Tuesday, January 8, 2019   
 
Mississippi State's Provost/EVP Judy Bonner announces retirement
Mississippi State University's Provost and Executive Vice President will be retiring at the end of June. Judy Bonner informed the university about her intentions to retire at the end of the fiscal year on June 30, MSU President Mark Keenum announced Monday afternoon. "In this vital and challenging leadership role, Dr. Bonner served MSU with tremendous distinction and her accomplishments here have elevated this university to new academic heights," said Keenum. "While I am saddened over her decision to retire, I respect Dr. Bonner's impeccable vision and judgment that the time is right for her to bring to a close what can only be described as a legendary career in higher education." Bonner joined MSU after a long-time career at Alabama as a senior administrator and president. "Working with President Keenum and the incredible faculty, staff, and administrators at Mississippi State has been icing on the cake for me both professionally and personally," Bonner said.
 
Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District issues 600 iPads to teachers
Middle and high school classrooms in the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District will be a little different as class resumes today after the district deployed hundreds of iPads to its teachers on Friday. SOCSD Superintendent Eddie Peasant said the rollout is part of the district's 1:1 initiative, which aims to have at least one digital device -- whether iPads or MacBooks -- for each of its middle and high school students. The district has 2,000 iPads, 600 of which are for its teachers. The school board approved four-year leases of the iPads late last year for $797,700. While the district is not, at this point, issuing devices directly to students, it will have enough for each student to check out from carts in every classroom. Peasant said the initiative will focus on narrowing the "digital gap" between teachers and students. "In our convocation (Friday) morning, I spoke with them about the students in our classrooms now are Generation Z students," Peasant said. "They're digital natives. That's all they know. That's the best way to communicate with them and to get them to communicate with us. So in order for us to more effectively educate them and enhance the instruction in the classroom, this is a major step in that direction."
 
Retail Coach: Developers interested in Leigh Mall
Members of a firm tasked with recruiting retail for Columbus indicated multiple developers have expressed interest in buying Leigh Mall. Meanwhile, representatives with new mall manager Jones Lange LaSalle Americas have remained tight-lipped about the company's future plans for the struggling Highway 45 retail center. Will Kline, project manager for The Retail Coach of Tupelo, with which Columbus has a one-year contract for retail development, said he's personally talked more than once with "(an) individual or group of individuals interested in buying the mall." He didn't identify the interested parties but said one is local and one is from out-of-state. Whomever the interested parties, they will have to wait to make their pitches until after Tuesday, when Leigh Mall is slated to be auctioned as part of a public sale. Leigh Mall has been in decline in recent years. Not only are tenants leaving, but the mall's roof and parts of the parking lot are in disrepair.
 
Mississippi Hills accepting grant applications
For the fourth consecutive year, the Mississippi Hills Heritage Area Alliance is poised to dole out grants to eligible applicants. Last year, a record amount of applications received a record amount of grant money from the MHHAA. After receiving 35 applications, the Alliance awarded 31 grants, totaling more than $259,00. Organizations and programs in 13 of the Alliance's 30-county reach received grants. For 2019, about $170,000 is available. "We want to be able to give all of it away," said Mary Cates Williams, executive director of the MHHAA. The Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area is one of only 49 National Heritage Areas designated in the U.S., and one of only three in the state. The Alliance includes all or parts of 30 counties bordered by Tennessee, Alabama, Highway 82 and Interstate 55. The mission focuses for the Mississippi Hills are African-American heritage, Civil War, Native American heritage and Music and Literature.
 
Wood pellet facilities expected to bring jobs, economic growth to Jackson and George counties
Two new wood pellet facilities in South Mississippi are expected to bring hundreds of jobs and economic growth to Jackson and George counties. George County announced Monday that the board of supervisors voted to build a $140 million wood pellet facility at the county's Industrial Park. That move, which has been in the works for years, is expected to create 90 new full-time jobs, 300 construction jobs, and an estimated 300 indirect jobs in the timber and transportation industry. It's an agreement with Enviva Wood Pellets, the largest producer of wood pellets in the world. But the economic growth is not stopping at the production plant in George County. Enviva will also build a distribution plant at the Port of Pascagoula, creating even more job opportunities. Construction on the $60 million distribution plant is expected to begin this year. According to county spokesperson Ken Flanagan, the production plant is the largest private investment in George County Industrial Park in more than 20 years.
 
