| Wednesday, July 28, 2021 |
| MSU CAVS leads in advanced vehicle research | |
 | Clay Walden, Executive Director of the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS) at Mississippi State University spoke to the Starkville Rotary Club on Monday about CAVS making an impact in advanced vehicle research. MSU CAVS, which was founded in 2002, is a world-class technology development center comprised of engineering, research, development, and technology transfer teams, and it is committed to exploring solutions to complex problems in areas such as autonomous vehicles, materials science, high-performance computing, advanced controls, and human-machine interaction. There are a lot of moving parts at MSU CAVS, but the one aspect that Walden focused on when he spoke on Monday was research. It was about four years ago when the research team at CAVS started brainstorming about off-road autonomous vehicles. |
| City of Vicksburg seeks grant for project to build entrepreneurship | |
 | Vicksburg and Warren County economic development officials are hoping to land a $1.1 million grant that will be used to help area residents start high-tech businesses and develop high-paying local jobs. Pablo Diaz, Vicksburg Warren County Economic Development Partnership President and CEO, said the city will serve as the agent for the grant funds under a contract with Mississippi State University. MSU will use the funds for the grant agreement. If approved, the grant would support a satellite office, team and programming for MSU's Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach at the Thad Cochran Mississippi Center for Innovation and Technology, or MCITy, project in downtown Vicksburg. "If successful in its bid to locate at MCITy, the MSU E-Center will work with area residents to help them start high-tech businesses and successfully seek funding," Diaz said. He said the program will cooperate directly with local governments, the Economic Development Foundation, ERDCWERX and the other organizations that will locate at the MCITy project. |
| MDA announces second round of V-Quad grants for technology ventures | |
 | The Mississippi Development Authority invites qualified teams that are developing new products or services in the energy and agriculture technologies to participate in the "Pitch in the V-Quad" competition to be held on Aug. 26. Each pitch must include elements that cover the team's level of technology readiness, market readiness, team members' competencies, use of funds and business strategy. The competition is limited to 15 teams. MDA will award three teams venture development grants totaling $25,000. The competition is supported by the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters Prize from the U.S. Department of Energy, which MDA won to highlight the state's technology-based entrepreneurial ecosystem. Ten teams were selected to participate in the first stage of the V-Quad accelerator program. V-Quad's goal is to build an innovative, virtual incubator network to support Mississippi entrepreneurs launching businesses focused on energy- and agriculture-related technologies. V-Quad is a public-private partnership that connects Mississippi's research universities, industry, government and non-profits into an inclusive, tech-based entrepreneurial network. The competition is open to teams of high school and college students, university or community college faculty, for-profit businesses, non-profit organizations, public-sector employees or any combination of individuals from these entities. |
| Cedric Gathings to serve as new Meridian Community College vice president for engagement | |
 | Instilled with the passion of working with community college students, Okolona native Cedric Gathings will officially begin his role as vice president for engagement at Meridian Community College on Aug. 12. MCC President Thomas Huebner announced the appointment earlier this week, noting he was excited for Gathings joining the College staff. "In addition to student services, Cedric will also have responsibilities related to diversity, community outreach, leadership development, and campus safety," he said. Gathings said coming to MCC will allow him to return to the arena of working with student success and student development. As a veteran higher education administrator, Gathings comes to MCC from Mississippi State University's Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President as director of strategic planning and implementation. He also served as the associate dean of instruction at East Mississippi Community College and was vice president for student affairs at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. |
| Preliminary data shows PERS had massive 30 percent investment returns in fiscal 2020 | |
| According to preliminary data, the state's defined benefit pension system had its second-best year in investment income, a boost that will greatly help the flailing fund's bottom line. The Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi is reporting a rate of return of 30 percent on its investments, the second most since the fund began investing in the stock market in 1981 and the best since it recorded a 25.4 percent return in 2011. The PERS Board of Trustees held a meeting Tuesday to discuss several issues with the fund, including reforms that could ensure that the gains aren't merely a blip on the plan's finances. PERS executive director Ray Higgins is also proposing, subject to board approval, several initiatives that could shore up the plan's finances and ensure it will meet its fully-funded goal by 2047. One of those initiatives is to increase the plan's employer (taxpayer) contribution, which is now at 17.4 percent to 19.6 percent. Another is to change the plan's cost of living adjustment or COLA. These changes could include freezing the rate of COLA for a few years, a reduction in the rate from 3 percent to 2.5 percent and possibly changing it from a compounding COLA to one with a simple 3 percent increase once the retiree reaches age 60. Higgins is also proposing changes for new hires that could help the plan's bottom line. |
| Neshoba County Fair honored with Country Music Trail marker | |
| The Neshoba County Fair is known for many things, including music. With that in mind, the Country Music Trail Commission has recognized the fair with its own marker on the trail. "The Neshoba County Fair is one of Mississippi's great contributions to the history of country music. This 36th marker on the Country Music Trail recognizes that history and the many artists who have been a part of that tradition," Visit Mississippi Director Craig Ray said. Along with Ray, speakers at an event on the grounds of the ongoing fair included state Rep. Scott Bounds and Sen. Jenifer Branning, who represent Neshoba County and surrounding area. Also in attendance were country music artists Michael Hardy and Philadelphia native Marty Stuart. "The Neshoba County Fair is honored to be selected as one the five sites on the 2021 Mississippi Country Music Trail. We look forward to the marker's permanent placement at Founders Square on the Neshoba County Fairgrounds, which will publicly display the Fair's rich history of bringing country music's biggest stars to Mississippi's Giant Houseparty and its patrons," said Rep. Bounds, who serves as vice president and program committee chairman for the fair. |
| Amid staffing shortages, Mississippi retailers prepare for Sales Tax Holiday | |
 | This Friday and Saturday Mississippians can shop for clothing, footwear and school supplies under $100 and not pay the 7 percent sales tax. Shanna Head with the Outlets of Mississippi in Pearl, says retailers will work to serve customers the best they can despite some staffing shortages. "Staffing, I have never seen anything like this before. And it's not just shopping centers. This is everywhere, from restaurants to even just like personal businesses," said Head. Head says it's the biggest shopping weekend of the year for the mall and she's asking customers to please be patient with workers. The marketing director also says many stores will be asking customers to wear masks due to the coronavirus. Dawn McVea, state director for the National Federation of Independent Business, wants customers to support small businesses. "We have studies that show about 67 cents of every $1 spent in a small business stays in the community. And so those are really important numbers for folks to keep in mind when they go to shop at a local retailer versus a big box retailer," said McVea. |
