| Thursday, August 29, 2019 |
| President Mark Keenum addresses faculty regarding leadership, growth, other MSU updates | |
 | Mississippi State President Mark E. Keenum spoke to faculty Wednesday, giving details on changes in key senior university leadership positions, ongoing campus growth and statewide trends impacting higher education. Keenum's annual fall faculty meeting serves as a semester welcome and update highlighting MSU accomplishments and challenges. He recently welcomed a record 108 new faculty to the university and applauded the distinguished achievements of their academic paths. Keenum said as competition increases for student enrollment, MSU is continuing to trend upward in number and quality of students, with average ACT scores continuing to rise. "Recruitment, retention and student success have never been more important," he emphasized. |
| Routine Maroon Alert test planned for Friday at noon | |
| Mississippi State University will conduct a routine test of the Maroon Alert Emergency Notification System on Friday at noon. This test is vital in making sure we are able to share important information with our faculty, staff, students and community in a timely manner. This test will include notifications to mobile devices, university desktops, digital signage, social media, university email accounts and the Emergency Web Page. The Maroon Alert test message will include instructions for acknowledging the message. This will let us know how you received the message and will halt further attempts to reach you. For more information about Maroon Alert and registration instructions, visit www.emergency.msstate.edu/maroon-alert. |
| State highway patrol announces Labor Day enforcement | |
 | The Mississippi Highway Patrol announced that the 2019 Labor Day Travel Enforcement Period begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday and ends at midnight Monday. During the holiday period, all available MHP troopers will be assigned to saturation patrols in an effort to enforce traffic laws and reduce accidents as part of Operation Crash Awareness and Reduction Effort (CARE). Safety checkpoints will be in place during the holiday period. MHP investigated 165 crashes, which included four fatalities, and made 166 DUI arrests during last year's Labor Day enforcement period. |
| Hurricane Dorian to strengthen, set to slam Florida as major Category 4 storm on Labor Day | |
 | Hurricane Dorian is on track to strengthen to a powerful Category 4 hurricane with possible life-threatening storm surge and dangerous winds as it slams into Florida's east coast at the end of Labor Day weekend, forecasters said Thursday. "Strengthening is forecast during the next few days, and Dorian is expected to become a major hurricane on Friday," the National Hurricane Center said Thursday. Landfall on Monday is possible anywhere between the Florida Keys and southern Georgia, forecasters said. Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center, said Thursday that the storm will be slow moving as it approaches land, meaning it can dump more rains and bring more winds across Florida. He said tropical-storm force winds are set to arrive Sunday, so preparations to board windows and stock up on supplies need to be done through Saturday. Parts of the southeastern U.S. could be drenched in 4 to 8 inches of rainfall, with isolated patches up to a foot. |
| Speaker Philip Gunn doubles down on call to change state flag | |
 | During his appearance at Tuesday's Columbus Rotary Club, Mississippi Speaker of the House Philip Gunn devoted his time to discussing the 2019 legislative session, which ended almost five months ago. But it was an even older issue, one posed by a Rotarian at the end of his speech, that seemed to resonate best with the audience. Gunn was asked his view on changing Mississippi's state flag, which bears Confederate imagery in its canton and has long been the subject of debate, if not action. On June 22, 2015, Gunn, a Republican, was the first state-level elected official to call for a change in the flag. Just five days after the shooting death of nine people in a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina at the hands of white supremacist Dylann Roof, Gunn didn't mince words in a statement released to the media. "We must always remember our past, but that does not mean we must let it define us," Gunn said in a statement. "As a Christian, I believe our state's flag has become a point of offense that needs to be removed. We need to begin having conversations about changing Mississippi's flag." |
| Mississippi getting set for hard-fought governor's race | |
 | The Mississippi governor's race this year could be the toughest in nearly a generation, between two politicians who have already won statewide races and are known for digging in against opponents: two-term Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and four-term Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood. The candidates offer sharply contrasting ideas. Reeves says Mississippi is thriving under GOP leadership, and he says tax cuts he pushed the past few years are making the state more competitive. Hood says Reeves is helping corporate cronies with tax cuts, and Mississippi's economy suffers because young people are moving to other states. Reeves, 45, has spent about $6 million so far this year. Hood, 57, has spent about $1.1 million. |
| Democratic Candidate Jim Hood: 'We've got a huge sack of rocks, and I'm ready to throw them' | |