Backdrop of statewide elections likely to dominate 2019 session
The overarching factor influencing the 2019 legislative session, which begins at noon Tuesday, most likely will be the election later in the year. "I am sure that will play a factor," said Rep. Nick Bain, D-Corinth. In the Senate, presiding officer Tate Reeves, the state's lieutenant governor, is running for governor. He will face a Republican primary challenge from freshman Rep. Robert Foster of Hernando. Another House freshman, Rep. Jay Hughes, D-Oxford, is running for lieutenant governor and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Buck Clarke, R-Hollandale, is running for treasurer. And, who knows who may qualify for what offices before the March 1 deadline. In addition, all 174 legislative seats will be up for re-election later this year. Meanwhile, House and Senate Republicans will try to hold on to their three-fifths super majority as Democrats, who controlled the Legislature during the 20th century, attempt to regain some of that past political power.
 
Rep. Mark Baker will seek to stop early release of names of officers involved in fatal shootings
State Rep. Mark Baker of Brandon said he will introduce a bill in the 2019 Legislature to prevent the city of Jackson naming police officers involved in fatal shootings until investigations are complete. Last year, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba adopted the recommendation of a task force to release the identities of JPD officers in officer-involved shooting deaths in a 72-hour time frame absent a credible threat to the officer's safety. "I'm going to introduce legislation to prevent that," Baker said recently. Baker, a Republican candidate for state attorney general this year, said, "We don't want to put lives of officers at risk." Baker, chairman of the House Judiciary A Committee, named the Jackson policy as one of his legislative agenda items this session, which begins Tuesday.
 
Analysis: Tate Reeves' praise of state's financial and fiscal health will be a campaign mantra
In the midst of presenting the budget proposal of the legislative leadership last month, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves boldly proclaimed that "Mississippi is in our best financial and fiscal shape in our history today." Reeves, the former state treasurer with a background in finance in the private sector before entering the political fray 15 years ago, prides himself on his understanding of the state's budget and state finances. His statement did not go unnoticed and will likely surface again as Reeves pursues the governor's office in 2019. It is expected that the Republican will spend a significant amount of time on the campaign trail touting the state's finances and fiscal condition. A matter of fact, he already is. It is difficult to objectively determine when the state was in its "best financial and fiscal shape." And how does the state's fiscal condition measure against significant budget cuts in recent years of more than 10 percent for many agencies? That issue most likely will be fully debated between the party front-runners for governor -- Reeves and Attorney General Jim Hood on the Democratic side.
 
Videt Carmichael won't seek re-election to state Senate
Mississippi District 33 Senator Videt Carmichael, R-Meridian, who has served since 2000, announced Monday he will not seek re-election. Carmichael, who chairs the Senate Insurance Committee and is Vice Chairman of the Investigate State Offices Committee, made the announcement in a news release. "It's time," Carmichael, 68. In the Senate, he also serves on the Appropriations Committee Business and Financial Institutions Committee, Corrections Committee, Energy Committee and Ports and Marine Resources Committee. Carmichael also is a member and past Chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review, PEER. Carmichael has been a teacher, a principal and a coach, along with his service in the Senate.
 
Wish list for the 2019 Legislature from the Jackson metro, local counties
The legislative wish list for local cities and counties includes allowing them to take state income tax refunds to cover unpaid fines, allowing Rankin County deputies to run radars, more money for bridges and allowing early voting in cities and counties. The Mississippi Legislature begins its 2019 session on Tuesday. The Mississippi Municipal League is scheduled to approve its final legislative agenda on Wednesday, but Executive Director Shari Veazey said she anticipates MML's main focus will be getting a Local Government Debt Collection Act passed. This bill would authorize the Mississippi Department of Revenue to deduct unpaid, fully adjudicated, municipal fines from a taxpayer's state income tax refund and send the money to the city owed. "Even our smallest towns are owed hundreds of thousands in unpaid fines," Veazey said. "As you can imagine, the bigger cities have millions in uncollected fines."
 
Local legislators ready to tackle slate of issues
The Mississippi Legislature convenes its 2019 regular session at noon Tuesday and area legislators said they have priorities they hope to see accomplished during the session. Many of those priorities resulted from a meeting area legislators had with Natchez and Adams County leaders, who advocated for issues they would like to see accomplished in the upcoming session. Among the top priorities of local leaders is for legislators to approve a land transfer of ownership of the Natchez Visitor Reception Center to the National Park Service, which requires legislative approval, and to change the Natchez-Adams School Board to an elected body. District 97 Rep. Sam C. Mims V, R-McComb, said he supports the land swap for the visitor center as well as the elected school board proposal. Dist. 37. As a member of the appropriations committee, Mims said he anticipates he will spend a lot of time on the budget this session. "I expect we will have a similar budget in 2019 to what we had in 2018," Mims said. "Most of our state agencies received either a slight increase in their appropriations or a similar appropriation as they received in 2018, and I believe that will continue as we go forward."
 
