Monday, April 22, 2019   
 
Olive Branch's Morgan Green recognized at Mississippi State event
Photo: With Mississippi State University MSU President Mark E. Keenum at this year's President's Commission on the Status of Women Awards Ceremony are, from left, Morgan K. Green, a mechanical engineering graduate student from Olive Branch; Shelby B. Baldwin, a senior marketing major from Ridgeland; Katelyn Jackson, a junior biological sciences/pre-med major from Starkville; Leah Beasley, MSU executive senior associate athletic director for external affairs; and C. LaShan Simpson, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering. A mechanical engineering alumna, Green will graduate this semester with a master's degree in the same field and will continue in an MSU doctoral degree program.
 
Cattle's Future: Learning How To Lead
Every summer for 26 years, Mississippi's youth have left their home farms and ranches to trek to Mississippi State University to learn about their state's cattle industry. They know the days will be long and, guaranteed, hot. No video games. No Netflix. Air-conditioning may just be an oak tree. But, it's OK, because they all come here with one thing in common: a love for cattle and a goal to discover where and how they may want to fit into that world in a few years. Some think they want to be large-animal veterinarians. Others come from cattle operations and wonder if that life is what they want for the future. There are serious competitors on the livestock show circuit here, too; they want to learn the secrets of how a judge sees an animal in the show ring. Whatever the individual goals or curiosities, the Making Tracks Leadership Camp's goal is to help the state's youth figure out a path to their destination.
 
Dolphins, endangered sea turtles, oysters dying as fresh water invades Mississippi Sound
Freshwater intrusion from the Bonnet Carre spillway is damaging aquatic life in the Mississippi Sound, with 13 dead dolphins and 23 dead sea turtles found along the Mississippi Coast in the last two weeks. The carcasses are being necropsied by Mississippi State University veterinarians at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport. Executive Director Moby Solangi said the verdict is still out on the causes of death, but both the turtles and dolphins have skin and eye lesions consistent with freshwater damage. Solangi said 22 of the dead sea turtles are endangered Kemp's ridleys, while two baby dolphins are among the most recent dolphin carcasses retrieved. Carcasses are being found in all three coastal counties, he said. Solangi said a total of 40 dolphins have been found dead so far in 2019. The public can help by reporting dead or stranded marine life to IMMS.
 
Storm damage scattered, minimal in Golden Triangle
Severe storms that blew through the Golden Triangle Thursday evening seem to have caused minimal damage. The area was under a tornado watch Thursday afternoon and evening, and thunderstorms arrived to the area at about 4 p.m., bringing heavy rains and strong winds. In Oktibbeha County, Emergency Management Agency Director Kristen Campanella said there were limited reports of damage after Thursday's storms in Oktibbeha County, other than downed trees through the area. She said a gas station at the intersection of Highway 182 and Old West Point Road in Starkville had damage to its awning, and a home on South Washington Street reported flooding seeping inside. No injuries were reported in Lowndes or Oktibbeha counties during the storm.
 
Oktibbeha supes seeking contractor assistance for storm cleanup
Oktibbeha County is preparing to search for a contractor to help with storm debris removal after a pair of tornadoes swept through the county a week ago. County supervisors, during a Thursday morning special-call meeting, authorized board attorney Rob Roberson to begin drafting requests for proposals so the county can bid out some of the storm cleanup work. The board also directed Road Manager Fred Hal Bagget to have his department begin removing some of the debris. "We want to go ahead and get started a little bit to at least get something in some of the higher need areas that have some of that stuff piled up, for safety concerns," Roberson said. "There's no way we'll be able to effectively get this stuff up in a timeframe that makes sense if we don't get a contractor to get in and look at it."
 
Dixie Alley living up to deadly reputation for twisters
The part of the South known for deadly tornadoes -- "Dixie Alley" -- is continuing to live up to its name. Recent research has found that tornadoes are occurring more frequently in the region than in part of the Great Plains which has been known as "Tornado Alley," The Montgomery Advertiser reported. Northern Illinois University professor Victor Gensini found that twisters are occurring more frequently in the southern version of Tornado Alley. "Dixie Alley" includes Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia. The cause of the shift is unknown, though some theories focus on climate change, the newspaper reported. Some scientists believe climate change is responsible for dryer Midwestern conditions, which in turn halts moisture-dependent storm fronts from developing until further east. Whatever the precise causes, the shift has resulted in deadlier tornadoes. That's particularly true in Alabama, which leads the nation in average tornado deaths per year at 14.
 