 | One day after Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves defeated Judge Bill Waller in the Republican primary runoff, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Hood was in Oxford to meet with business owners and residents about his campaign. Standing in front of the hard, wooden bookshelves that line Square Books, Hood pulled no punches in describing his general election opponent, Tate Reeves. When asked if he was worried about negativity in the upcoming campaign, Hood shook his head. "We've got a huge sack of rocks, and I'm ready to throw them," Hood said. "There's a difference between a judge and a prosecutor." Hood repeatedly touted his similarities to Waller, complementing his efforts in the runoff and reminding voters that they are aligned on many of the issues. |
| Jim Hood Vows to 'Prosecute' on Issues as Tate Reeves Wins GOP Gov Nod | |
 | Just moments after Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves clenched the Republican nomination for governor in Tuesday night's runoff, his Democratic opponent in the November general election vowed to mount a tough challenge centered on health care, education, and fixing the state's roads and bridges. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, who won the Democratic nomination outright on Aug. 6, praised Reeves' vanquished Republican runoff opponent, former Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. "Justice Waller ran a great race. He ran on issues," Hood told members of the press at his campaign headquarters in Jackson Tuesday evening. After the Associated Press declared Reeves the winner, Waller spoke to supporters at his election-night watch party in downtown Jackson, telling them they ran a campaign they "can be proud of." After the speech, a member of the press asked Waller if he planned to endorse Reeves. "No decision. That's my answer," he said. |
| Mississippi voters, women AG candidates poised to make history in November | |
| State Treasurer Lynn Fitch took a step Tuesday in becoming the first woman to serve as Mississippi attorney general when she upended Madison attorney Andy Taggart in the Republican primary runoff. In unofficial returns, Fitch garnered 52 percent of the vote in the runoff to 48 percent for Taggart. Of course, Fitch's November general election opponent also is trying to make history by becoming not only the first woman to win the office, but also the first African American to serve in a statewide office in Mississippi since the 1800s. Fitch will face Democrat Jennifer Riley-Collins, former executive director of the Mississippi ACLU, in the November general election. It will mark the third time in state history two women will be the major party nominees and vying for the same statewide office. In 2003, incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck defeated state Sen. Barbara Blackmon, D-Canton, to win a second term. And then in 2011, in winning the first of two terms as state treasurer, Fitch defeated Ocean Springs Mayor Connie Moran, a Democrat, in the November general election. |
| President Trump nominates Mississippi judge to federal court | |
 | Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Cory Wilson is being nominated for a federal judgeship. Wilson joined the 10-member state court in February after being appointed by Republican Gov. Phil Bryant. Before that, Wilson was a first-term Republican member of the Mississippi House. Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi said Wednesday that President Donald Trump is nominating Wilson to become a U.S. district judge for the southern half of Mississippi. Wicker said he supports the nomination and will work for Wilson's confirmation. It was not immediately clear which vacancy Wilson would fill. Two U.S. district judges, Keith Starrett of Hattiesburg and Louis Guirola Jr. of Gulfport, have taken senior status. U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden of Gulfport is nominated to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Wilson, 49, grew up in coastal Jackson County and now lives in Flora, near Jackson. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi and his law degree from Yale University. |
| Google Visit Highlights Digital Divide, 'Brain Drain' Causes in Mississippi | |
| Carroll County resident and Greenwood-Leflore Public Library System Director Jennifer Stephenson drove nearly two hours in heavy rain to Clinton, Miss., on Monday morning. She was in town to attend "Grow with Google," part of Google's nationwide initiative to equip Americans with skills needed to thrive in today's digital economy. The workshop also highlighted ongoing concerns around statewide and Jackson-area disparities in broadband and digital literacy. More than 100 Mississippi business owners, nonprofit organizations, job seekers and librarians gathered at the Quisenberry Library to participate in workshops. U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi, praised the initiative during opening remarks. "This is the way we create our jobs in the United States today and certainly in Mississippi, so I want to acknowledge Google for doing this," he said. While the day garnered enthusiastic responses from participants, some attendees noted that Google's efforts can only translate into meaningful change alongside statewide infrastructural changes and the cooperation of local, state and federal governments. |
| Moves To Remember Emmett Till In Mississippi Faces Some Who Want To Forget | |
