| Tuesday, May 27, 2025 |
| Bots on the Barbie: MSU engineer designs robotic meat-skewering system | |
 | If you're grilling this summer, kebabs -- cubed meat, fish or shrimp and vegetables on a stick -- are likely on the menu. The shish kebab, tracing back as far as the Byzantine era but popularized in early 20th-century Turkey, is a staple of Mediterranean cuisine, but variations exist across cultures. Today, the market for commercially premade ones is gaining ground, and soon, this dish might be prepared for the grill by robots. Wenbo Liu, a scientist at Mississippi State's Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, is researching and testing a novel, fully autonomous skewering system, in collaboration with a Michigan State University scientist. Semi-autonomous skewering machines that prepare kebabs for commercial use already exist; however, aligning the meat and vegetable pieces must still be done by hand. Even systems considered fully autonomous require human assistance to fill empty cups because pick-and-place models using robotic arms cannot process irregularly shaped pieces like shrimp. "I was looking at these different systems online and wanted to build a next-generation prototype that addresses these limitations," said Liu, stationed at the MAFES Experimental Seafood Processing Laboratory and MSU Coastal Research and Extension Center located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. |
| MSU Head Scholarship awarded to Brookhaven student Lauren Mabry | |
 | Lauren Mabry, of Brookhaven, is one of two recipients of The Benjamin Taylor Head Memorial Scholarship. A Mississippi State University student, she receives $1,000 toward her education. Also awarded the scholarship was Conner Young, a Coast resident. The scholarship is named in honor Wesson resident and MSU graduate Benjamin Head, who died September 2013. He had graduated the previous May with an accounting degree. His parents, Ira and Cherry Head, established the endowed scholarship in his memory in 2014. Scholarship recipients are chosen from the Adkerson School of Accountancy. "We were very excited, and love when local kids are chosen for this scholarship," Cherry Head said. "It is such an honor for Ira and I to award The Benjamin Taylor Head Memorial Scholarship to these two outstanding MSU students." |
| 'Stronghold' of food, housing assistance in the works | |
| If someone in the community is struggling to put food on the table, or to stay in their home, where can they go for help? Starkville Strong has been working to answer that question through its programs and services since the nonprofit began as a community action group in 2020. But now, Starkville Strong Executive Director Brandi Herrington has announced the organization's plans to build a centralized headquarters, The Stronghold, over the next three years. "It's a one-door one stop, where our clients or any neighbor in need can come to get assistance in one place," Herrington said. "The idea is to make sure that we're providing the services that we provide along the way with case management, and be able to provide all our programs from one place." Currently, Herrington said, the organization is in phase one of its three year plan to create The Stronghold, which she envisions being a 6,000-10,000 square foot facility on 5-10 acres of land. The organization has not yet secured a location for the headquarters, as Herrington said she is currently considering a few options. In a pitch for The Stronghold shared through Starkville Strong's website, the organization anticipates spending about $250,000 for land acquisition and pre-construction, another $330,000 on construction, $270,000 on operations and $150,000 on sustainability and expansion. |
| Threat of thunderstorms, tornadoes to continue this week in Mississippi | |
 | Much of Mississippi has experienced thunderstorms with strong winds, heavy rain, hail and lightning over the past several days and that pattern is expected to continue for the next several days. "Basically, at least through Thursday, we're looking at what we've seen the last few days," said Nicholas Fenner, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson. "These disturbances to our west have found their way to the Gulf Coast region. "This pattern will continue through Thursday. Each one has the possibility of severe weather." The main threats are damaging wind gusts and heavy rain, but Fenner said hail and tornadoes are a possibility, too. On Tuesday, East Central and Southeast Mississippi are under a Slight Risk warning, or a Level 2 of a possible 5 threat. West of that area to Vicksburg and north to just above Starkville are under a Marginal Risk warning, which is a Level 1 threat. On Wednesday and Thursday, the southern half of the state, including Jackson, will be under a Marginal Risk warning, but Fenner said storms could develop north of that area before a cold front moves in late this week and pushes out the warm, moist air that's fueling the storms. |
| Special session called for next week as House, Senate reach budget agreement | |
 | White smoke emerged from the Mississippi Capitol on Friday as House and Senate leaders appear to have reached an agreement on the state's $7 billion plus budget for Fiscal Year 2026, which starts July 1. Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann's said Friday that the chambers have indeed reached an agreement. "The House and Senate have come to an agreement on the budget," Hosemann said in a statement sent to state media. "We have notified the Governor and are awaiting the call for special session." Governor Tate Reeves released the following statement Friday after reports surfaced that an agreement had been reached: "Now that we've reached an agreement on the budget, today I informed Lieutenant Governor Hosemann and Speaker White that I intend to call a special session for the middle of next week. The proposed budget does not materially increase state spending, is fiscally conservative, and will help us to continue Mississippi's historic economic momentum. I'm proud of the work we've done to reach this agreement. I'd like to thank Mississippi's legislative appropriators for working diligently throughout the budget negotiation process. I'm excited to get the special session completed and look forward to quickly passing the budget. I will provide more updates next week." |
