Mississippi
How revenue sharing will impact Ole Miss, Mississippi State football salary cap, NIL
High-level college athletics put an end to its longstanding amateurism policies last week, leaving administrators at schools like Ole Miss and Mississippi State to find a way forward under the new order.
The NCAA, Power Five conferences and lawyers representing plaintiffs in three antitrust cases agreed to a settlement that will obligate the NCAA to backpay nearly $2.8 billion in damages for current and former college athletes. The same agreement, which still requires the approval of a judge, will require universities to begin sharing revenue with their athletes ‒ with fall of 2025 reportedly targeted as a start date.
What do these changes mean for Ole Miss and Mississippi State? Here’s a look at three big questions facing both schools.
How will Mississippi State, Ole Miss handle the additional expense?
The athletic departments at both Ole Miss and Mississippi State operated at deficits in the most recent reporting year. The Rebels lost over $8 million, with the Bulldogs’ revenue report outlining a loss in excess of $5 million.
Now, the NCAA will be reducing its distributions to schools to help pay the $2.8 billion in damages it owes as a result of the settlement. It says 24% of that $2.8 billion will be made up for by distribution reductions to schools like Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
The initial revenue distribution cap is expected to be at least $20 million, increasing in proportion to athletic department revenues over time. For context, Mississippi State spent roughly $121 million total in the most recent fiscal year. Ole Miss spent about $150 million.
Both institutions face a challenge when it comes to balancing the budget with the sizable new costs.
Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter outlined the approach he’ll take during an interview with The Clarion Ledger in January.
“Are you asking your development staff to raise money in a different way?” Carter said. “We’re always looking for new revenue sources. Obviously, a worst-case scenario is you have to downsize your sports. You have to figure out what makes sense. If the industry of college athletics becomes more businesslike, you may have to start running it more like a profit-loss business.
“That is a worst-case scenario. Nobody in college athletics wants to do that, take opportunities away from college athletes. As we go through this model, everything’s on the table.”
How does this change impact Ole Miss, Mississippi State NIL?
The college football roster construction economy has been driven by name, image and likeness payments since they were made legal in the summer of 2021. Some NIL payments are endorsement deals, with athletes receiving compensation in exchange for advertising a product. Others more closely resemble outsourced pay-for-play, with outside collectives affiliated with each school paying players to join their program.
With a settlement reached and a revenue-sharing cap proposed, there are questions as to whether the NCAA can restrict supplemental NIL payments as a means to circumvent a salary cap.
At Ole Miss, in particular, an aggressive collective has helped drive unprecedented football success. The Rebels won 11 games in 2023 for the first time ever.
“College athletics is evolving and some much needed balance is coming,” Walker Jones, who runs the Rebels’ collective, posted on social media last week. “Ole Miss athletics and (The Grove Collective) will be at the forefront of this evolution and are well positioned to lead and compete at the highest level.”
At Mississippi State, second-year athletic director Zac Selmon took charge amid an NIL surge sparked by the departure of former AD John Cohen.
“We’ve put ourselves in a position to be successful,” Selmon told The Clarion Ledger after 2023 football season. “Successful doesn’t mean reckless, too. Some schools, I think – or some collectives, some NIL boosters, however you want to define them – have been reckless. And a lot of times reckless without any backing.”
BASEBALL: Why Mississippi State baseball will – and won’t – win Charlottesville NCAA Regional
How do Rebels, Bulldogs prioritize their revenue-sharing budget?
Though the future of NIL is unclear, it seems certain that college athletics is headed toward a salary cap.
If each university can distribute around $20 million to its athletes annually, how much of that is spent on football? Men’s and women’s basketball? Baseball?
It’s a challenging question, particularly for Mississippi State and Ole Miss, which have priorities that might not align with their peers. The Bulldogs and Rebels are two of the proudest baseball programs in the country. Do they take money out of football’s budget to spend on baseball? Or do they invest everything they can in football, which is likely to remain the most financially competitive space?
Revenue sharing and women’s sports at Ole Miss, Mississippi State
And what say will Title IX have in how the money gets allocated?
The federal gender equity law adds another factor for athletic departments to consider as they slice up the pie.
Women’s basketball operates at a deficit at both Ole Miss and Mississippi State, though the NCAA could soon begin distributing unit payouts which could change that picture.
The Rebels have won three NCAA Tournament games in the last two seasons, and pay their coach, Yolett McPhee-McCuin, over $1 million annually. Mississippi State has been to the Final Four twice since 2017.
David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.
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Mississippi
11 indicted in $12.3 million Mississippi Medicaid fraud scheme, AG says
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Eleven people have been indicted in connection with an alleged Medicaid fraud scheme involving more than $12.3 million.
This according to Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who said the indictments involve allegations of fraudulent billing, wire fraud, and/or false documentation seeking to defraud the government.