 | A memorial first installed in 2008 to mark the spot where 14-year-old Emmett Till was recovered from the Tallahatchie River in 1955 has been repeatedly vandalized --- shot through with bullet holes. The sign was removed last month after an image surfaced of three white University of Mississippi fraternity brothers posing next to it with guns. Civil rights tour guide Jessie Jaynes-Diming says it was painful to see. "It would be the same thing if I had a Bible up there, or if I had the flag up there and you shot it up," she says. "The issue of race is still the undercurrent about the discussion of Emmett Till," according to Rep. Bennie Thompson, an African American Democrat who has represented the Mississippi Delta region in the U.S. House since 1993. "Just like Mississippi, there's the white side of the story and there's the black side and they don't necessarily agree," Thompson says. "We have struggled with getting the whole story out; we don't want the sanitized version." |
| Chicken fight: Steve Scalise settles Popeyes vs. Chick-fil-A debate | |
 | Just when we thought the dispute between Popeyes and Chick-fil-A was cooling down, Steve Scalise added a little heat. In the fowl feud heard round the internet, the restaurant chains have been at war over which has the better chicken sandwich. Popeyes, long known for its Louisiana-style chicken, only added the sandwich to their menu in August, announcing the news on social media and turning the internet into a feeding frenzy. Twitter users were hungry for some action, including Scalise, who represents southern Louisiana in Congress. "I think we're gonna settle this whole debate once and for all," he said Wednesday in a video posted to Twitter. The minority whip begins with the "original" Chick-fil-A sandwich, calling it "consistent" and "always good." He then moves to his next piece of poultry, but not before disclosing that Popeyes was founded in his district. The congressman proceeds to chomp down on the chicken and does what one would expect a resident of Louisiana to do: nods his head in satisfaction, giving the sandwich a rating of "oh my gosh." |
| CDC studies scooter injuries -- and it's not pretty | |
| Critics of electric scooters have complained they're a menace to public safety since they began appearing on Atlanta streets more than a year ago. A string of recent fatal scooter accidents has fueled those complaints. Comprehensive e-scooter accident and injury data are hard to come by, in part because they're a new phenomenon. But a recent study out of Austin, Texas -- conducted by the Austin health department with assistance from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- offers a glimpse of the toll of scooter injuries in one city. Consulting EMS incident reports and emergency room data from local hospitals, the researchers documented at least 192 confirmed or probable scooter injury accidents -- or 20 people injured per 100,000 e-scooter trips. None of those injured died. But almost half had severe injuries like broken bones, tendon or ligament injuries and severe bleeding. |
| Number of people killed by drivers running red lights hits 10-year high across US | |
| The number of people killed by drivers running red lights has hit a 10-year high, and AAA is urging drivers and pedestrians to use caution at traffic signals. In 2017, the latest figures available, 939 people were killed by vehicles blowing through red lights, according to a AAA study of government crash data. It's the highest death toll since 2008 and 28% higher than in 2012. AAA says two people are killed every day in the U.S. by drivers who don't stop for the signals. "Drivers who decide to run a red light when they could have stopped safely are making a reckless choice that puts other road users in danger," David Yang, executive director of AAA's Foundation for Traffic Safety, said Thursday. For pedestrians and cyclists, AAA recommends taking a few seconds to make sure traffic has stopped before crossing a street. |
| AARP, PSC Commissioner Brandon Presley to lead broadband workshop at MUW | |
| Older Mississippians may not be familiar with the technology, the terminology or even how high-speed internet works. But they do know what they want. Thursday, AARP Mississippi and Brandon Presley, Mississippi Public Service Commissioner for the Northern District, will present a high-speed internet workshop from 6-7 p.m. at Mississippi University for Women's Thad Cochran Building in the Cochran-Limbert Assembly Room. The workshop will show how high-speed internet can help improve the quality of life for people of all ages and help older Mississippians live independently in their homes and communities. Speakers will explain how access to high-speed internet can help combat social isolation and improve well-being by supporting services like distance learning and telehealth. Presley led the charge for a law passed by the Legislature in this year's session, which allows electric co-ops in the state to provide high-speed internet service to its customers. |
| Ole Miss Seeks Review of Plan to Move Confederate Monument | |
| The University of Mississippi said Wednesday that it's moving ahead with plans to transfer a Confederate soldier monument from its central location on campus to a spot near a secluded Confederate cemetery. In an email sent to students, faculty and staff, interim Chancellor Larry Sparks wrote that the university submitted plans Tuesday to take down, move and reassemble the monument. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History must review and approve the university's plans . College Board trustees, who govern Mississippi's eight public universities, must also approve the move. Sparks agreed in March to calls from faculty, students and staff to move the marble soldier and base from near the school's historic heart. The monument has stood sentry there since 1906, when the United Daughters of the Confederacy commissioned it. |
