| Monday, November 24, 2014 |
| Christmas gala at Mississippi State showcases local art | |
 | Mississippi State is celebrating the holiday season by showcasing local artists. The university held its third Home for the Holidays Christmas Gala at Mitchell Memorial Library Sunday. Organizers said the idea is to support the arts and draw community members into the campus. "We know these are stressful times for them as they prepare for exams," Stephen Cunetto with MSU Libraries said. "We thought it was a great way to bring a lighter atmosphere to the library as students and faculty prepare for exams." |
| Mississippi State Hosts Annual Christmas Gala | |
 | Mississippi State University got into the Christmas spirit Sunday by hosting its annual Christmas gala. Former MSU First Lady Tommie Zacharias began the festivities with the lighting of the tree in the Mitchell Memorial Library. The event also featured live holiday music, crafts for children and exhibits from the library's Special Collections unit. Vendors included quilters, basket weavers, a carver and yarn crafters. School officials say this is a chance for the local community to celebrate the holidays and to see what the library has to offer. "It's a way of showcasing the rare and special items that we have here in the library. It's a great way to start off and kickoff that special time of the year," says administrator of systems Stephen Cunetto. |
| December graduation ceremonies set at Mississippi universities | |
 | Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves will speak at December graduation ceremonies at Mississippi State University in Meridian. Reeves' speech is one of many scheduled for the month at Mississippi's public and private colleges. Reeves will speak to graduates at 11 a.m. in the Riley Center on the MSU-Meridian campus on Dec. 12 Haley Fisackerly, president and CEO of Entergy Mississippi, is scheduled to speak an hour earlier Dec. 12 to MSU graduates at the Humphrey Coliseum on the MSU campus in Starkville. |
| Mississippi State Philharmonia, youth orchestra, wind ensemble in fall concert | |
 | The Mississippi State University Philharmonia, along with The Golden Triangle Regional Youth Orchestra and members of the MSU Wind Ensemble, will perform in a Monday campus concert. Free to all, the program begins at 7:30 p.m. in the McComas Hall main theater. MSU music professor Michael Brown and orchestral strings lecturer Shandy Phillips will direct. The philharmonia and youth orchestra will present Mozart's "Divertimento in F major," following the string quartet's rendition of the first movement from Haydn's "String Quarter in F minor." |
| Mississippi State Encourages Internships with Food and Agriculture Organization | |
| Only three universities in the nation partner with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to provide internships, and Mississippi State University is one of them. Leaders from the MSU International Institute Office of Study Abroad held a meeting last Thursday in Colvard Student Union for students interested in FAO internships. "This meeting was a preliminary meeting to gauge students' interest in the FAO internships and answer any questions they have," said Kristen Bloom, coordinator of study abroad. The meeting was part of MSU's annual International Education Week, held to motivate and inform students about all the international opportunities the university provides. |
| MSU-Meridian to Host Transfer Workshop | |
 | Students who want to further their education will have the opportunity to do so at a Dec. 1 workshop at MSU-Meridian. The workshop is for students interested in enrolling for the 2015 spring semester. It will take place in the Kahlmus Auditorium at the College Park campus from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The workshop gives students a chance to find out about all their educational options. "We'll have faculty and staff here that evening so they'll be able to talk to some faculty members," said recruiting coordinator Candy Adams. |
| Site to boost Deer Creek in Leland | |
 | Leland residents were wowed Thursday when they got their first look at the initial plans and schematics for the proposed $2.5 million Creative Park to be built on the banks of Deer Creek beside the Jim Henson Museum. A design team, comprising Flora-based landscape architect Robert Poore, Joe Fratesi and Jeremy Murdock of the John C. Stennis Institute of Government and Mississippi State University landscape architecture professor Taze Fulford presented the design plans, which when completed will include an amphitheater for live music and plays, a pavilion next to the Jim Henson Museum and walkways. (Subscriber-only content.) |
| Corps of Engineers names William Bradley, an MSU alum, deputy chief | |
 | William Bradley has been selected deputy chief of the Vicksburg District's Engineering and Construction Division. A Vicksburg native, Bradley has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Mississippi State University, and is a registered professional engineer in the state of Mississippi. |
| Numerous injuries reported from Highlands porch collapse | |