New census estimates show exit from East Mississippi
An estimated 9,304 people moved away from East Mississippi between April 2010 and July 2018, with two-thirds of those people leaving Lauderdale County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The Census Bureau released estimated population changes for the country on Thursday, breaking numbers down by counties. Counties included in the East Mississippi calculation are Kemper, Lauderdale, Newton, Neshoba and Clarke. Michael Guest, the 3rd Congressional District U.S. House Representative, represents all but Clarke County in the above calculation and lost an estimated 17,339 residents across 18 counties, gaining 11,875 residents in Rankin and Scott counties. "There is a great importance with the upcoming census," Guest said Thursday during a visit to The Meridian Star. "Mississippi is on the bubble of maintaining or losing a member of Congress... we have a small delegation to begin with so the loss of one of those would be detrimental."
 
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker says feds must play a role in broadband expansion
If rural America is to get reliable, high-speed internet access, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker believes federal effort and funding must play a key role. The senior senator from Mississippi told the Daily Journal last week rural broadband is "one of my top priorities." The issue is also a major policy focus for north Mississippi's Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley, a Democrat from Nettleton. The state legislature this year authorized electric cooperatives to offer broadband service, following advocacy for such a law by Presley. The new law doesn't mandate the power associations do so, and it isn't yet clear how many associations will decide to take a bite on the endeavor. Wicker isn't convinced that rural power cooperatives will be able to make much of a dent in the problem. "The information I have is that while the electric co-ops may be some help, it will not be a major solution," Wicker said.
 
Bar raised for third graders taking reading test
More than 35,000 Mississippi third graders sat down in front of computers this week to take reading tests, facing a state mandate to "level up" or not advance to fourth grade. But with the bar set higher this year, state and local officials expect more students will fail the initial test, even with efforts to improve teaching. Mississippi is one of 16 states nationwide that demand third grade students pass a reading score threshold or flunk. Nevada and Michigan plan to impose such requirements in the next two years, and Alabama lawmakers are considering one. The mandatory retention policy remains controversial nationwide. Experts agree students who flunk a grade are more likely to drop out. While third-grade reading policies typically call for intensive remedial work for students who are held back, one study found the boost helps for a while but eventually fades.
 
Jim Hood Takes Heat for Blackface Photos, Says Leave Trans Rights Up to Schools
A Hattiesburg woman confronted Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood on Tuesday over yearbook photos from the 1980s that show members of his college fraternity wearing blackface. After the photos surfaced in February, Hood, who is also a Democratic candidate for governor this year, said in February that he was not in the photos and never wore blackface. "When I go hunting, I don't even like to wear a mask," he told reporters at the time, saying masks make him uncomfortable, and face paint would, too. At a town hall event at the University of Southern Mississippi on Tuesday, Anastassia Doctor, who is African American, asked Hood why he never addressed the "racial implications" of blackface. She sat near the front of an audience of around 50 people, her two young daughters on either side of her. Doctor, unimpressed that Hood responded by talking about his commitment to diverse hiring practices, began to interject, but Hood stopped her. "I'm trying to answer your question if you'll let me," Hood said.
 
House gets its say as Supreme Court takes up census citizenship question
The House gets a relatively rare chance to directly address the Supreme Court on Tuesday in a legal showdown about whether the Trump administration can add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. The case is one of the most significant for members of Congress during the current Supreme Court term. The census results determine how many House seats each state gets and affect how states redraw congressional districts. The results are also used to distribute billions of dollars from federal programs that are based on population count to state and local governments. The House cited those reasons when it asked for time during oral argument. The lawmakers plan to argue that it is up to Congress to ensure an accurate count, and a federal law called the Census Act limits the discretion of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to add a question about whether each person being counted is a citizen.
 
Supreme Court to consider workplace discrimination of LGBTQ community
The Supreme Court on Monday said it would hear three cases determining whether federal law protects individuals from LGBTQ discrimination in the workplace. The court, in an unsigned order, said it would review all three cases on the matter, but ordered that two of the cases be combined into one argument. The two merged cases asked whether discrimination over sexual orientation falls under Title VII of the Civil Rights act. The statue blocks discrimination in the workplace because of sex. The court said it will also examine if the same federal statute offers the same protections to transgender people in the workplace, based on their transgender identification. The cases offer the opportunity for the Supreme Court to expand work discrimination protections to LGBTQ communities. Lower courts, so far, have been divided on the issue.
 
