts, get them to the advising center, and still get admitted to college and get in classes before the end of the week." |
| Lock it up: Protect your personal health info | |
 | Although often taken for granted, good health is treasure without equal. Personal health information is also valuable, and lack of care with paper and electronic records could be costly. Health data can be used for more traditional identity fraud where information is used to open accounts without an individual's knowledge. It also is increasingly used to obtain medical care. "Medical identity theft is becoming very serious," said Mississippi State University area extension agent Susan Cosgrove, who focuses on family resource management. Across the generations, consumers need to be more protective and wary of these vulnerable records, Cosgrove said. |
| SOUPer Bowl and Frostbite Half Marathon kick off Saturday | |
 | Hungry locals can fill up and warm up after this week's winter weather at the annual SOUPer Bowl, hosted by the Starkville Main Street Association, 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday on Main Street Starkville. Greater Starkville Development Partnership Director of Tourism Jenn Prather said SOUPer Bowl is an annual soup-tasting competition between local Starkville restaurants. Tickets cost $15 ahead of time and $20 the day of the event. "It is open to all local restaurants, and the chefs get to create a soup that shows off their creativity and flair and create something that is not traditionally on their menu," Prather said. This year's SOUPer Bowl is also in conjunction with the Frostbite Half Marathon, 5K and 10K, presented by Starkville Chik-Fil-A. Frostbite race organizer Brad Jones said around 500 runners signed up for this years race, which will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday and take place in downtown and Main Street Starkville. The awards ceremony will take place at noon. |
| Leaks from frozen pipes keep plumbers busy, cost homeowners thousands in some cases | |
 | One day after a hard overnight freeze earlier this month, Starkville resident Vaughn Nickels went into her kitchen to find what she described as a "waterfall." She and her husband had forgotten to turn their faucets on to drip and a water pipe in their attic had frozen and burst, flooding the attic and destroying the ceiling. She ran outside to find a neighbor to help her turn her water off from the road, but now she's having to renovate and redo the entire kitchen. Despite the hassle, she said, it could have been worse -- if the flood had begun while they were sleeping, she and her husband may have woken up to an entirely saturated home. Such stories have become common in the Golden Triangle since the weather began reaching below freezing temperatures at night over the last couple of weeks. |
| Former Starkville Parks head arrested for embezzling $21K | |
| Starkville police arrested three suspects with ties to the Starkville Parks and Recreation Department for embezzlement Thursday afternoon, including former director Herman Peters. Police also arrested 33-year-old Anthony Stevenson, of Starkville and 46-year-old Marion Watson, of Eupora. Each of the suspects turned themselves in on felony warrants, according to press releases SPD issued Thursday evening. Peters, 51, served as Starkville's director of Parks and Recreation from the time the city took on the formerly-independent Starkville Parks Commission in 2015 until aldermen fired him on Jan. 2. In December, aldermen placed Peters and former Parks and Recreation administrative assistant Dianne Evans on unpaid administrative leave for "irregularities" that surfaced regarding both employees. |
| Walmart shooting suspect also charged with aggravated assault | |
| A Kosciusko man arrested for a fatal shooting at Walmart in west Starkville on Saturday is now also facing an aggravated assault charge. William Thomas Chisholm, 41, was charged with aggravated assault during a Thursday afternoon appearance in Starkville municipal court. Starkville police arrested Chisholm on Saturday morning after he allegedly shot and killed 42-year-old optometrist Shauna Witt inside the Walmart at 1010 Highway 12 West. Officers arrested Chisholm in the store's parking lot shortly after arriving on scene. Police reported no one else was hurt in the incident. However, according to an affidavit city prosecutor Caroline Moore read during Thursday's court session, a bullet from Chisholm's Springfield 9-millimeter pistol passed through the jacket of Kaylace Beatty. |
| School districts could see accountability system revamped again | |
 | The state's education accountability model could be in for another upheaval following feedback from the U.S. Department of Education on the state's plan to meet new federal education requirements. All states were required to submit a plan outlining how they will meet the requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Mississippi's plan, called Mississippi Succeeds, focuses on improving education outcomes in testing, graduation rates, access to quality early learning opportunities and other areas. But federal education officials are taking issue with the fact that Mississippi's plan did not include a numerical value for test scores and growth data for the state's English Language Learners in the 2017-2018 accountability ratings for schools. |