| Shoppers ready for tax-free holiday this weekend | |
 | With days until school bells ring, parents and kids will hit the stores this weekend for the annual state sales tax holiday. The holiday, which began in 2009, starts at midnight on Friday and ends midnight on Saturday. During the holiday, retailers omit the state's 7% sales tax on the purchase of certain articles of clothing, footwear or school supplies costing less than $100 each. According to Mississippi Department of Revenue guidelines, "clothing" is any article of apparel designed to be worn including pants, shirts and blouses, dresses, coats, jackets, belts, hats, undergarments, and multiple piece garments sold as a set. According to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics, Consumers plan to spend record amounts for both school and college supplies as families and students plan to return to in-person classrooms this fall. College students and their families plan to spend an average of $1,200.32 on college or university items, an increase of $141 over last year. Over half ($80) of this increase is credited to increased spending on electronics and dorm furnishings. Total back-to-college spending is expected to reach a record $71 billion, up from $67.7 billion in 2020. |
| Mississippi sees drastic increase in personal income during first quarter of 2021 | |
 | Federal government stimulus checks aimed at providing relief to taxpayers during the COVID-19 pandemic paid great dividends for Mississippians. Mississippi had the highest personal income increase among all 50 states during the first quarter of 2021, at 89.3%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Federal COVID-19 relief payments were responsible for 85.5% of the personal income growth from the last quarter of 2020 to Q1 2021, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis spokesman Thomas Dail. The remaining increase was attributed to a rise in Mississippi worker earnings, Dail said. Under the American Rescue Plan Act taxpayers received stimulus checks of $1,400 for themselves and each dependent claimed on a tax return during the first quarter of this year. Larry Day, a finance professor at Jackson State University, said he isn't surprised personal incomes increased. "In areas like Mississippi where the income that an individual makes falls into the lower-middle income bracket there's a greater opportunity for that money we received to reflect on this increase," Day said. The increase in personal income had a direct impact on consumer spending in the state, Day said. |
| Spokeswoman: Mississippi gov won't mandate masks in schools | |
 | Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves does not plan to issue a mask mandate for schools, even as COVID-19 cases are proliferating in a state with one of the lowest vaccination rates in the nation. "Governor Reeves has no intention of requiring students and staff to wear masks when they're in school this fall," his spokeswoman, Bailey Martin, said in response to questions Tuesday. A few Mississippi school districts have already started classes, and others are starting by mid-August. Some parents have raised concerns about the virus spreading among children too young to be vaccinated, and many school districts have said they will not require students or employees to wear masks because the governor has not set a mask mandate. Reeves, a Republican, has been outside Mississippi for several days and has made few public statements about the pandemic, even as Republican governors in neighboring Arkansas and Alabama have been outspoken in promoting vaccination efforts. Reeves posted Friday on Twitter that "risks associated with not getting vaccinated (are greater than) risks associated with getting vaccinated." |
| New CDC guidelines urge mask-wearing in high COVID-19 transmission areas like Mississippi | |
 | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday recommended mask-wearing for everyone in K-12 schools to quell spiking COVID-19 cases around the nation, but Mississippi's governor is not planning to follow suit. With the 2021-2022 school year approaching, Gov. Tate Reeves said he "has no intention of requiring students and staff to wear masks when they're in school this fall." Those in areas with a substantial or high risk of virus transmission, regardless of vaccination status, should begin wearing masks again indoors as new scientific data show the COVID-19 delta variant has caused breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people, the CDC officials urged. Mississippi, with one of the lowest fully vaccinated rates at 32%, and climbing COVID-19 case counts, has seen high transmission rates in the past two weeks due to the delta variant. "The delta variant is showing every day its willingness to outsmart us," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday. From July 20-26, the Mississippi State Health Department recorded 8,376 new cases. A month prior, June 21-27, the department reported 1,031 new infections. |
| Back to masking: CDC recommends even the vaccinated should wear masks in public indoor spaces | |
| The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated guidance on Tuesday, saying that people vaccinated against COVID-19 should wear masks in public indoor spaces in areas experiencing surging caseloads. The agency also recommended that all teachers, staff, students and visitors mask up in schools, regardless of their vaccination status and the level of transmission in their community. These new recommendations are a direct response to the surge in infections seen across the country from the highly contagious Delta variant. During a news briefing on Tuesday, CDC officials cited new scientific evidence that shows vaccinated people can become infected with Delta and transmit it to others. The new masking recommendations are certain to be unwelcome news to the vaccinated, many who have relished the last few months of being able to go out in public unmasked. "One of the challenges is that everybody's tired of COVID, everybody's tired of masks, everybody's tired of not being able to do what they want to," State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said on Monday. "And that's understandable, because I'm all in there with you. But we must understand that there are consequences for us not acknowledging the real risks." |
| Mississippi Department of Corrections cancels prison visitation to prevent spread of COVID | |
| Visitation at all Mississippi Department of Corrections prisons has been suspended, Commissioner Burl Cain said in an internal memo Monday. Visitation had just been reinstated in May 2021 after nearly 15 months. The Mississippi Department of Corrections had suspended all visitation in March 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic. Now, as COVID-19 variants grip Mississippi, MDOC closes its doors to visitors once again. Mississippi is currently facing a "fourth wave" of COVID infections spurred in large part by the highly contagious Delta variant. On Tuesday, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported 1,291 new cases, a much higher figure than the daily case reports in May. "We are trying to protect inmates from the current surge of the Delta variant," MDOC Deputy Commissioner Leo Honeycutt told Mississippi Today. MDOC will quarantine people in prison for 10 days before transferring them to new facilities, and "masks will be worn by staff and inmates while indoors," Cain said in Monday's memo. He also said movement from county jails to prisons "will be done in a limited, controlled, and safe manner" with COVID-19 screenings conducted daily. |
| White Evangelicals Resist Covid-19 Vaccine Most Among Religious Groups | |
