| Tuesday, September 3, 2019 |
| Famous Maroon Band keeps getting bigger, better at Mississippi State | |
 | Individually, they represent a variety of backgrounds, academic majors and career aspirations. Together, 420 students in Mississippi State's 117-year-old Famous Maroon Band make up the largest college band in university history. "It is an exciting time to be a part of the university and the band program," said MSU Director of Bands Elva Kaye Lance. "Our students represent every college and school on campus and really are a microcosm of the university student enrollment. We are excited to again serve this year as the 'soundtrack' for so many significant university events." With an overall average GPA of 3.3 and ACT score of 27.3, this year's Famous Maroon Band membership consists of 16 high school valedictorians and 10 salutatorians. Students hail from 19 U.S. states, as well as Colombia, South America. An MSU alumna, Lance said she and associate directors Craig Aarhus and Clifton Taylor have been pleased with new and current band students' professionalism and willingness to learn in preparation for a busy year. |
| Wiley and the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association Announce New Partnership | |
 | Beginning in January 2020, Wiley will assume publishing responsibility for the two prestigious journals of the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA): the American Journal of Agricultural Economics and Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy. The new partnership will provide the AAEA with expanded innovative tools and services to improve the author experience throughout the publishing process. The Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) is a leading professional organization with a mission to enhance the skills, knowledge, and professional contributions of economists who help society solve agricultural, development, environmental, food and consumer, natural resource, regional, rural, and associated applied economics and business problems. It will also help to drive the accessibility, discoverability and impact of the two journals through new digital and platform capabilities. AAEA President, Keith Coble at Mississippi State University states "AAEA is excited about the quality research produced by our members and look forward to partnering with Wiley. This is a great opportunity for our association." |
| T-Pain to headline Mississippi State's Bulldog Bash in downtown Starkville | |
| Grammy Award-winning rapper T-Pain will headline the Mississippi State Student Association's 20th annual Bulldog Bash. Set to take place on Sept. 20, the state's largest, free outdoor concert will be held at the intersection of Jackson and Main streets in downtown Starkville. Following the day of the show will be MSU's Southeastern Conference home football game against the University of Kentucky. Bulldog Bash will begin at 3 p.m. in the afternoon with Maroon Market, which includes local musicians on The Social local stage, art and food vendors, and the Riddle and Bloom kid zone. The winner of Battle of the Bands, hosted by MSU's Music Maker Productions, will begin the night with a performance on the Clark Beverage main stage, followed by country artist Cale Dodds, Canadian all-female alternative rock band, The Beaches, and headliner T-Pain. Proceeds from Bulldog Bash 2019 will benefit MSU's Student Relief Fund. The MSU Student Relief Fund operates out of the MSU Dean of Students Office and ensures that students affected by day-to-day crises or catastrophic disaster can get the help they need financially. |
| Longtime autism advocate Temple Grandin stresses practical skills at annual conference | |
| Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison and other renowned innovative minds were probably on the autism spectrum and would be in special education programs in today's school system, autism advocate Temple Grandin said Thursday in a speech before a packed ballroom at The Mill Conference Center in Starkville. Thomas Edison learned how to work at a young age, Grandin said, and children with autism can lay the groundwork for success in life by learning to "do a task, outside the home, on a schedule, where someone else is the boss" by the age of 11 or 12. Grandin, 72, is one of the first people on the autism spectrum to share her personal experiences of autism with the public. She was the keynote speaker at Mississippi's fifth annual Creating Your Own Path: Successful Transitions For Persons with Autism. A "transition" in the autism community usually means from childhood to adulthood, but the conference seeks to address all transitions across an entire lifespan, said Pam Dollar, executive director of the Mississippi Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities. |
| As PSC's Brandon Presley presses for action, 4-County explores offering broadband at its pace | |
