Thursday, January 19, 2017 Volume 101 Issue 28
student printz SERVING SOUTHERN MISS SINCE 1927
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Athletic Director hunt begins: McGillis heads to University of San Diego
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ANDREW ABADIE
printz reporter
On Jan. 17, Athletic Director Bill McGillis spent his last day as a Golden Eagles: He will be leaving The University of Southern Missisissppi for California. On Dec. 19, The University of Southern Mississippi announced that Athletic Director Bill McGillis had accepted the position of Associate Vice President and Executive Director of Athletics at the University of San Diego. Search firm Eastman & Beaudine will head the hunt for the next athletic director at Southern Miss. Director of Strength and Conditioning Zac Woodfin will serve as interim Athletic Director
while the search for a new director begins, but he will not be a candidate to replace McGillis. “[My family and I] will leave Southern Miss with a heavy heart and very mixed emotions,” McGillis said. “Quite simply, we are at a point in our life and career at which resetting our priorities is important.” McGillis was hired in 2013 after the Golden Eagle athletic programs had been suffering, most notably the football team’s winless season in 2012. During his tenure, McGillis saw several athletic accomplishments. The football team made a conference championship appearance and two bowl appearances. He hired softball’s Wendy Hogue, who led
the team to its first 30-win season since 2004 and won the C-USA West Division finishing the season in the conference tournament semifinals. Volleyball finished with another 20-plus win season under Head Coach Amanda Berkley. The baseball team found success under McGillis by winning the conference tournament and making a NCAA regional for the first time since 2011. McGillis’ financial strides stemmed from football’s success by posting the highest attendance in C-USA this past season. In 2015, he saw an increase of season ticket sales by 30 percent and attracted the largest football crowd in Southern Miss history during
the game against Mississippi State in 2015. McGillis oversaw the renovations of the $1.2 million locker room for the football team and the $2 million renovation of the baseball weight room. He also helped Southern Miss host several conference tournaments in his tenure. According to USM’s Chief Communication Officer Jim Coll, USM President Rodney Bennett has been forming an interview committee to assist with the vetting of candidates for the position. The committee will represent various USM constituencies, all of whom are familiar with the university and knowledgeable of the qualities a Director of Athletics must possess for Southern Miss to be as
successful as possible. “The search has attracted a broad and strong applicant pool, as the position is proving to be a desirable opportunity,” Coll said. “The university’s recent championships on the playing fields, the successes of student-athletes and coaches and established university leadership are all proving to be positive factors in the current search.” “I want to reaffirm my commitment to athletics and the critical role it plays,” Bennett said in a press release. “I intend to engage the services of a national search firm who specializes in the placement of athletics directors with the hope of identifying an individual to serve as our Director of Athletics as quickly as possible.”
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INTRODUCTION THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017
Meet the Staff Fall 2016 Cam Bonelli
Executive Editor
catherine.bonelli@usm.edu
FIND US ON THE WEB The Student Printz
Jack Hammett
Managing Editor
jesse.hammett@usm.edu
@studentprintz
Kaitlyn Watkins News Editor
kaitlyn.watkins@usm.edu
Hiba Tahir
studentprintz.com
Entertainment Editor
hiba.tahir@usm.edu
Julius Kizzee Sports Editor
southernprintz@gmail.com
Daisy Stutts
Photo Editor
OPINIONS Opinions expressed in The Student Printz are those of the writer and not necessarily those of The Student Printz, its publication manager, USM, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning or the USM Board of Student Publications.
daisy.hunt@usm.edu
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Sarah Anne Schloemer Web Master
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Nan Beauti Copy Editor
afnan.beauti@usm.edu
Amber Cobbins
EDITORIAL POLICY
The views represented in The Student Printz’s columns and editorials do not necessarily represent those of the faculty, staff or administration of The University of Southern Mississippi. We welcome letters to the editor representing similar and contrasting opinions. To be eligible for publication, all submissions must include name, class distinction, major, phone number and email address. Submissions should be emailed to printzeditors@gmail.com by 5 p.m. on the Friday before publication. Please limit them to 500 words or less. The Student Printz reserves the right to refuse publication or edit any material on the basis of clarity, space or journalistic ethics.