| At least 16 people were injured early Saturday when two upper-level porches collapsed at a Highlands Plantation-area apartment complex. County sheriff's department and fire services officials confirmed about 16 people were treated in various area hospitals after both second and third-story porches fell off a St. Andrews Lane building about 12:15 a.m. Saturday. Oktibbeha County Fire Services Coordinator Kirk Rosenhan said numerous people had gathered on the second-floor balcony when it collapsed first, shortly followed by the third-story balcony. |
| What about 2015? Talk already abounds about next election season | |
 | With a long statewide election season just complete, another -- the one with the biggest ballot of them all -- looms on the horizon in 2015. And while most state government incumbents elected statewide have confirmed they'll be running for re-election to their current offices, some could have challengers -- from outside or possibly inside their own party. State Democratic Party Chair Rickey Cole may be the ultimate eternal optimist as the next election cycle approaches. "The three most powerful offices in state government are governor, lieutenant governor and speaker. Our goal is to control at least two of those three" after the 2015 elections, Cole said recently. Nothing in recent elections would give much credence to Cole's goals. |
| Bryant appoints Mike Moore, others to MDOC task force | |
| Gov. Phil Bryant has appointed more members of a task force -- including former Attorney General Mike Moore -- to review corrections contracts after the indictment of longtime prisons chief Chris Epps. On Nov. 7, Bryant issued an executive order creating the task force, and named Andy Taggart, former chief of staff to Gov. Kirk Fordice, and former Circuit Judge Robert Gibbs as co-chairs. The panel will review all Mississippi Department of Corrections contracts, and oversee rebidding of contracts with companies listed in a 49-county federal indictment. On Friday, Bryant announced that Moore, former assistant Secretary of State Constance Slaughter-Harvey and former lawmaker Bill Crawford will also serve on the task force. |
| Prison-contract task force working in wake of Epps' indictment | |
| Former Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore said that he and others on a new task force have already started examining contracts awarded by the Department of Corrections as they evaluate state spending with private prison companies and other vendors. Republican Gov. Phil Bryant created the five-member task force this month after former Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps and businessman Cecil McCrory were indicted in a bribery scheme that allegedly provided Epps with luxury vehicles, an upscale home in a gated community outside Jackson and a beachside condominium on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The group will start conducting public meetings in December. |
| Epps probe: 'Mississippi Hustle' started with sex scandal | |
| Chris Epps unwittingly triggered the five-year federal investigation that this month ended his career as Mississippi's longest-serving corrections commissioner when he allegedly tried to cover up a warden-inmate sex scandal threatening to tarnish his newest pet project. It was the last straw for Leake County Sheriff Greg Waggoner, who blew the whistle on Epps immediately after the 2009 incident and thus opened the federal investigation dubbed "Mississippi Hustle." Waggoner had declined to comment beyond a few brief statements at the courthouse, but on Thursday he opened up to The Clarion-Ledger about his first whiff of possible impropriety by Epps. |
| Initiative advocates pan Bryant budget | |
| Supporters of an education funding initiative expected to be on the November 2015 ballot say Gov. Phil Bryant's budget proposal, which he recently released, illustrates the reason Mississippians who support public education should vote for the initiative. "Governor Bryant's budget once again shortchanges Mississippi's school children," said Better Schools, Better Jobs communications director Patsy R. Brumfield. The funding of public education is expected to be a major issue during the session with the initiative and a separate lawsuit over the underfunding of education hanging over the heads of the governor and legislative leaders. |
| District 17 Senate runoff set for Tuesday | |
| Three weeks of campaigning will come down to Tuesday when voters decide who will serve the remaining year of the late Terry Brown's state senate term. Bobby Patrick and Chuck Younger advanced to Tuesday's runoff after a four-candidate race during the Nov. 4 special election for the District 17 seat. Younger got the most votes in all 19 participating precincts during the first election and more than 5,000 total for 42 percent of the 12,000-plus votes cast. Patrick picked up 26 percent with just over 3,000 votes. The runoff was necessitated because neither candidate garnered 50 percent plus one of the total vote. Nearly 38 percent of Lowndes County voters cast ballots that day. |
| New National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Roger Wicker Looks for Fast Start | |
