| Thursday, September 4, 2014 |
| Mississippi State Dig Team Flees Violence in Israel | |
 | A routine archaeological dig in Israel this summer put a group of Mississippi State University students and faculty members in the middle of a conflict that escalated into a full-scale war. "We had a front-row seat to a terrible situation," said Jimmy Hardin, MSU associate professor in the Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures and organizer of the Hesi Regional Project. Since 1983, MSU's Cobb Institute of Archaeology has sent teams to do archaeological work in Israel and Jordan every year possible. Although this year's team was away from areas targeted by missile attacks, it had to evacuate the country one week ahead of the ground war between Hamas in Gaza and the Israelis. |
| The Odds That Lightning Will Delay a College Football Game | |
 | Weatherwise, football is supposed to be like the Postal Service, undeterred by snow, rain, heat, or gloom of night. But when it comes to lightning, the NCAA is not messing around. If lighting strikes within 10 miles of a stadium, NCAA policy requires a public announcement advising fans to evacuate. If it hits within six miles, players and officials are required to leave the field, and the game is delayed 30 minutes after the last strike of lightning has been detected within that radius. Given that only 11 Division 1 football teams play indoors, researchers at Mississippi State University decided to try to figure out the probability that lightning might strike outdoor football stadiums in the Southeast. |
| Program launched to aid cotton farmers as support payments end | |
 | Cotton farmers across the nation must adjust to the provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill that have ended support payments for that commodity. Here in Mississippi, cotton is still a major row crop bringing in more than $331 million in 2013. "There are a lot of differences that farmers are going to have to deal with in the new Farm Bill," said Mississippi Farm Services Agency Executive Director Michael Sullivan. The Cotton Transition Assistance Program provides interim payments to cotton producers during the 2014 crop year until the Stacked Income Protection Plan, a new insurance product, becomes available. "Mississippi State and Alcorn State universities will be developing tools on how to administer the program," Sullivan said. |
| Flat tax rate forecast for Starkville's upcoming fiscal year | |
 | Starkville is expected to operate with the same ad valorem tax rate in the upcoming fiscal year, officials forecast Tuesday, after staff said an expected early January economic development bond issuance will mean the city won't need additional funds for payments until Fiscal Year 2015-2016. The board of aldermen unanimously approved advertising for a 21.68-mill ad valorem rate -- Starkville's current millage level -- ahead of Sept. 16's public hearing on taxes and the upcoming FY 2014-2015 budget. Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins, who repeatedly said he is not in favor of a tax increase, grilled Chief Administrative Officer Taylor Adams on the city's financial health, repeatedly questioning whether Starkville will have available funds to pay for numerous upcoming projects. |
| Sanctions may delay Severstal sale | |
| The sale of Russia-based Severstal may be slowed down due to sanctions the United States currently has on the country. As a result, Lowndes County supervisors had to update an estoppel certificate to a company that has announced plans to buy the plant to be more in line with the date of the transfer. During their meeting Tuesday, supervisors authorized Board President Harry Sanders to sign the updated agreement with Steel Dynamics, an Indiana-based company that in July announced plans to purchase the plant by January for approximately $1.6 billion. The facility is located on 1,400 acres near Airport Road and employs about 650 people. |
| Illegal substance 'spice' drastically alters behavior | |
 | The Jackson Police Department reports having five spice-related cases in 2014. Friends of Dewayne Thompson, who has been charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Greene County teenager Katelyn Beard, allege the two were smoking spice before Thompson allegedly shot Beard in the face. Friends of Thompson said he acted differently when he allegedly was using spice. Authorities said that's not unusual. "We have seen and read reports where that's a common side effect," said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Floyd Baker of the Drug Enforcement Agency. "That uncontrollable behavior, and people will say, 'This guy is not that person.' This is a chemical substance that has changed people's personalities." Addiction specialist Dr. Scott Hambleton of Hattiesburg said the synthetic versions can be 100-150 times more potent than marijuana. |
| Musgrove defends MAEP lawsuit, fees | |
 | Major policy changes in Mississippi's past have required litigation, former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove said on Wednesday. Musgrove met with the Daily Journal's editorial board to explain the lawsuit he filed last week against the state of Mississippi. It seeks to recover payment school districts have been shortchanged during the past six years under the state's funding formula -- the Mississippi Adequate Education Program -- and to win an injunction forcing the formula to be fully funded in the future. Critics of the lawsuit have said repaying underfunding from the past six years could bankrupt the state. They also have questioned the high lawyer fees that would go to members of the legal team. |