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NEWS THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017
Rec Sports revamps Pride Field for $1.3 million LORA LAVIGNE
printz reporter
Funded by Rec Sports, The University of Southern Mississippi’s Physical Plant began the $1.3 million renovation of Pride Field at the end of fall 2016. This project was mapped out into stages for years, according to Chris Crenshaw, the Physical Plant’s Associative Vice President for Facilities Planning and Management. “We’ve been kind of working through this for several years now,” Crenshaw said. “[We are] just doing what we can afford to do, when we can.” The first few stages of the project included positioning new lighting fixtures across the field and building a new band tower for the Pride of Mississippi Marching Band. The Physical Plant had planned to install artificial turf after the lighting fixtures, but had to consider making accommodations to how the turf laid over the foundation. In result, the band tower was the second project completed in the Fall. Director of The Pride Colin McKenzie said the renovations are already impacting students positively. “The rehearsal tower has already been a huge asset to the instruction of students in the marching band, allowing instructors a full picture of all that is happening on the field so that we can work to continually improve upon what our students are doing every day,” McKenzie said.
The Physical Plant is currently working on the installation of synthetic turf and fencing, the third stage of the project. After completing recreational sports evaluations and observing national standards, Rec Sports understood that the university lacked the proper number of playing fields for the number of teams it has. The program includes more than 40 Intramural Sports activities. With students’ desire for more fields and the program’s ability to fund the project, the Physical Plant will be able to tackle this project over time. The construction includes two 80yard fields and brick columns with black wrought-iron fencing around it. The fencing will be similar to what is currently on West 4th Street and Hardy Street. The extra playing fields will allow intramural sports to start at more reasonable times of the night. Engineers leveled the field and created a new drainage system for a low-maintenance field during rainy weather, which will allow students to use it despite any weather conditions. “The turf will allow the marching band to rehearse efficiently and safely,” McKenzie said. “In the past, rainy weather has forced the marching band to cancel rehearsal because the field very easily turned into a mud pit after the slightest bit of rain. “Now that the field will be the size of three fields into one, with lines and marks running down them, students
Shraddha Bhatta | Printz will be able to use the field for several entities.” The sidewalk and parking spaces along the north side of Pride Field – from Golden Eagle Avenue to the sidewalk leading to the Payne Center – will remain closed for the duration of the project. The Physical Plant requests that students obey all directional signage and be aware of construction equipment in the area. This project is expected be completed before May 2017 graduation.
Memorial 5K benefits USM students MADISON ETHERIDGE
printz reporter
Sponsored by several local companies in the Hattiesburg area, the third Sweethearts for Sweetpea 5K will begin Feb. 4 at 8 a.m. The funds collected for the race will contribute to the Elaina Spradley Skinner “Sweetpea” Endowment, which is awarded to University of Southern Mississippi’s School of Business Tourism Management students. Elaina Skinner, for whom the endowment is named, attended USM’s School of Business for Tourism Management and graduated December 2013. Elaina was described as having a “smile that lights up the room and the personality to match.” No one was a stranger to Elaina, and she befriended everyone she met. She was married two months before her graduation and described it as everything she had hoped for and so much more. “On Feb. 8, 2014, in the early morning hours, Elaina Spradley Skinner, or ‘Sweetpea’ as she was affectionately known to her family and friends, was driving home while under the influence of alcohol and tragically killed in an automobile accident at the age of 23,” wrote Sweethearts for Sweetpea organizer Lisa Spradley.
According to the 5K’s website, in creating the endowment and the race, they hoped to give other students financial aid especially because Elaina herself earned several scholarships during her time at USM. “We celebrate her life by remembering her in everything we do,” the website stated. Spradley can be reached at 601-297-3546 or through the aforementioned website for questions
about the race or endowment. Registration is open now and discounted from $25 to $15 for USM students who wish to participate in the event. The registration forms are available on the website s w e e t h e a r t s for s w e e tp e a . c om ; students need to write “student” on their registration forms and present a valid student ID the day of the race to run and receive a t-shirt at the discounted price.