| Northern Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley says the only way for rural Mississippians to access high speed internet is if electric cooperatives in the state provide it to them. He's traveling from community to community encouraging citizens to lobby their co-ops to look into providing internet service in addition to electric power. "(Member-owned electric cooperative) is the only model that will ever in your lifetime serve our rural citizens with the same quality of service as bigger cities have," Presley told a group of about 15 citizens at a public meeting at Mississippi University for Women Thursday night. "It will not happen any other way." Earlier this year the Legislature passed a law giving electric cooperatives the option to provide their members broadband, a law which Presley championed. So far, three cooperatives have announced plans to provide broadband, with more in various stages of looking into it, including most recently Monroe County Electric Cooperative. But Presley said he feels many cooperatives in the state -- including 4-County Electric Power Association, which serves parts of Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Clay and six other counties -- are moving too slowly when it comes to exploring that new option. |
| Will governor candidates debate? 'Anytime and anywhere,' Hood says. 'Bring it on,' Reeves' campaign says | |
| Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood, expected to be engaged in a contentious governor's race in the coming months, agree on at least one item -- debates. "I am ready anytime and anywhere," said Hood when asked about the likelihood of debates before the Nov. 5 general election. "Bring it on," said Parker Briden, a spokesperson for Reeves. "Tate is looking forward to debating Jim Hood on his liberal policy ideas. He's gone out on several limbs to shill for liberal positions on taxes, government health care, and more. Voters will get a chance to hear about them many times over the next two months." Before Reeves won last Tuesday's primary runoff against former Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr., Hood said he hopes to have at least three debates with the Republican nominee. He said he believes there should be debates not only in the Jackson area, but also in the northern and southern regions of the state. |
| Grand Jury indicts Brandon Theesfeld on capital murder charge | |
| Former Ole Miss student Brandon Theesfeld was indicted on a capital murder charge by a Grand Jury on Friday. Theesfeld is charged in the murder of Ally Kostial, a former classmate of his whose body was found in the Buford Ridge area of Harmontown on July 20 by Lafayette County deputies. It was confirmed through the preliminary autopsy report that Kostial died from multiple gunshot wounds. "(Theesfeld) did unlawfully, willfully and feloniously and without authority of law and with or without deliberate design to effect death, kill and murder Alexandria Madison Kostial, a human being, by shooting her with a firearm," the signed indictment reads. The indictment continues to state Theesfeld murdered Kostial while "engaged in the commission of the felony crime of Kidnapping." Tony Farese, serving as co-counsel for Theesfeld, stated after the hearing his client intends to enter a plea of not guilty. |
| U. of Alabama researcher: Don't name mass shooters | |
 | When law enforcement authorities gathered to discuss details of a mass shooting in West Texas that left seven people dead, there was one bit of information they refused to provide on live television: the name of the gunman. Instead, they decided to release the name through a Facebook post. Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke made it plain why he wouldn't mention the name at the news conference: "I'm not going to give him any notoriety for what he did." n this era of a saturation of social media and around-the-clock news, it's next to impossible to keep a lid on such information. "Ultimately, the police department can only directly control what they do, and that name, that information can be reposted and retweeted and republished hundreds of thousands of time," said Adam Lankford, a criminologist at the University of Alabama who has studied the influence of media coverage on future shooters. He and others appeal to the media to limit the volume of information about these perpetrators, saying it does little to understand the reasons for the violence or stop it in the future. |
| U. of Alabama opera has big plans for new season | |
 | Though barely begun, Year 13 is already a big one for Paul Houghtaling, director of opera at the University of Alabama. Friday the professor and coordinator of voice for the UA School of Music found he had been named recipient of the Frederick Moody Blackmon-Sarah McCorkle Moody Outstanding Professor Award, one of the most prestigious given at the Capstone. He's been nominated before, but heard the news just as he's starting his 13th season at UA, having joined the faculty in 2007. It's hardly his first honor here: In 2015 alone, he was chosen for the Morris Lehman Mayer Award, the Druid Arts Award for Music Educator of the Year, and Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award, the latter given by UA's National Alumni Association. With the stellar aide of fund- and support-raising UA Opera Guild, Houghtaling's built the program to the point it has its own home, Bryant-Jordan Hall, and a new season featuring a pair of world premieres, one by UA alum Joseph Landers, and the other by renowned composer Michael Ching. |