Rep. Bennie Thompson Blasts White House's 'Outright Lies,' Calls for Hearings
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., accused the Trump administration of "outright lies" and called for hearings on the deaths of children who were in U.S. custody. Thompson, who became chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security when Democrats took control of the U.S. House last week, issued the scathing statements in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristjen Nielsen on Friday. Nielsen had appeared before Congress earlier that day and, in an effort to make the case for President Trump's proposed border wall, falsely claimed that the U.S. caught thousands of terrorists at the border last year. Justice Department records, however, show that there were no such apprehensions. "Your border security presentation submitted to Congress today is yet another example of the misinformation and outright lies the Trump administration has used to make the case for the President's boondoggle border wall, defend the government shutdown, and distract the American people from a border policy so flawed that children have died in Department of Homeland Security custody," Thompson wrote.
 
House GOP leaders fear support eroding for President Trump's shutdown fight
Several dozen House Republicans might cross the aisle this week to vote for Democratic bills to reopen shuttered parts of the federal government, spurring the White House into a dramatic effort to stem potential GOP defections. White House officials and Republican congressional leaders worry that GOP support for the shutdown is eroding, weakening President Donald Trump's hand as he seeks billions of dollars for a border wall that Democrats have vowed to oppose, according to GOP lawmakers and aides. Hoping to sway skeptics in his party and the broader public, Trump will make an Oval Office address Tuesday night to discuss what he called the "Humanitarian and National Security Crisis on our Southern Border," he said on Twitter. Then he will visit the border region on Thursday. Despite the White House PR blitz, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and other senior Republicans believe that "a significant bloc" of House Republicans could vote with Democrats on the funding measures, according to GOP lawmakers and aides.
 
President Trump Sees Border Wall As Another Boost For U.S. Steel Industry
As President Trump describes it, a steel wall along the Mexican border isn't just about protecting the country from terrorists and drug dealers. It would also be a boon for big steel, an industry he says is essential for American identity. "I'll have it done by the United States Steel Corp., by companies in our country that are now powerful, great companies again," he said Friday at the White House. "And they've become powerful over the last two years because of me and because of our trade policies." Trump has made clear how he reveres the beleaguered steel industry, once saying that without one, "You almost don't have much of a country." Trump has claimed -- falsely -- that seven steel plants are being built as a result of the boon touched off by his trade agenda. But at least one new plant is being built and some others are being upgraded. And profits are up for big companies such as Nucor and U.S. Steel. But numerous manufacturers have also complained that they're being hurt by higher prices for imported steel and aluminum.
 
Ongoing shutdown means scrambled travel plans, collaboration for higher ed researchers
Mykle Hoban, a doctoral student at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, had planned to leave this week for a two-month stint at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. He would use that time to complete a formal description of a new species of the combtooth blenny, a fish found in tropical waters across the world that Hoban has studied as part of his doctoral research. But after a partial federal shutdown took effect last month, the status of the National Science Foundation-funded trip is up in the air. Hoban's travel and accommodations are paid for, but it's not clear if the museum will actually be open when he arrives. "I'm not really sure where it stands, largely because no one can answer their emails," he said. The ongoing federal shutdown is already creating headaches for scientists by hindering research planning and putting an abrupt halt to travel for some academics. But its worst effects will materialize in the coming weeks, should a stalemate between the White House, Republicans and congressional Democrats continue, researchers and university leaders said.
 
Government employees feel the pinch of partial shutdown
The partial shutdown is affecting approximately 800,000 government employees. Less than half are furloughed -- meaning, sent home without pay. But more than 420,000 of what they call essential federal employees are working without pay. Shunekia McAuley-Spears is a consumer safety inspector with the US Department of Agriculture. An essential employee, she says the last few weeks have been stressful. "Life doesn't stop. You still have a family. You still have bills. The creditor still want their payments. Gas still has to be paid and put in the car to get to work. But with no income coming in, that's hard. That's a stressor. That affects your state of mind," said Spears. Bill Parker is a meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service in Jackson. He too is required to work without pay, but he says he believes getting the job done is more important. "The weather itself can care less about the lapse of appropriations. But, we understand that we have to continue to monitor it. We just trust that whenever it opens up that we will be covered," said Parker. Spears says Congress isn't required to provide back-pay for the shutdown period, but historically they have.
 
