| Friday, February 2, 2018 |
| Mississippi State incubates innovative student businesses at CEO | |
 | Even though there are about 20,000 students at Mississippi State University, it is common for students to leave the area after graduating in search of greener pastures. "They often leave the state," said Jeffrey B. Rupp, MSU director of outreach in the College of Business. "So, there is a gap in the post-college age group from between 24-30. They tend to leave. We are trying to keep them here now and to do that have established MSU's Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach, known as the CEO, in cooperation with the Greater Starkville Development Partnership to provide space to migrate student businesses downtown." Rupp said benefits to the city are seeing new businesses pop up downtown, which creates jobs and economic growth while retaining more young people to live and work in Starkville. |
| Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems Halo Project nears completion | |
 | A project of the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems at Mississippi State University will soon be complete, giving the center an example of all its capabilities. CAVS has been working on the vehicle, named Halo Project, for approximately 18 months. Once complete, the all-electric, self-driving SUV will serve as an example of all of the center's capabilities, ranging from design to materials science, to name a few. The project is the successor to the CAVS Car of the Future project, which started in 2014 and is capable of traveling 100 miles on a single gallon of gas using hybrid technology. CAVS Assistant Director Matthew Doude explained the Halo Project vehicle's capabilities. "This project is primarily focused on helping to demonstrate all of the technology that CAVS does, what MSU does in automotive engineering on one vehicle platform," Doude said. |
| Greater Starkville Development Partnership rolling out branding change | |
 | The Greater Starkville Development Partnership is beginning a rebranding effort to make itself and its mission easier for the community to understand. While GSDP will still retain its official name, a core part of the new branding is the organization simply going by "The Partnership." Partnership CEO Scott Maynard said the change reflects a desire to make The Partnership's mission more approachable for the general public. "One of the things we're moving to focus on is to embrace the words 'The Partnership' in our name," he said. The Greater Starkville Development Partnership is a very long name, and every time you use that, you end up trying to explain what The Partnership is and all the components that take place. Really, what we want to try to get people to begin to view us as is The Partnership -- that entity in the city and county that works to bring people together," Maynard added. |
| City to discuss 'Go Cup' ordinance | |
| The Starkville Board of Aldermen will look to call for a public hearing for the "Go Cup" ordinance at their next meeting, scheduled for Feb. 6. The ordinance would allow residents to purchase an alcoholic beverage or wine from an authorized business, then leave the business as long as it remains within the boundaries of the designated leisure and recreation district. Mayor Lynn Spruill said the particular areas she will look at would include downtown, the Cotton District and other locations where people gather for arts and entertainment. Spruill said the ordinance she is proposing would not be restricted to events, but would rely on hours. The proposed ordinance would tentatively be allowed Monday through Thursday, from 4 p.m. to midnight, Friday and Saturday from noon to 1 a.m. and Sunday from noon to midnight. |
| 3 Mississippi newspapers eliminate Monday print edition | |
 | Three newspapers in Mississippi are eliminating their Monday print editions. The Greenwood Commonwealth in Greenwood, the Delta Democrat-Times in Greenville and the Enterprise-Journal in McComb are all owned by Emmerich Newspapers. The company's president, Wyatt Emmerich, says advertising has declined, particularly for Monday editions. |
| Senate bill prevents officials from being in taxpayer ads in election year | |
 | Elected officials could not appear in advertisements paid for with taxpayer funds during an election year under a bill that passed the Senate by a 32-14 margin Thursday. "Many of my constituents have come to me upset that this has happened," said Senate Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency Committee Chairman John Polk, R-Hattiesburg. It is not uncommon for agencies to use elected officials to advertise state or governmental programs on the radio or television or through other outlets. Polk said such advertisements should not occur during an election year because they give the incumbent an unfair advantage. "This is a good transparency bill," he said. "I think it protects the taxpayers of Mississippi." |
| Spending taxpayer money twice? Education Scholarship Accounts face scrutiny | |