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker: AG Barr acted appropriately handling Mueller report
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker said he believes the nation's attorney general has acted appropriately in his handling of a special counsel's report into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. U.S. Attorney General William Barr released Robert Mueller's special counsel report Thursday morning, with select portions hidden from the public eye. Barr has drawn some criticism for his handling of Mueller's report, including a summary of that report he released in late March and a press conference he held Thursday morning. Mississippi's senior U.S. senator does not share concerns that Barr has tried to dampen any damaging conclusions for the president. "I think it's been done in a totally correct and appropriate manner and the conclusion at the end of the whole process is going to be the same," Wicker said Tuesday morning.
 
MUW to raise tuition 8.4 percent, MSU by 3 percent
Students at Mississippi University for Women will see an 8.4 percent increase in base tuition this fall. With eight public universities raising tuition, MUW had the steepest percentage hike. According to the Associated Press, The Institutions of Higher Learning board gave universities the final approval for their planned tuition increases, forgoing the normal procedure dictating trustees to hold another vote. The average tuition hike among the state's eight public universities is 4 percent. AP reports Mississippi State University will raise its tuition by 3 percent. MSU Chief Communications Officer Sid Salter said the tuition increases are due, in part, to a drop in the percentage of MSU's funding that has come from the state of Mississippi. As costs rise and state funding remains flat or falls, Salter said, it creates a need for additional funding sources to make up the gap.
 
U. of Mississippi's Green Week kicks off with Earth Day
The Office of Sustainability at the University of Mississippi is hosting Green Week to raise awareness for environmental issues and support sustainability in the Oxford community this week. The Strawberry Plains Audubon Center Earth Day Celebration and Swap kicked off the week last Saturday. Community members swapped gently used outdoor equipment, books and apparel. Today, volunteers will help remove invasive plants and collect litter from the South Campus Rail Trails to celebrate Earth Day. There will also be a potluck in the Strawberry Plains Audubon Center located in Holly Springs. "It is an exciting time to work in sustainability on the UM campus," associate director of sustainability Lindsey Abernathy said. "Interest in environmental and social sustainability and equity continues to grow with groups and organizations all over campus working on these important topics."
 
UM faculty, students supporting NASA's Mission to Mars program
As InSight, NASA's eighth successful probe to Mars, continues to stream information from the surface of the Red Planet, a group of University of Mississippi faculty and students find themselves directly connected to the space agency's Mission to Mars endeavor. The university's Additive Manufacturing Research and Education Cluster serves NASA's Mission to Mars program by conducting several funded research projects. One AMREC research proposal, titled "Developing a Novel Method to Bond Planetary Regolith to Form Rigid Structures for Space-Based Habitats," recently received approximately $200,000 in funding through the NASA Cooperative Agreement Notice 2018 Dual-Use Technology Development at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center. Faculty and students alike are hopeful that they will soon watch mankind successfully travel to Mars.
 
Frat parties, quiet neighborhood: Residents in Jackson fed up
There's a beer keg sitting about 10 feet from the door. But don't call it a frat house. It's a rental house where frat members live. While that distinction is important to Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and Jackson State University, it's not to those tired of dealing with the partying and crowded streets in the middle of their south Jackson neighborhood. "Our neighborhood is turning into a frat house. It wasn't like this before. It just doesn't belong in our community," Deborah McDaniel told Jackson City Council members at an April 16 meeting. The complaints, which some council members were already familiar with, are intensifying at the same time a lawsuit against the fraternity over a shooting that occurred during a block party at a previous residence is making its way through the courts. McDaniel was joined by her husband, the Rev. Wayne McDaniel, head of the Jackson-based NAACP, and several other neighbors who said members of the fraternity, who refer to themselves as "Que Dogs," frequently disrupt the peace with loud music and partying, especially on the weekends.
 
Millsaps College invests millions in campus improvements
Students might not necessarily enjoy some lectures in college, but they'll definitely benefit from a new state-of-the-art lecture hall at Millsaps College. A new, $1 million lecture hall is among renovations currently under way at the school's Christian Center and part of $22 million in new construction and renovations expected to wrap up there this summer. The projects are designed to help the school expand its offerings and improve the educational experiences for all Millsaps students. Among projects, $15 million is going to completely gut and renovate the Christian Center, an iconic building on the school's campus, while $5 million is going toward the construction of a new 16,000-square-foot visual arts center. "Every student will benefit from the work, regardless of their major," Director of Marketing and Communications John Sewell said.
 