| Mississippi Department of Education lays off about 30 employees | |
| The Mississippi Department of Education shaved about 7 percent of its workforce with a round of layoffs affecting approximately 30 people, including the head of the Office of School Improvement. Some employees were notified Friday, others on Tuesday, said MDE spokeswoman Patrice Guilfoyle. Guilfoyle said the moves are part of the agency's reorganization process spearheaded by State Superintendent of Education Carey Wright. Mississippi Board of Education members did not learn of the layoffs until after the fact. "Apparently the board doesn't need to approve them," said board member and past chairman Wayne Gann. |
| Will Mississippi keep accepting children with legal refugee status? Gov. Bryant says no | |
 | Catholic, Methodist and Episcopal leaders are scheduled to meet Thursday morning with Gov. Phil Bryant, asking Mississippi to keep sponsoring a 34-year-old program that resettles children with legal refugee status. The Bryant administration has told the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services it's declining to accept any new children into the Unaccompanied Refugee Minor program. Spokeswoman Nicole Webb said recently that Bryant fears President Barack Obama will use the program to send children who immigrated illegally. Bryant is a longtime critic of illegal immigration, but has usually been silent on legal immigration. |
| McDaniel still has no decision on appeal | |
| Chris McDaniel of Ellisville apparently has put off for at least another day a decision on whether to appeal a decision dismissing his legal challenge of the June 24 Republican primary runoff election where he lost to incumbent U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran. Attorneys and others representing McDaniel had said the second-term state senator would decide first Tuesday and then Wednesday whether he would appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court last week's dismissal of his election challenge. Throughout Wednesday the McDaniel campaign continued to say he would announce a decision on whether to appeal or to finally concede the June 24 election. But that announcement never came and Wednesday night McDaniel's campaign was unavailable for comment. |
| Cochran nursing home blogger claims charges have changed | |
| The man accused of taking the photo of U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran's bedridden wife said on social media that his charges have been changed to burglary, attempted burglary and conspiracy. Clayton Kelly was charged in May with conspiracy, exploitation of a vulnerable adult and photo voyeurism for allegedly taking a photo of Cochran's wife at a Madison nursing home on Easter. In a Facebook post captured by Y'all Politics on Wednesday but since removed, Kelly said his case is going to trial because he can't get an acceptable plea deal. In that post, he mentioned that the charges have been changed against him. But Madison County District Attorney Michael Guest said Wednesday that no new affidavit had been filed and it will be up to a grand jury to decide what charges Kelly will face if he is indicted. |
| GOP Chair Nosef addresses fear, loathing in Jones County | |
| State GOP Chairman Joe Nosef has sent a letter to Jones County GOP Chair Lew Yoder and others about setting up a meeting/event, and about The Troubles. Nosef references a demand he and other state leaders received to appear before a new group called "Republicans of Jones County" who are mad at the Republican establishment over the issues around Chris McDaniel's loss to incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran. The group essentially demanded Nosef, Gov. Phil Bryant, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, State Auditor Stacey Pickering and Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann come down to Jones County and appear before the group and take an earful or two about their support of Cochran. |
| Barbour's BGR Group picks up Obama official | |
 | BGR Group, a largely Republican public affairs firm, has hired an official who served in both the Obama and Clinton administrations. Maya Seiden spent five years at the State Department, most recently serving as the chief of staff to the deputy secretary of State. It's a strategic move for the GOP firm, which only has two other Democratic lobbyists on staff. "Maya brings great expertise and excellent outreach to BGR. Her Democratic roots and her outstanding service in Democratic administrations will offer fresh perspective for BGR," said the firm's founding partner, former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. |
| House, Senate Laying Groundwork for War on ISIS | |
 | As President Barack Obama weighs U.S. options for confronting ISIS, the insurgent group in control of parts of Iraq and Syria, lawmakers in both the House and Senate are moving to ensure that the administration has the authority to take military action if necessary. Rep. Frank R. Wolf, R-Va., said in a statement Wednesday he will introduce legislation when Congress reconvenes next week that would authorize the use of military force against ISIS and other terror groups around the world, including al Nusra, Ansar al Sharia, al Shabaab and Boko Haram. Wolf's proposal comes one day after Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., announced a similar bill for the Senate as lawmakers from both chambers and both parties expressed anger and frustration over Tuesday's release of another video showing the beheading of an American journalist by the jihadi insurgents. |
