| Monday, July 6, 2015 |
| Mississippi State students build, donate dog houses to Grassroots Animal Rescue | |
 | Dog houses custom-built by six Mississippi State building construction science majors now are benefiting a Starkville animal rescue. As part of a university community engagement project, the students in assistant professor Tom Leathem's first-ever building construction science summer studio course created the houses for Grassroots Animal Rescue of Mississippi Inc. After learning from a colleague that a local animal rescue needed houses for medium-sized dogs, he instructed the six students to begin by researching canines of that size and issues concerning their housing in the Southeast. Also, in a week's time, they were required to design and construct houses that could be disassembled and reassembled for ease of transport. |
| Mississippi State's Jane Parish director of Beef Improvement Federation | |
 | Jane Parish, an Extension and research professor for Mississippi State University's North Mississippi Research and Extension Center, is the new executive director of the Beef Improvement Federation, which works to connect science and industry to improve beef cattle genetics. Parish, who is based at the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station Prairie Research Unit, conducts research on applied beef cattle production systems and is a beef cattle specialist with the MSU Extension Service. |
| John Grisham: College, lawmaking & 'A Time to Kill' | |
| He couldn't hit a curve ball. He ditched accounting. He grew bored with the law. He grew even more bored with the Mississippi Legislature. Then he wrote a book. America's most popular writer of legal thrillers grew up on a farm a few miles from Black Oak, Ark., which seemed a thousand miles from anywhere else. John Grisham was the second of five children on this flood-cursed land, where his father struggled to grow cotton. His father soon traded farming for construction, which sent the family packing to Louisiana and then to such places in Mississippi as Crenshaw and Ripley before settling in Southaven, which became their home in 1967, when John was 12. When Grisham showed up unannounced at the admissions office at Mississippi State, he had no transcript and no paperwork. The office kindly took his check, only to see it bounce. His future seemed less clear. |
| Court legalizes same-sex marriage, but what about local churches? | |
| Same-sex marriage is now the law of the land, but that holds no bearing on individual religious institutions -- they can marry whom they choose within their walls. The Dispatch contacted churches of various denominations and faiths in the Golden Triangle last week to see who they will and won't marry in their sanctuaries. Rev. Rayfield Evins Jr. of the Southside Memorial Baptist said it is against the church doctrine to marry a same-sex couple. Seth Oppenheimer, the rabbinical student who presides over congregation B'nai Israel in Columbus, interprets The Bible in a different way. He said he would preside over a ceremony for a same-sex couple in his Temple. He told The Dispatch he addressed his congregation about same-sex marriage following the Supreme Court decision, which made same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states. "We are commanded by the Torah to treat people fairly and justly," Oppenheimer said. |
| State mulling options on extending benefits to same-sex spouses | |
 | Same-sex couples are tying the knot across Mississippi but the state has not yet decided how -- or whether -- it will extend worker benefits to the same-sex spouses of state employees. The Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration is trying to get a fix on the state's obligations in the wake of last week's ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court affirming the right of same-sex couples to marry, a DFA spokesman said. The DFA, the agency that administers employment benefits for state government and public school employees, is analyzing the ruling to determine how it needs to be implemented "as it relates to the state and school employees' health insurance plan," DFA spokesman Chuck McIntosh said in a written statement. While the State of Mississippi weighs its options, many of the state's largest employers have either already awarded the spousal benefits or set policies to do so. Nissan, Toyota, Comcast and Huntington-Ingalls are among the employment giants with the benefits already in place. |
| Recusal postpones Vaughn's DUI trial until August | |
| Starkville Alderman Henry Vaughn's driving under the influence trial is set for Aug. 11 after Oktibbeha County Prosecutor Haley Brown recused herself from future proceedings Tuesday. Brown issued the recusal after Starkville Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins, an attorney who serves alongside Vaughn at city meetings and recently became his counsel in the criminal matter, pressed for the trial to be held immediately. Vaughn's previous attorney tentatively agreed to a plea bargain that would have given nonadjudication for the DUI first charge, and Brown said she was unaware of the change of representation before the day's proceedings. |
| West Point selectman take a pay cut | |
