Monday Profile: Oakes fills ‘big shoes’ at Tenn-Tom Waterway Development Authority

As Hope Oakes slipped into her chair at the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority last August, a feeling of anxiousness crept in.

Taking over as the Tenn-Tom Waterway Development Authority’s office manager for Agnes Zaiontz — who had held the post for almost 35 years — Oakes concedes the shoes she had to fill were big.

Legislators hope for flag vote this weekend

The tide is turning in the Mississippi Legislature.

As athletic department officials from Ole Miss, Mississippi State and other Magnolia State institutions, along with various lobbyists, descended on the state Capitol in Jackson on Thursday, lawmakers hoped the effort would draw out the votes both the House and Senate will need to vote on a bill removing the Confederate battle emblem emblazoned on the state flag.

Mississippi State, Ole Miss administrators lobby Legislature to change state flag

A host of MSU coaches and officials, along other athletic department officials from schools across the state, spent three hours Thursday weaving through the chambers of legislators throughout the capitol building, lobbying for the removal of the Confederate iconography on the Mississippi state flag.

Analysis: If Kylin Hill doesn’t play, where does Mississippi State turn at running back?

Mississippi State has the pieces to mitigate a Hill-sized hole, but losing the Southeastern Conference’s leading rusher from a season a year ago is a hit nonetheless.

How a summer on Cape Cod turned Mississippi State’s Jordan Westburg into a top-30 MLB Draft pick

STARKVILLE — Nestled down the third base line of Dudy Noble Field and buried three stories beneath the press box through coiling wires and steel beams sits the Mississippi State batting cages.

Mississippi State running back, Columbus native Kylin Hill threatens to hold out if state flag is not changed

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill has chimed in on the Mississippi state flag debate.

Mississippi State AD John Cohen expecting football attendance decision around ’30-day mark,’ offers thoughts on impact of NCAA’s Confederate flag ruling

STARKVILLE — As Davis Wade Stadium sits barren inching through the middle of summer, it remains to be seen when the Mississippi State’s football home will be filled once more.

University officials, fans react to NCAA ruling on Confederate flag, hosting postseason play

Collegiate athletics in the Magnolia State are feeling the effects of the Mississippi flag debate.

Friday, the NCAA announced that championship hosting opportunities earned on merit would no longer be allowed to be held in Mississippi until the state flag, which displays the Confederate battle emblem in its upper left corner, is changed.

NCAA bars Mississippi schools from hosting regionals due to presence of Confederate battle emblem on state flag

STARKVILLE — The NCAA has levied a major blow to those in favor of maintaining the Confederate battle emblem on the Mississippi state flag.

SEC Commissioner: Mississippi must change flag or risk losing opportunities to host conference championships

As calls to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the Mississippi state flag have grown in recent weeks, Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey issued a major statement on the controversial banner Thursday.

Mississippi State’s Nikki McCray-Penson continuing national recruiting push started by Vic Schaefer

STARKVILLE — When Nikki McCray-Penson took over for former Mississippi State head coach Vic Schaefer in late April, a foundation for success had been set.

Mississippi State football schedules future home-and-home series with Washington State

Mike Leach’s former team is coming to Starkville, but not until 2030.

How Mississippi State recruits are balancing concurrent college football and baseball aspirations

STARKVILLE — Madison-Ridgeland Academy linebacker Stone Blanton raced through the tires placed before him.

With Mississippi State offer in hand, Terian Williams II could be next in line for a small 2022 Bulldog defensive back class

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State’s secondary is undergoing a reload.

Mississippi State adds Utah State to 2024 schedule

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State has a new opponent in its future. Utah State announced Monday that it will visit Starkville on September 14, 2024 —

Local gyms and trainers adapting fitness programs to quarantine, while others are falling by the wayside

Cynthia Mutch readily admits she’s no internet wizard, but as the Marketing and Membership Director at the Frank P. Phillips Memorial YMCA in Columbus, Mutch has adapted to her new role as the czar of the gym’s highly-successful YouTube workout channel.

Four Mississippi State football players test positive for COVID-19

STARKVILLE — Four Mississippi State football players have tested positive for COVID-19 according to a university spokesperson.

Mississippi State sophomore JT Ginn, signee Blaze Jordan taken on second day of 2020 MLB Draft

Following a night in which Mississippi State juniors Jordan Westburg and Justin Foscue and Bulldog signee Austin Hendrick were selected in the 2020 MLB Draft, two more players associated with the program were taken on the event’s second night.

Mississippi State’s Justin Foscue, Jordan Westburg and signee Austin Hendrick selected on first night of 2020 MLB Draft

STARKVILLE — Welcome to The Dispatch’s 2020 MLB Draft live blog.

A Mississippi State guide for the 2020 MLB Draft

STARKVILLE — After tying a program record with 11 players selected in the 2019 MLB Draft, the next wave of Mississippi State players will become pros as soon as Wednesday night.