 | As the Legislature considers expanding state Education Scholarship Accounts, questions are being raised about whether existing accounts are being used appropriately. The ESA accounts, as they are known, were created in 2015 to provide up to $6,500 in state funds per year so that parents of public school students with special needs could pay for private school tuition and other services to address their children's education needs. Advocates say the program helps students being failed by the public school system, reimbursing their parents for costs of tuition, tutoring or other services their special needs demand. Critics of the ESA program say that in some cases the funds are being used to allow students to attend private schools that have no ability to deliver special education resources on their own. |
| Reform coming: last campaign finance reports filed under old, lax rules | |
 | State officials have submitted campaign finance reports that were due Wednesday covering 2017, the last reports before reforms the Legislature passed last year take effect. These reforms include restrictions on personal use of campaign money and will require more transparency in reporting, moving forward. They don't apply to money raised through Dec. 31 -- politicians can spend that essentially as they please. The new law prohibits personal use of campaign money, and defines personal use as any "other than expenditures relating to gaining, holding or performing functions of public office." It prohibits spending on: mortgage, rent or utility payments for any residential property of a candidate or family member, clothing, automobiles, travel expenses not related to a campaign or holding office, admission to entertainment events and non-documented loans. |
| Kaelin Kersh Act looks to keep speeding law enforcement in check | |
 | A track athlete who lost her life in a car accident involving a law enforcement officer is not being forgotten. Kaelin Kersh was killed in May 2017 in an accident involving a Mississippi Highway Patrol trooper. Now Mississippi lawmakers look to pass a bill that could protect others. The bill would "require that any operator of any emergency vehicle authorized to be marked with blinking, rotating or oscillating lights shall use blinking, rotating or oscillating lights when operating the emergency vehicle at a speed in excess of thirty miles per hour over the posted speed limit; and for related purposes." "My issue is solely with the individual who made a conscious decision to break even the Highway Patrol policies and procedures by going 100 miles an hour in a 45," said Toni Kersh, the victim's mother. She says she wants to make it clear she isn't bashing law enforcement but want them to take heed of speeding. |
| McConnell urges Mississippi governor to consider Cochran Senate seat | |
 | Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has asked the governor of Mississippi to consider appointing himself to the Senate if ailing Republican Sen. Thad Cochran resigns from office, according to two people familiar with the conversations. The idea, which McConnell (R-Ky.) discussed directly with GOP Gov. Phil Bryant this week, would give Republicans a formidable candidate in advance of a possible special election in the state later this fall. President Trump, a supporter of Bryant, backs the plan, according to a person familiar with the situation, though there are several other options that McConnell and Trump have discussed if Bryant declines. Like others interviewed for this article, the person spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private talks. McConnell is determined not only to protect his majority but add to it in November's midterm elections. |
| Bryant doesn't want Cochran's seat despite urging by Trump, McConnell | |
| Gov. Phil Bryant is not interested in going to the U.S. Senate, despite urging from President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The Washington Post reported Thursday night that McConnell met with Bryant this week and asked the governor to appoint himself in the event that Sen. Thad Cochran stepped down in the coming months. Sources close to Bryant told the Clarion Ledger after the Post report was published that Bryant is not interested in such a scenario. The sources did confirm the conversation with McConnell and also said the president had talked to Bryant about the same thing. The same sources said Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves would be the leading candidate if Cochran steps down. |
| Chris McDaniel still coy about Senate run with one month till deadline | |
| The only deadline that matters as to whether anti-establishment conservative Sen. Chris McDaniel will run for U.S. Senate is one month from today: March 2. Supporters, political observers, even reporters have seen several of McDaniel's self-imposed deadlines for a decision pass with no decision from him: First it was fall of 2017. Next it was the end of October. Then it was "sometime in January." Now McDaniel isn't giving a timeline. Four weeks from the March 2 qualifying deadline for the seat, he isn't tipping his hand. "I know that to a lot of people these days it sounds strange, almost unbelievable, almost supernatural, but God can bring peace to a heart," McDaniel said. "It may hit me tonight, or tomorrow morning, and when I feel it, I'll make that announcement fast and then we'll be moving." |
| Chris McDaniel Joined 9/11 Truther With Anti-Semitic Theories For Recent Interview | |