| The West Point Board of Selectmen is taking a self-administered pay cut this week. At Monday's budget hearing, the board voted 4-1 to lower their salaries from $18,000 a year to $14,500. "It's been under consideration and study for a little while now," Mayor Robbie Robinson told The Dispatch. Robinson said the city primarily based its decision on a study from the John C. Stennis Institute of Government and Community Development at Mississippi State University, which analyzed pay of elected officials in Mississippi cities. The study -- the Municipal Salary and Benefits Survey -- is presented to the Mississippi Municipal League each year. |
| McGrevey reflects on CAO post, looks to new job with MDA | |
 | As he cleared out his desk last week as the city of Meridian's Chief Administrative Officer, Mike McGrevey, said it dawned on him that his final day working for the city was also the same date 38 years ago he met his wife, Ada. Tuesday, McGrevey was named the new deputy director for the Mississippi Development Authority. Starting Monday, he will serve as the right-hand man of MDA Director Glenn McCullough. For McGrevey, his successor will see plenty of positive things going for Meridian. "There is a tremendous opportunity ahead of us and it is my sense when you look at the downtown area with all the renovation occurring and the recent passage by the city council and the mayor on the Crossroads initiatives, investors and business people are seeing the possibility of momentum growing," McGrevey said. "I think, that just doesn't happen. The strength we've shown is reaching out to the partnerships, strengthening our relationships with the (Mississippi State) university, strengthening our relationships with the foundations, and strengthening the relationships with the business community. We've been able to reach out from the traditional government efforts and that's what is happening downtown." |
| Challengers face Republican incumbents in DeSoto County | |
 | A battle to shape the Republican membership of Mississippi's House of Representatives is playing out door to door in DeSoto County. The Memphis suburb will have seven House seats partially or entirely within its bounds after the next election, including two new seats added in redistricting. All the seats are likely to send Republicans to Jackson, and six feature contested GOP primaries on Aug. 4. Four incumbents are being challenged by candidates who say they're more conservative. A conservative group called Empower Mississippi is pumping money into all six races, motivated by what it sees as failures by incumbents to sufficiently support charter schools and educational vouchers. |
| Analysis: Some inmates' relatives seek voice with MDOC | |
| Shannon Cook of Brandon, the mother of an inmate, carried several copies of a letter she had written about problems she sees in the Mississippi corrections system. She held the papers as she sat patiently for more than an hour, listening to attorneys discuss the prisons. On this day, they never talked specifically about the inmate health and safety issues that were on Cook's mind, she said after the meeting as she gave a copy of her letter to a reporter. Cook's son, Christopher Caylor, was convicted of robbery and aggravated assault in Rankin County. Department of Corrections records show that Caylor, now 21, entered the prison system in October 2011 and is serving a 13-year sentence. In her two-page letter, Cook enumerated prison problems from a mother's perspective. She acknowledged some complaints are unlikely to elicit sympathy from the public. |
| Former mayor Greg Davis appeals ruling he must repay Southaven | |
| Former Southaven Mayor Greg Davis is asking a state appeals court to throw out an order that he repay $73,000 to the city for the alleged misuse of public funds. The state Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the case on July 21 in Jackson. In briefs filed with the court, Davis' attorney argues the local board of aldermen legally reimbursed Davis for money he spent on city business. Attorney Michael A. Heilman said Davis' charges on the city credit card were approved and paid by the board of aldermen. He said the aldermen never rescinded approval of these claims. Davis was sued by State Auditor Stacey Pickering for allegedly misusing more than $170,000 in city funds for trips, expensive dinners and clothing. |
| Mr. Kelly goes to Washington | |
 | The first three weeks as the country's newest congressman have been a learning experience for Trent Kelly. "We were up there a week and the pace is pretty fast," he said. "My days are mapped out on a pretty tight schedule. Sometimes it is hard to find five minutes during the day that are mine." A military man with 29 years in the National Guard, Kelly is accustomed to getting up and going to work. But the schedule Congress keeps is a lot different than the schedule most of Northeast Mississippi keeps. "I go into the office each morning around 8 but a lot of times, they don't start voting on things until 6:30 at night and go into the night," he said. "We had one day last past midnight." While that does create some long days, Kelly is thankful for the extra time to catch up on matters before he votes. |