| As Mississippi Republicans reach budget deal, Democrats say they haven't seen it | |
| Democratic lawmakers are being left in the dark on a budget proposal verbally agreed on by members of Mississippi's Republican supermajority, according to party leaders. Gov. Tate Reeves announced Friday that he plans to call a special session for the middle of the week after GOP negotiators in the House and Senate reached a deal on Fiscal Year 2026 -- one that "does not materially increase state spending, is fiscally conservative, and will help us continue Mississippi's historic economic momentum," per the Republican governor. Sen. Derrick Simmons and Rep. Robert Johnson, who serve as minority leaders in their respective chambers, issued a scathing statement in response to the reported agreement, saying there's been a lack of transparency throughout the process and the proposed budget has not been released to all parties. "In a representative democracy, transparency is not optional -- it is essential," a portion of the joint statement reads. Simmons and Johnson went on to call for the budget proposal to be released to the entire legislature immediately, citing "consequential errors" in major legislation during the regular session. Specifically, they pointed to the enactment of a typo-riddled tax cut bill that soured relations between GOP members and helped lead to a state budget not being passed in a timely manner. |
| President Trump approves Mississippi's request for assistance for March storms | |
| On Friday, Governor Tate Reeves announced that his request for Individual Assistance and Public Assistance for the counties affected by the March 14-15 severe weather and tornadoes was approved by President Donald Trump. Reeves made the request weeks ago and has been waiting to receive word from the White House even as Mississippi's congressional delegation has also sought to have the request moved forward when speaking with federal agency heads. Mississippi experienced 18 tornadoes, severe storms, flooding, and straight-line winds during the two days in March. Seven deaths were attributed to those storms and hundreds of homes and businesses received damage. The governor's office said Friday that there are 11 counties approved for Individual Assistance and 17 counties approved for Public Assistance. "I'd like to thank President Trump for approving my request for Individual and Public Assistance," said Governor Reeves in a statement to the press. "This support will go a long way in helping Mississippi to rebuild and recover. Our entire state is grateful for his approval." |
| House GOP's SNAP proposal sparks concern from Senate Republicans | |
 | A House GOP-backed proposal that would cut billions in federal dollars from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nation's largest food assistance program, is drawing concerns from Republicans in the upper chamber. The proposal, included in House Republicans' recently passed package to enact President Trump's tax priorities and spending cuts, would require states to cover a share of SNAP benefits costs, which are currently completely funded by the federal government. "That's something that I heard some members voice concern about," Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) said Thursday. "So, we'll need to address that." While Boozman said Senate Republicans aren't drawing a red line around the plan just yet, members "want to look specifically at how those particular policies will affect their individual states." "Some of that we know, some of it we don't." The House bill calls for the federal share of the cost of SNAP to go from 100 percent in the next two fiscal years to 95 percent starting fiscal 2028. It also includes language that would increase states' shares of the costs in fiscal 2028 depending on their payment error rates. |
| House Ag Chair Says Farm Families 'Among the Biggest Winners' in GOP Budget Bill | |
| House Republicans passed their reconciliation bill by a one vote margin on May 22. The bill boosts farm programs and extends key tax breaks but cuts SNAP program spending. On this episode of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson joined the show to talk about why the bill is so important for agriculture. He also discussed the impact of federal downsizing at USDA and whether farmers should be worried about the president's trade policy. Then, Jim Richards with Cornerstone Government Affairs and Anne Simmons with The Peterson Group, Inc. discussed the specifics of reconciliation and whether comprehensive farm bills are a thing of the past. |
| Democrats are looking to make gains in the South next year. It could be their last shot. | |
 | With Republicans holding competitive, eat-their-own primaries in the midterms next year, Democrats in the South see an opening to court moderates who are souring on the GOP. In Texas, state Attorney General Ken Paxton is challenging the establishment-aligned Sen. John Cornyn, and the Georgia GOP primary field is quickly becoming crowded as Republicans attempt to oust Sen. Jon Ossoff. While holding Georgia will be tough and flipping Texas even harder, there's still an opportunity for the left. A new class of Democratic leaders in the South are pitching voters on their party's proposals to lower costs and increase wages, while casting blame on Republicans for an unsettled economy under President Donald Trump. They say that strategy is key not just for the midterms, but part of solving an existential threat for Democrats if they want to stand a chance in coming years at regaining national power. The fix, according to a dozen Democratic leaders in the South, is to refocus the Democratic Party on the economy and border security -- two areas of strength historically for the GOP. The uphill climb for Democrats in the South is steep. |