| Senator Wicker, FCC Chairman Pai speak on rural broadband during Ole Miss Tech Summit | |
| Some of the biggest names in technology and communication came to the University of Mississippi on Wednesday to discuss hot topics in the industry and its future. The fourth annual Tech Summit took place at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts and featured speeches from U.S. Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, among others. "This year is a quantum leap in terms of the subject matter and the lineup," Wicker said following his speech to begin the summit. During his speech, Pai mentioned that his mission from his first day as chairman was to close the digital divide. "We've taken a number of steps over the last two-and-a-half years to make it cheaper and easier for broadband providers to construct these next generation networks," Pai said. "We also realize there are some places, largely rural areas, where no providers can build a business plan to do this alone." |
| Ole Miss hosts grand opening for new recreation center | |
| The University of Mississippi held its grand opening ceremony for a new South Campus Recreation Center on Wednesday. The approximately 100,000 square feet facility is worth $32 million and located near Chucky Mullins Drive south of Mississippi Highway 6 at the former Whirlpool property. The new facility features amenities such as 25,000 square feet of fitness space, a large training zone, fitness studios, basketball courts and an indoor climbing wall. The new William Magee Center for Wellness Education will also be located at the new facility and opens Sept. 6. The facility was created by UM graduate William Magee's parents, David and Kent Magee, after their son died of an accidental overdose, and will educate students on alcohol and drug abuse as well as mental illness, according to an Ole Miss press release. |
| Human trafficking education, training session held at USM | |
 | Data shows that there were 86 human trafficking cases reported in Mississippi in 2018, according to the national human trafficking hotline. Sex trafficking was the highest number on the chart. Wednesday was a day filled with informational sessions on the topic at the University of Southern Mississippi. An education and training session to discuss human trafficking and ways to combat it was held inside the Trent Lott Center on USM's campus. The event was sponsored by the USM University Police Department, the Hattiesburg Police Department, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Attorney's Office. We caught up with U.S. Attorney for the southern district of Mississippi, Mike Hurst, who said human trafficking continues to grow in the Magnolia State. "In 2017, it's reported that we had 46 cases of human trafficking in the state of Mississippi," Hurst said. "And one year later in 2018, that had more than doubled to 86 cases. So it's becoming an even more growing problem." |
| Arkansas lottery dreams up Hogs-themed ticket | |
| Efforts to offer a Razorbacks-themed lottery ticket date back to the earliest days of the state-run operation, the director of the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery said Wednesday. "We've been working for 10 years to get a Razorback ticket, and we finally got it," Bishop Woosley, the lottery's director, said outside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium at a kickoff event for the new $5 scratch-off tickets. The tie-in involves the lottery paying a $141,000 licensing fee, according to state documents, though the deal involves the Razorbacks' multimedia-rights holder Learfield IMG College rather than the university directly, said Hunter Yurachek, athletic director for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. The lottery, which began operation in 2009, raised $98.4 million for college scholarships in the 12-month period that ended June 30. By law, sales of the Razorback-themed tickets will support students regardless of which school they choose to attend, Woosley said, with no extra scholarship dollars for UA students. |
| U. of Tennessee-Knoxville freshman class on track to be largest | |
 | Enrollment at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville is on track to set another record, with freshman enrollment expected to pass 5,250 this school year. Last year was the largest freshman class in the university's history, with 5,215 students. Final enrollment numbers will not be released until the second week of school, but estimates show this freshman class will be even larger. Undergraduate enrollment is expected to be over 23,000 and graduate and professional enrollment is expected to be over 6,000, for a total of 29,000 students, according to a release from the university. "I have met many of these impressive students as they've arrived this week and I am excited to see the great things they will achieve while they are here," said Provost David Manderscheid. "This year's record enrollment numbers demonstrate our commitment at UT to serving the state and educating as many students as we can." In another record for the school, 84% of full-time transfer students are returning for a second year at UT. The university estimates there will be over 1,380 transfer students enrolled this year. |
| U. of South Carolina welcomes one of the largest and most diverse freshman classes in recent memory | |