| Justice Department to probe Ferguson police force | |
 | Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. this week will launch a broad civil rights investigation into the Ferguson, Mo., Police Department, according to two federal law enforcement officials. The investigation, which could be announced as early as Thursday afternoon, will be conducted by the Justice Department's civil rights division and follow a process similar to that used to investigate complaints of profiling and the use of excessive force in other police departments across the country, the officials said. Holder's decision will represent the Obama administration's most aggressive step to address the Ferguson shooting, which set off days of often-violent clashes between police and demonstrators in the streets of the St. Louis suburb. |
| Beige Book: U.S. Economic Outlook Brightens During Summer | |
 | The U.S. continued its run of solid-if-unremarkable growth during the summer, the Federal Reserve found in its latest survey of regional conditions that offered little to suggest the economy was either decelerating or overheating. While Wednesday's report said more employers are voicing concerns about shortages of certain skilled workers, there were few signs of broad-based wage growth. The Labor Department is set to report job figures for August on Friday; net job growth has exceeded 200,000 for six straight months through July. The report comes ahead of the Fed's policy-making meeting set for Sept. 16-17. |
| Study: Millennials less trusting than Gen X was | |
| They're often pegged as the civic-minded, do-gooding generation. But while they're still optimistic about their own personal prospects, a new study finds that today's youth are often more skeptical of the country's institutions than the young generations that preceded them. Jean Twenge, lead author of the study that will be published early this month in the online edition of the journal Psychological Science, says the current atmosphere -- fed by the Great Recession, mass shootings, and everything from church sex abuse scandals and racial strife to the endless parade of publicly shamed politicians, athletes and celebrities -- may help explain why this young generation's trust levels hit an all-time low in 2012, the most recent data available. |
| UM ranks among the most LGBTQ-unfriendly | |
 | The University of Mississippi was ranked number 20 on The Princeton Review's annual list of LGBTQ, or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning, unfriendly schools. Jaime Harker, associate professor of English and interim director of the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies, said a major factor in the ranking was the heckling of the Ole Miss Theater's production of "The Laramie Project" last fall. |
| Recovery To The Top! USM renovations nearly complete after 2013 tornado | |
 | While Southern Hall and the fountain in front of the Administration Building received finishing touches Wednesday, the Ogletree House sat pretty, awaiting its debut. Renovations around the University of Southern Mississippi campus mark its recovery from a February 2013 tornado that heavily damaged structures and landscaping on campus. According to a release from Southern Miss, Gov. Phil Bryant will attend the grand reopening of the Ogletree House, as well as a Landscape Restoration Recognition Ceremony in the District at 10 a.m. Friday. Southern Miss encourages visitors, students, faculty, staff and alumni to attend Friday's events. |
| USM program introduces disabled veterans to the joys of kayaking | |
 | For many military veterans, their disabilities prevent them from enjoying certain water activities. USM Gulf Park recently received a grant from the U.S. Olympic Committee to connect South Mississippi veterans with the sport of kayaking. The vets are paddling for fun and therapy. The days of sitting back and watching others enjoy the water are over for many military veterans. On Wednesday, 20 veterans were the first participants in the Yakin with Vets project. The staff from the Institute for Disability Studies at the USM campus in Long Beach and the Biloxi V.A. teamed up to offer the therapeutic benefits of kayaking to veterans. |
| Two arrests in armed robbery on Mississippi College campus | |
 | The Clinton Police Department has arrested two people in connection with Friday evening's armed robbery on the campus of Mississippi College. A third person of interest in the crime is being sought for questioning. Twenty-three year old Corey Gillespie Booth of Jackson has been charged with armed robbery and is in jail with bail set at $500,000. Twenty-one year old Conessia Samuel of Jackson has been charged with accessory after the fact. She has been booked with a $250,000 bail. Two female students were walking from their dorm to a nearby parking lot around 9:40 p.m. when they were approached by a black male. Officials said the man took personal belongings of both women. The two students were able to escape without injury. |