 | More than six months into the country's Covid-19 vaccination campaign, evangelical Christians are more resistant to getting the vaccine than other major religious groups, according to newly released data. Some 24% of white evangelicals said in June they wouldn't be vaccinated, down from 26% in March, according to a study from the Public Religion Research Institute, a nonpartisan group that studies the intersection of religion and public life. Evangelicals of all races make up about one-quarter of the U.S. population, and health officials say persuading them to get the shot is crucial to slowing the spread of the Delta variant fueling recent increases in Covid-19 cases. The percentage of white evangelicals who say they have been vaccinated or plan to get the shot as soon as possible was 56% in June, up from 45% in March. That is tied for the lowest figure among groups included in the survey, along with Hispanic protestants, many of whom are evangelical. Others who have spoken in favor of vaccination say they are fighting against misinformation, politicization, and a distrust of government among many evangelicals. Franklin Graham, one of the country's most prominent Christian leaders, in March encouraged people to get vaccinated on Facebook, saying it is what Jesus would have done. The comments on the post overwhelmingly denounced him. |
| Doctor warns of COVID-19 pregnancy risks, stresses safety of vaccine | |
| You've heard the term high-risk a lot throughout the pandemic. One group you may not consider -- pregnant women. And doctors are working to spread the word that the vaccine is particularly important for those expectant mothers, and they shouldn't delay getting the shots. Maternal and fetal medicine specialist Dr. Rachel Morris at UMMC has seen first-hand how serious COVID and pregnancy can be. "It has been horrendous," described Dr. Morris. "It has been worse than I could have ever imagined to see mothers with no risk factors other than being pregnant come to the hospital to be ventilated for a prolonged period of time, pass away or lose their pregnancy. It's totally preventable at this point." Morris points to CDC research that shows pregnant women have not only increased risks of hospital admissions and the need for life support but a 70% increased risk of dying. Dr. Morris adds that research shows the COVID vaccine protects not only the mother but the baby. She stresses that it doesn't give COVID or the vaccine to the baby but allows for some of those antibodies to be passed along to them. The same is true for breastfeeding mothers. But she does not recommend pregnant women waiting till after delivery for the shots. |
| Why are fully vaccinated people testing positive for Covid? | |
| Phoenix Suns basketball star Chris Paul, UK health secretary Sajid Javid and US Olympic gymnast Kara Eaker have something in common: they have all tested positive for coronavirus despite being fully vaccinated. No vaccine is 100 per cent effective, so what scientists call "breakthrough infections" were always expected. In most cases, the symptoms are mild. However, as a new surge in Covid-19 cases has collided with a global vaccination campaign delivering more than 200m shots a week, more people are asking: "How protected am I?" While anecdotal accounts of breakthrough infections can make such cases feel widespread, the real numbers have remained small and were generally in line with expectations, experts said. "There's no such thing as a perfect vaccine ... with Covid it's no different," said Professor William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University. Very few fully vaccinated people who test positive for Covid-19 are getting seriously ill. According to PHE's real-world studies, the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine is still 96 per cent effective against hospital admission, while the Oxford/AstraZeneca shot is 92 per cent effective. But Natalie Dean, a biostatistics professor at Emory University in Atlanta, stressed that these figures were averages and that efficacy depended on people's existing risk profiles. "Everything is relative when it comes to vaccines and risk," she said. |
| Trio of Senate Republicans urges Supreme Court to overrule Roe v. Wade | |
 | Three conservative Senate Republicans on Monday filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn its landmark precedents that protect the constitutional right to abortion. In a 33-page brief, Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) asked the court to use a Mississippi case to be reviewed next term as a vehicle to overturn Roe v. Wade and related rulings. Calling the status quo "untenable," the senators said the legal doctrine on abortion that emerged over roughly the past five decades since Roe was decided in 1973 has given judges excessive discretion and proven unworkable. The filing comes after Mississippi's attorney general urged the justices last week in a brief to overrule Roe when the justices review Mississippi's ban on virtually all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Court precedent tracing back to Roe prohibits states from banning abortion before fetal viability, which occurs around 24 weeks, and from placing an "undue burden" on abortion access. The Mississippi law at issue next term creates only narrow exceptions from its 15-week ban on elective abortions. The state's appeal comes after losing two rounds in the lower courts. In 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit held that Mississippi's restriction was an unconstitutional ban on a woman's right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy before fetal viability. |
| Jan. 6 select committee to push forward with subpoenas | |
 | After hearing hours of gripping testimony from four police officers who endured grave physical and emotional wounds during the Capitol attack, the Jan. 6 select committee members will have time to digest those accounts before the next hearing, which could happen at some point in August. "It sets the right tone for the work of this committee," Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said of the four officers' stories. "But it also says that there is significant work that we have to do over the next few months." It's unclear what the exact focus of the panel will be in the second hearing, but when Thompson asked the officers what they need to see from this inquiry, they relayed that they wanted to know what role elected officials had in it. "I need you guys to address if anyone in power had a role in this," Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges said. That scope will include what role former President Donald Trump and his administration may have played in the events of Jan. 6. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said, "Obviously, the events of that day at the White House are a focus." Thompson said the committee plans to obtain materials that were compiled as part of the second impeachment of Trump, which took place days after the insurrection. "Yes," Thompson said. "We plan to get it, yeah." |
| 'America is not racist' becomes a GOP 2024 mantra | |
 | Democrats made structural racism a centerpiece of the 2020 presidential primary. Now the Republican rebuttal is emerging as an early plank of the 2024 GOP contest: America is not a racist country. The mantra, used by nearly all of the Republican contenders, is unavoidable in the earliest stages of the GOP's nominating campaign. At the annual Family Leadership Summit in Iowa this month, all three potential presidential prospects on stage -- former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem -- took turns joining in the refrain, in one form or another. Top Democrats, including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, have said publicly they don't believe America is a racist country. But Republicans are hoping to portray the party as out of step with the thinking of mainstream America. And by attempting to harness lightning-rod issues such as critical race theory and "defund the police," the GOP is signaling race will again be at the center of the 2024 campaign. "It's a winning issue with independents, and it's good for the base, but I really think rank-and-file American voters who are in the middle, whether you're center-left, center-right, suburban votes, parents, I think they all feel like America's not a racist nation, critical race theory is being shoved down everybody's throat," said Bob Heckman, a Republican consultant who has worked on nine presidential campaigns, including Sen. Lindsey Graham's in 2016. "I think this is a case of the Democrats going way too far, and I think it's a very effective issue." |
