| Wednesday, September 9, 2026 |
| IHL conference aims to overcome challenges, foster growth in Mississippi | |
 | Research conducted across the state on the long-term challenges impacting Mississippi will be presented as part of the 11th annual Advancing Mississippi Conference presented by the University Research Center (URC), a division of Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning. Planners said the goal of the conference is to uncover productive ways to overcome challenges and foster growth in Mississippi, while creating better economic conditions for all Mississippians. The conference is set for September 25 at 9 a.m. It is being held at the Mississippi Children's Museum. Dr. William M. Rodgers II, vice president of community development research at Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, will be this year's keynote speaker during the conference luncheon. During the luncheon, Rodgers is expected to speak about Mississippi's young adult population, particularly those not enrolled in a higher education program and without employment. The conference is geared toward higher education faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and any researcher who does not have university affiliation. |
| Louisiana's marine research collaboration becomes a political battleground | |
| On paper, a select group of Louisiana university leaders has been tasked with finding ways to maximize one of the state's premier scientific research institutes. Unofficially, they are in the middle of a political tug-of-war over who will control an entity with $500 million in assets and a multi-million-dollar annual budget. The state legislature created the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, better known as LUMCON, in 1979 to specialize in marine and coastal research that prioritizes the state's interests. It currently consists of 10 professors, facilities in Houma and Cocodrie, and a small fleet of research vessels. Every two- and four-year college, public and private, in the state is part of the consortium. An independent board oversaw LUMCON until 1995 when the legislature allowed the schools taking part to handle its governance. That changed in 2016 when the consortium was moved under the Board of Regents, the body that oversees all higher education matters in Louisiana. Sen. Mark Abraham, R-Lake Charles, introduced legislation this year to shift many of the Regents' responsibilities to university system boards and other state agencies. The move was scuttled when it ran into resistance from lawmakers who represent areas without an LSU campus. The battle for LUMCON control resumed at last week's commission meeting, which LSU System President Wade Rousse attended. Unlike other university presidents who appointed designees, Rousse is serving on the panel himself. |
SPORTS
| Conference Schedule Announced For MSU Baseball | |
| The Southeastern Conference released its portion of the 2027 baseball schedule on Tuesday and has Mississippi State opening up its SEC slate inside the friendly confines on Dudy Noble Field. The Diamond Dawgs begin their conference schedule by hosting Missouri on March 19-21. MSU also has home matchups against instate rival Ole Miss (April 2-4), Texas A&M (April 16-18), defending national champion Oklahoma (April 30-May 2) and wraps up the regular season at "The Dude" against Arkansas (May 20-22). The Bulldogs face their first SEC road test at Georgia on March 25-27 in a rematch of the 2026 Athens Super Regional. State also pays visits to Florida (April 2-4), Vanderbilt (April 23-25), Tennessee (May 7-9) and LSU (May 14-16). Mississippi State's series with Georgia and Arkansas will be Thursday through Saturday. The league could shift other series to start on Thursdays depending on the television schedule, which will be announced at a later date. The SEC Tournament is slated for May 25-30 in Hoover, Alabama. |
| Southeastern Conference leaders to discuss expelling LSU over player eligibility dispute | |
 | Leaders of the Southeastern Conference will meet Thursday to discuss whether to take the extraordinary step of kicking LSU out of the league in the wake of an ugly feud over first-year coach Lane Kiffin's effort to field several players who signed contracts with NFL teams as undrafted rookies last spring. On Tuesday, the SEC amended the federal lawsuit it filed against LSU last week, asking the judge to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent the school from taking action to block or interfere with a scheduled meeting Thursday of SEC member university presidents and chancellors. A declaration that Commissioner Greg Sankey included with the league's legal filing made the planned meeting sound like more than posturing; Sankey noted that school presidents met to discuss LSU last Friday, a day after a marathon court hearing in which Sankey took the stand to insist the league has the right to enforce its own rules. Sankey took it a step further, saying in his declaration that SEC presidents were concerned LSU's president, Wade Rousse, and athletic director Verge Ausberry had no "meaningful control" over Kiffin or the football program. |
| Sources: CFP to open ESPN negotiation window, 24 teams possible | |
| Leaders of the College Football Playoff on Tuesday agreed to open a 30-day negotiating window with ESPN, signaling their greatest interest yet in a 24-team CFP field that could begin as soon as 2027, sources told ESPN. While those within the room insist this is not a commitment to a 24-team field at this time, the move does indicate that the Big Ten and SEC now agree it's worth a discussion with the event's sole rights holder to see what the value of it would be. It's possible the negotiating window could start as soon as Wednesday, according to a source. Opening the window will help determine whether a 24-team field will generate enough revenue to compensate for the loss of conference championship games and bring in additional revenue. The Power 4 conference championship games have media value of at least $200 million, according to sources, and that doesn't include the tens of millions the games generate in tickets, sponsorships and other game-day revenue. The season would begin on what is now dubbed Week 0 and end on Thanksgiving weekend. Those involved in the Army-Navy game are considering moving what's been dubbed "America's Game" into the following Saturday instead of the league title games. |
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