Tech labor leader warns NASA employees could move to private sector if shutdown continues
Labor leader Paul Shearon on Tuesday warned that a number of "highly sought after" NASA employees could move to the private sector the longer the government shutdown continues. "These people are highly sought after in the private sector, and to have them out of work, not of their own choosing, and certainly not getting any pay, that can only go on for so long," Shearon, the president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, told Hill.TV's Buck Sexton and Krystal Ball on "Rising." The partial government shutdown, which is centered around President Trump and congressional Democrats disagreeing on border security funding, has resulted in most NASA employees being furloughed, according to the agency. Due to the shutdown, 95 percent of NASA employees are currently unable to go to work. "For our people, for our engineers, our scientists, some of the best scientists and engineers in the country, their interest is performing their work," Shearon said. "This whole political facade that is being put up is simply encumbering their ability to get their job."
 
Refurbished newspaper machines get new lives as libraries for Batson Children's patients
Former newspaper machines are now putting the written word in the hands of a new generation of readers, thanks to the efforts of John Moak Scarbrough of Jackson. This past summer, the Jackson Academy freshman began working on a community service project, a requirement for Eagle Scout hopefuls. He wanted to work on a project that would last and have a real impact on his community. His family's support of Friends of Children's Hospital -- father John Scarbrough is treasurer for the nonprofit -- brought him to tour Batson Children's Hospital at the University of Mississippi Medical Center to look for ways to help. Fast forward to December, and John Moak and his Eagle Scout father were delivering six newspaper vending machines, donated by The Clarion-Ledger, that they had refurbished into Little Free Libraries.
 
Cleveland, Delta State family lose three in accident
Thursday morning at 9:47 a.m., a Cleveland family was involved in a two-vehicle accident on Interstate 40 approximately six miles east of Shamrock, TX. Dr. Adam Johanson, his wife Elizabeth and their four children Megan, Jane, Alec and Charlotte were traveling eastbound on the highway in their 2004 Ford Explorer. It was snowing and according to a preliminary report, provided by Sergeant Cindy Barkley of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the slick conditions of the roadway contributed to the accident. Jane Johanson, 10, died at the scene of the crash. Dr. and Mrs. Johanson were transported to Shamrock General Hospital, where they died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident. Dr. Johanson was assistant professor of physics at Delta State University and director of the Roy L. and Clara Belle Wiley Planetarium. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the Marshall and Johanson families," said Charles McAdams, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Delta State.
 
Itawamba Community College to hold active shooter drill as local schools increase security
As active-shooter lock downs have become more common in America's schools, campus security has ballooned into a multi-billion dollar industry. Recently, local K-12 school districts and community colleges have reacted by increasing security funding and updating emergency procedures. Itawamba Community College announced last week that the school will conduct an active shooter drill with the Tupelo Police Department on Friday, Jan. 18. The drill will take place at the Belden Center campus. "Our student population comes and goes from morning to evening. We're just an open campus in an open location at all three of our locations," Dean of Students Brad Boggs said. "It's a lot different than security in a K-12 school. We never have the entire student body together in one place." In the past, ICC's drills with Tupelo or Fulton police have taken place on days when limited students and faculty were on campus. The drill on the 18th will be on a normal school day, but will be isolated in order to not disrupt classes or other scheduled events.
 
Northwest Auburn citizens interested in new student housing regulation
Auburn residents have expressed concern for construction projects encouraging students to live in Northwest Auburn, increasing costs and displacing low-income residents, the elderly and disabled. A cottage-housing construction project of frequent Northwest Auburn and developer contention, the Corradino property on Judd Avenue, has been denied by the Auburn Planning Commission. The city council is expected to approve or disapprove conditional use at its regular meeting Tuesday. With the new regulation, projects like the Corradino property will receive classification designating if the housing is for students or families. To designate the difference between the two, the planning commission plans to vote on a regulation requiring construction projects to be classified as a student dwelling before a project is approved. This will differentiate student housing from other projects labeled as multiple-family units.
 
Arkansas Scholarship Lottery division subject of study; sales chief leaves post for new job
Arkansas Scholarship Lottery officials are going to study possible changes to its 22-employee sales division after the departure of the agency's sales director, lottery Director Bishop Woosley said Monday. Mitch Chandler started work Dec. 31 as director of executive communications at the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. His last day at the lottery was Dec. 28, said Scott Hardin, a spokesman for the state Department of Finance and Administration, under which the lottery operates. In fiscal 2018 that ended June 30, the lottery collected a record $500.4 million in revenue and raised $91.9 million for scholarships. The latter was the third-largest amount ever for the lottery that started selling tickets on Sept. 28, 2009. The lottery's number of retailers has increased from 1,899 on June 30, 2015, to 1,928 at the end of last November, according to the latest lottery reports. The lottery has helped finance more than 30,000 Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarships a year during the past eight fiscal years.
 