| State board could have to reset A-to-F grading scale (again) | |
 | Five months after resetting the targets for Mississippi's accountability model, state education officials are acknowledging the possibility they might have to start over in 2018. The announcement of that the state Department of Education must make changes that will impact how schools and districts are graded came during Thursday's state Board of Education meeting. Nathan Oakley with the Mississippi Department of Education says the state was told in December by the U.S. Department of Education that modifications are needed to the state's accountability model. "The goal is minimal disruption," Oakley told the board. "The requested change in the model is significant in nature. This is not a small adjustment." |
| Legislators explain next steps for ed bill | |
| A new education funding formula passed in the Mississippi House of Representatives Wednesday and will move on to the Senate. The bill, titled House Bill 957, passed the House 66-54, following several hours of discussion and debate. The new formula is a departure from the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP), and will be based on a figure of $4,800 per student, recommended by consulting firm EdBuild. Amounts will be added to the $4,800 based on needs of certain groups of students, including special education, extraordinary students, students in poverty, English language learners and students who must travel a long distance to school. Rep. Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, who serves as vice-chair of the House Education Committee, explained the next steps after the House receives the Senate's version of the bill. |
| Mississippi improves in latest report on state human trafficking laws | |
| Mississippi improves to a B on the latest report on states' human trafficking laws, but some on the frontline to stop human sex trafficking say more needs to be done when it comes to helping victims on the street level. Mississippi has improved from a D five years ago to a B, which is a good score, said Sarah Bendtsen of Shared Hope International. Bendtsen said although the state has a good score, it could be better if human trafficking training for law enforcement were mandatory. "It is critical to receive trafficking training," Bendtsen said. Pearl Assistant Police Chief Dean Scott, a member of the Central Mississippi Human Trafficking Task Force, said more needs to be done to help those on the frontline to deal with victims of human trafficking. He said funds and other mandates stop at the department and executive level and never reach the street level where help is needed. |
| Cattleman, former Mississippi Rep. Clem Nettles dies at 87 | |
 | Former Mississippi lawmaker Clem Nettles of Jayess has died at age 87. Nettles served as a Democrat in the state House from 1988 to 2004, representing a district in Pike and Walthall counties. Nettles was a Korean War veteran. He was a dairy farmer and served on the North Pike School Board before being elected to the Legislature. While in the House, he became chairman of the Game and Fish Committee. Nettles was known for speaking against proposals he thought would infringe on people's rights. In 2000, he opposed a bill prohibiting adults from using tobacco at school events, arguing the ban would hurt attendance at sporting events. |
| US House candidate Michael Guest touts small government, 'family values' | |
| A Mississippi prosecutor said Thursday that he is running for Congress because he believes in safe communities, limited government and "traditional family values." Michael Guest spoke to more than 200 people in his hometown of Brandon. The crowd in the Rankin County circuit courtroom included more than three dozen uniformed law enforcement officers. "I have worked to rid our streets of those that would sell drugs to our children. I have worked to see that violent offenders are held responsible for their actions," said Guest who has been district attorney since 2008 in Madison and Rankin counties. |
| Top Democratic recruit passes on Mississippi Senate run | |
 | Brandon Presley, Democrats' top recruit for an acknowledged uphill campaign for Senate in Mississippi, announced Thursday that he would not run for the seat held by Republican Sen. Roger Wicker this year. Sources familiar with the decision say that it was driven by a sense that Chris McDaniel -- the conservative state senator who nearly knocked off Sen. Thad Cochran in a bitter GOP primary four years ago -- would not be able to mount a strong primary challenge against Wicker, especially in the wake of the political collapse of Steve Bannon, who'd been pushing McDaniel to run again. Presley's exit leaves Democrats with Mississippi as the only state without a candidate as they try to go on offense even in deep Republican parts of the country. Attention now turns to David Baria, a lawyer and state House minority leader. |
| Presley not intending to run for Senate seat against Wicker | |