| U. of Kentucky to announce its single-largest gift today | |
 | The University of Kentucky is planning to announce a sizable donation to the campus in Lexington. The school says it will announce the single-largest gift in its nearly 150-year history at the event Thursday morning. School officials said Wednesday the gift will benefit the entire campus but will be especially important for students. The announcement will be at the UK Student Center on campus. UK President Eli Capilouto and Gov. Steve Beshear are scheduled to attend. |
| Protesters rally on eve of historical building's demolition at U. of Kentucky | |
| A group of about 40 people rallied in front of a historical University of Kentucky building Wednesday, one day before it is scheduled for demolition. The 1840s-era Hamilton House, an Italianate former residence hall on South Limestone, will make way for new dorms. Several other more modern buildings on campus also have been torn down in recent months. Among the protesters was Jane Dooley, who lived in the house between 1967 and 1969. "We lived there as UK students, and it's just so sad it's going to be demolished," she said. |
| U. of South Carolina technology incubator snags nearly $2M for new center | |
 | A $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Commerce Department will help build a new $4 million startup center for the USC/Columbia Technology Incubator. The center will be near the University of South Carolina's south end in a rising Innovista Innovation District corridor on the edge of Olympia village, the school said Wednesday. The corridor -- the Innovista Innovation District -- is being developed as a premier destination for innovation, creativity, entertainment, culture and more, officials said. Property for the new incubator already is owned by the USC Development Corp., the school's real estate entity, and an undisclosed financial contribution will come from the USC Research Foundation to help build the incubator, school officials said. |
| UGA to host book release party for Athens author | |
 | The University of Georgia hosts a book-release event today for award-winning author and poet Philip Lee Williams. The event will be held 5-7 p.m. in the Grand Hall of the Russell Special Collections Library on Hull Street and features the release of Williams autobiography, "It Is Written: My Life in Letters." The public is invited. "He's had such a storied career. He paints, composes music, writes poetry, fiction, nonfiction, a little bit of everything. He's kind of a Renaissance man," said Marc Jolley, the director of Mercer University Press, which published the book. Williams recently donated his literary papers to UGA, where he graduated and worked as a science writer. |
| Texas A&M System regents approve funds for Corps dorm renovations | |
 | The home of more than 2,400 cadets at Texas A&M University's Corps District in the southside quadrangle will see $115 million in improvements from 2015 through 2017 after the Texas A&M System Board of Regents approved completion of the corps dorm renovation project Wednesday. Lacy and Harrell Halls recently completed renovations as part of the 2012 Corps District Plan, while Leonard Hall is under construction for renovations. The approved funding will continue the 2012 plan by similarly renovating the remaining nine buildings. The buildings in the district will have new modern amenities inside while retaining their traditional exteriors. |
| Strawser to be new vice president for finance and administration at Texas A&M | |
| The Texas A&M University Board of Regents approved the appointment of Mays Business School Dean Dr. Jerry Strawser as Texas A&M University's vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer Wednesday. Interim President Mark A. Hussey recommended Strawser for the position, citing a strong business and financial savvy he has shown at Texas A&M as the Mays School dean, a position he has held since 2001. His appointment is effective immediately. He will replace B.J Crain, who resigned to accept a position as special assistant to the vice chancellor and dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. |
| Preliminary numbers indicate decline in research money for U. of Missouri | |
 | The University of Missouri is facing a decline in federal research dollars, according to preliminary fiscal year 2014 numbers. MU and the University of Missouri System are both seeing a decline for the year. That decline isn't unique to the university, but rather an indication of a national trend in higher education research and development. Hank Foley, executive vice president of academic affairs for the UM System and senior vice chancellor for research and graduate studies at MU, said the decrease in federal grants and contracts is a "pretty bad" drop but not as severe as at other schools. Preliminary numbers indicate that for fiscal year 2014, the university brought in about $213.7 million worth of federal research dollars. |
| U. of Missouri again explores idea of hotel, conference center | |
 | The University of Missouri has hired PKF Consulting to conduct a market study for a proposed hotel and conference center that would be located near campus, according to an email sent Wednesday to faculty and staff. The email included a link to a survey intended to help MU officials determine the need for a hotel and conference center, not just for the university but for the community, MU spokesman Christian Basi said. This will be an open process, he said. The consulting firm has met with representatives of local hotels, Basi said. MU has no further plans until the survey is completed, which will be in the next three weeks. "This is the preliminary first step," Basi said. |