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NEWS THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017
‘Burg foursome drops vinyl at T-Bones JACK HAMMETT managing editor On Jan. 14, Hattiesburg folk group The Squid and the Whale performed live at T-Bones Records & Café to celebrate the release of “Seahorses,” their latest record. The group represents local label Deal with the Devil Records, who published the two-track piece on vinyl and online. Guitarist and vocalist SarahBryan Lewis said the band released on vinyl because she and the other members wanted to try something new. “[The record] was mixed for vinyl, so it’s tailored to that format,” she said. “I really wanted to hear what our songs would sound like, and after our last CD, we had a lot of people who wanted us to provide vinyl.” According to Lewis, the group wrote “Seahorses” long before it was recorded and released. “We spent about two weeks playing groups of our songs back and forth, because we knew we were just going to have two songs,” she said. “So we spent time whittling [the list] down and seeing which songs reflected themselves the best.
If you listen to the lyrics, some of them actually parallel other songs.” On the band’s writing process, bass guitarist David Meigs said Lewis writes the lyrics and melodies and provides loose chord structures for the songs. “We [other members] try to take it from the singer-songwriter bubble and take it somewhere else,” he said. “For us, for these two tracks on ‘Seahorses,’ we wanted to pick a song that makes you sit down and think, and then a song that’s a little more on the pop side. So you have two sides of what we can do.” Meigs said the group recorded at Blue Sky Studios in Jackson. “The recording process is always a lot of fun,” he said. “We’re not a band who has the money to go in and be like, ‘We’re going to write songs in the studio.’ For us, it’s like, ‘We can do these two songs, so take our money and let’s do it.’ We gave the studio a couple of records by bands we’ve been listening to recently and some of the production on those records [as examples].” Meigs said he remembers his father’s vinyl collection and that such memories make vinyl a novelty. “It’s a little nerve-wracking,” Meigs said. “We have a range of people who listen to our music.
There’s the hip crowd, there are moms and dads – and so my initial thought was, ‘Is everybody going to have a record player?’ But you can download the record.” Hattiesburg resident Jim Jones attended the performance and said the group played “excellently” at
vthe event. “Over the years, I’ve watched [The Squid and the Whale] grow,” Jones said. “They’ve advanced, but their signature sound has always stayed.” The Squid and the Whale is set to perform Thursday, Jan. 19 at The
Thirsty Hippo with Hattiesburg group Nossiens. Information on and music from Deal with the Devil Records and The Squid and the Whale can be found at dwtdrecords.com and thesquidandthewhale.com, respectively.
Jack Hammett | Printz
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FEATURE THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017 HIBA TAHIR
entertainment editor
1.
Everyone but you knows what they’re doing. It amazes me to no end to see so many people continue onward like nothing is wrong, like they understand the rules of this new world we’ve been thrust into or like they know at all what they’re doing. From this perspective, it’s quite frightening. In the same way, I watch Hattiesburg drivers occupy the streets like they, and they alone, know what they’re doing - just as, if not more, frightening.
2. Anything can – and will – happen
The only thing you can be totally certain of is that you can’t be certain of anything. This is true of 2017, driving in Hattiesburg and being on Tinder.
3. Sometimes, you’re the grandma.
At times, you’ll find yourself shaking your fist and cursing the youngins in the road whilst charging along at snail speed. In 2017, you’ll find yourself shaking your fist and cursing the politicians on your television set whilst charging along on a meaningless quest to find the light at the end of the 2016 tunnel before realizing it’s just a 2017 train.
4. You can only account for what’s immediately in front of you.
At night in Hattiesburg, it can be difficult to see much further than where your headlights end. In the same way, I can’t see too far ahead of me this year, and I imagine many of you can’t either.