| Mississippi state Sen. Chris McDaniel (R) recently joined the radio show of an ardent conspiracy theorist who believes the 9/11 attacks may have been carried out by the "World Zionist Organization," a curious choice for a man gearing up for another possible Senate run. The controversial lawmaker is seriously considering a run against Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) this year after losing a close and nasty race to Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) in 2014. McDaniel still maintains that election was stolen from him, and appeared as a high-profile guest on internet radio host and conspiracy theorist Ian Trottier's show to help his longtime friend and ally Ryan Walters promote his book "Remember Mississippi," which makes the same argument. McDaniel, a trial lawyer and former radio host, has a long history of controversial statements on race and gender. |
| 'Never any hesitation': Trump was quickly persuaded to support memo's release | |
| President Trump was only vaguely aware of a controversial, classified memo about the FBI's Russia investigation when two House conservatives brought it to his attention in a Jan. 18 phone call. The conversation piqued Trump's interest. Over the next two weeks, according to interviews with eight senior administration officials and other advisers to the president, he tuned in to cable television segments about the memo. He talked to friends and advisers about it. And, before he had even read it, Trump became absolutely convinced of one thing: The memo needed to come out. Trump's decision, expected to culminate Friday with the memo's release, put the president on course for the most explosive confrontation with his own FBI since he fired then-director James B. Comey last spring. |
| U.S. Economy Added 200,000 Jobs In January; Wages Rose | |
 | The U.S. added 200,000 jobs in January, continuing the trend of steady job growth for another month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday. That means the economy has now added jobs for 88 months in a row. Average hourly earnings rose by 9 cents to $26.74, with a year-over-year growth of 2.9 percent -- the highest rate of growth BLS recorded since June 2009. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent. Analysts had predicted healthy job growth and essentially unchanged unemployment. Wages, meanwhile, had been largely stagnant for years, not rising to keep pace with the growing economy. The rise in employment was driven by the construction industry, restaurants, health care and manufacturing, all sectors that added jobs last month. |
| UM Slavery Research Group examines history of slavery on campus | |
 | The UM Slavery Research Group and the Robert C. Khayat Law Center teamed up Wednesday to sponsor the Martin Luther King Day Commemoration Panel at the university's law school. The panel was made up of four faculty members: history professor Anne Twitty, sociology professor Jeffrey Jackson, English professor Jennie Lightweis-Goff and history professor Marc H. Lerner and connected various areas of research in Oxford-Lafayette County and beyond to slavery on campus. The UM Slavery Research Group began in 2014 and is currently made up of faculty and staff working across disciplines to learn more about the history of slavery and enslaved people in Oxford and on campus. During the construction of the original 10 buildings that made up the University of Mississippi, enslaved people were rented by the university from local slave owners to dig wells, build dwellings and provide services such as carpentry and masonry to the university. |
| Ole Miss Theatre Department adds film major | |
| The University of Mississippi Theatre Department recently announced the addition of a film major. With the addition of a Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Film degree comes a new department name – the Department of Theatre and Film. The program will begin in Fall 2018, and applications are due in March. The program is the brainchild of theatre arts professors Alan Arrivee and Harrison Witt. Witt says adding the BFA film program to the theatre department is a process that was years in the making. "There was a lot of interest in film, I think it was about 6 or 7 years ago, and the cinema minor was started. Alan Arrivee started that and he's the director right now," Witt said. "It very quickly became the most popular minor in the college of liberal arts." |
| Southern Miss seeks dismissal of lawsuit filed by former football player | |
 | Attorneys for the University of Southern Mississippi are seeking dismissal of a civil rights lawsuit filed by a former football player. Deven Hammond of Baton Rouge filed the suit in November in U.S. District Court in Louisiana, claiming he was not allowed to play on the football team after coaches learned he had only one kidney. He also claims the university violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act when someone from the athletic department discussed his physical condition with a coach at Middle Tennessee State University. The university in its motion to dismiss, filed Jan. 23, says the Louisiana court lacks jurisdiction because the university and former coach Dan Disch were in Mississippi at the time of the alleged wrongdoing and have no connections to Louisiana. However, Hammond's attorney, William Most, said he believes the case will go forward. |