| GOP punts on Confederate symbolism in Capitol | |
 | House Republicans are struggling with the question of whether to remove the Confederate image from around the Capitol complex -- and they seem in no hurry to commit themselves one way or another. Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, the sole African-American member of the Mississippi delegation, introduced a resolution late last month that would authorize removal of any state flag on the House side of the Capitol containing a portion of the Confederate symbol. Such a flag would then be donated to the Library of Congress. With no imminent committee hearing or markup in sight, Thompson's proposal doesn't appear likely to return to the House floor anytime soon. The offices of the other three House members of the Mississippi delegation, Republican Reps. Gregg Harper, Trent Kelly and Steven Palazzo, did not respond to requests for comment. |
| Drone supporters say ban around Georgia Capitol goes too far | |
| Drone enthusiasts are calling a ban on the unmanned vehicles within five miles of Georgia's Capitol an overreach of authority by state officials, while agency officials argue the change is necessary and follows federal guidelines. It's the latest clash between supporters of the technology and government officials balancing their desire to encourage high-tech research and development with security concerns, as federal aviation officials slowly continue developing their policies. The sweeping radius covers parts of two state university campuses, including Georgia Tech's Research Institute where unmanned systems research is a central focus. |
| Why Southern writers still captivate, 55 years after 'To Kill a Mockingbird' | |
 | Perhaps more than any other place since 19th-century New England, the South has been the inkwell for many of the country's most enduring works of fiction -- and Faulkner one of the most analyzed writers since Shakespeare. But without question, the most beloved story produced during that time was Harper Lee's 1960 novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird." With the summer release of Ms. Lee's new novel, "Go Set a Watchman," the controversial and previously unknown precursor to "To Kill a Mockingbird," excitement is building. Ms. Lee's second book, however, is arriving in a rapid-fire Digital Age when the "serious" novel seems to have waned as a cultural force. Even so, the global anticipation for "Watchman" highlights those traditions of storytelling and fiction writing that many other Southerners still consider something of a birthright. |
| Lee Cohen new Ole Miss dean of College of Liberal Arts | |
| Lee Cohen, professor and chairman of Texas Tech University's psychological sciences department, will become the next dean of the University of Mississippi's College of Liberal Arts on Aug. 1. He will also teach psychology. Cohen has a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of California at San Diego and a master's degree and Doctorate in Psychology from Oklahoma State University. For the past 15 years, he's been a faculty member at Texas Tech and also served in administrative roles. |
| Enrollment decline leads to budget cuts at U. of Southern Mississippi | |
 | Last fall, when Steven Moser was dean of the University of Southern Mississippi's College of Arts and Letters, he got word from university officials that revenue was down due to a decline in enrollment. The order came to cut the budget. It was an order heard across the university. Moser immediately began to work with the chairmen and directors of such departments as anthropology and sociology, English, theater, mass communication and journalism and music to figure out how to cut more than $664,000 from the college's budget. Moser said all the cuts were painful. Douglas Vinzant, vice president for finance and administration, said the enrollment decline had a profound effect on the university's budget, when it previously might not have. Vinzant said the 2015-16 enrollment numbers are looking a little brighter, and recruiting and retention efforts will continue. |
| Amy Chasteen Miller named USM associate provost | |
| Amy Chasteen Miller has been named associate provost for academic excellence at Southern Mississippi and will lead the university's focus on undergraduate student engagement and faculty development. Miller came to USM in 1997 as a faculty member in sociology. In 2009, she was chosen to chair the Department of Anthropology and Sociology and in 2013 became associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Arts and Letters. |
| Delta State hosts 'Literacy Across the Curriculum' for teachers | |
 | Delta State University's College of Education and Human Sciences completed its 11th Literacy Across the Curriculum: Institute for Teachers of Grades 6-12 on June 26. LACI is provided through the support of the No Child Left Behind Act: Improving Teacher Quality State Grant. In total, 17 content area teachers from across Mississippi attended the 20-day institute. The intensive training included a variety of topics, lectures, activities and presentations on a wealth of relevant topics for today's educators. Upon completing the Institute, the teachers will provide staff development for their schools on their newly learned literacy skills in addition to completing an extensive Teacher Work Sample and collecting evidence of student learning in their classrooms. |