Hell has frozen over, pigs can fly and after nearly 21 years of passenger-seat riding terror, I have finally, finally, FINALLY acquired my driver’s license. In the midst of jarring celebrity deaths, jarring political news and jarring heat records, I have finally joined the billions of people who regularly occupy driver seats (although most don’t feel the need to dedicate whole columns to the experience) and I am shocked to see how similar driving in Hattiesburg is to beginning a new year – particularly, the year 2017.
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OPINION THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017
Chelsea Manning: Punishment unfitting of crime JENNIFER ROBINSON
printz reporter
On Tuesday, President Obama commuted the sentence of Chelsea Manning. Manning is a transgender woman currently serving time in an all-male army prison. In 2010 Manning was convicted of stealing and giving 750,000 documents and videos to WikiLeaks. I find it odd that President Obama commuted her sentence days before he is out of office. There is obvious backlash because he will not pardon Edward Snowden, who committed similar crimes. The key difference, in my opinion, is that Manning was a member of the armed forces and was supposed
to uphold this country. Instead, she exposed her own country. She confessed to her crimes and accepted her punishment, which Snowden did not do. Snowden fled the country to avoid prosecution. In the military there is a chain of command. If there were issues, Manning should have taken them to her superiors, not the internet. While I do not believe that she should have been housed in a male prison, I also do not think that she should have been sent to a civilian prison. I feel that it is discrimination to house a woman in a male prison. It is a cruel and unusual punishment. Most people convicted of leaking documents or other classified materials
have received sentences of between one and three years, according to The New York Times. The Obama administration has prosecuted more people for leaking government secrets than were charged under all previous presidencies, according to The New York Times . A 35-year sentence is much longer than one to three-year sentence. If the length of the sentence is the issue, President Obama could have commuted her sentence at any point in the past seven years. I do not see why she was sentenced that much longer than others who have committed similar crimes, but I feel like a sentence is supposed to be carried out. When a civilian breaks the law, is convicted and
goes to prison, they must go before a parole board to be released early. There is also a set length of their sentence that they must serve before being released. I cannot see why the President would intervene four to five years after what is a normal sentence for that crime. I am torn on the decision. What I cannot agree with is the Trump supporters who are adamantly against this when their presidential candidate supported WikiLeaks. I am personally against exposing government secrets the same reason people are against murder and theft. It is illegal. In some situations, like the video of the helicopter shooting innocent civilians, I can see why someone would want to make that known. I cannot see why a
military personnel would break their chain of command and turn their back on their country. My point is that Manning knew there would be repercussions for her actions and she accepted those. The sentence did not fit the crime and that is the reason for the commuted sentence now. There are several different ways to look at it. One would be that a sentence should be carried out the same for military personnel as it is for civilians. Another would be that she should have been sentenced fairly to begin with. That is my opinion on the situation. Regardless of which stance you take, Manning is set to be released on May 17 this year.
Black Twitter reappropriates racial slur thanks to Yahoo ALYSSA BASS
printz reporter
On Jan. 5, an employee at Yahoo Finance made a huge typo when tweeting a story about president-elect Donald Trump’s desire to have 350 ships in the navy. The headline read, “Trump wants a much n***er navy: Here’s how much it’ll cost,” replacing the word “bigger.” Black Twitter took the mistake in stride by creating the trending hashtag #N***erNavy. Critics of Yahoo inquired about the company’s autocorrect, assuming that an employee has used the N-word so many times on one of the company’s devices that the device no longer attempts to correct the user. However, I debunked that theory by typing the word in a drafted tweet, and I was not prompted by autocorrect to change the word. Autocorrect is for spelling errors, not policing hate speech. Therefore, the typo was clearly accidental; the “B” and “N” keys are right next to each other, after all. It is simply a shame that the employees at
Yahoo did not notice and apologize for their mistake until 45 minutes later, for the company (rightfully) became a laughing stock. However, what is notable about Yahoo’s mistake is the black community’s show of reappropriation, which is the act of reclaiming derogatory language used to describe a group of people. Examples of reappropriation would be masculine-identifying lesbians calling themselves “dykes,” or Southerners proudly identifying as “rednecks.” And of course the most popular example: black people calling themselves the N-word – most often replacing the hard “R” with an “A” at the end of the word – in music and in real life interactions between friends. Use of the word has been debated inside and outside the black community for years. For black people, saying the word can be empowering or just plain friendly. As Jay Z explained in his 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey, “People give words power. Our generation –