| On Memorial Day, Trump honors fallen soldiers and celebrates political wins | |
 | President Donald Trump commemorated his first Memorial Day back in office with a speech at Arlington National Cemetery that reflected on the tragedy of fallen soldiers, grieving Gold Star families and -- in Trump's telling -- the "hard four years" between his administrations. "People pouring through our borders unchecked, people doing things that are indescribable --- and not for today to discuss," Trump said in front of a crowd of several thousand on Monday, including many Gold Star families who had come to the cemetery to honor their deceased loved ones. Since becoming president again, Trump said "the republic ... is now doing so very well ... considering the circumstances." It was an explicitly partisan message during what is traditionally expected to be a nonpolitical speech. Trump's remarks echoed comments he had posted to Truth Social earlier in the day, in which he started with a holiday message that veered into criticisms of political opponents and judges who delivered rulings that he thinks are hindering his policy agenda. Online, however, Trump's Truth Social post and remarks at the cemetery prompted an outcry from observers who argued it was inappropriate to use a moment of national remembrance to harp on political vendettas, and took issue with the president wishing people a "happy" Memorial Day. |
| Trump Weighs Sanctions Against Russia as Relationship With Putin Sours | |
 | President Trump is eyeing sanctions against Moscow this week as he grows frustrated by Russian President Vladimir Putin's continued attacks on Ukraine and the slow pace of peace talks, according to people familiar with Trump's thinking. The restrictions likely wouldn't include new banking sanctions, one of the people said, but other options are under discussion to pressure the Russian leader into concessions at the negotiating table, including a 30-day cease-fire supported by Ukraine that Russia has long rejected. Trump might also decide not to impose new sanctions. Trump addressed the potential of new sanctions on Sunday, saying that he is "absolutely" considering them. "He's killing a lot of people," Trump said of Putin. "I don't know what's wrong with him. What the hell happened to him?" Trump is also tiring of the peace negotiations and is considering abandoning them altogether if a final push doesn't work, people familiar with his thinking said, a remarkable change for a leader who campaigned on his ability to end the conflict on his first day in office. It is unclear what would happen if the U.S. retreats from the peace process and whether Trump would continue to provide military support to Ukraine. |
| NPR and public radio stations sue Trump White House over funding cuts | |
 | NPR and three of its member stations filed suit in federal court Tuesday against President Trump's White House over the president's executive order to block funding for public media. Trump's order called for an end to government dollars for the Corp. for Public Broadcasting, the taxpayer-backed entity that provides funding to NPR and PBS. He called the outlets "left wing propaganda." The suit says the May 1 action by Trump violated the 1st Amendment. "The Order targets NPR and PBS expressly because, in the President's view, their news and other content is not 'fair, accurate, or unbiased,'" the legal brief said, according to an NPR report. The suit also says that the funding -- currently at around $500 million annually -- is appropriated by Congress. The allocation is made two years in advance. "Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government," Corp. for Public Broadcasting chief Patricia Harrison told NPR in a statement. Harrison said that the Corp. for Public Broadcasting is not a federal agency subject to the president's authority. |
| MVSU tuition to stay the same | |
| Six of Mississippi's public institutions of higher learning are increasing the price of state resident tuition, but Mississippi Valley State University's tuition will remain the same. Out-of-state tuition, top tier meal plan, and housing increases were also approved. Last week, the Mississippi State Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees approved requests from six universities to increase tuition rates by an average of 3.8%, with the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) asking for a 3%increase. MVSU ($7,492), Alcorn State University ($8,105) and Delta State University ($8,435) are keeping rates the same as last year. "You can see that several of the institutions are not recommending an increase. This is due to cost and competitive situations for these campuses," John Pearce, IHL's Senior Associate Commissioner for Finance, told the Board. Pearce also gave the IHL Board an updated comparison of how Mississippi's tuition rates compare to those in the rest of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Region 1. Even with the increases, he said Mississippi remains competitive with institutions of higher learning in contiguous states that are part of the SREB. |
| Tennibot: An Auburn-based company overcoming global challenges | |