| First black student at Auburn University reflects on Gov. Kay Ivey | |
| On Jan. 4, 1964, Harold Franklin walked onto the Auburn University campus as the first black student in school history. Future Gov. Kay Ivey was a freshman, having graduated from Wilcox County High School in 1963. She'd graduate from Auburn in 1967, a year when she also performed in blackface in a skit with her sorority. Franklin said he and Ivey have never met. Harold Alonza Franklin Sr., now 86, said in an interview Friday that he arrived as a graduate student at Auburn in 1964 after suing the university. Federal Judge Frank Johnson ruled in 1963 that Auburn had to allow him to enroll. Franklin said he has paid little attention to Ivey's apology issued this week for her blackface routine in 1967, two years after he left campus in 1965. "I really didn't keep up with it too much," Franklin said. "That is past. For her to admit it is a starting point. And she changes, I hope." Franklin said he never experienced any racist confrontations on campus as an Auburn student. "Mostly they just ignored me," Franklin said. "It wasn't visible." |
| Hurricane Dorian: What about U. of Florida's dairy cows and Santa Fe's emus? | |
 | Keeping animals of all sizes safe as a hurricane draws near is a challenge Santa Fe College and the University of Florida are ready to meet. Officials with the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo and UF's Department of Animal Sciences say they are well prepared to ensure the safety of more than 500 animals in their possession. Hurricane Dorian threatened to make landfall in Florida and still could bring heavy rains and strong winds to Gainesville. As of Saturday afternoon, Dorian was a Category 4 hurricane about 400 miles east of Florida. The National Hurricane Center's forecast track indicated it may turn north before hitting the Florida coast. At UF, 300 dairy cows that live in milking barns will be moved to paddock areas if the hurricane threatens the region. Audy Spell, the operations manager in UF's Department of Animal Sciences, said the animals will feel less stressed by going outside rather than remaining in barns with high wind speeds blowing against the building. Beef cows and horses will remain in their pastures. |
| As Hurricane Dorian bears down, researchers get ready | |
| For the fourth consecutive year, scientists in Florida are preparing for a major hurricane, laying down sandbags and boarding up windows at research facilities along the state's Atlantic coast. The Bahamas are also bracing for what the U.S. National Weather Service says could be "life-threatening storm surge and devastating hurricane force winds," and at least one researcher expects damage to a long-term field experiment being conducted there. Facilities in North and South Carolina could face hurricane-related trouble. "#Hurricane prep is in effect" at the University of Florida's Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience in St. Augustine, staff tweeted, sharing pictures of workers sealing windows with plywood and equipment that had been lifted off floors to avoid flooding. "#boarditup #raisethoseincubators #emptythosebottomshelves #Dorian." |
| U. of Arkansas police investigate student's rape report | |
| A 19-year-old University of Arkansas, Fayetteville student told police she was raped early Monday by an unknown man who entered her campus dorm room, UA police Capt. Gary Crain said. The student reported the rape at 1:37 a.m., Crain said. The rape is reported to have taken place at Holcombe Hall shortly before that time, Crain said. The lights were off in the room, and the student did not get a good look at the person who assaulted her, according to an email sent at 6:38 a.m. to alert students and the campus community. The email states the student described the suspect as a white male about 6 foot tall. Police are conducting interviews and will be reviewing any video that might be available, Crain said. Police are encouraging students to take safety precautions. "When you're in your room, make sure your door is locked. That's not directly related to this case, just a general safety measure," Crain said. |
| Chapel Bell to return this week to UGA | |