what we did was we took the word, and we took the power out of that word. We turned a word that was very ugly and hurtful into a term of endearment.” While I do not believe that the power has been taken out of the word, I do agree that it is used as a genuine form of endearment. I personally do not use the word to describe my friends. The only time you will catch me saying it is if I’m attempting to sing along to rap music, which I only recently became comfortable doing. However, I do respect the right of other black people to use the word in conversation with other black people, because the meaning is often well-intended. So of course I supported black Twitter using Yahoo Finance’s faux pas as a way of building community through exclusive jokes. The problem came when people of other races, mostly white people, tried using the exclusive hashtag, bringing up the tired debate of the N-word. The most common question that has been posed when discussing who has the right (if any) to say the word is: If
black people can say it, why can other groups not say it? I would think that the answer is simple. Because of the historical, racist connotation of the N-word that originated from white people due to a power imbalance, there is almost no way for a person of another race other than black to refer to someone as that word without retaining the original meaning of the word. It does not matter if anyone of another race (and I mean anyone other than black people) says the word with the hard “R” or replaces it with an “A.” The word still has racist undertones. There is a hard, harsh power behind that word that should not have to be explained. If anything, the fact that I personally, as a black female, have to question the underlying intentions of the person saying it should be enough to make others not want to say it in conversation. But still, there are people, white people and people of other minority groups, who insist on saying it. Despite your stance on political correctness, why go through the trouble of potentially being called racist? What makes you want to say that word so badly that you are willing to disregard black people’s feelings? I blame it on America’s (disingenuous) message of the melting pot, where we happily share and exchange cultures. We live in a society that teaches us that we have to share everything – not just physical items but anything personal (like cultural traditions) as well, which often leads to cultural appropriation – another thing that people are tired of hearing about but refuse to stop doing. Weird.
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Sorry, Becky and John, but just because you heard the word said in a rap song at a frat party, or have black friends who insist that you too are invited to the cookout because you are “black on the inside” or because you play basketball (yes, someone actually used that as an excuse) does not mean that you can say the word without repercussions. I despise victimizing the black community because I feel like it is dangerous to remain in a “woe is me” mindset, but because black people were (and still are) the original victims of the word and its meaning, I believe that they do get to decide when the use of the word is appropriate. That is the right of any group who has been targeted with a slur. They make the rules, and everyone else has to deal with it. It is that simple. The truth is that everything is not everybody. Call it another annoying case of political correctness or an example of being a typical “snowflake” (as Tomi Lahren calls it) if you want to, but your racist undertones are showing. While I am certain that Yahoo Finance did not intend for the hashtag #N***erNavy to be a trending topic, much less a discussion on reappropriation to be born out of their mistake, I believe that the black community is going into 2017 with the right attitude. The act of being unbothered and turning an offensive situation into something comical and community-building is nothing less than inspiring. And while I would definitely not be surprised if our president-elect Donald Trump did actually say that he wants a n***er navy as much as he wants to build a wall and be Putin’s bestie, we can find comfort in the fact that he did not.
ENTERTAINMENT THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017
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Carey claims ‘malfunction’ at NYC NYE TICHINA WILSON printz reporter Mariah Carey’s team may be busy after her jaw-dropping performance on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.” While many were waiting for the ball to drop on New Year’s Eve, one well-known singer ‘dropped the ball’ during her performance in New York City’s Times Square. Attendees in Times Square and viewers at home had the pleasure of watching the 46-year-old “All I Want for Christmas” singer fumble for an awkward five minutes. Carey was the last pre-midnight guest on the ABC special that included a performance by Fifth Harmony. The pop diva had just finished singing the traditional New Year’s Eve song “Auld Lang Syne” when the track of her 1991 hit “Emotions” began. “Got me feeling,” Carey attempted, before stopping and telling her backup dancers to “just walk me down” the stairs. “We can’t hear,” she said. Throughout the rest of the song, Carey strolled around the stage and interchanged between attempting to sing a phrase and explaining what was happening. “We didn’t have a check for this song, so we’ll just sing,” Carey said. “It went to number one. We’re missing some of the vocals, but it is what it is.”