Economic health is focus of summit at Copiah-Lincoln Community College
Co-Lin's leadership wants to improve the economic and social well-being of the people who live in the college's area of influence. So Copiah-Lincoln Community College has partnered with Entergy to host an economic development summit at the Thames Conference Center May 7, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Lunch will be provided. Kenny Goza, Co-Lin's career-technical program coordinator, said college President Jane Hulon has made it clear that local economic health is one of her priorities. "She wants Co-Lin to be a leader in developing a regional approach to boost economic development in Southwest Mississippi," he said. Co-Lin serves Copiah, Lincoln, Lawrence, Franklin, Jefferson, Adams and Simpson counties.
 
Auburn University poultry center to be 'one-stop shop' for farmers
Small and large farms currently benefit from the resources available at the Charles C. Miller Jr. Poultry Research and Education Center, and as additional projects are constructed, Auburn University will have an international impact in the poultry industry. "It is our goal to be the leading institution in poultry research, education and outreach in the United States, if not the world," College of Agriculture dean Paul Patterson said. "We aspire to be the go-to destination when new challenges face the poultry industry. This is a lofty goal, but I think it is one well within reach, particularly with the development of these new facilities." According to poultry and extension center director Mitchell Pate, the university began the process of constructing the extensive poultry center project by installing the nutrition center, a feed mill to develop "production-research diets" for testing alternative ingredients for animals to eat.
 
LSU professor fired over vulgar language asks federal appeals court to reconsider her lawsuit
A former tenured LSU professor fired in 2015 for using vulgarity, and talking about her sex life and the sex lives of students in her elementary education classes, is urging a federal appellate court to reconsider her case. Teresa Buchanan's civil rights lawsuit was dismissed last year by a federal district judge in Baton Rouge, and last month a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans affirmed the dismissal. Now, Buchanan's attorneys are asking the entire 5th Circuit to rehear the case. LSU maintains Buchanan's termination was not only appropriate but also necessary to protect students from her verbally abusive behavior, which the university says created a hostile learning environment for the students she was hired to teach.
 
Third candidate for UT-Knoxville chancellor discusses innovation, access to higher ed
The third candidate for chancellor of the University of Tennessee–Knoxville held an open forum on Thursday morning, talking about the need for universities to be innovators. William Tate is the current dean of the graduate school and vice provost for graduate education at Washington University in St. Louis. He has worked at Washington University in a variety of roles since 2002, including as a professor and interim director of the African and African American Studies department and a professor and chair of the education department. Tate has also been a professor at Texas Christian University and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Tate, who described himself as "a math guy," presented research done about the number of inventors across the country. The southeast United States had the fewest amount of inventors in the country, according to Tate.
 
U. of Kentucky gets largest grant ever: $87M to cut opioid deaths in 16 counties
The University of Kentucky has been awarded an $87 million federal grant, the largest in its history, to reduce opioid deaths by 40 percent in 16 counties around the state. The four-year grant is one of four announced Thursday by the National Institutes of Health that total $350 million. Other agencies receiving a HEALing (Helping End Addiction Long-Term) Communities Study grant are the Boston Medical Center in Massachusetts, Columbia University in New York City and Ohio State University. In Kentucky, the grant's principal investigator will be Sharon Walsh, director of the UK Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, who will partner with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet to lead a team of 20 researchers and community partners. NIH officials visited UK in February to assess UK's grant application.
 
Louisiana starts medical marijuana-related research
Louisiana State University's first medical marijuana-related research dollars are paying for work aimed at treating epilepsy. GB Sciences, the contractor hired by the LSU AgCenter to grow therapeutic cannabis, provides $500,000 annually for marijuana-related studies, on top of its other payments to the university agricultural facility. The first research dollars from the contract will help finance studies by AgCenter researcher Chris Green. He's using zebrafish to help develop treatments for people who have epileptic seizures. The AgCenter says Green will expand that work to study the possibility of using parts of the cannabis plant to treat epilepsy. He'll use compounds extracted from the plant flowers and buds that don't produce the marijuana "high" caused by THC.
 