| Jane Hulon selected to succeed Ronnie Nettles as Co-Lin president | |
 | The Co-Lin Board of Trustees on Thursday chose Jane Hulon to succeed the college's current president, Ronnie Nettles, upon his retirement July 1. Nettles tendered his resignation in November, and, since December, a committee has been sifting through applications for his replacement. The board elected to restrict the application process to current Co-Lin employees, and Hulon -- who has served as the vice president of the school's Wesson campus for 10 years -- was selected to become the college's eighth president by a unanimous vote. Co-Lin was founded as Copiah-Lincoln Junior College in 1928, and Hulon will become the institution's first female president. She holds a Master of Education degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Southern Mississippi and a doctorate in higher education administration from Mississippi State University. |
| U. of Florida president: Dreamers are 'some of our very, very best students' | |
 | University of Florida President Kent Fuchs spoke in defense of Dreamers in a conference call Thursday, saying the school has hundreds of students in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. "They are individuals who are some of our very, very best students," Fuchs said in a call with Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood and Tallahassee-based pastor Dean Inserra. The call was meant to urge members of Congress to pass a solution to individuals in the DACA program, known as Dreamers. These people were brought to the United States illegally as children and have since grown up in the country. Fuchs said it's in the university's, the state's and the nation's best interests to determine a path to citizenship for these students. |
| UGA and USAID launch new partnership to fight hunger with peanuts | |
 | The University of Georgia recently received a $14 million grant from the U.S. Agency of International Development to manage the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Peanut Research, known as the "Peanut Lab." A global peanut research program, the Peanut Lab works to alleviate hunger by helping farmers in developing countries grow healthy crops. The agreement builds on UGA and USAID's long-standing partnership on global peanut research, which dates back to the 1980s. "For nearly a century, the University of Georgia and our partners have focused tremendous research and extension resources toward developing advanced peanut varieties, improving production methods and increasing yields to create a steady supply of high-quality peanut protein," said Sam Pardue, dean and director of UGA's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. "With our partnership with USAID, we are committed to continuing those efforts to ensure food security at home and around the world." |
| Governor proposes U. of Tennessee board of trustees overhaul | |
 | A proposal from Gov. Bill Haslam seeks to reduce the number of members on the University of Tennessee board of trustees and "modernize" the statutory responsibilities of the board. The plan is laid forth in the UT FOCUS Act proposed by the governor Thursday and would seek to bring the governing body of UT more in line with the governing bodies of other four-year universities, according to a news release from his office. In 2016, the FOCUS Act shifted power away from the Tennessee Board of Regents and created individual boards of trustees for the six state universities outside the UT system. The UT FOCUS Act bill, sponsored by Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, and Rep. David Hawk, R-Greeneville, would similarly reduce the number of trustees in the UT system from 27 to 11, while also putting in place seven-member advisory boards on individual campuses. |
| U. of Missouri to reopen six dorms idled due to low enrollment | |
 | A marketing campaign aimed at returning students will fill the University of Missouri's residence halls in the fall, including six left mostly idle this year, putting additional pressure on private landlords who are already struggling to fill off-campus apartments. Vice Chancellor for Operations Gary Ward told the Board of Curators on Thursday that all the residence halls would be in use in the fall, and in an interview afterward said he expects them to be at or near capacity. Cuts in room rates and relaxing the requirement to purchase meal plans for returning students are a big part of the increase, Ward said. "We have done a lot of creative marketing to our returning students," he said. "We had never done that before. We had never offered residential hall living to upperclassmen, sophomores and transfer students." |
| U. of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine names Carolyn Henry new dean | |