All 11 charged include:
- Isluv Robertson, 36, of Jackson
- Shawncee Vassar-Cunningham, 51, of Olive Branch
- Katricia Smith, 47, of Olive Branch
- Sheila Boney Collins, 53, of Hollandale
- Ahyana Nicole Crosby, 34, of Laurel
- Angela Nannette Crosby, 51, of Laurel
- Yolanda Evette Blackman, 54, of Hattiesburg
- Linda Jenkins, 46, of Hermanville
- Deja Almore, 30, of Yazoo City
- Curtis Moore, 51, of Gulfport
- Taylor Christian Rushing, 34, of Gautier
Officials said the defendants are accused of participating in health care fraud schemes involving more than $6.5 billion in intended loss.
“These indictments are just the latest efforts we are taking to fight waste, fraud, and corruption,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. “I am proud to partner with President Trump to protect taxpayer dollars and ensure that money meant to help those in need is not stolen from safety net programs. I will remain laser-focused on rooting out fraud, recovering money wrongfully stolen from hard-working taxpayers, and holding fraudsters accountable.”
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Copyright 2026 WLBT. All rights reserved.
Mississippi
Governor: At least 47 homes, 50 roads damaged by Mississippi storms, flooding – SuperTalk Mississippi
Gov. Tate Reeves has released updated damage assessments following the severe weather and flooding that inundated parts of southern Mississippi last week.
According to Reeves, assessments through the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency are ongoing, and disaster aid is still being distributed through a mix of federal, state, and local agencies, along with nonprofits. But numbers as of Monday morning showed dozens of homes and businesses damaged and even more public roads affected.

Among the counties with significant impacts are Covington, Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Jackson, Pearl River, Perry and Stone. Across those counties and others, at least 47 homes were affected, seven of which were completely destroyed. Nine businesses sustained damaged, six of which are considered major. One farm sustained major damage.
50 public roadways were affected, including four that are considered major and four that were completely destroyed. Two bridges sustained major damage, while two public buildings sustained minor damage.
Reeves said two rivers are in the moderate flood stage – Leaf River near McClain and the Pascagoula River at Graham Ferry.
15 other waterways are in the minor flood stage: Big Black River near Bentonia, Biloxi River near Lyman, Chickasawhay River at Enterprise, Chickasawhay River at Leakesville, East Hobolochitto Creek near Caesar, Pascagoula River at Merrill, Pearl River at Jackson, Pearl River near Pearl River, Pearl River near Philadelphia, Pearl River at Rockport, Strong River at D’Lo, Tallahala Creek at Laurel, Tuscolameta Creek at Laurel, West Hobolochitto Creek near McNeill, and Wolf River around Gulfport.


Damage reports could have worsened on Monday with additional rounds of severe weather in some parts of the state. The worst of the storms and floods came with the remnants of what was Tropical Storm Arthur late last week and into the weekend.
Mississippi
Family of 1-year-old killed by police at a Walmart in Mississippi wants video released
(AP) – A Mississippi family whose 1-year-old child was killed when police fired into a moving vehicle said Monday they want authorities to release video showing whether officers were in danger of being struck when one of them opened fire.
The shooting has sparked outrage in the small city of Senatobia, where some say it’s the latest in a series of troubling encounters between police and Black residents.
Kohen Wiley was riding with his mother and another woman in a Walmart parking lot on June 14 when police responded to a shoplifting call. The family says they were driving away, while the officers say the car was heading toward them.
“I watched my baby take his first breath, and I watched my baby take his last breath,” Vellesiya Wiley said at a news conference Monday.
The other woman in the car, whose name has not been released, suffered “critical injuries,” according to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, which is handling the inquiry.
Standing alongside Kohen’s parents and grandparents at a local church, civil rights attorney Ben Crump told reporters Monday that the best way to determine whether the officers were at risk is to publicly release any body camera, dash camera or Walmart security camera video.
“If that is the truth, then show us that,” Crump said. “The longer you delay releasing the video, the more distrustful we become.”
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation declined to comment on what videos investigators have or whether they would be released, agency spokesperson Bailey Martin said Monday.
“This case has been made a top priority,” Martin said in an emailed statement, “and we currently have multiple agents working tirelessly to ensure every aspect of the investigation is thoroughly examined.”
The agency says the officers weren’t hurt. Senatobia Police Chief Harold Vanderford did not return a phone message seeking comment Monday.
State investigators gave an initial account of the shooting last week, saying that when Senatobia police arrived at the Walmart, they found two women and a child getting into a car and driving away.
“Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one. An officer then discharged their weapon and the vehicle fled the scene,” the agency statement said.
Kohen’s mother has said the shoplifting call was over a box of diapers that her friend was carrying — and that she believes her friend had paid for the diapers. State investigators declined to comment on those details.
Crump questioned why police didn’t let the car go and take down the license plate number.
“They were called over a box of diapers and a family now has to bury their baby,” Crump said Monday. “You cannot put those two things next to each other and call it reasonable policing.”
Crump also said an independent autopsy would be performed.
While there’s no question the child was shot by police, he said, details about the angles at which any bullets struck the child could yield clues as to whether the officer fired from in front of the car or off to the side — and therefore whether that officer was in any danger.
Policing expert Ian Adams, who teaches criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, told The Associated Press last week that police should know that “shooting into a moving vehicle is a very bad idea and one to be avoided at almost all costs,” noting the danger to passengers and other bystanders.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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