| AP-NORC poll: Many Republicans uneasy about party's future | |
| Most Republicans want former President Donald Trump to have at least some influence over their party's direction even as many who side with the GOP say they are uneasy about its future. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research captures widespread unease among Republicans over everything from the direction of the country to the state of American democracy and, in particular, President Joe Biden. Just 15% approve of the way Biden is handling his job, and 66% continue to say the Democrat was illegitimately elected, a lie perpetuated by Trump that underscores his persistent grip on GOP voters. Republicans have plenty of concern about their own party, too. Fewer than half of Republicans, 41%, say they are optimistic about the GOP's future. Just 13% say they are "very" optimistic. And one third, 33%, say they are pessimistic. While 60% of the public overall has an unfavorable view of Trump, 76% of Republicans view him favorably. And most would like to see him maintain at least some degree of influence over the GOP going forward. As for other Republican leaders, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell faces mixed reviews from his party, viewed favorably by only about 4 in 10 Republicans; roughly as many dislike him. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is more popular than not with Republicans, though about half say they don’t know enough about him to form an opinion. |
| Turn off, turn on: Simple step can thwart top phone hackers | |
| As a member of the secretive Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Angus King has reason to worry about hackers. At a briefing by security staff this year, he said he got some advice on how to help keep his cellphone secure. Step One: Turn off phone. Step Two: Turn it back on. That's it. At a time of widespread digital insecurity it turns out that the oldest and simplest computer fix there is -- turning a device off then back on again -- can thwart hackers from stealing information from smartphones. Regularly rebooting phones won't stop the army of cybercriminals or spy-for-hire firms that have sowed chaos and doubt about the ability to keep any information safe and private in our digital lives. But it can make even the most sophisticated hackers work harder to maintain access and steal data from a phone. "This is all about imposing cost on these malicious actors," said Neal Ziring, technical director of the National Security Agency's cybersecurity directorate. The NSA issued a "best practices" guide for mobile device security last year in which it recommends rebooting a phone every week as a way to stop hacking. King, an independent from Maine, says rebooting his phone is now part of his routine. |
| Germain McConnell leaving MSMS after 8 years as director | |
 | Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science Executive Director Dr. Germain McConnell announced Tuesday that he has been hired as chief of staff for the Oxford School District. During a Columbus Rotary Club meeting, McConnell said God led him to Columbus to serve at MSMS, but now the time has come for him to return to Oxford. "When I first came to Columbus, my pastor said to me that 'you're not just going to MSMS' I knew exactly what he meant," he said. "My focus, wherever, I am, wherever God drops me ... is on serving, making sure that I am being used so as to carry out God's plan in my life. I tell everybody that because that's my story. I'm here in Columbus because God led me here. Now, God has called me away from Columbus." Listed on the Oxford School District's website as a member of Superintendent Bradley Roberson's cabinet, McConnell's first day as chief of staff begins Jan. 1, 2022. McConnell plans to stay at MSMS through December. McConnell said MSMS, a residential school, has 237 students -- top juniors and seniors from across the state -- who plan on attending school in the fall. Oxford's school district has more than 4,500 students, according to the school district's website. McConnell said he's excited about MSMS's potential for the upcoming school year, so that's why he thinks it's important to give the Department of Education and the state Board of Education time to conduct a search. |
| Can doctors determine which COVID-19 patients may be more at-risk before symptoms develop? | |
| Some people infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, experience few symptoms, while others develop disease that leads to hospitalization, mechanical ventilation, or even death. Researchers at the University of Mississippi Medical Center worked with a multi-institution team to get closer to that answer. Published online July 23 in the journal Cell, the paper shows how the response of different nasal cells to the early stages of infection may predict the progression of COVID-19. The finding could be life-changing for people who are headed toward a severe case of the virus. Dr. Sarah Glover, professor of medicine and director of the Division of Digestive Diseases, led the UMMC-based portion of the work in collaboration with researchers at the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, the Broad Institute, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard University. Fourteen of the paper's 25 co-authors come from UMMC, including School of Medicine faculty, trainees, and research and clinical staff. Some of the UMMC researchers teaming up with scientists at Harvard and MIT to study the early cellular response to COVID-19 and what it may tell us about the progression of the disease include, Yilianys Pride, Haley Williams, Dr. Tanya Robinson, Dr. Anna Owings, Hannah Laird and Taylor Christian. |
| Nasal antivirus response could determine COVID-19 severity, says UMMC study | |
 | According to researchers at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson, some people infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) experience few symptoms. However, others develop the disease that leads to hospitalization, mechanical ventilation, or even death. Researchers are working to determine which patients may be more at-risk before symptoms develop. They worked with a multi-institution team and published their findings online July 23 in the journal Cell. The paper shows how the response of different nasal cells to the early stages of infection may predict the progression of COVID-19. Health experts said the findings could be life-changing for people who are headed toward a severe case of COVID-19. Dr. Sarah Glover, professor of medicine and director of the Division of Digestive Diseases, led the UMMC-based portion of the work. "The nasopharynx is an entry point for understanding immunology for COVID-19," Glover said. The nasopharynx is the area where the nasal cavity meets the throat. This is the area health care workers target when they take a swab sample to test for COVID-19. According to the study, people who went on to develop mild or moderate COVID-19 symptoms had cells with a stronger anti-viral immune response than people who developed severe disease. |
| UMMC researchers work to determine COVID-19 severity | |
| Researchers at the University of Mississippi Medical Center are trying to dig into the severity of COVID-19. Fourteen of the paper's 25 co-authors come from UMMC. including School of Medicine faculty, trainees, and research and clinical staff. Some of the UMMC researchers teaming up with scientists at Harvard and MIT to study the early cellular response to COVID-19 and what it may tell us about the progression of the disease include Yilianys Pride, Haley Williams, Dr. Tanya Robinson, Dr. Anna Owings, Hannah Laird, Taylor Christian and Dr. Sarah Glover. The samples in this study came from patients treated between April and September 2020, encompassing the first wave of Mississippi cases. Glover and colleagues are working on a follow-up study to compare these initial findings to patients with Delta-variant COVID-19 or breakthrough infections post-vaccination. The results of this study will help other patients with not only SARS-CoV-2, but also other respiratory diseases. "This research opens up a lot of doors in understanding how the nasopharynx modulates our response to viruses and other infections," Glover said. |