| At Auburn University's Yarborough Tennis Courts, tennis balls zip around all day long. But not every ball comes off a racket -- some are launched by a robot constructed just minutes away. Tennibot, founded by Auburn University graduates and still based on the Plains, conducts much of its product testing on the courts. Although Tennibot remains local, its challenges have become increasingly global as the company navigates a rapidly changing tariff landscape and complex international legal disputes. Despite the worldwide market headwinds it faces, Tennibot sees itself becoming integral to the lives of millions of tennis and pickleball players. Tennibot was formed by two Auburn engineering alumni, Haitham Eletrabi and Lincoln Wang. The idea for their first invention materialized when Haitham realized he was spending most of his time at the tennis courts picking up balls rather than playing. When he told Wang about the idea, the two got to work. Tennibot has since created and started selling two cutting-edge robots. Tennibot faces major new issues due to the Trump administration's tariff plan. While Tennibot assembles its products in Auburn, many of its constituent parts are reliant on a global supply chain. Retaliatory tariffs could additionally harm Tennibot's sales in the worldwide market, leading to reduced demand alongside higher manufacturing costs. |
| Shifting UNO to the LSU system comes with a hefty price tag | |
 | A plan to make the University of New Orleans part of the LSU system could cost the state more than $80 million over the next five years -- and the move won't happen unless state legislators secure the funds. The plan would have UNO leave the University of Louisiana system and move back to the LSU system, which governed the university from its founding until 2011. The move would set the state back more than $81 million over five years, including more than $40 million next fiscal year to pay off UNO's debt, cover transition costs and pay for some deferred maintenance, according to estimates that LSU gave the Legislature. The pricey plan comes as the federal and state governments are attempting to slash spending. Gov. Jeff Landry has proposed a "standstill" state budget that keeps spending, including on higher education, as close to last year's levels as possible. On Wednesday, new revenue forecasts showed the state has $139 million more available next fiscal year than initially projected -- funding that many state lawmakers and agencies will want a piece of. Lawmakers say they hope the shift will revitalize the university, which has been credited with helping build New Orleans' middle class but has struggled with dropping enrollment over the years since Hurricane Katrina. |
| Political appointees would have more control over Texas universities' courses and hiring under bill approved in House | |
| The Texas House approved on Sunday a bill that would grant political appointees unprecedented oversight of the state's public universities. Other conservative-led states, including Florida and North Carolina, have sought to influence who leads colleges and what gets taught in classrooms. Texas is poised to go further by shifting some of those responsibilities, traditionally held by professors, to politically appointed university regents. The legislation would also create a state office with the power to investigate universities and would threaten their funding if they don't comply with the law. Supporters argue the measure is necessary to combat what they perceive as a liberal bias in universities and to better support the state's workforce needs. Critics say it will undermine teaching and research. Senate Bill 37 passed on a preliminary vote 83-53 on Saturday. It would create a state-level committee that would recommend courses that should be required for graduation and how to condense the number of those courses. Meanwhile, each public university system's board of regents, who oversee the school's operations and are appointed by the governor, would be charged with creating a committee to review curricula and reject any course deemed ideologically charged or that doesn't align with the workforce demands. |
| Mizzou clinic offers digital diagnoses of plant diseases | |
 | On the bottom floor of Mumford Hall on Mizzou's campus, Peng Tian opens an email and five photos of a brown pine tree needle with black spots appear on the screen. Instantly, he knows the problem. "This is a very typical symptom for one specific pine disease called Dothistroma disease," he said. Tian is the director of the University of Missouri Plant Diagnostic Clinic, which now accepts digital plant samples. That means, for a small fee, the public can send in photos of their plants and have them diagnosed or identified by an expert. The clinic has existed since 1965 and serves home gardeners, farmers, agricultural companies and researchers. Usually, people send in physical samples, and it costs at least $15. "If I need to do any additional test, I will make a phone call to the client to say, 'Hey, we need a test to characterize your disease; are you willing to pay an extra fee for the additional test?'" he said. But -- as in the case with the diseased pine tree needle -- that's often unnecessary. So the lab created an online service where people can submit photos and descriptions of their plants instead of sending them in physically. |
| As the Nation's Research-Funding Model Ruptures, Private Money Becomes a Band-Aid | |
 | The Spencer Foundation normally receives around 500 letters of intent from scholars applying for grants to support education research. This year, the Chicago-based organization received nearly 2,000. And the William T. Grant Foundation, in New York, received three times as many applications for a major research competition. They're among the many philanthropies facing a surge in demand as scholars scrounge for private funds to compensate for historic cuts to federal research subsidies. or decades, universities have relied on federal funding to run labs, pay graduate workers, and cover indirect research costs, all in service of advancing the nation's renowned research enterprise. The government funneled around $60 billion to universities in the 2023 fiscal year alone. Now, that long-standing relationship is teetering: The Trump administration has terminated hundreds of federal grants and proposed massive cuts to the budgets of the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. In response, several influential philanthropies are increasing investments in scholarly work that aligns with their missions. |