| Northern Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley of Nettleton announced Thursday he will not be a candidate this year for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Roger Wicker of Tupelo. Presley, 40, had been rumored as a possible candidate for the Senate seat and last year had traveled to Washington, D.C., at the request of Senate Democrats in connection with a possible campaign for the seat. But on Thursday, in a statement, Presley said, "I am humbled and very grateful to the many Mississippians, Democrats, Republicans and independents, who have contacted me and offered their support should I enter this year's U.S. Senate race. After much contemplation, I have decided to not be a candidate for the U.S. Senate." Presley said he "is looking forward" to the 2019 state elections. Whether he will seek another term on the PSC or run for another office is undetermined. |
| Blame game ramps up as shutdown nears | |
 | Lawmakers drifted closer to a shutdown of the federal government late Thursday after the House approved a funding bill on a largely party-line vote, with Democrats in the Senate vowing to defeat the measure. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) adjourned the Senate until 11 a.m. Friday without scheduling a vote on the House measure, giving lawmakers just 13 hours to reach a deal to avert a shutdown, which would begin Friday night at midnight. A Senate vote to advance the House funding bill is expected to fail, with Democrats and some Republicans lining up against the measure. McConnell needs 60 votes to overcome a Democratic filibuster and pass a bill. Despite the time crunch, Republicans and Democrats angrily blamed each other Thursday night for the looming shutdown. |
| Science panel backs lower drunken driving threshold | |
| Most women would need to draw the line at two drinks, and men at two or three if states follow a blueprint by a prestigious scientific panel for eliminating the "entirely preventable" 10,000 alcohol-impaired driving deaths in the United States each year. The U.S. government-commissioned report by a panel of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine made multiple recommendations, including significantly lowering drunken driving thresholds. It calls for lowering the blood-alcohol concentration threshold from 0.08 to 0.05. All states have 0.08 thresholds. A Utah law passed last year that lowers the state's threshold to 0.05 doesn't go into effect until Dec. 30. The panel, in its 489-page report, also recommended that states significantly increase alcohol taxes and make alcohol less conveniently available. |
| LSU will remain closed Friday due to issues with water pressure | |
 | LSU will remain closed on Friday due to "continued problems with water pressure" following freezing temperatures this week, according to a statement from the school on Thursday night. School officials previously said they were weighing the decision because "adequate water pressure affects fire safety, as well as health and sanitation," according to a statement on the school's emergency operations center website. The LSU Laboratory School and the LSU Early Childhood Education Laboratory Preschool will also be closed. Dining halls will remain open for part of the day. The closures this week will cause some changes to the academic calendar, which will be announced in the next several days, according to the school statement. |
| U. of Tennessee athletics chief photographer on paid leave during state investigation | |
 | The chief photographer in the University of Tennessee Athletics Department was being paid by other schools to get photos of non-UT athletes while using UT equipment during work hours, according to a report from the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. The photographer was not named in the report but a source close to the situation confirmed it is Donald Page, the chief photographer for UT athletics. The report released Thursday said Page was also using UT student assistants and some non-students to photograph the non-UT athletes, and paying the assistants in cash. The state comptroller's office reviewed records from Feb. 2014 through June 2017 and found that during that time Page received at least $9,240 from other colleges, universities and athletic organizations while working for UT. The report did not say whether his actions violated any specific UT policy but said at a minimum they "resulted in a waste and/or abuse of taxpayer funds." |
| U. of South Carolina students vent at diversity officials after racist flyers posted on campus | |
 | University of South Carolina diversity officials got an earful Thursday night from students angry about racist flyers that were posted on campus as students were returning from winter break. A racially diverse crowd of about 300 students packed into a theater in USC's student union to express their anger about the incident, some criticizing the school's response and one suggesting president Harris Pastides should be fired. At one point in the discussion, school officials turned off a projector displaying students' written comments because the conversation had turned sour. However, USC director of multicultural student affairs Shay Malone called the discussion "positive." |
| In sex-assault poll, 31 percent of respondents at U. of Arkansas report unwanted contact | |