According to Carey’s team, there were production issues and technical difficulties with the singer’s earpiece. Carey’s team said there unfortunately was nothing she could do to continue with the performance given the circumstances. As “Emotions” continued, she held the microphone out to the crowd: “I say let the audience sing, okay?” Finally, the track ended. “That was,” Carey said, with a long pause, “amazing.” According to a statement from Carey’s representatives, the singer rehearsed the afternoon of the show “with no sound issues,” but, just before taking the stage Saturday night, she notified stage managers and producers that her earpiece wasn’t functioning, reported ABC News. Carey’s ex-husband Nick Cannon weighed in on the performance with his own theory. “I’m a conspiracy theorist,” Cannon said in an interview. “The government did that. They set her up.” “They told her it would be fine once she was on stage. However, that was not the case and they were again told that her ear piece was not working,” reported ABC News. “Instead of endeavoring to fix the issue so that Mariah could perform, they went live.” According to ABC News, Carey’s representatives said she was intent
on honoring her commitment and therefore took the stage essentially flying blind and defended her use of a backing track as common for live performances. Her representatives said she was not planning on lipsyncing. Carey released an audio recording, accusing Dick Clark Productions of attempting to embarrass her. “I came to New Year’s Eve in New York in great spirits and was looking forward to a celebratory moment with the world,” Carey said. “It’s a shame that we were put into the hands of a production team with technical issues who chose to capitalize on circumstances beyond our control.” Celebrities including Queen Latifah defended Mariah Carey. “Yeah, it happens, it definitely happens,” Latifah told Fox News. “It may seem very simple but when you have a huge crowd around you, you’re using earbuds to hear, and you really can’t hear outside of that.” Latifah said the earpieces are kind of like noise cancelling headphones. “So when they go off you can hear nothing and everything is moving around you,” Latifah told Fox News. Carey tweeted her own explanation along with a GIF of herself: “Sh*t happens. Have a happy and healthy new year everybody! Here’s to making more headlines in 2017.”
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Box office ‘figures’ anything but hidden
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HIBA TAHIR entertainment editor Venture into any history or science class and the minute that the subject of space exploration comes up, the only figures named will likely be
Caucasian males. “Hidden Figures,” a 2016 drama directed by Theodore Melfi, seeks to rectify that automatic image in most students’ minds. The film stars Tarajji Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae. It was created on a budget of $25 million
and grossed almost $23 million in its opening weekend. In this trailblazing film, the lives of three incredibly important and influential women take centerstage. Mathematician Katherine Johnson, engineer Mary Jackson and supervisor Dorothy Vaughan find themselves oppressed by their Caucasian colleagues on the tail of Sputnik I’s successful launch in 1960s America. With exciting scientific breakthroughs, a healthy dose of humor and even a little romantic subplot, this film has something for everyone. I particularly loved the character of Mary Jackson and the comedic relief she provided, but I found myself rooting for all three women throughout the movie. In spite of their obvious skill and talent, the main characters are forced to contend with ridiculous rules that are a hallmark of their time. For instance, despite being the first African-American woman in the Space Task Group and easily the smartest person in any room she enters, Katherine is demeaned by her colleagues, who forbid her from using the same bathroom or coffeepot that they use. There were times during the
movie when I literally gasped at the crude treatment she received. Even though she was eventually accepted by her contemporaries and received the 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the fact that she has been virtually unheard of in spite of her notable contributions is another dark mark in an already abysmal history that’s not unique to just Katherine’s experience. So many people tend to overlook the essential and all-too-underrated work of women. Although this is true in most fields of study, it’s a glaring oversight in space exploration in particular. Just this year, President Barack
Obama awarded Margaret Hamilton the Presidential Medal of Freedom for work that she did in NASA’s Apollo missions which took place nearly five decades ago. The lack of recognition is even more apparent when it comes to contributions made by women of color. Again, Katherine Johnson did not receive her Presidential Medal of Freedom until 2015. Surely movies that spotlight underrepresented, important historical figures will help all the hidden figures throughout history get their due. A demand for greater diversity and increased interest shared by audiences everywhere certainly makes this likely.