| Why Campuses Can't Talk About Alcohol When It Comes to Sexual Assault | |
 | At the beginning of every academic year, college freshmen are quickly introduced to two hallmarks of campus social life, drinking and hooking up. But while statistics show that alcohol and sex can be a dangerous combination -- at least half of students involved in alleged sexual assaults were drinking -- campus officials are reluctant to put the two in the same sentence. "The discussion of alcohol and sexual violence is the third rail of discourse," says Christopher P. Krebs, a senior social-science researcher for the company RTI International who has studied the effects of alcohol on sexual assault. "It's something no one wants to go near." |
| Number of history faculty job openings is declining, study finds | |
 | The American Historical Association typically releases its annual jobs report at the annual meeting in January. The report was moved up to Wednesday, but not because of good news. The association listed 638 history jobs in 2013-14, down 7 percent from the previous year. That total is greater than the 569 jobs listed in 2009-10, the point at which the recession was having its most significant impact on academic hiring. But history job listings don't appear in any way headed back to their pre-recession total in 2007-8 of 1,064. Not all history faculty jobs are posted with the AHA. But the ups and downs of its job postings generally reflect the discipline's health in hiring. |
| Higher GPA for Freshmen Who Frequent Campus Gym | |
| First-year college students who regularly visit the campus gym are likely to have higher grade point averages than those who don't. Or at least that's the case at Purdue University, where the university has tracked which first-year students frequently visited its France A. Cordova Recreational Sports Center and used their student ID numbers to generate a report based on their first-semester GPA. The university found that the students who visited the center 15 or more times a semester -- or about once a week -- held an average GPA of 3.08. The average GPA for students who did not regularly use the gym was a 2.81. That's the difference between a B and B-. |
| Why Colleges With a Distinct Focus Have a Hidden Advantage | |
 | Take a look at any of the most widely followed ratings of America's colleges and universities, and almost all of the top-ranked schools will have this in common: They want to appeal to everyone, or at least everyone with a brilliant mind and a work ethic to match. Their course offerings are balanced among math and science, the humanities and social sciences. They seek the highest-performing students of all sorts: Men and women, of any religion and geographical background, with any career ambition imaginable. But when you analyze colleges and universities based on where applicants are most likely to choose to attend when admitted to multiple schools, some of the institutions that perform the best are very much not for everyone. |
SPORTS
| Running backs carry load on ground for Mississippi State | |
| Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen was blunt when asked of quarterback Dak Prescott's less-than-featured role Saturday in the season opener against Southern Mississippi. Prescott, who led MSU in rushing with 829 yards as a sophomore, was featured sparingly in the ground game in the 49-0 victory. Although he finished with 39 yards on eight carries, Prescott had only two carries on designed runs, a number Mullen said was predicated by a sterling performance by MSU's tailbacks. "I think we were running the ball well with our backs, and when they're running well I'd rather feed them than Dak," Mullen said. "We just didn't really need to get in to many quarterback runs." |
| SEC teleconference: Mississippi State prepares for physical rushing attack | |
| This isn't the UAB team of last year that lost to Southern Miss in the season-finale. That was the tone Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen had during this week's SEC Teleconference on Wednesday. "They're going to be playing with a lot more confidence and swagger," Mullen said. "They're a much different looking team than they were last year. So we're going to have to play well. We have our hands full." The Blazers might have to rely on more of a passing attack in Starkville. Mississippi State has held its last four non-conference opponents below 75 yards rushing. |
| UAB ground game to challenge Mississippi State defensive line | |
| Mississippi State defensive end Preston Smith felt the absence of a blocker, stopped in his tracks and raised his arms before deflecting a pass from Southern Miss quarterback Nick Mullens. The ball fell harmlessly into Smith's arms for the Marietta, Georgia native's first career interception as the senior delivered the first statement play of the season for MSU's defense. It would not be the last. Smith, named the Southeastern Conference's Defensive Lineman of the Week on Monday for his performance that included two tackles, the interception, a quarterback hurry and a blocked field goal, was emblematic of a Bulldog defense that dominated from start to finish against USM. |