| Universities Map Out New Investment Strategies to Deal With Tax Hike on Endowments | |
| House Republicans' plan to raise taxes on university endowments could drive the biggest shift to endowments' investment strategies in a generation. The GOP plan is part of the broader Trump bill that passed the House last week and now moves to the Senate for approval. If the bill passes, it would lift the tax on investment income for some of the biggest endowments from 1.4% to 21%, in line with what U.S. corporations pay. Other schools would see their taxes jump by significant amounts as well. Under the new tax plan, universities might pull back from strategies that regularly generate short-term gains and shift money into other investments such as private equity, which generally don't realize gains for years. The Wall Street Journal spoke to officials at eight private universities and colleges about their thinking on investment strategies in light of the bill. They largely said they would begin using a new lens of tax-efficiency as they think about how to direct -- and redirect -- their billions. Lobbyists for schools have spent months visiting Capitol Hill trying to soften the potential blow. The schools say they are modeling for various possibilities, but haven't started making wholesale changes to their investment portfolios. "This is a one-size-fits-all attempt to sort of come after some institutions, and there's a lot of collateral damage," said Andrew D. Martin, chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis. |
| Trump Intends to Cancel All Federal Funds Directed at Harvard | |
 | The Trump administration is set to cancel the federal government's remaining federal contracts with Harvard University -- worth an estimated $100 million, according to a letter that is being sent to federal agencies on Tuesday. The letter also instructs agencies to "find alternative vendors" for future services. The additional planned cuts, outlined in a draft of the letter obtained by The New York Times, represented what an administration official called a complete severance of the government's longstanding business relationship with Harvard. The letter is the latest example of the Trump administration's determination to bring Harvard -- arguably the country's most elite and culturally dominant university -- to its knees, by undermining its financial health and global influence. Since last month, the administration has frozen about $3.2 billion in grants and contracts with Harvard. And it has tried to halt the university's ability to enroll international students. The letter instructs agencies to respond by June 6 with a list of contract cancellations. Any contracts for services deemed critical would not be immediately canceled but would be transitioned to other vendors, according to the letter, signed by Josh Gruenbaum, commissioner of the G.S.A.'s federal acquisition service, which is responsible for procuring government goods and services. |
| Reconciliation Bill Would Block Access to Higher Ed, ACE Leader Warns | |
 | The House GOP proposal to impose risk-sharing responsibilities on colleges and universities is the most concerning element of the budget bill that's now in the hands of the Senate, according to the head of the leading higher education advocacy body. Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, said the plan would limit access to higher education for low-income students and sow financial instability across the sector. In a recent episode of The Key, Inside Higher Ed's news and analysis podcast, Mitchell also warned that cuts to federal funding would cede the U.S.'s position as a global research superpower. Risk-sharing is among House Republicans' plans to cut nearly $350 billion from higher education over the next 10 years and is part of the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which aims to eliminate $1.5 trillion from the federal budget. If passed, the legislation would require colleges to make annual payments based on how much former students owe in unpaid loans. "It's not a very discriminating tool," Mitchell told The Key. "Ninety percent of institutions would end up on the hook for paying money ... but also, year by year the bill is different, and so once again it creates an instability and an insecurity that's very, very hard to plan on." More important, Mitchell said, is how risk-sharing would impact institutions that enroll low-income students. |
| It's time for lawmakers to do Mississippi taxpayers a solid in the special session | |
| Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison writes: In early April, the Mississippi Legislature opted to end the 2025 session and come back in special session, at greater expense to taxpayers, to pass a budget for the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1. It will cost Mississippi taxpayers more for a special session than it would have cost them had legislators just voted to remain in regular session to work on the budget. ... Since at this point there is no escaping the added expenses for the Legislature being in special session, there are a few extra steps lawmakers could take to give the taxpayers something more for their money. First of all, when they come back, they should work as quickly and efficiently as possible. Presumably, legislative leaders have been working behind the scenes to reach a budget accord. So, when the governor calls the special session and legislators return to the Capitol, they should be ready and rearing to go. Second, pass a responsible budget that takes care of the people of the state and not the special interest of any particular legislator or group of legislators. And finally -- and this is an important one -- be transparent. The final passage of the state budget normally occurs in the waning hours of the regular session and in one big blur. Transparency is almost never a focus. |