 | The University of South Carolina's incoming freshman class is one of the largest and most diverse in the school's recent history, the school announced this week. The new crop of 6,250 freshmen -- 8,700 total new students including transfers -- is 7 percent larger than last year's freshman class size, according to a press release from USC. It's also more local and more diverse, according to the release. The number of in-state Gamecock students is 11 percent more than last year. The percent of underrepresented minorities in the freshman class has increased from 18.5 percent to 19.7 percent, spokesman Jeff Stensland said. Boosting enrollment from underrepresented minorities and South Carolinians is likely to take some pressure of USC, which has faced scrutiny from top lawmakers who have criticized the school's reliance on out-of-state students to balance its budget. |
| Louisiana looks to prioritize lower income, minority students for future higher education funding | |
 | The state is changing the way money is distributed to Louisiana's colleges and universities by putting more emphasis on the progress made by lower income, minority and adult students and less priority on research. The funding formula supports a new Master Plan, Board of Regents approved Wednesday without dissent, that will act as a policy road map deciding who gets to go college, what they will have to achieve while there and how higher education will operate in coming years. The 38 public colleges, technical schools and universities in four systems educated about 211,745 students in 2018. Regents approved in June a phased-in approach to align funding formula outcomes to support the state's attainment goals for college students in coming years and reviewed the calculations Wednesday morning prior to taking up the Master Plan. |
| Texas A&M's first academic building on RELLIS campus officially opens | |
 | The Texas A&M University System's first academic building on the RELLIS campus in Bryan formally opened for use Wednesday morning. The new facility, known as RELLIS Academic Alliance Complex, will serve upperclassmen with the nine Texas A&M System regional universities who operate at the RELLIS campus and span 17 disciplines of study. The three-story, 68,000-square-foot building, located at 1425 Bryan Road, sits diagonally across from the Blinn College District's Walter C. Schwartz Building. Seventeen bachelor's degree paths are offered inside this building, with courses ranging from scientific disciplines to liberal arts studies. The TAMU System Board of Regents recently approved the construction of the academic complex's second phase on an additional $25 million building. |
| U. of Missouri seeks new appeal in grad workers case | |
 | The University of Missouri will try a direct appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court to block a court ruling that graduate assistants are employees who are entitled to join a union and force the university into collective bargaining. The Western District Court of Appeals on Tuesday refused the university's request for a rehearing on its July 30 decision that recognized the graduate assistants as employees. The court also refused to transfer the case to the Supreme Court, so the university will have its lawyers make a direct appeal of the unanimous appeals court decision, spokesman Christian Basi said Wednesday. "We want to take this step of appealing that portion of the decision to the Missouri Supreme Court," Basi said. "Once that been completed, then we will be making decisions based on what Supreme Court says." The coalition has no plans for further appeals because it won on the core issue of whether graduate assistants are employees, said Sally Barker, attorney for the coalition. Barker also said she doubts the high court will take the case, in part because the appeals court panel was unanimous and the case doesn't create new legal issues. |
| Peer coaches at universities increase low-income student retention | |
 | Colleges and universities are seeing increases in year-to-year retention of low-income students after investing in a new program that pairs these students with alumni who mentor and support them throughout their college career. Nine colleges and universities -- four private and five public institutions -- are taking part in the Catalyze program, created by College Possible, a nonprofit AmeriCorps organization focused on helping low-income students get admitted to, and graduate from, college through an intensive curriculum of coaching and support. The program, which launched in 2016, hasn't been around long enough to measure four-year retention rates, but some partner institutions, such as Saint Cloud State University and Augsburg University in Minnesota, have seen positive yearly results and experienced a 12 percent average increase in retention rates of participating students from fall 2017 to fall 2018 compared to other low-income students not participating in the program, according to program administrators. |
| Colleges Face Investigations Over Whether Their Use of Social Media Follows Accessibility Regulations | |