 | The University of Georgia Chapel Bell is a notable landmark that sits on North Campus just off the edge of downtown Athens. The popular bell is currently closed for renovations. On a sign that hangs over the UGA Chapel Bell, it says the bell should be open again on Saturday, just in time for the Bulldogs home opener in football. Traditionally, the bell is rung whenever something good happens for a UGA student, whether that be an A on their chemistry exam, or when the Georgia Bulldogs win a game. The chiming of the bell can be heard all across campus. However, recently it has been silent. "The University of Georgia Chapel Bell was removed on Monday, May 20, for extensive repairs and maintenance," said UGA spokesman Greg Trevor. "The Bell was last repaired in 2008. Chime Master of Lancaster, Ohio, came to campus to remove, crate and ship the Bell to its facility, where the work is being completed. Chime Master is scheduled to return the Bell to campus for reinstallation by early September." |
| Texas A&M cancer research teams receive more than $6 million in grants | Local News | theeagle.com | |
 | Five Texas A&M University research teams recently received grants totaling more than $6 million from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. The largest of the grants was for $4.69 million, followed by an award of $721,306 and three additional grants worth $200,000 each. A&M recipients include faculty-researchers in the College of Medicine, College of Science, AgriLife Research and the Texas A&M Health Science Center. In total, the CPRIT awarded 71 grants worth $136 million to researchers across the state. Jean-Philippe Pellois, associate head of A&M's biochemistry and biophysics department, received $200,000 for his studies of how cells communicate with each other. When cells shed part of their membrane, they share material that other cells typically respond to in a negative way. Understanding this process can help researchers determine how aggressive a person's cancer is by performing a blood test, since these cell particles float in the bloodstream. |
| U. of Missouri to invest $6.5 million in ag research centers | |
 | With Missouri farmers facing challenges from trade wars to devastating floods, University of Missouri officials on Friday announced help in the form of a $6.5 million investment in the statewide network of agriculture research centers. The investment was announced at the Fisher Delta Research Center Field Day Breakfast in Portageville. Economists estimate the $6.5 million investment will result in more than $11 million economic impact for the state. The investment is in the Missouri Agriculture Experiment Stations operated by MU's College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. The stations conduct research involving plants, animals and natural resources with ideas developed in labs and transfers them to fields. The Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program, developed primarily through experiment station research, annually enrolls around 8,500 heifers and generate an estimated $17 million in annual impact. The investment is from the University of Missouri System, MU, the agriculture college and MU Extension. "We're trying to put resources in place to allow farmers and ranchers to be competitive nationally and internationally," Chancellor Alexander Cartwright said. |
| 'Serious' games: U. of Missouri opens lab to promote online learning | |
 | Video gaming is getting serious at the University of Missouri. Adroit Studios Gaming Lab, a game research and development facility at the School of Information Science and Learning Technologies, launched last month. Doctoral candidates Joe Griffin and Justin Sigoloff are co-directors of Adroit Studios. They want to merge video games with instructional learning to create what they call "serious games." In gamer-speak, that's an actual genre: It refers to games used for education. Bringing video games into classrooms has been growing in popularity. For example, with the help of a $20,000 fellowship from MU's Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, iCivics created NewsFeed Defenders, a game that teaches young students media literacy. iCivics, founded in 2008 by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, is a Massachussetts-based nonprofit known for its online games that promote civics education and encourage students to become involved citizens. |
| Admissions association says it must pull measures from ethics code to avoid fed action | |
 | Colleges may soon face more competition for students if the National Association for College Admission Counseling agrees -- under pressure from the federal government -- to withdraw several rules from its code of conduct. The association informed members of the proposed changes late last week. The changes are being proposed because the Justice Department, which has investigated NACAC for possible violations of antitrust laws, objects to them. While NACAC is not saying that it believes the provisions were wrong, it is saying that failure to approve the changes at the association's annual meeting this month in Louisville, Ky., could harm the association. The government appears to be asserting that the targeted rules -- which prohibit colleges from offering money and other incentives to students at various points in the admissions process, and discourage colleges' attempts to woo students who have committed to attend other institutions -- hurt students by limiting their choices. |