| A-zone parking pass, unlimited meal plan, camping gear and lunch with President Gogue? Auburn students could win these if they get vaccinated | |
 | In an effort to encourage students to receive their COVID-19 vaccines, Auburn University has launched a vaccine incentive program with prizes for fully vaccinated students enrolled in the fall 2021 semester, the university announced Monday. Prizes for individual students include an A-zone parking pass for the semester, an unlimited meal plan, 25 meal swipes for Central Dining or Tiger Zone, a Campus Rec Group Fitness semester pass, a weekender camping package for two (includes a two-person tent, two sleeping bags with pads, one backpack, one burner stove and cook set), a weekender water sports package for two (two standup paddleboards or kayaks, two PFDs, two paddles), a $1,000 scholarship, priority class registration, a lunch for four with President Jay Gogue and a VIP graduation parking pass and free regalia. Prizes will also be given out to student organizations, including a free Student Center Ballroom reservation, a free Student Act Ballroom reservation, free food truck meal, free spray tans for the organization, a catered meal, a Samford Hall Clock Tower tour, and customized gear including Under Armour apparel, sweatshirts and hoodies, and Yeti cups and coolers. |
| Louisiana college leaders ponder masks, other options ahead of fall classes | |
 | LSU and other higher education officials said Tuesday they will be making decisions shortly on face masks and related mandates to cope with the latest surge in cases of the coronavirus. LSU is set to hold a forum this week ahead of a final decision on whether students should be required to wear masks indoors. An advisory panel last week recommended the masks for classrooms, other indoor settings and on campus transportation. The school's Health and Medical Advisory Committee also said all students should be required to undergo testing for COVID-19 before they arrive on campus. The recommendations have sparked pushback from the Faculty Council Organizing Group, which said LSU's current mask mandate has been widely ignored, that students, faculty and staff need to be "educated" on how to wear masks and that the school has the legal authority to mandate student vaccinations. Louisiana's vaccination rate is one the lowest in the nation, and the rate for students is said to be in the 20 percentiles. Public higher education officials generally believe they cannot mandate vaccines for students. |
| U. of Arkansas System president favors adding context on Fulbright; keep statue, name on college, he says | |
| University of Arkansas System President Donald Bobbitt has recommended adding context to a statue of former U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright "in a way that presents the full legacy" of Fulbright while keeping the statue in its current location on the Fayetteville campus. Bobbitt's recommendation and a trustees board vote expected today will cap a contentious racial reckoning begun a year ago over Fulbright's civil-rights record, a process that included an April campus committee's vote to remove his bronze likeness and strip the Fulbright name from UA's Arts and Sciences College. The University of Arkansas System board of trustees will consider today a resolution affirming the use of the Fulbright name for the Arts and Sciences College, as well as keeping the statue of the longtime senator in its place in a rear courtyard outside the Old Main academic building. The proposed resolution is similar to a May recommendation by Joe Steinmetz, at the time the Fayetteville campus top administrator, but differs in that Steinmetz, in a letter to Bobbitt, called for the Fulbright statue to be moved to a different part of campus. To what degree is unclear, but board documents reflect the influence of a new state law prohibiting the removal or relocation of public monuments without a waiver from the Arkansas History Commission. |
| Texas A&M summer enrollment number down from last year, up from 2019 | |
 | Texas A&M University's summer enrollment is down 4.3% from last year, but is still significantly higher than in 2019. This year, 26,629 undergraduate, master's and doctoral students were enrolled in summer courses, compared to the 27,816 last year. The figures include students from the flagship campus in College Station, the Health Science Center and Texas A&M's campus in Galveston. There were 24,047 students enrolled this year at the College Station campus, 634 students at the Galveston campus and 1,948 students at the Health Science Center, according to a university press release. The Health Science Center's total went up by 1.3% from last summer's 1,923 total. Despite the overall drop, Vice President for Enrollment and Academic Services Joseph Pettibon said in an interview that the school's leaders are pleased with the enrollment. He explained that last year's enrollment of 27,816 was about 20% higher than the summer 2019 enrollment of 23,466, meaning this year is still about 15% higher than enrollment prior to the pandemic. Even before the pandemic began, Pettibon said the school was working to offer more courses over the summer to allow for a higher enrollment. |
| Clemson University to announce fall COVID-19 protocols 'soon' as CDC, DHEC update guidance | |
 | Clemson University anticipates announcing its fall COVID-19 requirements and protocol "soon." "Clemson officials continue to monitor the COVID-19 landscape across the state and in areas surrounding university facilities. As we have throughout the pandemic, the university will use the guidance of public health experts as we continue to prioritize the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and surrounding communities," Associate Vice President for Strategic Communications and University Relations Joe Galbraith said in a statement on July 27 to The Post and Courier. Galbraith's statement reiterated that vaccination will not be required but is encouraged for "those who are able." Clemson's COVID-19 database, which tracks the number of positive cases from testing on campus, is updated daily. During the current summer session, positive case rates are low. Of the 158 tests administered on July 27, five were positive. Approximately 29,870 tests have been administered since May 2. Since that time, only 0.3 percent of those tests were positive cases -- 80 in total. In comparison, 0.9 percent of tests were positive cases during the spring semester on campus -- about 2,600 positive and 289,622 negative. |
| New CDC Mask-Wearing Guidance Could Alter Colleges' Return-to-Campus Plans | |
 | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance on Tuesday, recommending that vaccinated Americans wear masks indoors in certain circumstances due to the highly transmissible Delta variant of Covid-19. This may throw a wrench in return-to-campus plans for colleges that aimed to resume pre-pandemic operations. This is a deviation from the CDC's previous guidance that said fully vaccinated people could resume activities without wearing masks or physically distancing. Public-health experts say the Delta variant is significantly more infectious because it takes less time to infect those within close proximity who are unmasked and inside. "Casual contact with people that may have been relatively low risk in the early days of the pandemic is now a much higher-risk situation," said Celine Gounder, an infectious-disease specialist and epidemiologist at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and a former adviser for the Biden-Harris Transition Covid-19 Advisory Board. The Delta variant is also being contracted by younger unvaccinated people at a faster rate, according to Eleanor Wilson, an associate professor for the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Hundreds of campuses across the country have started requiring students or employees to get vaccinated, but since May, a number of institutions have loosened on-campus mask mandates. That may be about to change. |