 | The University of Missouri announced the appointment of a new dean for the College of Veterinary Medicine Thursday afternoon. Carolyn Henry, the college's interim dean since August 2017, will assume the role immediately. "We feel very fortunate that she accepted the invitation to be the dean," said Jim Spain, interim provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. Henry is out of town and couldn't be immediately reached. However, she said in a Thursday news release that she wants to continue the school's "mission to teach, heal, discover and serve" as she assumes the role. Former Provost Garnett Stokes conducted a focused, internal search for the new dean and Henry was the sole candidate, Spain said. She had been the interim dean since the start of the fall semester after Neil Olson, the former dean, left to take the same position at St. George's University in Grenada. |
| Trump calls for converting community colleges to vocational schools | |
 | President Trump's call for more vocational training Thursday reflects statements he made during Tuesday's State of the Union, during which he called for a larger national investment in work-force development. But community college leaders were quick to point out that their institutions already offer the vocational or work-force programs Trump has highlighted, and more. Despite Trump's rhetoric, his actions have led to further cuts in work-force training, said Andy Van Kleunen, chief executive officer of the National Skills Coalition. "We appreciate that, during the State of the Union, President Trump called out the need for a greater national investment in work-force development, job training and vocational schools," Van Kleunen said in a written statement. "But talk is cheap. Ensuring we have the most skilled work force in the world is not. Unfortunately, to date, the president's agencies have either called for deep cuts to work-force programs or they have refused to spend the training resources Congress has already given to them." |
| Study: 72 percent of ninth graders have some postsecondary education within seven years | |
| Nearly three-quarters of ninth graders tracked in a major federal study had received some kind of postsecondary education or training within seven years -- and nearly a quarter of them had left their programs without a credential of any sort. Of the 28 percent of respondents to the survey who were ninth graders in 2009 but had not enrolled in any postsecondary program by February 2016, more than four in 10 cited financial factors as the reason, and roughly the same proportion earned $10,000 or less in 2015. Those were among the findings of the second follow-up to the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, released Thursday by the Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics. The study tracks a nationally representative sample of 20,000 students who were in ninth grade in 2009 through February 2016, offering a longitudinal look at how students flow through (and out of) the American education system. |
SPORTS
| No. 2 Bulldogs battle back to win on road | |
| Victoria Vivians made a go-ahead jumper with four seconds left and No. 2 Mississippi State extended its perfect season with a 57-53 road victory against No. 15 Missouri on Thursday night. The Bulldogs and Tigers played a tight fourth quarter. Missouri's Sophie Cunningham tied the game at 53 with nine seconds left with a 3-pointer. Vivians then drove and connected on a mid-range shot to make it 55-53. After an offensive foul on Jordan Frericks, Teaira McCowan hit two free throws to seal the game for Mississippi State (23-0, 9-0 SEC). "Game on the line, give her the ball and let her make a shot," head coach Vic Schaefer said of Vivians. Mississippi State returns home Monday to face No. 7 South Carolina, the defending national champions who were blown out Thursday night by No. 1 Connecticut. |
| And still undefeated: Victoria Vivians hits winning shot to lift Bulldogs over Tigers | |
| Victoria Vivians hit the game-winning shot with 4 seconds left in regulation time to keep No. 2 Mississippi State undefeated Thursday night and make the seniors the winningest class in program history with No. 112. Vivians hit the go-ahead shot and Blair Schaefer drew a charge on No. 15 Missouri's possession as the Bulldogs knocked off the Tigers 57-53 at Mizzou Arena. After winning 14-straight games by double figures, MSU had to work hard in this one, erasing a nine-point halftime deficit, while trailing at the half for only the second time this season. The Bulldogs turned the tide by holding the Tigers to six third-quarter points. Still, things were tight down the stretch with State needing some key baskets and defensive stops to pull out the road win. MSU will host No. 7 South Carolina at 6 p.m. Monday. |
| No. 15 Missouri falls just short against No. 2 Mississippi State | |
| In a game in which Sophie Cunningham had kept her team competitive, it was fitting she was the final player to touch the ball. Unfortunately for Missouri, it was down four with a second remaining. As the final buzzer sounded, the Tigers' star threw up a desperation heave. It clanked against the backboard, and the game was over. In what would have been a monumental upset over No. 2 Mississippi State, the No. 15 Tigers fell short. The Bulldogs remained undefeated, winning 57-53 after a game-winning jumper from Victoria Vivians with three seconds remaining. "Sometimes you've just got to let your best player go make a play," Bulldogs coach Vic Schaefer said. Both teams did. |
| No. 15 Mizzou women's basketball can't pull off upset, falls to No. 2 Mississippi State | |