Entrepreneurs competed for $10K prize at UGA
Eight teams of students on Thursday pitched their business ideas to a panel of judges for UGA's Next Top Entrepreneur competition. Competing at the newly-renovated Studio 225 on West Broad Street in downtown Athens, teams had five minutes to present their pitch to the audience and judges. The panel then asked contestants a number of challenging questions. "It's like Shark Tank Live," said spectator and UGA junior Hawa Camara. "It's really interesting to be in class and learning all these things, and then seeing it live action." At stake was a $10,000 prize. The first place team was Winter Innovations, a product development company with a vision to create simple healthcare solutions for surgeries.
 
Texas A&M forensic program earns No. 1 ranking
Texas A&M University's Forensic and Investigative Sciences Program within the university's entomology department has earned a U.S. No. 1 ranking from the Bachelor's Degree Center. Program director Jeffery Tomberlin said that A&M's FIVS program, which began more than a decade ago and was accredited in 2012, came in response to student requests. "There is nothing more impactful for a student than to meet someone who served 25 years in prison and hear them talk about how forensic science assisted them in having their name cleared," he said. "Forensic science can be the difference between going to jail or not." Texas A&M's program offers two emphases: pre-law and science, Tomberlin said. He said that students go on to work in crime laboratories, law or medical practice and genetics, as well as teaching, pursuing graduate study and other fields.
 
U. of Missouri to reallocate $25M for raises, scholarships and research
University of Missouri schools and colleges will redirect $25 million to pay for employee raises, scholarships and research support, according to 2020 budget plans released Friday. MU Chancellor Alexander Cartwright, Vice Chancellor for Finance Rhonda Gibler and Provost Latha Ramchand discussed the budget decisions in a Friday morning news conference. "All this is about reallocation," Ramchand said. "We're not shrinking." Of the $25 million, $9.6 million will be directed toward scholarships, $10.5 million will be targeted for performance and promotion raises and $4.6 million will be used for research support. Research support includes faculty retention, new centers of excellence and support for the Artist-in-Residence program. Gibler said the decisions were made after meeting with deans and other leadership in December. Cartwright said the redirected money is to further the university's strategic plan. He said the reallocations will help the university to make more progress toward goals of increasing student retention, increasing graduation rates and minimizing student costs.
 
Broad coalition puts focus on lifting ban on student aid in prisons
Congress passed sentencing reform legislation in December that was widely regarded as the first major step in recent years to address mass incarceration. Now many involved in that fight are turning their focus to higher education. A coalition of groups with a broad range of ideological positions is pushing to make repeal of the federal ban on Pell Grants for incarcerated students a top priority as talks heat up over reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, the law that oversees federal financial aid. Those organizations, including civil rights groups, religious colleges and conservative organizations, argue that college access for students behind bars is an issue of equity for postsecondary education and also the logical extension of efforts to end mass incarceration.
 
Sen. Elizabeth Warren unveils plan to cancel student loan debt, create universal free college
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a 2020 Democratic hopeful, unveiled a sweeping plan Monday to reform higher education that would cancel nearly all student loan debt and create universal free public college. Warren's plan would cancel up to $50,000 in debt for 42 million Americans -- 95 percent of those carrying student loan debt -- and allow every American to attend a two- or four-year public college tuition-free. She added that the "entire cost" of the plans would be covered by her proposed 2-percent annual tax on the families with $50 million or more, which she calls the "ultra-millionaire tax." Tuition-free college and forgiveness of student loan debt has gained steam in recent years in Democratic circles, with most of the 2020 field supporting one or both of the ideas.
 
High illiteracy rates hinder global progress
Angela Farmer, an assistant clinical professor in Mississippi State University's Shackouls Honors College, writes: A common reference to education stands balanced on the three foundational tenets of reading, writing and math. While developed nations acknowledge the need to ensure a quality and accessible education for their citizens, the masses in underdeveloped countries rarely enjoy such benefits. Details from "High Noon," a book by Jean-Francios Richard, attest to the fact that one in six adults never attend school of any kind. This density of illiteracy and educational absence is concentrated in such underdeveloped areas as South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, such that they account for 99% of those unable to read or write within the entire world. Furthermore, when one analyzes a society where educational access is other than an open platform, many additional social barriers are often present. These include a limitation on which children can enjoy the educational opportunity.
 