| Universities Face Federal Crackdown Over Foreign Financial Influence | |
 | The Education Department has begun cracking down on universities that fail to disclose donations and contracts from foreign governments, hoping to give far more scrutiny to funding that has washed into the United States' higher education institutions from countries often at odds with American policies but eager to tap the country's brightest minds. The department announced this summer that it was investigating whether Georgetown, Texas A&M, Cornell and Rutgers universities were fully complying with a federal law that requires colleges to report all gifts and contracts from foreign sources that exceed $250,000. In letters sent to the universities in July, department officials wrote that they were seeking records dating as far back as nine years, outlining agreements, communication and financial transactions with entities and governments in countries such as China, Qatar, Russia and Saudi Arabia. |
| Ed Secretary Betsy DeVos imposes tougher debt relief standards for student borrowers alleging fraud | |
| In her first significant act as Education Secretary more than two years ago, Betsy DeVos said she planned to overhaul an Obama administration student loan rule designed to protect borrowers defrauded by their college. Despite her efforts, the Obama borrower-defense regulations took effect last year. But on Friday DeVos capped off a two-year effort by issuing her own rule, which scales back loan forgiveness opportunities for student borrowers. The new regulations significantly raise the bar for student borrowers seeking debt forgiveness based on claims they were defrauded by their colleges. They add a new three-year time limit for those borrowers to file claims, and each case will be considered individually, even if there is evidence of widespread misconduct at an institution. |
| 5 issues college leaders will confront this year | |
| Enrollment, finances, immigration, free speech. Many of the issues expected at the top of college presidents' work lists are carryovers from last year, with a few new wrinkles. Higher ed watched this summer as one public system reacted to drastic cuts in state funding. And college leaders raised yet more flags that the current political climate is threatening the supply of international students. Meanwhile, issues around Title IX are likely to heat up again with the expected release of new regulations this fall. "It's in many ways more of the same as well as a bunch of new complications," said Terry Hartle, senior vice president of government and public affairs at the American Council on Education. Flagging enrollment has long been a concern for college leaders, but projections of a decrease in high school graduates in the next decade has created a sense of urgency around finding new student pipelines. |
| Tate Reeves strong in rural counties; reaches out to Bill Waller voters | |
 | Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: Interesting tidbits from the Republican primary runoff won by Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves by a 54% to 46% margin over former Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller: In 2015, the runoff vote total was 54% of the first primary total. This year that percentage jumped to 87%. The GOP runoff total of nearly 325,000 votes even topped the nearly 290,000 Democratic vote total in the first primary. Remember, the Republican first primary vote total of nearly 375,000 had topped Democratic primary turnout for the first time. Tate Reeves retained nearly 97% of his 183,000 first primary vote in the runoff. Waller increased his 125,000 vote total by 120% (based on unofficial returns). Waller once again beat Reeves in his home county, Rankin. As expected, the real margin in the race came from rural counties. |
| Tate Reeves hoping to garner endorsement from Bill Waller like he did in past hard-fought campaign | |
| Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: In 2011 then-state Treasurer Tate Reeves and then-Senate Pro Tem Billy Hewes competed in a contentious and divisive Republican primary for the open seat of lieutenant governor. Reeves captured the election, though, Hewes won his native Gulf Coast by a convincing margin. After the election, Lt. Gov. Reeves wasted little time going to work building support on the Gulf Coast for his next election. Before long, Hewes, who went on to become mayor of Gulfport, was singing Reeves' praise and endorsed him in his re-election bid in 2015. Hewes endorsed him again for this year's contest for governor. Reeves' work to shore up his Gulf Coast support paid off Tuesday night in his Republican primary runoff victory against former Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. If not for Reeves' overwhelming support on the Gulf Coast, his dream of occupying the Governor's Mansion come January might have died. At the very least, Reeves' Gulf Coast support took a lot of suspense out of Tuesday's runoff election. |