| Nearly 200 colleges face federal civil rights investigations opened in 2019 about whether they are accessible and communicate effectively to people with disabilities. Among the newer aspects of these kinds of complaints is whether college social media communication meets accessibility standards. While some institutions have tried to punt responsibility for the accessibility of digital tools to the companies that produce them, that reasoning hasn't persuaded federal agencies or judges. It's analogous to how colleges must ensure there are ramps and elevators even in rented classroom space, says Cyndi Rowland, executive director of WebAIM, a project at the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University. "The courts said, 'you made the decision to go there,' and that's exactly what the courts are saying now: 'This social media thing isn't accessible, but you made the decision to use it, and that's your responsibility,''' Rowland says. "Courts are saying you need to procure digital goods and services that are accessible for everybody." |
| Professors offer advice on teaching students how to email them | |
| Somewhere between birth and college, students hopefully have learned how to compose concise, grammatically correct and contextually appropriate emails. Often they haven't. So, to head off 3 a.m. need-your-help-now emails from Jake No Last Name, many professors explicitly teach students how to email them at the start of the academic year. Approaches vary. Paul T. Corrigan and Cameron Hunt McNabb, the associate professors at Southeastern who wrote the ever-popular Inside Higher Ed piece on emailing professors, said this week that their essay has been printed in teaching materials and translated into Spanish. Four years on, they said, the problem is still more about style than substance. Faculty members should still be teaching students how to write emails, they said, even if it seems "too elementary." And if "we teach the true lessons of writing emails -- which are not simply how to use a subject heading but about how to communicate with other human beings -- then we are actually teaching very advanced skills." |
| Colleges Urged to Make More Data-Driven Decisions | |
| Three national higher education associations have called on their members to commit to using data and analytics to inform strategic decisions. The Association for Institutional Research, Educause and the National Association of College and University Business Officers published a joint statement this week titled "Analytics Can Save Higher Education. Really." "We strongly believe that using data to better understand our students and our own operations paves the way to developing new, innovative approaches for improved student recruiting, better student outcomes, greater institutional efficiency and cost containment, and much more," the statement said. "With the change-making capacity of analytics, we should be coming aggressively forward to harness the power of these new tools for the success of our institutions and our students. However, so far higher education has failed to follow talk with decisive action." |
| Prosecutor: Student with guns in dorm studied mass shootings | |
| A North Carolina university student arrested with guns and ammunition in his dorm room had studied mass shootings and was making plans to kill his roommate and himself if he didn't get into a fraternity, a prosecutor said Wednesday. Paul A. Steber, a 19-year-old freshman from Boston attending High Point University, was arrested Tuesday and charged with two felony counts of having a gun on campus and a charge of making threats of mass violence, the High Point Police Department said in a statement. No one was hurt and there was no immediate threat to others on campus, the university said in a separate statement. Another student turned Steber in, the statement said. Steber had been watching videos to learn how to carry out a mass shooting, Assistant District Attorney Lori Wickline said in court. |
SPORTS
| Tommy Stevens' gamble to start pays off | |
| Tommy Stevens took a chance transferring to Mississippi State to try and become the Bulldogs' starting quarterback. Stevens could have easily stayed at Penn State -- where he exited the spring as the expected starter for 2019 -- but decided to bet on himself as a graduate transfer with only one year of eligibility remaining. His gamble paid off as he earned the job a week ago. "It is a good feeling," Stevens said. "Obviously it is what I wanted coming here. I don't want to say relieving because there is obviously competition in every aspect of life and this isn't the end of the road either. I have to continue to progress but I am very happy that this is where we are at." Stevens arrived a MSU in June and underwent a highly publicized battle with junior Keytaon Thompson. Weeks of competition and three scrimmages later, Stevens had won the starting job outright. |
| Fabien Lovett, Jaden Crumedy forming dynamic duo in trenches for Mississippi State | |
| Mississippi State redshirt freshman defensive tackle Fabien Lovett characterized he and classmate Jaden Crumedy as "unstoppable." Almost two years on from the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game in which Lovett and Crumedy lined up alongside each other on the defensive line, the duo is slated to do so again as early as Saturday's season opener against Louisiana in New Orleans. "We had to take it more seriously," Lovett said of this offseason. "Because we're up next and we know we need to get the job done." Entering their second season in Starkville, Lovett and Crumedy comprise two key pieces of a defensive line that is majorly retooling. Faced with the losses of Jeffery Simmons and Braxton Hoyett, the redshirt freshman pair is likely to be tasked with filling their shoes. "We have a lot to prove," Lovett said of the defensive line. "We're going to come out and show what we have to prove." |