Employee motivation and the workplace
Consultant and columnist Phil Hardwick writes in the Mississippi Business Journal: When I was in Army Basic Training I had a drill sergeant who often said, "The reward for a good job is no punishment." He always said it with a smirky grin. Although that sounds rather harsh, it has more than a grain of truth. Doing a good job should be the rule, not the exception. That's in contrast to getting rewarded for simply participating. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Perhaps it's time to pause and consider what employees want. Hint: it's not "everyone gets a trophy." For managers who want to reward a job well-done or simply encourage their employees it is useful to know what motivates their employees.
 
Capitalism with a strong safety net is not socialism
Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: Evil socialism is about to take over America and Mississippi. At least that's the fear-mongering political message these days from President Donald Trump, favored governor candidate Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, and their minions. One of America's great capitalists rejects that approach, contending we should focus more on fixing capitalism than fearing socialism. In his latest annual stockholder report, Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of America's largest bank, JP Morgan Chase, said: "There is no question that capitalism has been the most successful economic system the world has ever seen." "This is not to say that capitalism does not have flaws, that it isn't leaving people behind and that it shouldn't be improved." "The American Dream is alive but fraying."
 
Jim Hood hoping northeast Mississippi will put region over party loyalty again
Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: In 2008, as a majority of northeast Mississippians were voting with the rest of the state for Republicans John McCain for president and Roger Wicker for Senate in a hotly contested special election, they also were playing the pivotal role in electing Democrat Travis Childers to the U.S. House representing the 1st District. That year northeast Mississippians placed geographic loyalty over political party loyalty. Northeast Mississippians opted to vote for Childers from Booneville, about 30 miles north of Tupelo, over Republican Greg Davis, the mayor of Southaven, which is a Memphis suburb located on the other side of the state in northwest Mississippi. Davis had defeated northeast Mississippi's Glenn McCullough Jr., former mayor of Tupelo and current executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority, in the Republican primary. Two years later the Republican nominee was state Sen. Alan Nunnelee of Tupelo, who defeated Childers, thanks in part to votes he received from northeast Mississippi. If Attorney General Jim Hood is elected governor this year, it most likely will be because of support he receives in his native northeast Mississippi.


SPORTS
 
Nuno Borges helps Bulldogs score a repeat SEC tennis title
As Tennessee's Timo Stodder shoved a ball wide to give Mississippi State senior Nuno Borges a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory at No. 1 singles in the Southeastern Conference Championship title match, Borges dropped his racquet. With his arms spread wide apart, he awaited a celebratory embrace from his teammates gathered just off the doubles alley at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, Florida. On the corner of the court, Borges was met with an onslaught of hugs and high-fives. Twice felt nice. For the second year in a row, the MSU men's tennis team had won the SEC Championship after defeating Tennessee 4-1 in the title match. "Winning today just confirms that what we're doing is the right thing to do, the right way to do it," MSU coach Matt Roberts said. It was a dominating performance from start to finish for the Bulldogs.
 
Bulldogs defend SEC men's tennis crown
After dropping his first set on Sunday, senior Nuno Borges needed to dig deep in No. 6 Mississippi State's SEC Championship tennis final against 12th-ranked Tennessee. He battled back to win the final two sets at No. 1 singles and propel the second-seeded Bulldogs (22-3) past the fourth-seeded Volunteers (20-7) for their second straight SEC Tournament title. Borges defeated Tennessee's Timo Stodder 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 to wrap up the Bulldogs' successful title defense and extend his team's current winning streak to 12 matches. With the win, MSU men's tennis became the first program in school history to win back-to-back SEC tournaments. It was the third league tourney title for the program overall (1996, 2018, 2019).
 
Vic Schaefer, Bulldogs reloading for next season
Mississippi State enjoyed another banner year in women's basketball. The Bulldogs went 33-3, won both the SEC regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the Elite Eight for the third straight season. But the 88-84 loss to Oregon that eliminated MSU from the NCAA Tournament haunts head coach Vic Schaefer. "Eighty-eight is ingrained in my head," Schaefer said. "You can count on one finger in my career -- one finger -- that I've lost a game when my team has scored 84 points. That's ingrained in my head and I've got to wear that. That's on me. It's not like I need motivation but if I need to hang onto something, that number 88 is going to be in my head for a while." Schaefer has taken the Bulldogs' program to new heights over the past three seasons and is determined to maintain and build off that level of success. "We've been setting records and doing some new things every year," Schaefer said. "It's been a good run and I don't plan on changing that."
 