| Mississippi State women's basketball coach Vic Schaefer has witnessed senior standout Victoria Vivians make numerous game-winning shots, sometimes with multiple defenders draped all over her. So after Missouri's Sophie Cunningham drilled a 3-pointer that tied Thursday night's game at 53 with nine seconds to play and brought Mizzou Arena to its feet, he knew exactly what to do. "We were to get the ball in, give it to (Vivians) and get out of her way," Schaefer said. The Bulldogs did exactly that, and Vivians came through. After the inbounds pass, Vivians handled the ball at the top of the key. She drove to her right before stopping just outside the lane and cooly knocking down a 10-foot jumper to put Mississippi State back on top 55-53 with four seconds to go. Missouri's Jordan Frericks was called for a charge as she drove the lane on the ensuing possession, ensuring that the No. 2 Bulldogs would overcome a double-digit deficit and ultimately beat the No. 15 Tigers 57-53 to stay undefeated. |
| Southern Miss announces tickets sold out for Mississippi State baseball series | |
 | Single-game tickets finally went on sale to the general public for the Mississippi State-Southern Miss baseball series Thursday morning, but they didn't last long. USM announced at 8:30 a.m. Thursday that the series, which is being called the Mississippi Farm Bureau Classic, is already sold out. There were approximately 100 tickets available for purchase on Thursday and they were gone in less than 10 minutes. The series will be played Feb. 16-18 at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, with first pitch for the series opener set for 4 p.m. The Saturday and Sunday games will both start at 1 p.m. USM has already set a new record for season ticket sales with about 1,600 sold for the 2018 campaign. The previous mark was just short of 1,500 prior to the 2005 season. |
| Healthier arms means deeper bullpen for Mississippi State baseball team | |
| A college baseball team can never have enough pitching. That seems to be a common thought among all in the baseball world, regardless of which level of the game is being discussed. Every coach loves to have options to turn to on the mound, but that was a luxury that Mississippi State head coach Andy Cannizaro didn't have a season ago. MSU's pitching situation last year became so dire due to injuries in fact that a trio of position players (outfielder Jake Mangum, first baseman Cole Gordon and outfielder Brant Blaylock) combined to make 30 appearances on the mound and win a total of five games between them. When the 2018 season starts two weeks from today though, the Bulldogs will no longer be forced to turn to unique individuals in a desperate attempt to get quality innings. |
| Mississippi State's Dustin Skelton hopes lessons learned in 2017 help him at catcher | |
| Dustin Skelton spent his freshman season learning. The 6-foot, 199-pounder out of Magnolia Heights in Senatobia soaked in a lot of information as he watched Josh Lovelady catch 51 of the Mississippi State baseball team's 67 games in 2017. This season, Skelton hopes everything he learned will help him win the starting job. After a far different freshman season from anything he'd experienced, Skelton is confident he's better poised for the battle. "I was used to playing every day, then I got here and there was a fifth-year senior in Josh Lovelady," Skelton said. "I had to put my work in and had to do what I had to do to get on the field and it didn't happen. I was pretty much waiting on my number to be called." Skelton appeared in 34 games (17 starts) in MSU's 40-27 campaign. Fifteen of the starts came in the first third of a season that saw him hit .206 (68 at-bats) with two doubles and 10 RBIs. The performance came after he was the talk of the program last January last year for not striking out for nearly the entire preseason. |
| Mississippi State-Southern Miss baseball rivalry has been kicked up a notch | |
| The Sun Herald's Patrick Magee writes: "It took Southern Miss only 15 minutes on Thursday morning to sell out its season-opening baseball series with Mississippi State, but the Bulldogs apparently aren't impressed. MSU-USM has long been a contemptuous baseball rivalry, but it's gone up another notch following the 2017 Hattiesburg Regional that featured USM, MSU, South Alabama and Illinois-Chicago. The Bulldogs beat the Golden Eagles twice on the final day, 8-1 and 8-6, at Pete Taylor Park to advance to the Super Regional at LSU. ...Prior to the Hattiesburg Regional, MSU fans complained loudly on social media that tickets were hard to come by. Even though many of them still found their way into Pete Taylor Park during the regional, that was again the case in the lead-up to Thursday's start of single-game ticket sales at USM. ...there's obviously no love lost between a MSU baseball program that's considered one of the nation's traditional powers and a USM program that's developed its own strong tradition that's improving with time." |
| Mississippi State freshman KeyShawn Feazell learning on and off the court | |