SPORTS
| Baseball: MSU Headed To Tallahassee Regional | |
| For the 41st time in program history, Mississippi State baseball is returning to the NCAA Tournament. The Diamond Dawgs will be the No. 3 seed in the Tallahassee Regional which also includes host Florida State, second-seeded Northeastern and No. 4 seed Bethune-Cookman. MSU will play No. 19 Northeastern (48-9) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+. The sixth-ranked Seminoles (38-14) host Bethune-Cookman (37-21) on Friday at 2 p.m. on ACC Network. "I'm so proud of the hard work and effort this team and this staff have put in to ensure the Bulldogs are back in the NCAA Tournament where they belong," said interim head coach Justin Parker. "You always want to be playing your best baseball this time of year and our results over the past month indicate that this team is poised to do that. It'll be a tough regional, and we look forward to getting down there and having our loyal fans join us in Tallahassee." It will be the fifth time the Diamond Dawgs have played in the Tallahassee Regional and first since 2018 when they won it on a walk-off homer by Elijah MacNamee to advance to a super regional and eventually the College World Series under interim head coach Gary Henderson. |
| MSU headed to Tallahassee Regional | |
| Mississippi State baseball is back in the NCAA Tournament, traveling to Florida State University for the Tallahassee regional this weekend. MSU joins as the No. 3 seed with hosts No. 1 FSU, No. 2 seed Northeastern and No. 4 seed Bethune-Cookman for the weekend regional. They'll begin play against Northeastern, one of the hottest teams in the country with an NCAA-best ERA of 2.92, on Friday. The Bulldogs and Huskies will play at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and will stream exclusively on ESPN+. This is MSU's second year in a row making it to an NCAA regional after missing in both 2022 and 2023. The Bulldogs lost in the final elimination game against Virginia in the Charlottesville regional last year and haven't made it to a Super Regional since the national championship run in 2021. The Bulldogs have plenty of firepower at full health. Ferriss Trophy finalist Ace Reese and John Olerud semifinalist Noah Sullivan have led a productive group at the plate, along with the program's new record holder for career home runs, Hunter Hines. Ace Pico Kohn will be ready to go with some much-needed rest as well, and Evan Siary has emerged as a reliable starting threat behind him as well. |
| Play ball! Things to know entering the NCAA baseball regionals | |
 | The NCAA baseball tournament opens Friday with play in 16 double-elimination regionals. Regional winners advance to best-of-three super regionals next week, and the final eight go to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, beginning June 13. Northeastern's 27-game win streak is the longest in Division I since Fairfield rolled off 28 straight in 2021. The Huskies (48-9) are making their fourth NCAA appearance since 2018 under Mike Glavine, younger brother of Baseball Hall of Fame member Tom Glavine. The Huskies are the No. 2 regional seed in Tallahassee, Florida, and open against Mississippi State. Columbia (29-17) has won nine in a row and 16 of 17. The Ivy League champions are a No. 4 regional seed and meet No. 16 national seed Southern Mississippi. Toughest regional? The Oxford Regional, hosted by Mississippi, gets the nod. Their opponent, Murray State (39-13), is in the tournament for the first time since 2003 after winning the Missouri Valley Tournament. The Racers had a three-run lead against the Rebels in Oxford on March 5 before losing 8-7 in 10 innings. Georgia Tech (40-17), the No. 2 regional seed, is the first ACC regular-season champion since 1999 to not host. The Yellow Jackets are matched against Western Kentucky (46-12), which set a school record for wins and has the Conference USA player and newcomer of the year in Ryan Wideman and pitcher of the year in Drew Whalen. |
| SEC awarded 8 of 16 NCAA baseball regional sites | |
| Southeastern Conference schools were awarded eight of the 16 regional sites for the NCAA baseball tournament on Sunday, tying the record it set in 2023. The SEC will have Arkansas (43-13), Auburn (38-18), Georgia (42-15), LSU (43-14), Mississippi (40-19), Tennessee (43-16), Texas (42-12) and Vanderbilt (42-16) playing at home to start the national tournament. Three Atlantic Coast Conference teams are hosts: Clemson (44-16), Florida State (38-14) and North Carolina (42-12). First-year Big Ten schools Oregon (42-14) and UCLA (42-16) are hosts, as are Sun Belt Conference schools Coastal Carolina (48-11) and Southern Mississippi (44-14) and independent Oregon State (41-12-1). Florida State is hosting a regional for the 37th time, the most by any school. FSU, Georgia, North Carolina, Oregon State and Tennessee each hosted in 2024, and Arkansas and Clemson are both hosting for a third straight year. |
| Mississippi State announces $2.5 million gift from Golding family | |
| With a new era of revenue-sharing in college sports looming, Mississippi State University's athletic programs got a big boost from some longtime supporters. MSU's athletic department announced Thursday that it had received a $2.5 million donation from Vicksburg business owners, the Goldings. "A huge thank you to Steve, Melody, Austin, Kirsten and John Reid for their direct impact on Mississippi State Athletics," Athletic Director Zach Selmon said in a statement. "The Goldings care deeply for our university, our community, and our state. Their thoughtful decision to join us in this pursuit is a testament to their generosity and relentless competitive spirit. We are grateful." The Goldings also established an endowed scholarship at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2024, an annual award with a preference for first-year students who are Mississippi residents. |