SPORTS
| Kylin Hill, Tommy Stevens carry Mississippi State to win over Louisiana | |
 | Mississippi State sent a message from the opening down. No, it wasn't as loud of a memo as the one the Bulldogs bellowed on the opening offensive play of the 2018 season. That one was a 53-yard touchdown catch for running back Kylin Hill. Saturday's message at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome was more conventional. More of a sign of things to come. It was a 20-yard run by Hill that featured a mix of sheer strength and shiftiness through the middle of the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns defensive line. Hill, a junior, can't catch 50-plus yard touchdowns on every down. But he can take a hand off and turn it into a substantial gain pretty much every time he touches it. That's what he did in Mississippi State's 38-28 season-opening victory over Louisiana. Hill finished with 27 carries for 197 yards. He had 17 rushing attempts at halftime. He only ran the ball that many times in three games a season ago, a year in which he averaged just 10.6 carries per game. |
| 'Junkyard Dogs' claw past Louisiana, 38-28 | |
 | It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win. Mississippi State squeaked by its season-opening opponent Louisiana 38-28 inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Saturday thanks three touchdowns by Tommy Stevens, 197 rushing yards from Kylin Hill and five turnovers on defense. "Ultimately at the end of the day it's not about one phase or one unit, it's about us playing together as a team," said MSU coach Joe Moorhead. "It's going to be old school Mississippi State football. We're going to have to find a way on a weekly basis to fight, scratch and claw like junkyard dogs to win football games. I think we did that today." The Bulldogs rolled up 497 yards on offense and were able to stay balanced for the most part, something MSU struggled to do in Moorhead's first season last year. "We wanted to strike a balance with what we wanted to do offensively with our ability to run the ball and pass the ball successfully," Moorhead said. "I think we took a positive step in that regard. We ran for (261) and passed for (236) and aside from the one turnover, protected it pretty well. I think we were a little more explosive." |
| Cross-training concept works well for Mississippi State's O-line | |
| Since taking over as Mississippi State's offensive line coach last season, Marcus Johnson has been big on the concept of cross-training his linemen to play multiple positions. Ideally, having extra offensive linemen to plug-and-play would allow the Bulldogs to keep a fresh rotation of players on the field. But during Saturday's season opener against Louisiana, MSU had no choice but to shake up the line due to injuries to multiple starters. Left guard Dareuan Parker went down on the first play of the season quarter and center Darryl Williams left the game just before halftime. Neither were able to return, which meant plenty of reps for Tommy Champion and LaQuinston Sharp at guard and walk-on Evans Wilkerson at center. "We talk about a next man in philosophy and guys jumping in and having the same expectation level of the person they replace," MSU head coach Joe Moorhead said on Monday. "I think it was a huge credit to coach Johnson and our O-line that we were able to seamlessly go through that game with a bunch of guys maybe we weren't expecting to play certain positions." |
| Kylin Hill rushes for 197 in Mississippi State's opening win | |
| Kylin Hill rushed for 197 yards and a touchdown in Mississippi State's 38-28 victory over Louisiana inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Saturday. Hill's touchdown was one of five the Bulldogs' offense produced on the day while their defense forced five Ragin' Cajun turnovers. MSU graduate transfer quarterback Tommy Stevens threw for 236 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions while also adding a rushing score. The Bulldogs led 35-14 early in the fourth quarter but a pair of late Louisiana touchdowns made things interesting. But State was able to seal its season-opening victory on a 37-yard field goal by Jordan Lawless with 1:02 left. |
| Moorhead Monday: Keytaon Thompson is back, kicking competition and other news and notes | |