| Twenty-one Republican senators up for re-election in 2016 filed into the National Republican Senatorial Committee on the morning of Nov. 19 to meet with party strategists about campaign preparations. Leading the confab with the incumbents and their chiefs of staff were incoming NRSC Chairman Roger Wicker, the Mississippi senator elected to the position a week earlier, and Ward Baker, the 2014 political director who was promoted to executive director for the new cycle. Unlike the past four NRSC administrations, this one is charged with defending a Senate majority. Later that day, in his first newspaper interview since being elected chairman, Wicker spoke candidly about the challenges ahead. He declined to detail the meeting but said, "I guarantee you the issue of fundraising arose." |
| Seabees' morale high despite long Ebola quarantine, Palazzo says | |
 | There were no hugs or handshakes just in case Ebola germs lurked, but Rep. Steven Palazzo found 15 Navy Seabees from Mississippi in "good spirits" Friday as they waited out a 21-day isolation period at Virginia's Langley Air Force Base after a seven-week stint building treatment facilities in disease-ravaged Liberia. "Everybody had a smile on his face," Palazzo said. Palazzo said he made the four-hour trip from Washington to ensure they're in satisfactory quarters. The Mississippi sailors are among 80 to 90 troops in a holding pattern at the joint base near Virginia Beach, Va. The only grumble he heard was about the food, Palazzo said. The congressman's office has arranged to deliver gumbo from Mary Mahoney's, a Gulf Coast restaurant, before Thanksgiving. |
| Defense Secretary Hagel, under pressure, submits resignation | |
 | Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel submitted his resignation Monday, bowing to pressure from the White House to step down after less than two years in the job in what could portend a broader shakeup among President Obama's national security team. Hagel resigned after holding a series of discussions with Obama and other White House officials in recent weeks. A senior defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Obama and Hagel "both determined that it was time for new leadership at the Pentagon." Hagel will remain as defense secretary until Obama can pick a replacement, who must also be confirmed by the Senate. |
| White House threatens to put brakes on alternative fuels | |
 | As biotech masterminds and venture capitalists scramble to hatch a new generation of environmentally friendly fuels that can help power the average gasoline-burning car, they are confronting an unexpected obstacle: the White House. Yielding to pressure from oil companies, car manufacturers and even driving enthusiasts, the Obama administration is threatening to put the brakes on one of the federal government's most ambitious efforts to ease the nation's addiction to fossil fuels. The proposed rollback of the 7-year-old green energy mandate known as the renewable fuel standard is alarming investors in the innovation economy and putting the administration at odds with longtime allies on the left. |
| The W to Offer MFA in Creative Writing | |
| Mississippi University for Women will soon offer a new low-residency master's of fine arts program in creative writing. On Nov. 20, The Board of Trustees of the state Institutions of Higher Learning of Mississippi approved the university's proposal to offer the new program, which is set to launch in August 2015, pending approval of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. "The low-residency program can be the ideal option for writers who have begun careers or who have family or other obligations," said Dr. Kendall Dunkelberg, director of creative writing at The W. "Most of our coursework will be completed online, providing flexible scheduling." Each year, the program will offer a full two-week residency period on campus in late May or early June, which will provide face-to-face workshops, professional seminars, public readings and time to develop a sense of community. |
| Math teachers invited to CHAMPS Mini-Conference at The W | |
| Take a quick glance at Dan Meyer's online resume, and you will see that he is a worker, learner, go-getter, writer and speaker. Study a little bit further and you will find that he is an educator -- one who is helping to lead conversations on how mathematics education is being approached in America. Meyer, along with other experts in the educational field, will be featured speakers for the 2015 Creating High Achievement in Mathematics and Problem Solving (CHAMPS) Mini-Conference scheduled Jan. 9-10 on the campus of Mississippi University for Women. |
| University Police Department prepares for Egg Bowl weekend | |
 | With what is being called the most anticipated Egg Bowl in Mississippi's history, the University Police Department's security plans for the Egg Bowl will be the same as they were for the Alabama game. UPD Chief of Police Calvin Sellers said the university is expecting as many people as the stadium can hold. "All of our games this year, except for Presbyterian, have been sell-out games, so we expect that much of a crowd," Sellers said. According to Michael Harmon, captain of field operations for UPD, no special security plans will be used during Egg Bowl weekend. Every operation will be run just like it would be for every other game, Harmon said. "I've already made contact with Mississippi State, and they're going to send more officers with the team and the band," Harmon said. |
| Ole Miss leader: Lymphoma treatment going well | |