| Jackson State to hold free Margaret Walker centennial celebration | |
| On Friday, Jackson State University's Margaret Walker Center will be celebrating the 100th birthday of renowned author and late JSU professor Margaret Walker, whose literary influence lives on. The Margaret Walker Center will celebrate what would have been its founders 100th birthday with a Centennial Gala and a special performance of "For My People: A New Musical Work," in the JSU Student Center Ballroom. As a professor of English in 1968, Walker founded the Institute for the Study of the History, Life, and Culture of Black People. The Margaret Walker Papers at JSU constitute one of the single largest collections of a modern black, female writer anywhere in the world and include nearly 13,000 handwritten pages from a diary that she kept for 60 years. |
| Jackson State names Karyn Hollingsworth to executive director role | |
| Karyn Hollingsworth will become the executive director for University Communications and Marketing at Jackson State, effective Aug. 3. Hollingsworth currently serves as the director of communications for the Lee Business School, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She previously served as web content specialist and alumni communications specialist in the office of Marketing and Public Relations at UNLV, as communications/marketing coordinator in the Office of Public Affairs and Development for Mississippi's state College Board and as assistant general manager, Office of Public Relations, at JSU. |
| Northeast Mississippi Community College will see increase in student fees for 2015-2016 | |
| Northeast Mississippi Community College students will see an increase in total tuition and fees per semester in the fall. Although 2015-16 tuition at the community college will remain unchanged, meal plan costs will increase and a technology and activity fee will be added to student fees per semester. Those two factors will put the overall cost of tuition and fees at $2,422 for two full-time semesters, a 4.3 percent increase from 2014-2015. This spring the college's Board of Trustees approved a $50 per semester technology and activity fee because of renovations to the campus fitness center and upgrades to the wireless capabilities. A slight increase to the meal plans was also approved to offset the cost of the cafeteria renovation project. Meals are still less than $5 per meal. |
| LSU Law chancellor to step down cites 'major policy differences with vocal segment of faculty' | |
 | Jack Weiss, head of the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center, is stepping down as law chancellor and dean in August in the wake of conflicts with faculty, some of whom had advocated for his ouster. "I am proud of the many positive developments at the Law Center during my eight years as chancellor and look forward to submitting the progress of the Law Center during those years to the judgment of history," Weiss said in a statement. "Unfortunately, however, major policy differences with a vocal segment of the faculty have made it difficult, if not impossible, for me to continue to lead the Law Center on a day-to-day basis and to implement my vision for the Law Center's future." Weiss, who was out of the country Friday, said in an email he's heard that a small number of faculty gathered signatures on a document expressing disapproval with him and submitted it to LSU's provost in May. |
| Feud simmering between Louisiana's four-year, two-year colleges over funding distribution | |
| State funding for Louisiana's colleges and universities became a unifying force in the most recent legislative session, but behind the scenes, animosity has been simmering over a disparity in the way two-year and four-year institutions are funded. Leaders on the community college level say the state funds have been distributed to "keep doors open" at four-year colleges, which have seen declining enrollment, at the expense of two-year schools, which have seen explosive growth in fields targeted toward the state's workforce demands. "We can't go forward this way," said Louisiana Community and Technical College System President Monte Sullivan. "It has to be addressed." |
| U. of Florida violated contract on health insurance, grad students say | |
 | Graduate students at the University of Florida are protesting the administration's unilateral changes to increases in health insurance premiums for dependents and student out-of-pocket expenses. Graduate Assistants United, which represents some 4,000 working graduate assistants, claims the changes to GatorGradCare are illegal and are subject to mandatory collective bargaining. The union said any changes to the health care benefits must be negotiated. GAU has filed a grievance with UF to begin the internal arbitration process. It has also filed an unfair labor practice complaint through the Federal Labor Relations Authority. "UF pays the entire cost of individual coverage for graduate assistants and has provided this benefit since 2007," said Paula Fussell, UF vice president of human relations. |