| Bulldogs' Dez Harris gets nerves out of the way with Southern Miss | |
| Dez Harris was thinking more than playing against Southern Miss. "The first series he was in, kind of tentative," defensive coordinator Geoff Collins said "He had never played defense in a game, his entire life." Then fellow linebacker Beniquez Brown told the freshman to "Let loose." "That second time he's out there you kind of see it," Collins said. "You get a little more comfortable." |
| Catch me if you can: Speed makes up for lack of size for Bulldogs' Holloway | |
| Brandon Holloway arrived at Mississippi State in 2012 as one of the lightest football players in the SEC. At that time, Holloway barely tipped the scales at 150 pounds along his thin 5-foot-8 frame. But what had more than a dozen colleges drooling over was his speed. Holloway, a former high school track standout in the 100, 200 and 400 meters, has been clocked as fast as 4.28 in the forty yard dash. Entering his third year at MSU, Holloway has worked hard to add 10-pounds but knows his speed more than makes up for his small stature. "I've always been undersized, but it's something I'm used to so it doesn't really affect me," Holloway said. |
| Mississippi State sophomore receivers developing quickly | |
| De'Runnya Wilson's rapid rise as a true freshman made it easy to overlook two other talented young receivers on the Mississippi State roster. Wilson put together one of the best seasons for a first-year wideouts in school history and appears headed for college stardom. But two of the receivers he flew past last year -- former four-star recruit Fred Ross and Fred Brown -- are showing signs of growth this year. Last year, a shoulder and groin injury plagued Ross' first year. Meanwhile, Brown was remembered more for antics after receptions (unsportsmanlike penalties). "I've matured. I was young. I was a freshman," Brown said. "I didn't know too much. I got into trouble a little bit but me and coach (Dan) Mullen are on a good page now. He knows I can make plays." |
| Stuedeman announces Mississippi State fall softball schedule | |
 | Coming off its third-highest win total in school history, Mississippi State softball released its seven-game fall exhibition schedule Wednesday, head coach Vann Stuedeman announced. Six of the seven contests will be played at the MSU Softball Stadium on campus. "With seven new freshmen and a new group of upperclassmen leadership, it was important to me to challenge our team with a demanding exhibition schedule," Stuedeman said. The fall exhibition schedule opens with a neutral-site battle against Alabama Southern on Sept. 27 in McComb. |
| French goalkeeper joins Bulldog soccer team | |
| Mississippi State added another standout goalkeeper to the roster as Paris, France, native Tanya de Souza joined the program last week. Although just a freshman, de Souza brings extensive goalkeeping success from the French prep, club and international levels. "We are very excited to have Tanya join our program," coach Aaron Gordon said. "She has a wealth of experience as a goalkeeper at the highest levels, including several international caps with the French Youth National Team. We look forward to working with Tanya and helping her get ready for playing in the SEC." |
| Roads shouldn't hamper Alabama fans this weekend, but construction could affect games later in year | |
 | Road work shouldn't hamper football fans traveling to Tuscaloosa this weekend, Alabama Department of Transportation officials said. Future football weekends could have a potential snag here or there, but fans coming into town for the University of Alabama's home opener against Florida Atlantic University should have clear sailing on ALDOT-controlled roads. "We do not anticipate any road work which would affect traffic in the Tuscaloosa area this weekend," said David Hand, assistant engineer for construction of ALDOT's Fifth Division, which includes Tuscaloosa. And the university has updated its event and parking reservation software for when fans arrive. |
| Texas A&M president given OK to amend contracts of coaches | |
| The Texas A&M University Board of Regents gave Interim President Mark A. Hussey authority Wednesday to amend football coach Kevin Sumlin's contract. The revisions address the incentive clauses in Sumlin's contract that refer to the former Bowl Championship Series and will be updated to reflect the new College Football Playoff. There were no financial or contractual term updates to Sumlin's current deal, which will pay him $30 million through Dec. 31, 2019. Texas A&M Senior Associate Athletics Director Jason Cook said the updates "amounted to wordsmithing." |
| Florida-Idaho football game canceled | |
| Last Saturday's Florida-Idaho game started and ended with one play. And that's the way it's going to stand in the record books. Officials from both schools announced Wednesday they have agreed not to resume the game that was suspended by lightning and unsafe field conditions. The game will go down as a "no contest." "We looked at a number of options and, in the end, we both thought it was in the best interest of our student-athletes and football programs to play out the remainder of our respective schedules as they stand," UF athletic director Jeremy Foley said. |
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