| With college sports in limbo and key issues coming to a head, the spotlight is on the SEC: 'It's going to get heated' | |
| This used to be more of a vacation. For four decades now, each Memorial Day weekend, university presidents, athletic administrators and football and basketball coaches from the SEC escape to this jewel. From the Sandestin Hilton, along the white sandy beaches of the Florida panhandle, they gather here for their annual spring meetings. Back in the day, this thing was four days of mostly monotonous legislative meetings. Lots of golf. Plenty of poolside cocktails. And bunches of beach time. Through the years, the list of items tackled here are fairly trivial compared to today's ills. Remember the controversy around football satellite camps? How about the uproar over alcohol sales at conference games? Heck, even the heated, NIL-fueled squabble a couple years ago between Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher pales in comparison to what now stands before the most powerful college football brand in America. Nowadays, SEC meetings are three days of intense policy-making discussions oozing with heavy subject matter. There is little to no golf. Few cocktails. And an absence of beach time. SEC leaders begin meetings here this week in the midst of a proverbial battle over the future of college athletics: its football (and basketball) postseason championships; the NCAA's governance role; and the inception, for the first time ever, of direct revenue sharing with athletes. |
| Greg Sankey says SEC is 'prepared as well as we are able' for House settlement approval | |
 | College sports are stuck in a whirlwind of uncertainty as the 2024-2025 academic calendar wraps up and a potential landmark year approaches. The SEC finds itself right in the middle of that whirlwind as arguably the most powerful and influential conference in the country. From landing three teams in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff to 14 in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, the conference stands at the forefront of college athletics. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey met with reporters to kick off the conference's annual spring meetings on Monday and was asked directly how prepared the conference is for an approval of the impending House Settlement that would open the doors for revenue sharing with student athletes. Sankey said the SEC is "prepared as well as we are able" for that approval and the changes that come with it, but admitted that anytime something is new, there's potential for turbulence. "There's going to be questions to be answered, and our timeframe is compressed between decision and a lot of implementation work, a lot of people spend a lot of time preparing," Sankey said. "I know we spent an incredible amount of time and energy across the four conferences." |
| Greg Sankey says SEC not settled on preferred CFP format | |
| SEC commissioner Greg Sankey opened the league's annual meetings Monday by saying he's open-minded about the format of the College Football Playoff, while leaving some breadcrumbs about what he thinks are priorities in the conference's decision-making. With SEC athletic directors, presidents and coaches converging in Destin this week, the future of the College Football Playoff in 2026 and beyond is one of the central issues facing the league. That's in part because the playoff format decision is kinetic, as it impacts the SEC's football schedule going to nine games and some type of down-the-road scheduling partnership with the Big Ten. "We're not committed to any particular format," Sankey said. With conversations among CFP leaders about format having appeared to splinter off to just the four power conference commissioners, a 16-team model looms as the most likely for the future of the sport. Sankey remains noncommittal on how the SEC thinks that should work, as college football enters the final year of its current postseason format. Sankey did make clear his disappointment in the reactions of the ACC and Big 12 commissioners to the move to a straight seeding model announced last week. |
| SEC commissioner: 'More traction' on 16-team playoff than he anticipated | |
| The commissioner of the Southeastern Conference is hearing increased interest from his league's leaders about a previously little-discussed idea of expanding the College Football Playoff from 12 to 16 teams. "Sixteen has had more traction in my league than I would've anticipated," Greg Sankey said Monday at the kickoff of the league's annual meetings. A move to 14 teams had been widely viewed as the next expansion, but Sankey said "16 has become more central in the conversation. We're interested, not committed, but the interest level has gone higher." The future of the playoff will be among the topics discussed among school presidents, athletic directors and coaches in what might be the most consequential of the many conference meetings taking place this spring. Last week, all 10 conferences and Notre Dame provided the unanimous agreement needed to move to a straight seeding model for next year's playoff, which will remain a 12-team affair. The commissioner said he is neither committed to the 16-team idea, nor to the oft-floated idea of providing up to four automatic bids to both the SEC and Big Ten in whatever format comes next. |
| Greg Sankey: SEC interest in 16-team CFP has risen, but automatic qualifiers sell conference short | |