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SPORTS THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017
Rearview Mirror: 2016 in athletic achievement ANDREW ABADIE
printz reporter
Overall, 2016 was a successful year for the Golden Eagles’ athletic programs. The combination of talented recruiting classes and senior classes helped almost every team find success in Conference USA. Along with several conference championship runs, each athletic program had numerous individual accolades in both academics and athletic honors. The baseball program proved once again to be one of the most consistently successful programs for the university. Baseball brought home the C-USA championship and made it to an NCAA Regional. With many starters returning for this upcoming season the team should be able to easily duplicate its success for next season. Southern Miss football has a bright future led by Jay Hopson, who was appointed head coach in 2016 and brought home the school’s first bowl win in the New Orleans Bowl since 2011. The offense had one of the most successful seasons in the school’s history under senior quarterback Nick Mullens.
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Volleyball also had another highly successful and historic season. Seniors Stephany Purdue, Chanel Joyce, and Makareta Rademakers became the winningest class in school history with 84 wins as a group. Purdue became the alltime school record holder in kills with 1,577 in the match on Senior Day. The team finished the season in the conference tournament semifinals with a 23-8 record. Catherine Repsher was named Conference USA Freshman of the Year, and the team also had five players make the all-conference team. Next season the team will look to Repsher and Kylie Grandy to fill the shoes of the senior class. If the program can produce another strong recruiting class, then they can easily make an appearance in the conference tournament final in the upcoming seasons. The women’s cross country team won three meets this past season, finishing fourth in conference and breaking the school record for points scored in a Regional competition. Despite the graduation of seasoned senior runners Dana Dillistone and Daphney Stanford, the young
and upcoming athletes on the team promise a bright future for the program. The Golden Eagles are easily a contender for the conference championship next season. The Track and Field program brought home several individual conference titles for Southern Miss in the 400m event last spring. However, the program still lacks the ability to make it to be a major competitive force in C-USA due to the lack of a complete team. Kadaria Thompson had a strong freshman season which will make her a force to be reckoned with in her upcoming years. Notably, the upcoming recruiting class seems to be a talented group and may be the foundation for the success of the program. The program needs to continue to produce productive recruiting classes and develop its young athletes, in order to create a competitive squad in seasons to come. The Golden Eagles soccer team had its first winning season in 13 years going 8-7-2. The team will lose key starters Rikki Randrup and four-year starter goalkeeper Brittany Taylor. The team will return strong with Becky McMullen
and Beth Coleman, who were both essential to the success of the team. The program will have only five seniors graduate which will leave a highly experienced team for next season. The 2016 season for the softball team was one of the most successful years since 2004. The team posted a 30-win season, won the Conference USA West and ended the season in the conference tournament semifinals. With the return of a majority of its starters, the team will be a major threat for the Conference USA crown. With the return of their ace pitcher Samantha Robles and several key hitters, the team has all the necessary tools to make it to a NCAA Regional. The women’s basketball program has showed improvement from last season, but their lack of size
continues to hurt the team. The team easily has enough talent to make the postseason with Brittanny Dinkins at the helm. The Lady Eagles should make the conference tournament and make a return to the NAIA. Unlike the women, the men’s basketball program continues to have problems. The program may have hit rock bottom but fortunately, the only place to go is up. Southern MIss’ men’s basketball team needs to look to make bigger strides to get better and hopefully find talented players in upcoming recruiting classes. Almost every program can make a legitimate run at a conference championship in the upcoming year. If each program can make the proper adjustments, then 2017 should be a banner year for the Golden Eagle athletic program.