| The Mississippi State weekly depth chart was a late arrival to coach Joe Moorhead's press conference Monday. Not initially included in the MSU game notes ahead of this week's contest against Southern Mississippi, a Bulldogs' media relations staffer passed out single-flier sheets with the two-deep roster minutes before Moorhead took the podium. Nestled in the bottom left corner of the offensive side of the spreadsheet, junior quarterback Keytaon Thompson's name made a startling return to the list as the co-No. 2 signal caller alongside freshman Garrett Shrader. "We talked and decided he had explored his options after entering the portal and decided it was in his best interest as a player and for us as a team for him to return," Moorhead said. The revelation of Thompson's reinstatement is a rather surprising end to a saga that began when he entered the portal roughly 24 hours after Penn State graduate transfer Tommy Stevens was named the starting quarterback Aug. 22. |
| NOTEBOOK: Keytaon Thompson returns to Mississippi State's roster | |
| Keytaon Thompson has rejoined Mississippi State's roster. The junior quarterback entered the transfer portal on Aug. 23, a day after Tommy Stevens was named the Bulldogs' starter, but had continued to meet with MSU coaches Joe Moorhead and Andrew Breiner as he weighed his next move. Moorhead met with Thompson on Sunday for the "fourth or fifth" time in the past week, which ultimately led him to return to the team. "We talked and he had explored his options after entering the portal and decided it was in his best interest as a player and for us as a team for him to return, so K.T. sat in the team meeting (on Sunday) and went through practice," Moorhead said. Thompson had been away from the team since he entered the transfer portal but was listed as the Bulldogs' backup quarterback on the depth chart for this week's home opener against Southern Miss on Saturday, along with freshman Garrett Shrader. |
| Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead: Keytaon Thompson rejoins team | |
| Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead announced Monday that Keytaon Thompson has rejoined the football team. Thompson had entered the NCAA transfer portal last month after losing a quarterback competition to Tommy Stevens. Moorhead named Stevens the starter on Aug. 22, and Thompson entered the transfer portal the next day and stopped participating in team activities. Moorhead said Monday that Thompson had explored his options, and the two met about the situation a handful of times after Thompson left the team. In that time, Moorhead left open the possibility that Thompson could return to the program. After Thompson considered his options, he decided to stay in Starkville, Moorhead said. Thompson gives the Bulldogs experienced depth at quarterback. He has started two games in his collegiate career and thrown eight touchdowns and three interceptions. He has rushed 99 times for 672 yards and 10 scores. The Bulldogs (1-0) play Southern Miss (1-0) on Saturday. |
| USM correcting 1st-game mistakes, prepping for State | |
 | University of Southern Mississippi football coach Jay Hopson said his Golden Eagles had moved beyond Saturday's season-opening victory over Alcorn State University. But before starting in on the full-bore preparation for Saturday's visit to Mississippi State University, Hopson said the Golden Eagles did a bit of scrub job while watching the film of the 38-10 ASU victory. "We moved on (Sunday), but that first game, you look a lot at it," Hopson said. "You make sure you're correcting your week one mistakes, so that later in the year you can get to the next opponent quicker. "I felt better after seeing it on game tape, and I feel like we are getting close. I was a lot happier Sunday morning than Saturday night." Not that Hopson was about to throw a victory fish back in the water Saturday. But USM's offense really didn't start picking up until midway through the third quarter and, at times, the Golden Eagles' defense had trouble getting the Braves' offense off the field. "It's always good to win the first one," Hopson said. |
| Official: Ole Miss to begin selling alcohol at sporting events | |
| Ole Miss will begin selling alcohol at sporting events starting this fall. With the announcement, Ole Miss becomes the seventh school in the SEC to announce they will sell alcohol, following an amendment to prior SEC alcohol bans earlier this summer. Ole Miss joins Arkansas, LSU, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt as schools to sell alcohol this coming year. Mississippi State has not decided. "This is another opportunity to enhance what is already one of the premier game days in college football," interim athletics director Keith Carter said. "I want to thank Chancellor Sparks and the rest of our university administration for their leadership and support during this process. We expect this decision to help reduce incidents associated with overconsumption on game days. The athletics department will work hand-in-hand with other campus officials and within the guidelines of the SEC to ensure a safe and responsible environment for all fans." |
| 'Saturdays in the South' to debut Tuesday on SEC Network | |