U. of Tennessee student bus catches fire on Knoxville campus
Tennessee's spring semester is off to a blazing start. The Knoxville Fire Department responded to a University of Tennessee, Knoxville student transit bus engulfed in flames on White Avenue near 22nd street around 11:37 p.m. Monday night. Knoxville Police say no students were on board and the driver was able to escape the vehicle safely. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time. Classes for the spring semester begin Wednesday. The bus is owned by First Transit, which manages and operates shuttle service for UTK.
 
Mick Mulvaney Has Two Jobs. He Has Been Discussing Another.
Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, as recently as late last year explored the possibility of becoming president of the University of South Carolina, four people familiar with the discussions said. Mr. Mulvaney, a congressman from South Carolina for six years before joining the Trump administration, initiated a discussion with a senior official at the university late last year about the position, which is going to become open this summer. By then, Mr. Mulvaney already had two other jobs --- he led the federal Office of Management and Budget, as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But he was weeks away from getting a third job that he had lobbied President Trump for over several months: White House chief of staff. As of last week, a person close to Mr. Mulvaney said he was still interested in the presidency of his home state university. Hogan Gidley, a White House spokesman, said that was not the case. Wes Hickman, a spokesman for the university, said it was just beginning its presidential search process.
 
Future projects, industry challenges discussed at biennial Texas A&M AgriLife conference
More than 500 Texas A&M AgriLife employees from throughout the state gathered Monday in the Texas A&M Hotel and Conference Center for the first day of the agency's annual conference. Held every two years, the conference gives AgriLife leaders and administrators a chance to address employees -- researchers, faculty members and service agents -- and provides a setting for those employees to collaborate with each other. "It's just an opportunity to bring everybody together around our common mission," Vice Chancellor and Dean for Agriculture and Life Sciences Patrick Stover said. "We can do research, but if we can't get that research out there to people, it doesn't do any good. This is really a mechanism for networking and bringing people together around our shared mission of doing research and making that available through service to advance all Texans." John Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, said the AgriLife agencies are "on the verge of becoming the most important agencies" in the state.
 
At daughter's urging, U. of Missouri prof turns his writing from the scientific to the supernatural
The stories that Stephen Paul Sayers had bouncing around in his head back in Cape Cod in the 1970s began to come alive after his daughter, Kaylee, inspired him to write novels. Sayers, who works as a physical therapy associate professor and researcher at the University of Missouri, has written two horror novels that were published in 2018. The first, "A Taker Of Morrows," came out in June and was Top 10 international bestseller on Amazon. The second, "The Soul Dweller," was published in November. Sayers obviously is excited about his success, especially since he is at the start of his writing career. "I didn't expect this to happen," he said. "There are so many stories about people who normally took years to publish their books. What more could a writer wish for?" He moved to Columbia in 2003 to teach physiology at MU. About five years ago, his daughter urged him to pursue a literary path.
 
Georgia Tech in search of new leader
Georgia Tech President G.P. "Bud" Peterson has a long to-do list before he retires this year, such as restoring confidence that Tech has strong ethics regulations in place after a recent scandal involving some former top officials; filling several vacancies on his leadership team, and improving student mental health and counseling services after two recent apparent suicides. Peterson announced his departure plans Monday, the first day of the new semester, after 10 years for which he leaves a record of some successes but recent criticism about his leadership and questions about Georgia Tech's future. In recent months, Peterson fired several top officials, accepted the resignation of others and reorganized his leadership team after state and internal audit reports found several problems such as an administrator who was paid to serve on the board of a German-based company that Tech was paying for services and another official who had a school vendor pay for a football suite he used largely for friends and family.
 
Cutting Oversight of Accreditation Will Spur Innovation, Education Dept. Says. Critics Say Not So Fast.
The federal law governing much of higher education is some five years past its expiration date, with little chance that Congress will reauthorize it before the 2020 elections. Instead, the U.S. Department of Education has begun a broad regulatory overhaul to reshape core issues under the statute, known as the Higher Education Act. On Monday the department released its recommendations for major changes in the rules regarding accreditation and how colleges qualify for federal financial aid. Approval by a federally recognized accrediting agency is a key condition for colleges to receive federal student-aid dollars -- the lifeblood of most colleges. Possible rule changes also include lowering requirements for colleges to operate online across multiple states, setting rules for distance learning, amending how religious colleges are treated by accreditors, and shifting the administration of federal grants for students who plan on classroom teaching, called Teach Grants.