Proposed deer regulations and Phil Bryant WMA: What you need to know
Sweeping changes for deer hunting regulations were proposed during this month's Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks meeting, and the plan for the new Phil Bryant Wildlife Management Area could make it the most interesting WMA in the state. A proposed increase in the bag limit for deer will affect every zone in the state except for the Southeast Zone. On private land in all zones except the Southeast, the bag limit for bucks will remain at three, but one may be a buck-of-choice and will not be required to meet the current antler requirements. "There's multiple reasons," said Russ Walsh, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks Wildlife Bureau executive director. "Two of the reasons are we know young bucks are dispersers. "That's what they do. We know from our data and Tennessee's that yearling bucks can be CWD-positive." Under current regulations yearling bucks are largely protected by the minimum antler requirements, so that class of deer is underrepresented in the department's testing effort for chronic wasting disease.
 
Jay Ladner gets Southern Miss job he always wanted
Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: This would have been the early 1990s. Richard Williams was in the process of turning around Mississippi State's basketball program en route to the Final Four and young Jay Ladner, in his early 20s, was trying to decide what to do with the rest of his life. Ladner, a recent Southern Miss graduate in pre-med and biology, was selling pharmaceuticals, making good money but wanting to do something else. He was aching to coach basketball. J. Larry Ladner, Jay's dad and a former high school coach himself, wasn't all that fired up about the coaching idea. ... "After about an hour of listening to Jay, I called his daddy back," Williams said Thursday. "I told him, 'Coach, I got news for you. That boy of yours is going to coach basketball. Nobody is going to talk him out of it. That's just all there is to it.'" ... And so coach, Jay Ladner has. He has won everywhere he has been. And, Thursday, he was introduced as the new head basketball coach at his alma mater, Southern Miss.
 
R.C. Slocum to serve as A&M's interim AD
Former Texas A&M football coach R.C. Slocum has been named the school's interim athletic director, president Michael K. Young announced Friday afternoon. Young said that in a release said it's important to have a person who is intimately familiar with the inner workings of college athletics and Texas A&M University leading the department while a national search is conducted to replace Scott Woodward who left to be LSU's AD. "R.C. has served as an Ambassador for Texas A&M for decades," Young said. "While reporting to me as a special assistant, R.C. has demonstrated his dedication to this University and always is an exemplary representative for Aggies everywhere. He has shown proven leadership with coaches, staff and student athletes throughout his many roles at Texas A&M University." Slocum, who is currently a special assistant to the president, coached the A&M football program for 14 seasons from 1989-2002, never having a losing season and becoming the winningest coach in the university's history.
 
Mizzou Athletics introduces 'corrective actions' after academic fraud investigation
University of Missouri student-athletes and tutors haven't been permitted to communicate via text, email or any other electronic means as part of a list of corrective actions the athletic department has made in response to academic misconduct, faculty athletics representative Pam Hinton told the MU Faculty Council on Thursday. The MU Athletics Office of Compliance tasked Hinton, MU's faculty representative to the NCAA and SEC, with creating a list of corrective actions after the NCAA Committee on Infractions found former MU Athletics tutor Yolanda Kumar guilty of completing coursework for 12 student-athletes. Kumar's actions violated the NCAA's ethical conduct, academic misconduct and academic extra benefits rules. Most recently, MU filed a written appeal to the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee regarding the sanctions handed down by the NCAA Committee on Infractions. MU had to include the list of corrective actions it has taken, which covers everything from hiring practices to increased monitoring of student-athletes and tutors, in their written response to the notice of allegations.
 
Clemson won't hold in-person classes on Aug. 29 because of football home opener
Clemson University has told students, faculty and staff they do not need to show up for class when the school plays its first home football game of the 2019 season on Thursday, Aug. 29. Though there will be no in-classroom instruction at any of Clemson's campuses, the school says it's not a day off. Rather, it's an "eLearning day," where instructors who decide to hold classes will have to do so online, according to a release from Clemson. "As you might imagine, expected crowds in excess of 80,000 arriving to campus on a weekday for the season opening football game provides significant challenges related to traffic and parking, significantly effecting normal campus operations," spokesman Joe Galbraith said in an email. The Aug. 29 game against Georgia Tech will also be the first televised game on ESPN's new Atlantic Coast Conference Network, according to a press release from the ACC.



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Mississippi State University  •  Mississippi State, MS 39762  •  Main Telephone: (662) 325-2323  •   Contact: The Editor  |  The Webmaster  •   Updated: April 22, 2019Facebook Twitter