| University of Mississippi Chancellor Dan Jones says his treatment for lymphoma "continues to go as well as possible." In an email to university employees and alumni Thursday, Jones says he is gratified by early good results of his treatment at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. The 65-year-old says he expects to remain hospitalized for several more days, and will begin his next round of chemotherapy after Thanksgiving. |
| USM-led research consortia gets $11 million to study oil impact on Gulf | |
| A research consortia led by the University of Southern Mississippi will use $11 million in funding to study the impact of oil, dispersed oil and dispersant on the Gulf of Mexico's ecosystem and public health. The funds came from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. The research will be conducted from 2015-17. Eleven other research consortia got money. The GMRI gave out $140 million to the 12 groups. The USM-led group includes the Department of Marine Science located at Stennis Space Center and the Gulf Coast Research Lab in Ocean Springs. Others involved are Mississippi State, Rutgers, Oregon State University, the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Old Dominion, the University of Montana and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. |
| EMCC hosts Community College Completion Challenge | |
 | East Mississippi Community College students committed this week to finishing their associate's degrees or certificate programs during the Community College Completion Challenge, called C4. It was a part of a statewide program, with Phi Theta Kappa honor society chapters at each of the state's 15 community colleges coordinating C4 events on their campuses. It marked the first system-wide, coordinated effort to promote completion at Mississippi's community colleges. EMCC students were asked to sign "commit to completion" pledge cards and add their names to C4 banners. About 400 EMCC students took the pledge. |
| Pearl River Community College receives grants for symposium, physics lab | |
 | Pearl River Community College has received two grants from the Lower Pearl River Valley Foundation for community projects and classroom improvement. The foundation awarded PRCC $17,000 for the ninth Women's Health Symposium and $13,000 for new physics lab equipment. The grants were presented by Sid Whitley, the foundation's chief executive officer, on Oct. 29 at the college. Enrollment in PRCC physics classes dropped dramatically after Hurricane Katrina but has recovered to the point that there are more students enrolled in the engineering physics class this fall than in 15 years. |
| NFL chief information officer speaks at Auburn University | |
 | When she was a kid growing up in Enterprise, Michelle McKenna wanted a football helmet and shoulder pads instead of a doll. Today she's Michelle McKenna-Doyle, and she's chief information officer and senior vice president of the National Football League. The Auburn alumna described Friday how the tide is turning for women in a number of male-dominated industries. Speaking in the Goodwin Room at the Auburn University Alumni Center as the last speaker of this year's All-Star Lecture Series, Doyle discussed her beginnings and how she got to her position in the NFL. "I am definitely a lot of times often the only girl in the room, but I haven't let that stop me and the NFL has been a place where I have felt very privileged to be able to add to it," she said. |
| U. of Florida students rally in support of Florida State after campus shooting | |
 | University of Florida students held a short rally of support for Florida State University students outside Turlington Hall Friday morning, a day after a gunman shot three people at Strozier Library on the FSU campus and was killed by police. UF students held posters spelling "#FLORIDASTRONG" and had a moment of silence. "At the end of the day, we all bleed red, we're all on the same team and we're all human beings," said student Rachel Werk, one of the organizers of the event, quoting from a blogpost by UF student Sami Head. "What happened yesterday was appalling, and it should never have happened." |
| Columbia police searching for suspect in attempted sexual assault near U. of South Carolina | |
 | Columbia Police Department investigators are looking for a suspect they say grabbed a woman and attempted to sexually assault her near the University of South Carolina campus Sunday afternoon. The woman, who was walking in the 1300 block of Pickens Street near Lady Street around 1:45 p.m., was approached by a man who forced her into a nearby area where he tried to sexually assault her, Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said in a statement released Sunday. A witness who heard the woman screaming ran to help, Holbrook said. The suspect then fled the scene. A K-9 team was dispatched to search for the suspect who was seen running several blocks away from campus, according to a crime bulletin posted on the university's website Sunday. |
| From football to music, experts share research in athletics and the arts at Texas A&M | |