SPORTS
 
Presidents, commissioners put brakes on CFP expansion talk
The College Football Playoff is not close to expanding. After a month of chatter about possible changes to the four-team playoff, the conference commissioners and university presidents who constitute the playoff brain trust met Monday at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown San Jose and quelled the speculation. "As far as expanding the number of teams in the playoff, it's way too soon -- much too soon -- to know if that is even a possibility," Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum, the chairman of the CFP board of managers, said in a statement. "I'm not going to say everyone, (but) a consensus is very pleased with the four-team format and the success, most importantly, that we've had over the past five years with the system that we have," Keenum told reporters.
 
CFP President Mark Keenum: 'Way Too Soon' to Consider Playoff Expansion
College Football Playoff President Mark Keenum offered skepticism toward potential expansion on Monday and stated that it is "much too soon" to consider expanding past the current four-team bracket. "As far as expanding the number of teams in the Playoff, it's way too soon -- much too soon -- to know if that is even a possibility," Keenum said in a statement. "It's fair to say the speculation about expansion has outdistanced the reality of what commissioners and the presidents have discussed."
 
College Football Playoff board says it's 'way too soon' to consider expansion
There will be no immediate changes to the four-team format of the College Football Playoff, as university presidents and conference commissioners decided at a joint annual meeting on Monday morning at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, California, that they were in "unanimous agreement that the playoff has been a tremendous success." "As far as expanding the number of teams in the playoff, it's way too soon -- much too soon -- to know if that is even a possibility," Mississippi State president Mark Keenum, chair of the playoff board of managers, said in a prepared statement. "It's fair to say the speculation about expansion has outdistanced the reality of what the commissioners and the presidents have discussed. If a decision were to be made down the road, the presidents would be the ones to make it and we are not there."
 
College Football Playoff board: 'Speculation about expansion has outdistanced the reality'
Expansion of the College Football Playoff? Not so fast. After meeting Monday, the presidents who make up the Playoff's board of managers indicated their satisfaction with the current four-team model. "I don't want to say everyone, (but) a consensus is very pleased with the four-team format and the success, most importantly, that we've had over the past five years with the system that we have," said Mississippi State president Mark Keenum, the chairman of the board, adding: "Everyone is pleased with the current process." Keenum's comments, made to a small group of reporters at the Fairmont Hotel, followed a statement issued by the CFP indicating "unanimous agreement that the Playoff has been a tremendous success for students, fans and universities."
 
College Football Playoff expansion isn't happening, conference commissioners say
Hungering for an expansion of the four-team College Football Playoff? As Lee Corso would put it: "Not so fast, my friend." After a meeting of conference commissioners Monday before the Alabama-Clemson national title game, CFP board member Mark Keenum shot down the possibility in a statement. "It's way too soon -- much too soon -- to know if (expansion) is even a possibility," said Keenum, also Mississippi State's president. Advocates of the current system argue that expanding to six or eight teams would water down the regular season, be unfair to the non-salaried players who already log up to 15 games and harm the non-playoff bowls. Plus in a season like this, any expansion likely still would have resulted in an Alabama-Clemson final. "Academics, student-athlete well-being, existing contractual agreements and the overall good of the game are just a few of the issues we are considering," Keenum said in the statement.
 
Mississippi State's Mark Keenum: No plans to expand College Football Playoff
Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum serves as the chairman of the College Football Playoff Board of Managers. Monday, he addressed a topic of much discussion concerning the CFP. He said there are no plans in place to include more teams in the playoff. Keenum put those rumors to rest while addressing a group of media in San Jose, California, before Monday night's CFP National Championship. Keenum said the current format of four teams has been a "tremendous success" for the competing teams as well as college football fans in general. "As far as expanding the number of teams in the Playoff, it's way too soon -- much too soon -- to know if that is even a possibility," Keenum said. "It's fair to say the speculation about expansion has outdistanced the reality of what the commissioners and the presidents have discussed. If a decision were to be made down the road, the Presidents would be the ones to make it and we are not there." Keenum did admit that the board will one day get to the point of deliberating on expansion.
 