| Proposed U.S. rules on financial products draw criticism, praise | |
 | Virtually every college, company, advocacy group and other party that commented on proposed new federal rules on campus financial products by last week's deadline asserted that it had students' best interests at heart. Yet the various parties offered greatly differing perspectives on whether the regulations proposed by the Education Department in May would make sound policy, are legal -- and would help students or not. Financial institutions and associations representing postsecondary institutions by and large argued that the rules would discourage colleges and universities from using third-party services and ultimately give students worse, not better, access to their federal financial aid funds, by limiting students' options. Consumer groups, meanwhile, said the regulations would protect students by stopping banks (in collusion with colleges) from marketing undesirable financial services to them. |
| Penn State cyberattacks possibly part of larger trend, experts say | |
| The recently detected cyberattacks at Pennsylvania State University may spell bad news for other colleges and universities, according to IT security experts. Hackers such as those that targeted Penn State don't set their sights on individual institutions, but on entire industries. "I don't want to be the harbinger of doom, but usually when you see one breach, there's more to follow," said Ken Westin, a security analyst with the IT security company Tripwire. "Penn State is an indicator that there have been more breaches and there will be more breaches that are targeting similar kinds of information." Universities rarely like to discuss how they were attacked and how they responded, in part because of ongoing investigations, but also out of a concern that describing their countermeasures could aid hackers contemplating future attacks. Speaking too freely could also prove costly, should the university later be discovered to have been at fault for the breach. |
| With Students Away, Colleges Try a New Course | |
 | School's out for summer, but some colleges are throwing their doors wide open. Eager for additional funds to supplement stagnant tuition revenue amid weak enrollments, and to help cover campus overhead, small schools nationwide are pitching themselves as prime destinations for sports camps, corporate team-building retreats, even lavish wedding parties. While some public universities have been offering summer classes for years to help ease overcrowding, this new wave of activity is centered at small, rural institutions with an eye toward the bottom line, not just course-completion rates. The schools are casting a wide net in the hunt for auxiliary revenue. |
| College law enforcement administrators hear approach to make Title IX more effective | |
| The intersection of campus police investigations and college disciplinary investigations into sexual assault is still a confusing mix at many institutions, but Susan Riseling, the chief of police and associate vice chancellor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, has a few ideas about how make the relationship work. Speaking at the annual meeting of the International Association of College Law Enforcement Administrators in Nashville on Wednesday, Riseling offered a number of suggestions to not only help campus police better meet the requirements of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Clery Act, but to use those requirements to help inform their own investigations. |
| HATTIESBURG AMERICAN (OPINION): USM cuts tough but necessary | |
| The Hattiesburg American editorializes: "The University of Southern Mississippi is once again facing lean times and is having to adjust its budget accordingly -- the university recently implemented cuts totaling around $5.9 million. Student enrollment has dropped nearly 9 percent since 2011, when the number of students totaled 16,197, and as Douglas Vinzant, Southern Miss vice president for finance and administration, said, 'enrollment for a long time was not the principal revenue it is now.' ...While the economy has improved some, student enrollment is still slowing down, and the university needs to make financial adjustments while it tweaks recruiting and retention plans. ...Cutting $5.9 million may seem like a lot, but it is a little less than 2 percent of the university's $345 million budget for fiscal year 2014. Hopefully making these smaller cuts now will prevent the university from having to make larger cuts later." |
| SID SALTER (OPINION): Book offers look behind Barbour mystique | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "Slated for an Aug. 15 release, the book by former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is called 'America's Great Storm: Leading Through Hurricane Katrina' (University Press of Mississippi, 243 pages) and -- with an able assist from writer Jere Nash and a moving foreword by former Biloxi newspaper publisher Ricky Mathews -- it tells a remarkable tale of resilience, determination, hardball politics and perseverance by the most able politician I've ever known. Books of this nature are usually exercises in self-aggrandizement. This one isn't. It's a true story about how a take-no-prisoners politician got thrown into the worst natural disaster in American history and came out the other side a public servant. Hurricane Katrina is the backdrop, but the story really is Barbour's baptism-by-hurricane into a milieu in which winning was about more than election results -- it was about people's lives." |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State, Ole Miss ready for SEC 'takeovers' | |