| College business officers surprisingly upbeat about their finances | |
 | The world looked pretty bleak last spring and summer, as the COVID-19 pandemic upended most aspects of society and no clear end was in sight. College and university business officers were not immune, as respondents to Inside Higher Ed's annual survey of chief business officers last summer expressed far less confidence about their colleges' five-year financial outlook than they had in previous years. They cited sharp drops in revenue and unexpected spending on health, safety and learning technology as a painful combination. A year later, with COVID-19 loosening its grip on campuses, the economy and American psyches, and many institutions' budgets boosted by a major infusion of federal funds, it's not surprising to find campus financial managers in a better place. Three-quarters of respondents to Inside Higher Ed's 2021 Survey of College and University Business Officers, conducted this month with Hanover Research, express confidence in their institution's financial stability over the next decade. The same proportion says their college or university is in better financial shape than it was a year ago, and two-thirds say it is stronger than it was in 2019. Large majorities also believe that their institution's response to the pandemic and the resulting recession positioned them well for the future, causing them to implement "positive, long-lasting" changes" (78 percent agree) and pushing them to "think outside of the box" in ways that will benefit the institution in the long run (96 percent agree). |
| HBCUs Deploy Covid-19 Pandemic Funds to Forgive Millions in Student Debt | |
| Almost all 2,000 students at South Carolina State University owed money to the school by the end of spring semester this year. Some owed less than a dollar, others were hundreds or even thousands of dollars past due on expenses such as tuition payments and housing fees. Without paying off the bills, many students couldn't register for the next term or, in the case of seniors, get their diplomas. The school said this month it had wiped away $9.8 million in debt for more than 2,500 students -- including current students and some who had already dropped out because they couldn't afford to pay off their balances and re-enroll. Historically Black colleges and universities, such as South Carolina State, are springing students from the academic version of debtor's prison, clearing their account balances so they can continue on with, or complete, school. More than 20 HBCUs are using federal pandemic funds for debt relief, according to a tally by the United Negro College Fund, a scholarship organization for private historically Black colleges and universities. HBCUs received $2.6 billion of the $40 billion set aside for higher education under this spring's American Rescue Plan Act. Their students are overwhelmingly from low-income backgrounds, and many are first-generation college students; schools were told to give priority to the neediest students when distributing a portion of the funds and say these students were hit particularly hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and the related economic downturn. |
| A 'Trauma Informed' Return to Campus | |
| As the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee started to plan for an in-person fall 2021 semester, Adam Jussel pondered a complicated question. The university, set a few blocks from the shore of Lake Michigan, had held some of its classes in person in the spring. So Jussel, the dean of students, already knew how to manage the public-health logistics. Now he was trying to look beneath the surface: What would a full return to campus mean? When the university surveyed students on how they were faring last academic year, most of them said they were making it through their classes and obligations. But they didn't feel connected -- to the campus, to their professors, or to each other. Jussel summed up many students' feelings this way: I'm hurting, but I just don't know what to call that. Many faculty and staff members, meanwhile, were feeling traumatized and overwhelmed. So Jussel and a team of administrators, faculty members, and students started working on what he described as a "human centered and trauma informed" return-to-campus plan. The effort -- which includes new training, meditation spaces, and guided discussions -- aims to help people form meaningful connections again, take care of themselves, and process their emotions. Jussel hopes the attentiveness to human needs will help spur a permanent shift in the campus culture. |
| New Grants for University-Community Partnerships Prepare Students for Workforce | |
| The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU) awarded their inaugural Collaborative Opportunity Grants to the University of New Orleans, the University of Memphis, and Cal State LA. The grants support partnerships between these public universities and local community organizations or businesses that equip students for career success after graduation. "We know the pandemic has only accelerated demand for 21st Century skills," said Dr. Christel Perkins, deputy executive director of USU and assistant vice president at APLU. "We're excited to support three institutions with leading-edge efforts to pilot and scale efforts to create stronger pathways between college coursework and career pathways." Each institution will receive $50,000 to improve its 21st Century skills curricula, particularly to prepare low-income, first time in college students. The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation provided financial support for this work. |
| Nebraska's critical race theory debate | |
| Nebraska's governor is publicly pressuring the state university system's Board of Regents to pass a resolution against critical race theory. "I strongly urge the Board of Regents to pass the resolution opposing the imposition of Critical Race Theory on students, so we keep academic freedom alive and well at the University of Nebraska," Republican governor Pete Ricketts tweeted this week. The resolution in question, proposed by Regent Jim Pillen, another Republican, who is running to succeed term-limited Ricketts, says that "America is the best country in the world and anyone can achieve the American Dream here." Critical race theory doesn't "promote inclusive and honest dialogue and education on campus" and its proponents "seek to silence opposing views and disparage important American ideals," the resolution also says. The proposal isn't framed as a ban, per se, but it says that the regents "oppose any imposition of critical race theory in curriculum." If passed, the resolution could nevertheless carry significant weight as a policy, especially as the meaning of "imposition" is somewhat open. Is a term paper an imposition, for instance? The University of Nebraska at Lincoln last year committed to a "journey for anti-racism and racial equity" that will involve -- among other things -- the student experience. Is that an imposition? |
| Walmart Offering Full College Tuition And Books For Employees | |
 | In an effort to help decrease the growing student debt nationwide, Walmart announced Tuesday that the company will begin offering free college tuition and books to its 1.5 million U.S. employees, effective Aug. 16. Starting next month, the retail giant said it will drop its existing $1-per-day fee for associates who participate in its Live Better U education program. As a result, approximately 1.5 million part-time and full-time Walmart and Sam's Club associates in the U.S. will be able to earn college degrees or learn trade skills without the burden of accumulating college debt. Employees can choose from a variety of institutions, including: Johnson & Wales University, the University of Arizona, the University of Denver and Pathstream -- complementing its existing "academic partners": Brandman University, Penn Foster, Purdue University Global, Southern New Hampshire University, Wilmington University and Voxy EnGen. Since the program started in 2018, more than 52,000 associates have participated in the program to date and 8,000 have already graduated, Walmart said. |