| KeyShawn Feazell was accustomed to being the big man on campus. Feazell was a four-year letterwinner at Lawrence County High School and was rated the No. 2 prospect in Mississippi, averaging 15 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks as a senior. But the former three-star prospect admits there was still plenty left to learn once he arrived at Mississippi State over the summer. "Coming into college, there are a lot small details that you have to pay attention to so you have to be mentally focused," Feazell said. "That's one of the things I've been working on. In high school, I didn't have to do as much thinking really. I could just go out and play ball but now everybody is just as good as I am." While this year has been an educational experience, Feazell can already tell a difference in his game. |
| SEC distributes $40.9 million per school based on 2016-17 revenue | |
 | The SEC distributed $40.9 million to each of its 14 member schools based on total revenue generated in the 2016-17 fiscal year, the conference announced Thursday. The league, based in Birmingham, took in a total of $596.9 million in revenue in the fiscal year ending Aug. 31. That total included $573.8 generated by the conference office, and an additional $23.1 million in expense money retained by schools who participated in bowl games. "This distribution from the SEC is instrumental to our universities' athletics programs ability to provide the highest possible level of support for the thousands of student-athletes who participate annually in nearly two dozen conference sports," SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said. "This commitment to excellence encompasses superior support in coaching, equipment, training, academic counseling, medical care and life-skills development for our student-athletes." |
| UConn drops the hammer on Gamecocks, 83-58 | |
 | Dawn Staley has said multiple times this year that No. 7 South Carolina's goal for this season is to repeat as national champions. On Thursday night, the Gamecocks (18-4, 7-2 SEC) got a harsh reminder of the huge hurdles in their way, in the form of bigger, faster No. 1 Connecticut, who flattened USC on its home court, 83-58. At its biggest, UConn's lead was 34 points, a gulf that kept the sellout crowd at Colonial Life Arena mostly quiet as the Huskies made shot after shot, especially from long distance. The second quarter turned particularly ugly, as the Huskies outscored the Gamecocks, 29-8. South Carolina has a short turnaround before facing SEC-leading No. 2 Mississippi State on Monday. That game will be broadcast on ESPN2. |
| Ole Miss transfers building appeal cases proving they were misled by Hugh Freeze | |
| Six Ole Miss players seeking immediate transfer waivers have assembled what are being portrayed as previously unknown smartphone and electronic interactions showing they were allegedly misled as to the extent of potential NCAA violations and punishments for the Rebels in statements made by former coach Hugh Freeze, CBS Sports has learned. The documents will go into packages the players will submit seeking an appeal for immediate eligibility at their new schools. Without that waiver, they would have to adhere to NCAA rules that require transferring athletes to sit one year in academic residence. In a series of texts that will be forwarded as part of these materials, there is evidence that shows players and their parents believed Freeze as he allegedly minimized the scope of the NCAA investigation concluded last year. |
| LSU Softball Performance Center plans: Full indoor infield, multi-camera system, weights, cardio | |
 | The LSU softball program announced Thursday plans for the LSU Softball Performance Center, an indoor facility at Tiger Park. The announcement said the facility will be 14,500 square feet, making it the biggest indoor facility in the Southeastern Conference, including a 1,279-square foot weight room and 770 square feet on the second floor for cardio equipment. "Our coaching staff does not want to miss an opportunity to express our gratitude to the donors who have assisted specifically with this project and to all of our dedicated fans who have supported this program so strongly," coach Beth Torina said in a release. "Our staff had a vision for this facility, and we were able to make this vision a reality largely in part to the diligent work by the individuals at the Tiger Athletic Foundation. We are thankful to everyone in the LSU family, past and current, who have assisted us in seeing this project to its completion." |
| Allen Greene officially begins tenure as Auburn's athletics director | |
 | On the same day the calendar flipped to February, Auburn completed its transition from old athletics director to new. Allen Greene's tenure on the Plains officially began on Thursday, just two weeks after the hire was announced and 13 days after his introductory press conference, a university spokesperson confirmed. His predecessor, Jay Jacobs, officially stepped down after 14 years on the job. At just 40 years old, Greene is one of the youngest Division I athletics directors in the nation. He's also the third African-American athletics director in SEC history and first in Auburn's history. He takes over a department that just reported record revenue in fiscal year 2017 but is also navigating a number of off-the-field issues, including the fallout of the FBI investigation into college basketball that implicated former associate men's basketball head coach Chuck Person. |
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