 | The SEC Network debuts its eight-part documentary series, "Saturdays in the South: A History of SEC Football," at 8 p.m. Tuesday. The series is part of the ESPN networks' overall celebration of college football's 150th anniversary in 2019. The 12 hours of programming includes interviews with more than 100 SEC football figures, including former LSU coach Les Miles and former LSU and current Alabama coach Nick Saban. The series will continue each Tuesday through Oct. 22. |
| Vanderbilt starts phase two of football stadium plan, looks at 'real options,' new AD Malcolm Turner says | |
 | Vanderbilt is beginning to "create some real options" to replace or renovate its football stadium, new athletics director Malcolm Turner said. On Saturday, the Commodores play No. 3 Georgia in their opener at Vanderbilt Stadium. It's the first home football game for Turner, who was hired Feb. 1. Turner said he expects to have a clear picture of the stadium's fate between later this year and well before next season's opener. However, that plan will be known internally by the athletic department long before it's made public, he added. "(Upgrading athletic facilities) is a daily topic within this office," Turner said. "The whole idea, starting this process, was to create an actionable plan." So where is Vanderbilt in that athletic facilities master plan? Turner said phase one -- "the diligence phase" -- ended a week ago. Perkins and Will, an architecture and design firm, completed an audit of Vanderbilt athletic facilities to gauge what needs upgrades and what is up to date. "(There are) areas that have created some gaps, where frankly we are behind," Turner said. "That's across all our entire footprint. But, yes, football is included." |
| Field dedication means even more to Vince Dooley's family | |
| Vince Dooley has a go-to line whenever the conversation turns to his ever-growing family. "Well, we can field a whole football team," he said, referring to his 11 grandchildren. The Dooley "team" has now grown to include couple of subs. Dooley and his wife, Barbara, became great-grandparents eight months ago when identical twin girls Murphy Elizabeth and Miles Marie were born to grandson Patrick Cook and his wife, Lauren. Add in uncles and aunts, nieces, nephews and cousins and the equally prodigious Meshad clan on Barbara's side of the family, and the Dooleys will have a full Power-5 roster on the field at Sanford Stadium on Saturday for the official dedication ceremony of Dooley Field. The University System of Georgia's Board of Regents unanimously improved a motion brought to them by UGA President Jere Morehead this past spring to name the playing surface at Sanford Stadium after Dooley, who served the Bulldogs either as football coach, athletic director or both for 40 years from 1963-2004. That will become official in a ceremony planned before Saturday's 4 p.m. kickoff between Georgia and Murray State. |
| Jeremy Pruitt offers message to Tennessee football fans after Vols' disappointing loss | |
 | Tennessee's fan base spent the offseason in a state of what could be best described as reserved optimism. After the Vols' 38-30 loss to Georgia State on Saturday -- a loss some have called the worst defeat in program history -- optimism replaced with outcry. "I hope they are disappointed," Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt said of the fans on Monday, "because I know everybody in this building is disappointed. For us, we've got to go back and go to work. We've got to go back and practice the right way, work on creating the right habits. I'll say it again: We're young and inexperienced, and we've got to continue to grow." Pruitt sounded about like he usually does during his weekly state of the union. There was no sense of panic, nor hysterics. He's not that type of coach. He emphasized that Saturday's loss was a product of coaching failures, inexperience on defense and losing the turnover battle 3-1. The Vols (0-1) will play BYU (0-1) on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee was listed as a three-point favorite as of Monday afternoon. |
| AAC commissioner Mike Aresco calls for automatic New Year's Six bid | |
| Memphis' win over Ole Miss bolstered its bid for a spot in a New Year's Six bowl. The Tigers, however, still have a long way to go to secure it. And they -- like every other Group of 5 program -- won't know whether they've done enough, in the minds of the College Football Playoff committee, until December. But if American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco gets his way, the teams in his league won't always have to wait with their fingers crossed for an independent group to decide their fate. "We have such a strong conference. I mean ... Houston, Cincinnati, Memphis, UCF -- it's going to be hard for somebody to get through (league play) without one, two, even three losses," Aresco said before Saturday's game at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. "That's the thing about the conference and why we need an automatic bid down the road. That's going to be our next real initiative, to get back to a contract bowl game and have an automatic bid." |
The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