| U.S. visa rejections shattered Chinese students' dreams. Now, they're fighting back | |
| When Chen Siyu met a consular official at the U.S. embassy in Beijing in March to review her qualifications for a student visa, "Everything was going well," she says -- or so it seemed. Chen, who has a master's in public health from the University of Hong Kong, had won a fully funded slot in an epidemiology Ph.D. program at the University of Florida. When the consular officer asked about her current employment, Chen explained that she had worked as an epidemiology research assistant at a major hospital for 5 years. She mentioned that the hospital is affiliated with a military medical university. The consular officer thanked Chen for the information and moments later handed her a rejection form letter with "Other: 212(f)" ticked off from among a selection of reasons. The interview was over, as were her dreams of earning a Ph.D. in the United States. Chen is one of a growing group of Chinese students barred from the United States based on 212(f), a clause in the decades-old Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) that allows the U.S. president to identify aliens whose entry would be "detrimental to the interests of the United States." In May 2020, then-President Donald Trump signed a proclamation that invoked the clause to bar Chinese graduate students and postgraduate researchers with ties to an entity in China "that implements or supports China's 'military-civil fusion strategy.'" The proclamation exempts those working in fields that don't contribute to that strategy -- but apparently epidemiology is not among them. Now, Chen is one of 2500 activists -- Chinese students with visa problems and their supporters -- who are fighting back against what they see as an arbitrary and discriminatory policy. |
| Senate panel to hold hearing on student loan bankruptcy reform, Sen. Durbin says | |
 | Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, will hold a hearing Aug. 3 on student loan bankruptcy reforms to explore ways to lower the barriers borrowers face in discharging their education debt. The Education Department is routinely contesting requests for bankruptcy discharges from people deep in debt and short on resources despite the ongoing economic fallout of the pandemic, The Washington Post reported this month. Consumer advocates and liberal lawmakers including Durbin have long urged the department to revise its bankruptcy policy and called on Congress to revisit the restrictive standards it imposed. Federal and private student loans can be cleared through bankruptcy, but the hurdles are high and discharges are rare. To have their student loans discharged, people must bring a separate lawsuit within their bankruptcy case -- known as an adversary proceeding. They must convince the court that the debt would impose an "undue hardship" and fend off the lender from thwarting their effort. But consumer advocates say the bar is set too high for what constitutes undue hardship. |
| Other governors use bully pulpits, incentives to urge vaccination. Where's Gov. Reeves? | |
| Geoff Pender writes for Mississippi Today: As a more virulent strain of COVID-19 rips through states with low vaccination rates, many governors are using their megaphones and-or state resources to urge residents to get inoculated and overcome vaccine hesitancy and misinformation. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson in Arkansas has been touring the state with health officials, holding town halls to urge vaccinations and combat "false information" and "myths." West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has announced sweepstakes with a $1.6 million grand prize and and run ads urging vaccinations in honor of "Babydog," his family's pet bulldog. Republican governors in Alabama, Ohio, Utah and other states with low vaccination rates have stepped up their push for their residents to get vaccinated -- with Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey making an impassioned plea for vaccination last week and saying, it's "time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks" for the disease's spread. But not Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves. |
| Brainwashed Mississippians put others at risk | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford writes: The late Beatle George Harrison was prophetic in the title track from his last album. "They brainwashed my great uncle/Brainwashed my cousin Bob/They even got my grandma/When she was working for the mob," goes his song Brainwashed, released a year after his death in 2001. The notion of "brainwashing" comes from claims in the 1950s that communist China used mind-bending techniques on captured soldiers in Korea. But nowadays the phrase "You're being brainwashed" is commonly used to "discredit opposition viewpoints," Scott Selisker, author of Human Programming: Brainwashing, Automatons and American Unfreedom, told Futurity.org. He links the increased usage "with the phenomenon of social media 'bubbles' where users often see largely the views of those who agree with them ideologically," Harrison was not aware of modern social media when he wrote his song. Blogging had yet to have much impact. Facebook wasn't created until February 2004 nor Twitter until March 2006. Yet, he seemed to see the future. ... Relentless bias and falsehoods pushed on social media have turned Americans against each other, often with great fervor, often splitting families. And, with our borders wide open to digital infiltration, foreign enemies have weaponized social media to exacerbate these divisions. |
| Mississippi casinos showing record growth with overflow crowds | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: How ready were gamblers to return to Mississippi Gulf Coast casinos after COVID-19 and the resulting shutdowns? Big time ready, it would seem. Back in 2007, as the Gulf Coast began to rebuild from Hurricane Katrina, one of the early signs of recovery was when the Coast casinos earned $124.7 million in the month of July. In April 2021, the Coast casinos earned a cool $151.7 million and kicked a record $31 million into state and local tax coffers. That's on top of what the state is taking in through the state lottery and from the sports book. Mississippi now ranks as the nation's fifth largest gaming market at $104 billion, supplanting New York City in that position. The Big Apple is now the nation's eighth largest market, the position Mississippi held in 2019. That's the ranking from the American Gaming Association's "State of the States" for 2021. The state's Delta (Tunica/Lula) casinos are the 17th largest gaming market at $445 million, according to the AGA annual report. According to AGA, Mississippi produced $213.8 million in gaming tax revenue off of $1.80 billion in gross gaming revenue. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State extends coach Chris Lemonis after CWS title | |
| Mississippi State says head baseball coach Chris Lemonis has signed a long-term contract extension, less than a month after guiding the Bulldogs to their first College World Series national championship. A release Tuesday says Lemonis will earn a base salary of $1.25 million next year, followed by annual increases of $25,000. The contract's length was not specified. Lemonis is 255-128-2 in seven seasons as a head coach, including 114-37 in three years at MSU. That included a 50-18 mark this spring, capped by the Bulldogs' first national title in any team sport in their third consecutive CWS appearance. The American Baseball Coaches Association also named Lemonis as NCAA Division I national coach of the year. The coach thanked school officials for their belief in him and added, "I am looking forward to many more years in maroon and white. We are proud of what we have accomplished so far, and we are excited about the future as we strive for more championships." |