 | From an adjustment in the angle of a gold medal-winning long jumper's bound or tracking the bow strokes of a professional violinist to reduce the risk of injury, sports medicine students from around the country learned from top researchers in athletics and the arts that the little things make the biggest difference at Friday's Huffines Discussion. The fourth annual event hosted by Texas A&M University's Sydney and J.L. Huffines Institute for Sports Medicine and Human Performance brought together nine speakers at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center to share how minor adjustments in the way researchers approach anything from sports-related concussions or musical performance anxiety can save careers or even lives. Texas A&M students, as well as students at 20 other colleges across the country viewing on a live stream, saw how the applications of sports medicine can cross over into the performing arts field and solve some of its pressing issues. |
| U. of Missouri student government hopes to change religious observance policy | |
 | A series of anecdotes and personal experiences motivated University of Missouri student Thalia Sass to reach out to the student government about the school's religious observance policy. Sass is the president of the Jewish Student Organization at MU, and when she came to the Missouri Student Association, the governing body of the undergraduate population, she wanted to see how to ensure that professors would accommodate those students who have to miss class for a holiday. Currently, MU's Faculty Council encourages professors "excuse students who have a conflict with a class period, test of activity because of these obligations." MSA leaders who came to faculty council this month to advocate for their proposed policy change pointed out that encouraging isn't mandating and some students still have issues with their professors. |
| Graduate student council at U. of Missouri boosts national involvement efforts | |
| The University of Missouri graduate and professional students made 285 calls during National Call Congress Day, with 269 calls going to one of Missouri's U.S. senators or congressional representatives. Those students wanted to talk about issues that affect them now and when they graduate, ranging from student loan interest rate inequality for graduate students versus undergraduates to the elimination of the subsidy on federal loans that allowed graduate students not to collect interest until after they graduate. It's the second time this year that MU's Graduate Professional Council took part in a national call day with their peers nationwide to voice their concerns. |
| Ebola outbreak hits close to home for U. of Missouri student | |
 | While many students traveled home for the Thanksgiving holiday, University of Missouri freshman Sandra Chrapah stayed in Missouri worrying about her family in Ghana and the threat of Ebola. Although there were no confirmed cases of Ebola in Ghana, Chrapah still spent the semester worried about her family there. Every time she calls her family, she asks if Ebola has reached the country. It's scary, she said. "I wouldn't like to lose a family member to Ebola." According to the MU News Bureau, none of the university's 101 African students are from Sierra Leone, Guinea or Liberia, where Ebola outbreaks have killed more than 5,000 people, though five students are from neighboring countries. There have been no cases of Ebola in Ghana, though there was an Ebola outbreak in the neighboring country of Nigeria that the World Health Organization declared contained in October. |
| U. of Virginia fraternity rape case: Stopping sexual assault on campus | |
 | If colleges needed any more reason to address persistent episodes of sexual violence on campus, a new report involving a fraternity at the University of Virginia certainly provides it. In a case described as "appalling" by university President Teresa A. Sullivan, a lengthy report in Rolling Stone magazine describes a scene in 2012 in which a student describes in horrific detail being raped by seven men at a Phi Kappa Psi fraternity party. Beyond that attack on a first-year student identified only as "Jackie," there is a culture of hidden sexual violence at UVA, writes Sabrina Rubin Erdely in the current issue of Rolling Stone. |
| Frat house gang rapes have long history | |
| The college freshman recalled her night of terror beginning with a swell of giddiness. "Jackie," as Rolling Stone called her, was 18 and thrilled to be at the Phi Kappa Psi house. It was her first frat party. But that emotion quickly gave way to fear as she was led upstairs into a darkened room where she says seven men took turns raping her over three hours. The allegations, published late last week in a Rolling Stone article by writer Sabrina Rubin Erdely, have ignited protests on the campus, shocked alumni, spurred a gubernatorial call for an investigation and sent the school administration's spiraling into crisis. But as shocking and as horrifying as Jackie's story is, it bears a striking similarity to other stories of fraternity gang rape, a survey of academic literature shows. The narratives found in such analyses hint at a decades-old pattern of behavior as well as a generational shift in perception. |
| Growing ranks of diversity officers get set of professional standards | |