| When asked, 31 percent of student respondents at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville said they'd been sexually assaulted since arriving on campus, according to a survey conducted by a UA professor last year. Associate professor of Community Health Promotion Kristen Jozkowski's survey -- which drew from the responses of 1,000 predominantly white, female students -- indicated that UA-Fayetteville female students experience sexual contact without consent at twice the rate found by a school-sanctioned survey last year. Jozkowski's research also showed a higher rate of unwanted sexual contact at UA than the nationwide average as derived from a 2016 U.S. Department of Justice report. However, the professor noted that a higher rate is to be expected at larger state schools like UA that have such things as large athletic programs, sororities and fraternities. |
| Police investigating after U. of Kentucky's Jewish Student Center is vandalized | |
| Rabbi Shlomo Litvin was working late Sunday night, early Monday morning at the Jewish Student Center on the University of Kentucky campus when voices from a group outside got his attention. Surveillance video shows someone charging through the Jewish Student Center's sign, and breaking it from its posts. "The immediate concern was what can this escalate to, but the overall feeling was, they came here to scare me, and they'd have to do better than this," said Rabbi Litvin, who is the director of Chabad of Kentucky, the parent organization of the center. Lexington police say they have assigned a detective to investigate, but they say it's still early in the investigation, and no one has been identified or charged. Rabbi Litvin says it's disturbing, but more than that it tells him he still has work to do. |
| Texas A&M, community celebrate final beam's placement at future transportation institute | |
 | Hundreds of guests, university officials and construction workers gathered at The Texas A&M University System's RELLIS Campus on Thursday afternoon to celebrate the last beam being placed in the future headquarters of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, a building where research will be conducted that Chancellor John Sharp said will save thousands of lives. Deemed a "topping out" ceremony, a construction tradition that commemorates the highest or last steel piece being installed in a building, Thursday's celebration featured a free barbecue lunch for guests and construction workers, hearty helpings of thanks for contributing to the building's construction and boundless optimism for the TTI headquarters and the life-saving research and technology that Sharp said the TTI employees inside it would produce. "No complex in America... will be better than this," Sharp said in English after giving a few remarks in Spanish. |
| Provost search forum set for Monday at U. of Missouri | |
 | The University of Missouri Provost Search Committee will hold a forum Monday to hear comment on the characteristics and qualifications needed in the next provost. The forum, open to all MU faculty, staff and students, will be from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Great Room of the Reynolds Alumni Center. The 21-member search committee, led by Joi Moore, professor and director of the School of Information Science and Learning Technologies, and Marshall Stewart, vice chancellor for Extension and Engagement, was named Dec. 20. Isaacson Miller, the search firm that assisted in the selection of UM System President Mun Choi and MU Chancellor Alexander Cartwright, is also helping with the provost selection. Garnett Stokes will depart Feb. 1 to become the president of the University of New Mexico. |
| Not just 4-H anymore: U. of Missouri hopes to broaden its reach through Extension | |
 | The University of Missouri has a plan that could bring back doubters. That includes people with concerns about how the campus handled a series of protests more than two years ago. And the people from all parts of the state who think higher education institutions are out of touch. It's called MU Extension. With an office in each of Missouri's 114 counties, the land-grant arm of the university is about to get the biggest face-lift the program has seen in more than 50 years. It's part of a larger effort to make the university more accessible -- to bring the faculty, the research and the students to Missouri residents. It's also a reminder to Missourians that Extension is not just 4-H and master gardening classes. Extension leaders are ready to show what else they have to offer. |
| Colleges Are Key Players in Cities' Bids to Host Amazon's 2nd Headquarters | |
 | Since Amazon narrowed its list of potential locations for a second headquarters on Thursday from over 200 qualifying regions to just 20 finalists, colleges in those lucky cities have become more hopeful that they might reap the benefits if the huge company comes to town. The new headquarters, to join Amazon's first, in Seattle, will create an estimated 50,000 high-paying jobs in the city it selects, according to the online retailer. While higher-education institutions see the opportunities a nearby headquarters could bring their students and alumni, the prospective deal may be mutually beneficial to Amazon and the city's nearby institutions. The universities and colleges near each finalist may sway Amazon's headquarters selection |
SPORTS
| No. 3 Mississippi State hopes for offensive efficiency to continue at No. 6 Tennessee | |