| That school-by-school "takeover" of the SEC Network hits Mississippi State on Monday and Ole Miss on Wednesday. MSU's day began at 11 p.m. Sunday with the 1999 Egg Bowl. Other highlights include a 10 a.m. special on "The Rise to No. 1" and highlights of three football games from last season (LSU, 11 a.m.), Texas A&M (1 p.m.) and Auburn (3 p.m.). |
| Ben Howland gives SEC, Mississippi State basketball credibility | |
| The Southeastern Conference infused 32 NCAA Tournament bids into its overall basketball coaching resume in the offseason. Ben Howland owns 10 of those appearances in his first season at Mississippi State, including three trips to the Final Four. Rick Barnes led teams to the Big Dance 22 times before accepting the head coaching position at Tennessee. Alabama with Avery Johnson and Florida with Michael White also have new faces running their programs. "It's exciting to be coming in with a great group of coaches like those three," Howland said. "There's already a great group here." Howland brings three Final Four appearances from his time at UCLA. |
| Brooks has learned patience as Mississippi State assistant men's basketball coach | |
| George Brooks has learned the value of patience since becoming an assistant coach for the Mississippi State men's basketball team. In the past five years, the former Bulldog player twice has found himself in limbo, as two MSU head coaches he served under were let go. The first time came when Rick Stansbury stepped down after the 2011-12 season. The second came in April, when Rick Ray was fired after three losing seasons. Both times Brooks wondered if he would have a job in Starkville, or if he would have to look somewhere else, so he had to exercise patience in unsure times. The latest uncertainty ended when new MSU coach Ben Howland decided to keep Brooks on staff. Brooks is part of a coaching staff that includes Korey McCray and Ernie Zeigler. |
| Mel Kiper believes Mississippi State has nation's best senior corner | |
| Dak Prescott and Chris Jones are the big names within the Southeastern Conference for Mississippi State. NFL scouts are looking elsewhere. NFL draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. ranked college football's best corners at the next level. MSU's Will Redmond topped the list among seniors. Kiper described Redmond as having "lockdown skills, but needed the extra seasoning in 2015 as he was often in a nickel role in 2014. Has decent size, plays physical and gets bonus points for ball skills evident in return game." The 6-foot senior ranked ahead of Minnesota's Eric Murray, Auburn's Jonathan Jones, UCLA Fabian Moreau, and Penn State's Jordan Lucas. |
| Former Bulldog Griffin will go from coach back to player | |
| Growing up, Nick Griffin only dreamed of playing in the National Football League. But Griffin is putting that dream on hold. Earlier this year, the former Mississippi State football player was hired by new Madison Central High School football coach Brad Peterson to coach the running backs. Peterson wanted a coach who fit his personality and the personality of his staff. That's what he found when he interviewed Griffin, who had 3.0 grade-point average and was a three-time member of the Southeastern Conference Academic Fall Honor Roll. "I definitely thought he was a guy that fit with our staff and fit with our kids," said Peterson, who spent five years at Brandon High before taking over for Bobby Hall at Madison Central High. "Taking away the SEC part, as an individual, as a person, he's a guy that has high character, did really well in school. He fits our needs as far as that part goes." |
| Gordon hopes U.S. women can help Mississippi State soccer grow | |
| Aaron Gordon is always looking for ways to grow the sport of soccer. When you're trying to build a successful program in one of the nation's most competitive conference, it's natural to try to find a way to use the momentum from another top team to help you generate enthusiasm. Gordon and the Mississippi State women's soccer program did that at Sunday night when they played host to a Women's World Cup watch party for the match between the United States and Japan at Buffalo Wild Wings on Highway 12 in Starkville. "Hats off to our marketing group," Gordon said. "They are always trying to do new things to get exposure to every sport at Mississippi State." With another World Cup, which happens every four years, coming to a close, Gordon sees this as a "special" time and a chance to capitalize on the excitement surrounding the sport. He hopes MSU fans will come out tonight to meet the Bulldogs and will plan to come back to see the team play. |
| U.S. Women's Soccer: Back on Top of the World | |