 | As colleges and universities continue to add chief diversity officers to their top administrative ranks, some from within and outside the profession have called for a set of professional standards to guide their work. What qualifications should these officers have? What exactly do their jobs entail? How do they relate to equal opportunity officers on campus? The National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education has responded to their concerns by today releasing a list of Standards of Professional Practice for Chief Diversity Officers. Experts say it's necessary for both diversity and equal-opportunity officers to work together, but that conflicts sometimes arise when equal opportunity officers are displaced in the university hierarchy by chief diversity officers, or when chief diversity officers are unfamiliar with the compliance issues underlying their work. |
| GEOFF PENDER (OPINION): Will there be a Hosemann-Reeves lieutenant governor battle? | |
| The Clarion-Ledger's Geoff Pender writes: "Publicly he's only dropped cryptic hints, but Mississippi politicos far and wide are reporting that Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann is seriously considering a 2015 run at lieutenant governor against fellow Republican incumbent Tate Reeves. In what promises otherwise to be a boring state election cycle, with other top of ticket incumbents staying put, this would be the race to watch. And, it would create a domino effect, some down-ticket jockeying. And boy, howdy, does it already appear to have the GOP establishment illuminati in a tizzy. I got off-the-record earfuls from several on both sides. Hosemann running for lite guv is either a stroke of political genius or the dumbest, meanest move in the history of Mississippi Republicanism, and no in between." |
| SID SALTER (OPINION): Bipartisan prison contract review board features strong characters | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "If anyone was expecting Gov. Phil Bryant to appoint a state Department of Corrections contract review task force panel that was a Republican rubber stamp crew, they are likely disappointed. Instead, Bryant appointed a strong bipartisan group of reviewers who have strong principles and who won't worry about offending anyone. ...It will take a group like this -- people with thick skin, strong personal integrity and a real desire to serve -- to restore respect for the state's prison system. While some in the GOP may wonder why Bryant tapped high profile Democrats along with Republicans for this task, it was a smart move -- both politically and from a good government standpoint, too." |
SPORTS
| 'Always the biggest:' Egg Bowl week arrives | |
| The Egg Bowl may have lost some of its luster on a national level as the season progressed. But that certainly doesn't apply within the borders of the Magnolia State this week. When No. 4 Mississippi State and No. 18 Ole Miss kick off on Saturday at 2:30 in Oxford, the annual battle for the Golden Egg Trophy will be as heated as ever. "This is always the biggest game of the year for us," said MSU coach Dan Mullen. "That clock (in the locker room) is always counting down and we're always looking at this game. These rivalry games are for bragging rights. Records and previous games don't mean anything. It's all about this week and this game." |
| Mississippi State displays 'game control' in blowout | |
| "Game control" was the buzz word surrounding the College Football Playoff this week. It's difficult to envision how a team could control a game more than in Mississippi State's 51-0 win over Vanderbilt Saturday night. "That's not that game of football," MSU coach Dan Mullen said of the concept of game control. "That's not what it's about. That disrespects the game a bit. I wanted our guys to just come out there and play hard for four quarters and find a way to win the game." The Bulldogs scored through the air -- three times. They scored on the ground. They scored on defense -- a 51-yard touchdown fumble return. They picked off Vanderbilt twice. All that occurred in the first half. Mississippi State looked like the team that reeled off three straight wins against top 10 teams earlier in the season. |
| Mississippi State riding high into Egg Bowl | |
| For perhaps the first time in more than a month, No. 4 Mississippi State actually looked like a team that belonged in the College Football Playoff. The Bulldogs' 51-0 victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday night served as a reminder of how good this team can be when playing well. Dak Prescott threw for three touchdowns and ran for another to lead Mississippi State (10-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference, No. 4 CFP). The Bulldogs jumped to a 37-0 halftime lead and enjoyed its biggest margin of victory in a conference game since 1936. Now it's Egg Bowl week. The Bulldogs play on the road against No. 18 Mississippi (8-3, 4-3 SEC) on Saturday. The rivalry has lost some luster the last month now that the Rebels have dropped three straight league games, including Saturday's 30-0 loss to Arkansas. But there's still plenty at stake for the Bulldogs. |
| Mississippi State looks to keep pace in playoff hunt with Egg Bowl looming | |