| Offensive efficiency has been the Mississippi State women's basketball team's calling card this season. Entering Thursday's games, No. 3 MSU was first in the Southeastern Conference in scoring (86.4 points per game) and second in field goal shooting percentage (48.5). As good as MSU was last season en route to a program-record 34-win season, it relied more on its chemistry, experience, depth, and defense to make its first appearance in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament and to reach the national title game. Woven into those intangibles were two statistics -- points off turnovers and second-chance points -- that played key roles in the Bulldogs' success. Despite going nearly the entire way with a four-guard lineup, MSU has had similar success in both areas this season. Those two stats could be big factors at 2 p.m. Sunday when No. 3 MSU (19-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) takes on No. 6 Tennessee (16-2, 4-1) at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee. ESPN2 will broadcast the game. |
| Mississippi State women look to find edge again against Tennessee | |
| For the first time in the history of the Mississippi State and Tennessee women's basketball series, the Bulldogs came into last year's senior night game in control of the series. MSU had never beaten the Lady Volunteers in basketball until Vic Schaefer broke that streak in 2016. After their first win ever in Knoxville a season ago, the Bulldogs were on an unprecedented three-game winning streak. That was until the proverbial wheels fell off. While honoring the school's all-time winningest senior class prior to the game, things got emotional both on the floor and in the stands. Add in a share of the Southeastern Conference Championship being on the line and MSU couldn't hold on to it. Tennessee took advantage and rolled the Bulldogs 82-64 in a game that was never competitive. With two days off with no school and the bye week, MSU leaves for Knoxville on Saturday. |
| Vic Schaefer, Bulldogs use hard to work to reach elite status | |
| The Dispatch's Adam Minichino writes: "Vic Schaefer is proud of what he and his staff have accomplished at Mississippi State. That's why the sixth-year MSU women's basketball coach wants to make it clear everything the Bulldogs have accomplished in his time in Starkville is a result of hard work, not thievery. Schaefer expressed that pride Wednesday when asked to respond to his name being mentioned by television analyst Carol Ross on Monday in the second quarter of the SEC Network's broadcast of the women's basketball game between Kentucky and Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tennessee." |
| Bulldogs look for first conference road win against Alabama | |
| Last season, Quinndary Weatherspoon was asked to score. The rebounding he contributed was a bonus from the Mississippi State guard, but there was no secret his No. 1 job was to score. At the request of MSU coach Ben Howland, Weatherspoon took on much more than just scoring for the first half of his junior season: after finishing as the Southeastern Conference's seventh-leading scorer last year, he has kept up a comparable scoring number (16.5 points per game to 14.5) while upping his assists per game from 2.1 to 4.2, the latter ranking fifth in the conference. If Howland has his way, Weatherspoon will be back to a pure scorer going forward with help from his younger brother, freshman guard Nick. That new look backcourt takes to the road for the first time 7:30 p.m. Saturday (SEC Network) when the Bulldogs (14-4, 2-3 SEC) visit Alabama (12-6, 4-2 SEC). |
| Mississippi State's non-conference schedule to be tougher in 2018-19 | |
| Mississippi State went 12-1 in the nonconference part of the season this year, which was great for the Bulldogs. There was one issue, though. The Bulldogs' non-SEC schedule featured four opponents with an RPI worse than No. 330 and included only three opponents with winning records right now. Next season projects to be tougher -- as it should be for MSU. The Bulldogs will travel to Las Vegas on Nov. 19-21 in a tournament that will feature Arizona State and two other schools, sources said. The participating schools have not yet made official announcements. Arizona State (14-3) is currently No. 16 in the AP poll and No. 14 in the USA Today coaches' poll. Perhaps a tougher non-conference schedule this season would've better prepared the Bulldogs for league play because they returned key contributors who gained experience last season as freshmen. But on the other hand, it can be argued that building confidence through winning was also important. |
| Sibling rivalry helped fuel Weatherspoon's game | |
| Nick Weatherspoon has accomplished a lot during his still-young basketball career. Weatherspoon won three state championships at Velma Jackson, was a five-star prospect and the top player in the state and has started all 18 games during his freshman season at Mississippi State. But one thing the 6-foot-2 point guard has never been able to do is beat his older brother Quinndary, who is a junior guard for the Bulldogs. "I'd always get so close to beating him, but I never could," Nick Weatherspoon said. "I still haven't beaten him to this day. I can't even beat him when we're out there at practice. He just finds a way to win every time." Having a brother 26 months older and two inches taller helped mold Nick Weatherspoon into the player he is today. And just because the Weatherspoons are back on the same team again does not mean their sibling rivalry has ended. |