| Chris Lemonis signs contract extension as Mississippi State baseball coach | |
| Chris Lemonis has signed a contract extension less than a month after leading Mississippi State baseball to its first national title. After leaving Indiana in 2018 following four seasons with the Hoosiers, it was clear Lemonis wanted to reach the pinnacle. He has done that, and now he continues to show commitment to the school from which his father Thomas graduated. The length of the extension was not given in an MSU athletics new release Tuesday morning, but Mississippi law allows a maximum of four-year contracts for employees of state colleges and universities. Lemonis essentially gets a rollover of his contract with a base salary of $1.25 million this season and a $25,000 increase each following year. "Chris has made an immediate impact on Mississippi State Baseball, leading our program to a national championship in just his second complete season," MSU athletic director John Cohen said in the release. "Chris, his staff and student-athletes continue to raise the high bar of excellence both on and off the field, and we are thrilled about our program's future. We look forward to having Chris and his family in Starkville for a long time." |
| Mississippi State baseball coach Chris Lemonis gets contract extension, will earn $1.25M in 2022 | |
| Mississippi State baseball coach Chris Lemonis agreed to a long-term contract extension on Tuesday that will pay him $1.25 million in 2022. He was earning $750,000. Lemonis will receive an increase of $25,000 for the remaining years of the deal. The contract's length was not specified by Mississippi State although the maximum allowed by the state of Mississippi is four years. Lemonis led the Mississippi State to its first national championship in program history in June. The Bulldogs defeated Vanderbilt in three-games to win the College World Series. "Never a day passes that I am not honored to be the head baseball coach at Mississippi State," Lemonis said in a school release. "I want to thank Dr. Mark Keenum, John Cohen and our administration for their belief in me, and I am looking forward to many more years in maroon and white. We are proud of what we have accomplished so far, and we are excited about the future as we strive for more championships." Lemonis --- the American Baseball Coaches Association 2021 coach of the year --- has led the Bulldogs to 114-37 record and back-to-back College World Series appearances in three seasons in Starkville. |
| Austin Williams, Aaron Brule set to step up in key roles in Mike Leach's second season | |
| Fall camp is approaching, meaning the ring of cowbells at Davis Wade Stadium, the grind of the SEC season and the inevitably craziness of the Egg Bowl are not too far in the future. But before Mississippi State can turn its attention to all the excitement that a return-to-normal regular season brings, there are questions to be answered when fall camp opens August 2. Most of those questions regarding the team's depth chart. From quarterback to safety, Mike Leach mentioned competition providing added motivation to his players while also bettering them before the season begins in an iron-sharpens-iron way. Leadership won't be among those questions. Taking the lectern and talking to various media outlets during last week's SEC Media Days, wide receiver Austin Williams and linebacker Aaron Brule made it clear that they were ready to step up and put on their shoulders the leadership needed on a team entering its second season of trying to establish a culture under a new head coach. |
| Pac-12 Leaders Suggest Realignment Response as SEC Growth May Compromise CFP Expansion | |
| The College Football Playoff seemed destined to expand and expand quickly. For two years, a group of CFP executives worked to create a model that they presented to decision makers and have disseminated across college football. Their 12-team proposal, largely celebrated across America, appeared on the fast track to approval in a September meeting, potentially within two years of replacing the current four-team model. And then, in a seismic and stunning shift, the Big 12's two biggest brands, Texas and Oklahoma, started the process this week of joining the SEC. Pac-12 leaders here at the conference's annual media day say the move compromises the expansion model and will almost assuredly delay its approval, even potentially resulting in wholesale changes to its structure. In fact, league administrators believe the SEC's chess move, while calculated and cunning, will start a responsive chain of significant changes across the landscape of American college sports. It's the tip of the iceberg, says one. There will be more, says another. The Realignment War of 2021 has begun, and this time, there is a particularly precious battleground: the expanded playoff model. |
| Johnny Manziel to Texas, Oklahoma on SEC: 'It is no cake walk, and it is not the Big 12' | |
 | Johnny Manziel has a message for Oklahoma and Texas. The two schools formally applied for SEC membership this week, and the former Texas A&M quarterback was asked about it Tuesday. "Lucky for A&M, we have a 9-, almost 10-year head start on both of those teams being in the SEC," Manziel, the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner, said. "The rivalry has been gone for a while, but now it looks like it's coming back. It's time to just sack up and go play the game. We're in a good position. We have a good coach. We have a good team. If they want to come to the SEC and see what it's all about then we'll welcome them with open arms. But it is no cake walk and it is not the Big 12, so it should be interesting to see how things play out." Manziel is one of many who have chimed in on the idea of the Longhorns and Sooners bolting from the Big 12. Former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who once called SEC dominance propaganda, penned an opinion piece praising the move. |
| Alabama AD Greg Byrne talks 2021 football, construction projects and future of college sports | |
| Change often comes in waves and doesn't always come with a warning. The sirens blew offshore for years, foreshadowing at least a few of the parallel tsunamis hitting the college athletics shores this summer. From the ongoing COVID-19 issues to Name Image and Likeness laws, a potential playoff expansion and rumblings of NCAA restructuring, these are revolutionary times in a realm built on tradition -- not known or built for speed in change. To better understand a few of these issues, AL.com sat down with Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne early last week to gain a better understanding of where things stood. The interview, conducted before news of a potential SEC expansion broke Wednesday, touched on matters both with national significance down to local construction projects. Below is a transcript of the conversation with Byrne edited for clarity and length. |
| Now official: Florida, UCF announce three-game football series | |
| Florida officially announced Tuesday that it has added a three-game series with UCF to its schedules for the 2024, 2030 and 2033 football seasons. The Gators will face the Knights in Gainesville in 2024 and 2033, and UF will make the short trek to Orlando in 2030. The pairing was previously reported my multiple media outlets. The two in-state foes have only met twice as Florida has won both contests. The teams first played in 1999, when the Gators raced to a 58-27 victory. In the second game of the 2006 National Championship season, Florida blanked UCF, 42-0. Both games were played in Gainesville. Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin got the deal he requested but only after former UCF AD Danny White left Orlando to take the same position at Tennessee. White wanted a two-game, home-and-home series. Since UCF is not a Power Five school, Stricklin only would sign on for a two-for-one scenario or a neutral-site matchup. Over the next decade, the future non-conference opponents feature Notre Dame, Texas, Utah, Cal, Colorado, Arizona State, and NC State, on top of in-state foes Miami, USF, and the annual matchup against Florida State. |
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