 | No. 4 Mississippi State enters the final week of the regular season hoping it can stay on pace for one of the four spots in the new College Football Playoff. After thoroughly dominating Vanderbilt, 51-0, Sunday, the Bulldogs (10-1, 6-1) prepare to take on rival Ole Miss (8-3, 4-3) at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday in a highly-anticipated Egg Bowl. "This is always the biggest game of the year for us," MSU coach Dan Mullen said. "Whatever streak your on means nothing. It is all about this week, all about this game. I'm sure (Ole Miss fans) will have a lot of choice things to say to me. I'll probably learn a few things when I walk into the stadium. Everybody in the state, this whole week is all about the Egg Bowl so it's going to be very big." |
| Ole Miss' loss affects Mississippi State's College Football Playoff ranking | |
| In its first year, the College Football Playoff has generated plenty of conversations. Every Tuesday, the CFP Selection Committee releases its rankings, with the top four heading to the playoffs. Between Saturday and Tuesday, predictions circulate throughout social media, with Twitter housing "Top 4" predictions. The discussions are good for college football. But the opinions don't mean much and aren't heard by the committee. In the past, computer equations helped predict the BCS standings. But there are no equations or even hints regarding the committee's thinking. As for the top 10, the SEC led all conferences with four teams. The Big 12 and Pac-12 each had two in the top 10. Ole Miss will likely fall out of the top 10 after losing 30-0 to Arkansas on Saturday. That loss affects Mississippi State, which was ranked No. 4 in the latest Associated Press poll. |
| SEC Nation is headed to the Egg Bowl | |
| SEC Nation is coming back to Ole Miss for the Egg Bowl. The SEC Network's Saturday pregame show announced today it'll be in Oxford this week for the Battle for the Golden Egg between No. 4 Mississippi State and No. 18 Ole Miss. The network has traditionally announced its sites well in advance of the games, rotating among the 14 SEC schools. But it held off on week 14, and chose the Egg Bowl with ESPN's College GameDay heading to the Iron Bowl between Auburn and Alabama. Mississippi State (10-1, 6-1 SEC) is coming off a 51-0 win against Vanderbilt. Ole Miss (8-3, 4-3) lost to Arkansas 3-0. The Egg Bowl will be televised at 2:30 p.m. on CBS. |
| Egg Bowl: Oxford braces for massive crowd | |
| It was supposed to be a relaxing Sunday. Instead, Kyle Thornton's phone wouldn't stop buzzing. So much so that the owner and operator of SevenSouth Tailgating, a company that rents equipment and sets up tailgates in The Grove, had to change his voicemail. "I looked at my wife and said, 'this is just unbelievable,' " said Thornton, a 2012 Ole Miss grad. "I changed it to say, 'I will return calls in the order they were received. Please be patient. We're experience a high volume of calls right now.' "I can't even ballpark how many calls I got. It was that many." After Ole Miss defeated Alabama on Oct. 4 -- and less than 100 miles away Mississippi State downed Texas A&M to thrust Mississippi college football into the national spotlight -- Thornton got his first glimpse at the unparalleled mayhem this season's Egg Bowl in Oxford could bring. |
| Bulldogs rally, grab Preseason WNIT crown | |
| Mississippi State's shot at winning the Preseason Women's National Invitational title didn't look promising after 17 first half turnovers. But the Bulldogs were able to take care of the basketball in the second half to rally past Western Kentucky 88-77 and hoist the first hardware under third year coach Vic Schaefer. "We cut down a net," Schaefer said. "That net will go around that championship trophy. You'd be amazed at the teams that have won that championship and what they've gone on to do during the season and the success they've had. This tournament affords you a tremendous experience. I'm happy for those kids. I wanted them to taste what it was like to get up on that ladder and cut down that net." |
| Bulldogs look to remain unbeaten against Clayton State | |
| Following an impressive win over Utah State on Saturday, Mississippi State concludes its season-opening, four-game homestand tonight as it hosts first-time opponent Clayton State. Tip-off at Humphrey Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. The Bulldogs improved their record to 3-0 after a 71-63 win against Utah State on Saturday. Roquez Johnson and Fred Thomas led Rick Ray's squad with 15 points apiece. In a game that featured 18 lead changes, MSU trailed 38-34 at halftime but used a strong defense in the second half to rally for the victory. |
| A Mississippi Stadium, a Civil Rights Crucible | |
 | The night before federal marshals escorted James Meredith onto the campus of the University of Mississippi, where he was trying to become the first black student to enroll, the university's highly ranked football team faced Kentucky. That game, on Sept. 29, 1962, was played in the state of Mississippi's largest and most prestigious showcase, Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, the capital. If ever a football stadium was linked with racial separation and racial hatred, it was Veterans Memorial: built for white teams to play before white fans, appropriated by Barnett to mobilize the white public against integration. Yet five years after his defiant speech, teams from two historically black colleges, Jackson State and Grambling, desegregated Veterans Memorial. |
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