| Mississippi State receivers a mix of old and new | |
| Mississippi State struggled to get its passing game going consistently last season. The bright side for the Bulldogs is that they bring back a bulk of their receiving corps again this fall including their top three targets in Osirus Mitchell, Stephen Guidry and Deddrick Thomas. Mitchell, a 6-foot-5 junior, led the team with 26 catches for 427 yards and four touchdowns while Guidry -- a 6-foot-4 senior -- grabbed 19 passes for 440 yards and three scores. Thomas also made 19 receptions for 256 yards and a pair of TDs out of the slot. All three are expected to start in Saturday's season opener against Louisiana. However, MSU added some help through recruiting and the transfer portal during the offseason. "I think it is a combination of returning productivity and guys who are new that have a lot of talent," said MSU coach Joe Moorhead. |
| How a love for Mississippi State turned walk-on punter into a captain | |
| Rays of sunlight redirected off metal bleachers straight into their eyes. There was no relief in sight. The 2017 Mississippi State Bulldogs were in the middle of their first summer workout of the offseason. The players ran from the bottom of a set of seats at Davis Wade Stadium to the top. Over and over again. They held a long, 60-pound rope over their heads as they climbed and descended. They followed each other like the body of a snake. Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, then a junior, ran in front of punter Tucker Day, who was a true freshman at the time. "He was really pushing it because he can run really, really well," Day said. The guy behind Day, not so much. Day turned around and thought, "Who the heck is this guy?" "What's up, bro? Kody Schexnayder, I'm from New Orleans," Schexnayder said in his distinct accent. |
| Ragin' Cajuns football quarterback Levi Lewis 'a student of the game' | |
| He has the smarts. He has the commitment. He has the backing of teammates. But the big knock on UL quarterback Levi Lewis, who is slated to start for the Ragin' Cajuns when they open their 2019 season against Mississippi State on Saturday morning at the Superdome in New Orleans, is his height. A product of Scotlandville Magnet High in Baton Rouge, the junior is listed at 5-foot-10. By today's NCAA FBS standards, even at a time when prototypical drop-back passers are not the norm in college ball, that's a tad short. Then there's the quirk. Lewis is lefthanded. So when second-season UL head coach Billy Napier first began working with Lewis hands-on in 2017, Napier had to flip his own mind. A former quarterback himself at Furman, and an ex-offensive coordinator at Clemson and later Arizona State, Napier -- who calls plays for the Cajuns -- is right-handed. |
| Joe Moorhead to speak at Starkville Quarterback Club | |
| The Starkville Quarterback Club is entering its 54th year and will hold its first meeting of the 2019-20 football season Thursday at the Starkville Country Club. Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead will be the guest speaker. Social Hour begins at 6:00 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m., with the program beginning at 7 p.m. The menu for the evening meal consists of fried/baked Chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad bar and dessert. Membership fees are $200 for the season. Visitors and non-members are welcome to attend at a cost of $25 per person per meeting. A membership to the Starkville Quarterback Club is not required to attend Starkville Quarterback Club Meetings. |
| Former Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott brought Jerry Jones to tears | |
| Jerry Jones stopped himself, his voice hoarse and eyes filled with tears. "Goodness," the Cowboys owner told USA TODAY Sports from the hallway of a downtown Dallas hotel on Sunday night, "I'm getting emotional." Jones and wife Gene were on their way out from Dak Prescott's first gala for his Faith Fight Finish Foundation. Prescott, the former Mississippi State quarterback, has worked since creating the foundation to partner with organizations that fund cancer research, raise awareness for screenings and offer financial assistance to patients and their families. The foundation has also partnered to support fitness and wellness programs for students at inner-city schools, and support artists with severe disabilities. The Joneses were reflecting on the commitment Prescott has made to honor his late mother's legacy in three years as Dallas' starting quarterback and nearly six years since Peggy Prescott died of colon cancer. |
| WKU coach Rick Stansbury tells youth to work hard, make right decisions | |
| Rick Stansbury's message to the Owensboro youth was simple Wednesday night: making the right decisions and working hard can lead to great success later in life. Stansbury, the men's basketball head coach at Western Kentucky University, was the keynote speaker at the 37th Annual Steak and Burger Dinner hosted by the Cliff Hagan Boys and Girls Club. His coaching career dates back to 1981, with the most notable stint coming from 1998-2012 at Mississippi State University. There, he was the SEC Coach of the Year in 2004 after the Bulldogs won the conference in the regular season. He also led the team to two SEC tournament championships and five SEC Western Division titles. After spending time talking about his excitement for the upcoming season, Stansbury sent a message specifically for the children scattered among the crowd. "Nowadays, it's not easy doing the right thing," he said. "As a matter of fact, it's a lot easier to do the wrong thing." |