| Commissioner Greg Sankey said interest in a 16-team playoff has increased in the SEC but cautioned that while there has been much chatter about College Football Playoff models that include multiple automatic bids for conferences, those formats might actually sell his league short. Sankey opened SEC spring meetings Monday with a near 45-minute news conference, most of which was dominated by questions about the future of the CFP. He said the SEC has no preferred CFP format but expected that to be a major topic during three days of meetings with athletic directors, coaches and university presidents in the conference's annual trip to this beachside resort. Sankey reiterated a point that he has made frequently this offseason, and one that his members have pounded the table about: What's the value of playing a difficult schedule? Sankey said the way the committee seems to weigh strength of schedule shortchanges the conference slate; an SEC team's league schedule often doesn't include any teams among the lower half of the 134 NCAA FBS programs. "Here's my problem," Sankey said. "But for maybe one, maybe two teams in a year, we don't have 65 or 66 and everybody else has a group, it's 60 and below. That has to be considered by us in making our schedule, by the CFP, and by the CFP itself in evaluating selection criteria." |
| Greg Sankey claims rigor of SEC schedule is 'different than anyone else's' | |
| On Monday, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey delivered fiery opening remarks at the 2025 SEC Spring Meetings. In his remarks, Sankey repeatedly emphasized that the SEC was the best conference in the country. Following that train of thought, Sankey declared that SEC conference play is the most grueling in college football. "Whether people want to agree with it or not, that's up to them. We can go through the analytics and show the rigor of our schedule is different than anyone else's, period," Sankey said. "We had a learning session in September with the CFP about strength of schedule, and strength of schedule isn't everything, but it is an important factor. "I remember very clearly one of the messages was, if you play the top-ranked team and the 130th-ranked team, those two games average out to 65.5. If you play 65 and 66, they average out to 65.5. So the advisor said, you're just as well playing 65 and 66. Here's my problem: but for maybe one, maybe two teams in a year, we don't have 65 or 66, and everybody else has a group that's 60 and below. That has to be considered by us in making our schedule, by the CFP itself, and evaluating selection criteria." |
| Alcohol sales at Georgia football games: Revenue, top selling beer, game by game totals | |
 | Georgia football fans took advantage of the first season of public alcohol sales in Sanford Stadium during the Bulldogs SEC championship season last year. The sale of beer and seltzer brought in $2,794,481 in gross revenue, according to figures obtained by the Athens Banner-Herald in an open records request. Georgia's biggest games -- against a No. 6 Tennessee team and rivals Auburn and Georgia Tech -- drew the most sales. Fans could get a cold can of Miller Lite, Coors Light and Michelob Ultra for $10, High Noon, Modelo and Twisted Tea for $11 and Tropicalia, Classic City Lager and Sip'Em Seltzer for $12. The Tennessee and Georgia Tech games were at night and the Auburn game was a 3:30 pm. kickoff. Georgia Tech was on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The Mississippi State game, Oct. 12, had $406,593 in sales. Georgia and Auburn were the last two SEC teams entering 2024 that had not had public alcohol sales at football games among the league's 16 teams. |
| More than 10,000 fans expected this weekend for USM baseball regional | |
 | Hattiesburg has baseball fever once again! "Baseburg is back!" said Visit Hattiesburg Executive Director Marlo Dorsey. The University of Southern Mississippi is set to host an NCAA Regional in the Hub City this weekend, but the impact stretches far beyond Pete Taylor Park. "We anticipate several thousand fans coming from the other three teams that will be playing in the tournament this weekend," said Dorsey. As these fans pour into the Hub City, Dorsey said this is sure to be a home run for Hattiesburg's economy. "We're looking at more than $4 million in direct spending here in the Hattiesburg economy," said Dorsey. "That's a conservative estimate. When you crunch all the numbers, it's about $6 to $7 million dollars in economic impact." Dorsey said sports tourism has become a huge part of Hattiesburg's identity. She said in 2023, Hattiesburg had $582 million in direct visitor spending. "Sports tourism was easily more than $100 million of that total," said Dorsey. "So without sports, Hattiesburg would not be where (it is) today." |
| Good news for Mississippi college baseball. Now then, whom do you pitch? | |
| Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: The Road to Omaha now has its road map, and we should hear no complaints from Hattiesburg, Starkville or Oxford. As per usual, Mississippi will be well represented in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. Ole Miss and Southern Miss will both host NCAA Regionals and Mississippi State, after a season in which it fired the head coach, is in the tournament as a 3-seed at Florida State. You won't see that happen often. First things first: Ole Miss, the No. 10 national seed, will play Murray State Friday night at 7 p.m. Southern Miss, the 16-seed, will play Columbia University Friday night at 6 p.m. State plays Northeastern, which has won 26 straight games, Friday night at 6:30 at Tallahassee. In the other half of the Oxford regional, Georgia Tech plays Western Kentucky. In the other first round game at Hattiesburg, Alabama plays Miami. At Tallahassee, host Florida State will play Bethune-Cookman. You ask me, both Southern Miss coach Christian Ostrander and Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco have big decisions to make. Both teams have established pitching aces in USM's JB Middleton and the Rebels' Hunter Elliott. Do you start your ace against the weaker 4-seed, or do you save him to pitch against a decidedly more formidable opponent on Saturday? Clearly, State interim head coach Justin Parker doesn't face the same quandary. You go with your best when facing a higher seed with a 26-game win streak -- no matter what league they play in. |
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