Despite rain and wind, local hotels and restaurants see boost from college football playoff
Despite the wind and the driving rain and the been-there, done-that matchup between the University of Alabama and Clemson University, the college football playoff championship game has brought a welcome uptick in business for some hotels and restaurants in San Jose and Santa Clara. "We thought we would see a downward tick in traffic and sales because of the rain and weather," said LeRoy Godfrey of Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar in Santa Clara, just a short drive from the game at Levi's Stadium. "However, it didn't seem to affect the out of town guests." Dan McGowan, the general manager of the Fairmont in San Jose, said the game had been good to his hotel, as well. Though it's a tad distant from the stadium, downtown San Jose has played host to a number of events tied to the playoffs. "The College Football Playoff National Championship has brought a great amount of business to Fairmont San Jose and our hotel's dining outlets," McGowan said in an email. "Our hotel is in the heart of downtown San Jose, which puts us at the center of the action during this National Championship weekend. It has been great to see college football fans from near and far here in our city, exploring our downtown area and supporting its local businesses."
 
One-year countdown begins for New Orleans to host the next CFP championship game
The college football landscape is an ever-changing one, although you wouldn't know it with how Alabama and Clemson played for another national championship Monday night. This was Alabama's seventh bid for a championship in the past 10 years and Clemson's third title-game appearance in four seasons, which makes it reasonable to think they could meet again in the next national title game. That game, regardless of who is in it, will be in New Orleans. The conclusion of Monday's game marked the start of a one-year countdown toward the return of New Orleans and the Mercedes-Benz Superdome hosting this kind of premier national event, the kind that goes to a city not only because it has the most available hotel rooms but also because it can put in the highest bid. On site before Monday's game in Santa Clara, California, were 34 officials from the Sugar Bowl and other local organizations involved in hosting the game. They've been on hand for the last three championship games, where they attended future-host seminars and other sessions to help them prepare.
 
Bulldogs begin SEC play against Gamecocks on road
It's a new year and essentially a new season for Mississippi State starting Tuesday night. Southeastern Conference play is here for the Bulldogs. MSU (12-1, 0-0), who rose to No. 14 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll released on Monday, begins league action at 8 p.m. at South Carolina (6-7, 1-0). State enters the contest after a 10-day break following a successful run through the non-conference portion of its schedule. MSU head coach Ben Howland is hopeful the time off leads to a victorious start now that the SEC slate has arrived. "We're going to look (at the time off) as a positive," Howland said. "I think we got a lot done with our practices and were able to do a lot of things to try and improve. We've had good practices with rest in between. We've been lifting and getting back into the weight room. We missed a lot during Christmas. We went eight days without a lift, so I think all that's a real positive for us."
 
Bulldogs start over at South Carolina tonight
Mississippi State navigated its non-conference schedule with a 12-1 record and has climbed to No. 14 in the Associated Press poll and 18th in the NCAA's NET rankings. But that all changes in a big way for the Bulldogs tonight. MSU opens Southeastern Conference play at South Carolina at 8 p.m. on ESPNU. "They have us ranked but it all starts over," said MSU coach Ben Howland. "When you start conference play, everything that has happened up until now is basically meaningless. You're 0-0 and everybody starts over and you hit the reset button. You have to prove yourself every day and we've got to go out and do that against what I think top to bottom is the best league in the country."
 
No. 14 Mississippi State will open SEC play at South Carolina
Maturity lends a certain amount of gravitas to a team. At this point last season, the Mississippi State men's basketball was 12-1 prior to its Southeastern Conference opener. In many respects, though, the Bulldogs were an unknown commodity. MSU's biggest non-conference victories came against Stephen F. Austin and Dayton at home. The loss was a 65-50 setback to No. 25 Cincinnati at Highland Heights, Kentucky. This season, the return of MSU's top five scorers has given coach Ben Howland one of the nation's most experienced teams. The addition of talented newcomers Reggie Perry and Robert Woodard II, the two-time Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year from Columbus High School, has bolstered a rotation that has eight players averaging double-digit minutes. At 8 p.m. Tuesday (ESPNU), No. 14 MSU (12-1) will put that experience to the test when it takes on South Carolina in its SEC opener at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina.
 
Mississippi State basketball: Bulldogs slam into SEC play against South Carolina
Mississippi State has only played two games in the last two weeks. The Bulldogs are about to double that average as Southeastern Conference play begins. No. 14 MSU (12-1, 0-0 SEC) travels east to play South Carolina (6-7, 1-0 SEC) Tuesday night at 8 p.m. CT. Head coach Ben Howland knows the grind of the season is about to intensify. "At this point, there is no break," Howland said. "It just keeps coming." Howland thinks the time away was a positive. Though the players went eight days without hitting the weight room as a team, they got back in the gym this week. Freshman forward Reggie Perry took the court at Humphrey Coliseum with graduate assistant Derrick Zimmerman Sunday evening after the Mississippi State women's team beat Kentucky 86-71. Perry wanted to prepare for the physicality of 6-foot-9, 235-pound South Carolina forward Chris Silva.
 