| The U.S. women waited 16 long years to climb back on top of the soccer world, and then very quickly Sunday, they didn't have to wait very long at all. Exploding for four goals in the first 16 minutes, including three from player of the tournament Carli Lloyd, the U.S. hammered defending world champion Japan 5-2 in the World Cup final here Sunday and lifted a trophy they had been fighting to reclaim since 1999. This game played out in front of a packed house, 53,000-strong, of mostly rabid U.S. fans. The goals came fast and furious, like nothing that had ever happened before in a match between two of the best teams in the world, much less a World Cup final. |
| NCAA investigating Ole Miss, talks to Tunsil's stepfather | |
| NCAA officials were in Oxford Friday and interviewed the stepfather of Ole Miss tackle Laremy Tunsil about allegations of multiple rules violations by the University of Mississippi football program. The trip made by NCAA officials comes one week after Tunsil was arrested and charged with domestic assault against his stepfather, Lindsey Miller. According to an arrest report by the Lafayette County Sheriff's Office obtained by The Clarion-Ledger this week, Miller claimed the fight was a result of his warning to Tunsil about having contact with player agents. Miller confirmed to The Clarion-Ledger Friday that he met with NCAA director of enforcement for football Chris Howard for what he estimated was three hours. |
| Season tickets no longer a good deal, U. of Kentucky fan decides | |
 | Father of two and grandfather of three. Husband of 43 years. Once attended the same Bible study as Mitch Barnhart. Native of Johnson County, which is in a region of Kentucky from whence Adolph Rupp once suggested his help would come. (Rupp's reference to the psalmist shows UK basketball coaches have had a weakness for grandiloquence long before John Calipari.) Not exactly the profile of a radical, yet Rick Music can be considered something of a revolutionary. With Kentucky primed to extend the greatest stretch of Final Four appearances in program history (four in the last five years), he plans not to renew his season tickets. The latest price increase, which UK announced last month, led him to assess the "entertainment value" of tickets to UK home games. He decided he would prefer to spend his money on trips to see the Cats play a few quality opponents at neutral sites rather than a collection of pushovers in Rupp Arena. |
| Kyle Field reseating lawsuit dismissed by Florida judge | |
 | A federal district judge in Florida tossed out the latest attempt by Texas A&M football fans to hold onto their seats in the revamped Kyle Field. U.S. District Judge William Dimitrouleas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last month dismissed a class action lawsuit that was moved from Texas to Florida against the 12th Man Foundation, the nonprofit group that is overseeing the "reseating" following a $485 million stadium renovation. Attorneys representing the seat holders filed the class-action petition in Florida after a federal judge in Texas dismissed the case when it appeared it would not qualify as a class action because less than one-third of the plaintiffs suing a Texas establishment lived outside of Texas. But on June 23, Dimitrouleas said that the class-action petition in Florida also did not meet the criteria to proceed, saying that most of the communications with Barbara Brunner, an Aggie who lives in Fort Lauderdale, were sent to a Texas address. |
| U. of Missouri football learns team-building, leadership from National Guard | |
 | For a few moments, Ian Simon almost forgot he was in a simulator rather than an actual overturned Humvee. Missouri's senior safety and teammates Russell Hansbrough, Rickey Hatley and Trei Walton were crawling around upside down in a confined space, working together to find the one door out of four that was unlocked so they could escape, an exercise meant to simulate the aftermath of a crash. It took the four football players about five minutes to get out. Simon and 16 of his teammates went through the paces with the Missouri Army National Guard on June 27 and 28 at Camp Clark in Nevada, completing a series of team-building and leadership exercises with a military flavor. |
| Branding in college football: Identity more than uniforms, logos | |
| How did Oregon build a perennial national title contender in a remote, sparsely populated state? By building a readily identifiable brand of football that draws 18-year-old athletes like moths to light reflected off a "liquid metal" helmet. But this brand wasn't built by the marketing department or by a consultant. The staff at Nike, one of the best brand-building companies in America, had a hand in the process, but the people most responsible were the coaches and the players. Like anything else, a football team's brand is mostly defined -- for better or for worse -- by the quality of the product. In Oregon's case, Nike's uniform designs and technological advances are vital components. But so is the blur offense created by former coach Chip Kelly and refined by successor Mark Helfrich and coordinator Scott Frost. And the most important factor is a culture that has remained intact through three coaching changes over 20 years. |
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