| Bulldogs get positive news on Nick Weatherspoon | |
| Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday. One day after Howland limited his standout freshman guard Nick Weatherspoon's minutes in Tuesday night's win over Vanderbilt because of a foot injury, Howland and the Bulldogs received good news that the ailment is nothing major. "(Weatherspoon) had an MRI and it came back negative thankfully," Howland told reporters on Thursday. "It was one of those things where you're on pins and needles waiting on that result. There is nothing structurally wrong there, which is really good news." Weatherspoon played only 21 minutes in Tuesday night's game, including just 8 in the second half. Howland said after the game that Weatherspoon had complained about the issue with his foot prior to the contest, so the Bulldogs elected to be cautious even after the team doctor didn't believe it was anything serious. On Wednesday, MSU got the confirmation that the injury is, indeed, only a minor issue. |
| Andy Cannizaro wants Mississippi State to become road warriors | |
| Andy Cannizaro spent a significant amount of time over the summer asking himself the same question. What's it going to take for Mississippi State's baseball team to have success early in the season on the road? Unlike every other team in the SEC, Mississippi State will open its season on the road for one month. The schedule starts with a trip to Hattiesburg against Southern Miss on Feb. 16 followed by 10 more consecutive games away from Starkville because of construction on the new Dudy Noble Field. The situation is a heavy concern for Cannizaro. So he started thinking... The Bulldogs need to be mentally tough. They must be physically strong. They have to have the ability to withstand adversity. They need to become warriors on the road. Road. Warriors. Road ...warriors. Road warriors. |
| Mississippi State football: Farrod Green gaining respect one start at a time | |
| Farrod Green didn't get many looking coming out of Wesson Attendance Center in 2015. In fact, Mississippi State was Green's lone Division I scholarship offer. So the former three-star tight end arrived in Starkville three years ago with a chip on his shoulder, determined to prove he belonged at that level. Needless to say after starting 21 of 25 games over his first two seasons, Green has done that and then some. "I always knew what I could do, it was just a matter of showing other people that I could do it," Green said. "I thank coach (Dan) Mullen for giving me the opportunity. I feel like I can hang with anybody across the country. That's my confidence and I try to bring that every Saturday to compete and show everybody what I can do even though I still have a lot to show." |
| USM simplifies pricing on football season tickets | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi announced Thursday prices for 2018 football season tickets. The scale boils down to an either-or cost, depending on the location of the seats in M.M. Roberts Stadium. Season tickets for lower-level seating, including lower sideline, lower corner and end zone, as well as upper chairbacks cost $220. All other upper-level seating, which includes "Eagle Value" tickets, costs $110. Club seating, touchdown terrace seats and suites will remain at $260. "We are excited about the 2108 football season and feel that these prices allow us to provide a better experience for our fans," said Stephen Pugh, USM senior associate athletic director for external operations. "We simplified the pricing structure down to two, different price types from six, and feel they better reflect the value and demand within the stadium. We hope this will help us towards our goal of selling 10,000 season tickets." |
| Allen Greene officially named Auburn University's 15th athletics director | |
 | For the first time in more than 14 years, Auburn will have a new face leading the university's athletic programs. Auburn University named Allen Greene its 15th athletics director on Thursday. He replaces outgoing athletics director Jay Jacobs, who announced on Nov. 3 that he would step down from the position he has held since December 2004. Greene comes to Auburn from the University at Buffalo, where he has been the athletics director since November 2015. He will take over the day-to-day responsibilities in Auburn's athletics department beginning in February. "Allen kicks off the next exciting chapter for Auburn Athletics," Auburn President Steven Leath said in a statement. "In our interviews and due diligence learning all we could about him, it became overwhelmingly clear that Allen has the right combination of leadership, enthusiasm, experience and management to lead Auburn Athletics to success well into the future." |
| Auburn, Sunny Golloway reach settlement in wrongful termination lawsuit | |