South Carolina basketball: Frank Martin calls for big crowd against Bulldogs
South Carolina (6-7 overall, 1-0 SEC) welcomes No. 14 Mississippi State (12-1) to Colonial Life Arena on Tuesday. What the Gamecocks played in over the weekend? Frank Martin would like a garnet and black version of that against the Bulldogs. "Florida sold out their SEC home opener," the USC coach said Monday. "We had to play in front of a rowdy student section. ... We need a good home court environment (Tuesday)." After No. 3 Virginia's appearance, CLA is about to host a top 15 team for the second time in a month --- but only 19th time in the building's 16-year history. Martin is 1-4 against top 15 opponents in Columbia, including a stunning of No. 10 Auburn last February. Come to CLA on Tuesday and you might catch the home team jelling at a good time. "We're learning how to practice every day,' Martin said. "We attack practice every day with a different mindset than we did November 1. And that's the journey, to keep getting better there."
 
Mississippi State men's basketball vaults to season's best No. 14 ranking
The Mississippi State men's basketball team climbed to a season-high No. 14 national ranking in both the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches Top 25 polls released Monday. The No. 14 ranking is the highest for the Bulldogs since being ranked No. 11 on Jan. 11, 2005 in the AP Top 25, and the program's best going back to Dec. 26, 2011 when MSU also checked in at No. 14 among the USA/Today Coaches Top 25. Mississippi State enters SEC action on the heels of a league-leading nine-game winning streak. The Bulldogs are one of three SEC teams and one of 10 teams nationally to be ranked inside the AP's Top 25 in both men's and women's basketball. Mississippi State is one of four SEC teams ranked in this week's edition of the polls which include Tennessee (3 AP, 3 USA Today), Auburn (11 AP, 10 USA Today) and Kentucky (18 AP, 18 USA Today).
 
Bulldogs move up to No. 14 in AP basketball poll
Mississippi State's men's basketball team checked another box during its best season in years. The Bulldogs climbed to a season-high No. 14 national ranking in both the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches Top 25 polls released Monday. It's the highest ranking for the Bulldogs since being ranked No. 11 on Jan. 11, 2005 in the AP Top 25, and the program's best going back to Dec. 26, 2011 when MSU also checked in at No. 14 among the USA/Today Coaches Top 25. Mississippi State (12-1) opens SEC play Tuesday night at 8 at South Carolina. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
 
Ole Miss confident heading into Auburn, Mississippi State games
Whatever schedule or timetable the Ole Miss men's basketball program has been on in Year 1 under new coach Kermit Davis, it's all been leading up to a week like this. Winners of eight straight and 1-0 in SEC play, Ole Miss will play as tough a schedule this week as any team in the country will over the course of five days all season, hosting No. 11 Auburn on Wednesday before heading to Starkville to face No. 14 Mississippi State on Saturday. For an Ole Miss team still searching for national recognition despite its 11-2 record, facing teams of this caliber in back-to-back games can be the stretch that catapults the Rebels into NCAA Tournament conversations or sets the team back, forcing a regroup. Compared to where the excitement level about Ole Miss basketball was just a few months ago, hype is legitimately rising about Davis' squad. Of course, Auburn and Mississippi State are teams good enough to squelch that hype.
 
Study reveals college football teams' net worth; Where does Auburn fall?
Ryan Brewer's annual study looking at the value of college football teams has been released. Brewer, an associate professor of finance at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus, released his annual list in the Wall Street Journal on Monday. The college team with the highest value may surprise you. Spoiler alert: It's not Alabama.
 
Football ops building: 'It is breathtaking,' Gamecocks moving into their game changer
A Bluff Road tradition almost as old as Williams-Brice Stadium itself ended Monday with the opening of South Carolina's new $50 million football operations building. Gamecocks football players will no longer have to cross the road every time they go to practice, which has necessitated a police officer stopping traffic on Bluff Road as much as twice a day during football season going back to the days the team was practicing at the Proving Grounds. "I think it's going to be really good for us not to have to make the walk across the street, stop traffic, people honking their horns at us trying to get to work," quarterback Jake Bentley said. On Monday, South Carolina support staff members began moving into the 110,000-square-foot facility, which will put all of the Gamecocks football facilities under one roof for the first time in the program's history. In Williams-Brice Stadium, the team's coaches offices and players meeting rooms and locker room are on opposite ends of the stadium, and the coaches and players were forced to walk from the stadium to the team's practice facilities and back from every practice.



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