| The power and glory of football: Liberty University opens door to a coaching powerhouse after scandal at Ole Miss | |
 | On occasion Liberty University will invite members of out-of-state churches to speak at its convocation, and in January 2018, a man from Mississippi stood and stepped forward. "I'm humbled," he said early in remarks to a packed arena that held more than 8,000 students, staffers and administrators, "and certainly unworthy." The new semester's first convocation, a twice-a-week mandatory gathering at the Vines Center, had a theme: perseverance, though it might as well have been about pride. Hugh Freeze had, maybe without realizing it, just let it envelop and overtake him. Freeze was as damaged as he was accomplished, perfect for a place expanding as rapidly as Liberty, where resources outpace need. The Flames didn't need a football coach at the time, but the controversial university president increasingly saw opportunity in flawed but dynamic personalities -- especially when they helped advance his expansive vision for the school. |
| New food on the menu at Texas A&M's Kyle Field this season | |
| Blake's Steaks cheesesteaks, Schlotzsky's original sandwiches and Dat Dog's gourmet hot dogs are a few of the new food options available in Kyle Field this season. Attendees can also purchase options from Freebirds World Burrito and Papa John's Pizza, and fans in premium seating areas can choose from a specialty menu by Rudy's Bar-B-Q and an exclusive chuck and short rib blend from Aggie Grind Burger, according to the 12thman.com. Aggie Hospitality -- the university branch of Texas A&M Athletics' concession partner, Levy Restaurants -- will run 90 percent of the concessions dining locations with volunteers from student and nonprofit groups. Last year, volunteers earned $250,000 for their organizations. Alcoholic beverages also will be available for the first time after the Southeastern Conference renewed its policies in May. More than 250 new bar team members have been added to Aggie Hospitality staff to help manage alcohol sales at the games, according to Texas A&M Today. |
| LSU AD Scott Woodward praises -- then takes a jab at -- Nick Saban in Rotary Club speech | |
| New LSU athletic director Scott Woodward certainly knows how to play to his audience. Speaking Wednesday to a packed lunch-time audience at the weekly meeting of the Baton Rouge Rotary Club at Drusilla Place, Woodward was decked out in a sharp-looking purple and gold pinstriped seersucker suit. Then he proceeded to deliver a compliment and a sharp jab to former LSU and current Alabama football coach Nick Saban. "In the athletic world I always remind people that there have probably been three giants in the NCAA in this last half-century: Skip Bertman, Nick Saban and Mike Kryzyzewski," Woodward said. "Two of those guys (Bertman and Saban) were on our campus in the early 2000s, and that's because of LSU." Woodward then went on to say that the "guy in Alabama," Saban, "has regrets about not being here. And shame on him." Then pointing at Bertman, sitting at a table in front of the podium, Woodward added, "The one with the higher IQ is here today." |
| Golden eagle 'Aurea' ready to soar above Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium this season | |
 | A new golden eagle will join Auburn's famed eagle roster this season to soar over Jordan-Hare Stadium before the Tigers hit the field. Golden eagle "Aurea," which actually made her stadium flight debut last season prior to the Liberty game, will join gameday veteran Spirit, a bald eagle, as one of two eagles that will carry on the traditional pregame flights. Fellow golden eagle Nova is Auburn's official eagle as War Eagle VII but he has been sidelined since 2016 with a heart condition and does not fly before games. "Nova still makes numerous appearances at our educational shows throughout the year, but we don't take him to games, even on the sidelines, because of the possible stress on his heart," said Andrew Hopkins, assistant director of raptor training and education at the Southeastern Raptor Center in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Aurea was brought to the raptor center in 2016 after being found near Selma, Alabama, with an injury to her right wing. "Her flight stamina isn't quite good enough for her to be released into the wild, but it doesn't affect her flying in the stadium because she's not chasing a live animal," Hopkins said. |
| A Twist for the SEC as College Football Begins: No New Head Coaches | |
 | The first time Ed Orgeron, Louisiana State's football coach, led a Southeastern Conference program, Steve Spurrier had a warning when all of the region's gridiron gods kept their jobs from one season to the next. "Folks, look around," Orgeron remembered Spurrier, then at South Carolina, saying at a 2006 meeting of the league's coaches. "It ain't going to be like this next year." A similar grounded-in-history, watch-your-back admonition is in order this year as college football teams begin a new season. For the first time since 2006, every SEC football team has returned its head coach -- perhaps as close as the notoriously demanding, overbearing and fickle conference can come to signaling some form of patience or contentedness. Yet no one seems quite certain how 14 of the South's most scrutinized men together achieved a measure of group job security, tenuous as it might be, found in no other Power Five conference this past off-season. |
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