| Sunny Golloway's wrongful termination lawsuit against Auburn University has reached its conclusion nearly 20 months after it began. On Tuesday, the former baseball coach and the defendants in the case -- Auburn's board of trustees, outgoing athletics director Jay Jacobs, former CEO David Benedict, senior associate athletic director Rich McGlynn, former director of baseball operations Scott Duval and baseball administrator Jeremy Roberts -- reached an "amicable settlement of all issues," according to court documents filed on Thursday. Judge Charles S. Coody ordered both parties to file a joint stipulation for dismissal by Feb. 8. The case was originally set to go to trial on Oct. 15 of this year. Golloway, who coached Auburn's baseball team from 2014-15, was fired with cause on Sept. 27, 2015. His lawsuit fired against the university claimed breach of contract, defamation, fraud and tortuous interference. |
| U. of Alabama Threatens to Sue Clay Travis Over T-Shirt Design | |
| Along with a daily radio show, digital show, and running the website Outkick the Coverage, Clay Travis is in the business of selling t-shirts. One of those is in honor of Hawaiian quarterback Marcus Mariota. After the national title game, he created another t-shirt with the same phrase for Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa . According to Travis, the University of Alabama emailed him a four-page letter and threatened to sue him if he did not stop selling the shirt because they claimed people would believe the university had licensed the shirts. They also took issue with red "A" on the shirt, claiming it looked too much like the cursive "A" Alabama claimed they had trademarked. No surprise, Travis is having fun with the threat, using it as a promotional tool for the t-shirts. |
| How tax law changes could impact UGA athletics | |
 | Recent changes to the federal tax law that eliminated deductions for charitable donations for football season tickets could affect Georgia less than other schools, members of the Georgia Athletic Association finance committee were told Thursday. "For some colleges and universities there will be people that say if I don't get a contribution (deduction), I'm not going to buy my football tickets or other tickets," said Kathy Pitts of accounting firm Ernst & Young while briefing the committee on tax changes. "I know for the University of Georgia, you have a long list of people who want to buy football tickets and other tickets. If I decided I'm not going to buy mine anymore, there's somebody who will." Pitts spoke after discussing the issue previously with Stephanie Ransom, Georgia's executive associate athletic director for business operations. Georgia is coming off an SEC championship and a trip to the national title game. |
| U. of Tennessee plans to demolish home of famed coach Gen. Robert Neyland | |
| A Fort Sanders-area home occupied at different points by famed University of Tennessee football coach Gen. Robert Neyland and later by businessman and artist Russell Briscoe, is scheduled to be demolished this spring after falling into disrepair. The white-washed brick house at 2111 Terrace Ave. is where Neyland and his wife lived during his first years as Tennessee's head coach and during the Volunteers' undefeated seasons in 1927, 1928 and 1929. It's also where artist Russell Briscoe, known for his American folk paintings depicting historical places and events of Knoxville, lived for more than 30 years from 1930 through the mid-1960s. More than 50 years after UT purchased the house in 1965, its condition has deteriorated. Demolition is scheduled for this spring, but a definite timeline hasn't been set. The planned demolition builds upon a decades-long fight over UT's expansion into the Terrace Avenue neighborhood. |
| NCAA president, board pledge swift changes in men's basketball | |
 | Cynicism about higher education, and athletics, runs rampant, only inflamed by the continuing federal investigation into men's college basketball -- a sport that National Collegiate Athletic Association president Mark Emmert proclaimed must be reformed by the start of next season. In a frank address to the thousands of NCAA delegates gathered at the association's annual convention, Emmert did not skate over one of the most significant revelations in the world of collegiate athletics last year. The Federal Bureau of Investigation unearthed an alleged scheme by coaches at some of the most prominent men's basketball programs in the country to direct recruits to certain institutions in exchange for cash. Four coaches and six others, including high-ranking Adidas executives, face federal fraud charges, among others, with hints from law enforcement officials that the corruption is more pervasive. |
| USA Gymnastics Doctor's Sentencing Renews Attention on Michigan State | |
| Dozens of women are testifying this week at the sentencing hearing of Larry Nassar, the team physician for USA Gymnastics, who was convicted in November on seven counts of criminal sexual conduct. The accounts are disturbing. Though much of the national attention has focused on Dr. Nassar's position with the women's Olympic gymnastics team and the medal-winning athletes who have come forward with stories of abuse, questions about Michigan State University's responsibility have resurfaced. Until 2016, Dr. Nassar was an associate professor at Michigan State's College of Osteopathic Medicine and a team physician at the university. He had graduated from Michigan State's medical school -- though the The Detroit News reported that he almost got kicked out because he failed biochemistry twice -- and began working there in the late 1990s. |
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