Mississippi
Mississippi colleges look to adapt in new era of athlete compensation

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) – Changes to transfer rules and NIL laws have shifted the way college football rosters will look for seasons to come.
WLOX Sports Anchor Matt Degregorio spoke with Yahoo Sports Senior College Football Reporter Ross Dellenger about the financial effects for the NCAA member institutions and athletes moving forward.
College sports fans have spent the past three seasons trying to understand the ins and outs of both the transfer portal and NIL along with the impact each one has on their favorite programs. During that time, major lawsuits including the House v. NCAA were taking place in court to determine if, when, and how college athletes will be compensated.
Dellenger, a Mississippi Gulf Coast native and Mercy Cross High School graduate, has followed these changes in the NCAA at a national level for the past six years.
“NIL is about three years old,” he explains. “It was started from the state level. State lawmakers said what the courts are saying now, you need to compensate athletes. So, the NCAA lifted its rule, allowing athletes to earn compensation on their name, image, and likeness — NIL — and now we’re onto the next evolution with the NCAA and power conferences trying to settle these lawsuits. Along with that settlement is basically a revenue sharing concept so they will begin to share a certain portion of their revenue with college athletes.”
With schools set to have the ability to pay athletes out of pocket, one question comes to mind: How will Power 5 schools like Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and LSU share revenue with their athletes?
“We don’t really know yet,” said Dellenger. “Each school will have its own discretion, but as part of the settlement, they’ll have to share 22% of their revenues at the power conference level. It’s an average power conference revenue number that they generate and they’ll have to share 22% of that. It ends up coming out to the low 20 millions. Bottom line is each school will share around $20-23 million a year with their athletes. They’ll be permitted to that. They don’t have to. They’re not required to.”
Power 5 schools, especially in the Big 10 and SEC, are expected to spend to the limit allowed — but what does the revenue-sharing change look like for Group of 5 schools such as Southern Miss?
“A school like Southern Miss almost certainly will not,” he claims. “In fact, I can’t imagine Southern Miss being able to afford to share much revenue with athletes at all. I think they will, but it will be a small portion probably just like it is now. In the world of NIL now, those Group of 5 programs average around $1-2 million that their NIL programs generate for their rosters. You look at power conference schools — like an Ole Miss, for instance — generating 8, 10, 12 million dollars a year for their roster. It will equate to probably the same in the revenue-sharing world. You’re going to have schools, especially Group of 5, C-USA, Sun Belt, that are not being able to afford to share revenue with athletes.”
Schools will not be paying their athletes directly for the upcoming season, so what does the timetable look like?
“All of this is on a delay,” Dellenger concludes. “It’s not going to be implemented immediately. The settlement isn’t even finalized. It should be by early next year, by January or February of next year. It will be implemented next August, probably the Fall semester of 2025 schools will be permitted to be able to pay athletes directly.”
Next summer will certainly be interesting as the transfer portal has the potential to look even more like NFL free agency.
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Mississippi
Neurology doctor working in Mississippi hospital charged with child sex crimes

SALTILLO, Miss. (WTVA) — A doctor has been fired by his hospital after being charged with child sex crimes in Mississippi.
Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson identified the suspect as Ali Ahmad, 37, a Pakistani national.
Law enforcement arrested Ahmad on Tuesday at a house in Saltillo, Mississippi.
The investigation dates back to December.
That’s when a social media company contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about the alleged distribution of child porn.
The investigation led to Ahmad’s arrest. More charges are possible, the sheriff said.
Ahmad worked as a neurology doctor with the North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo for five months.
The hospital fired him upon his arrest, North Mississippi Health Services Vice President Kim Marlatt confirmed.
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Mississippi
How Mississippi State basketball signee Jamarion Davis-Fleming won Mr. Basketball and MHSAA state title
CLINTON — Canton’s Jamarion Davis-Fleming admitted that winning consecutive MHSAA state titles or Mr. Basketball awards never gets simpler — especially this year.
“It ain’t get easier,” he told the Clarion Ledger on Tuesday at the MHSAA Mr. and Miss Basketball awards ceremony. “This year was definitely tougher than last year’s.”
The Mississippi State basketball signee pointed to his team being young, and Canton’s early season struggles that made this season mean more. He said it was a combination that made him a better team player and leader this season.
“This year we had to play team ball, you know, I had a different team, young team,” the senior said. “We ain’t had the flashiest players, but we still had to cooperate to a state championship. We had that dog mentality.”
Canton is coming off its second consecutive MHSAA Class 5A state title after a 53-35 win over Holmes County Central last week. Davis-Fleming won his second 5A Mr. Baskeball award and helped Canton its its third overall championship.
The senior averaged 25 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks and four assists heading into the Tigers state title game. Davis-Fleming was selected twice for the Clarion Ledger Dandy Dozen list from 2023-25.
“I’m honored because of the things that he’s doing at Canton and bringing a positive light to Canton,” Canton coach BJ Townsend said. “To be Mr. 5A in two years, man, it just pays off to the hard work that he’s been doing on and off the floor, so I’m just proud of him.”
Davis-Fleming is still honored to receive any award, whether it be a state title or individual accolade.
“It feels amazing, though,” the 6-foot-9 center said. “Truly honored and blessed, being here two times in a row. Just ending my high school career being recognized as the top player in 5A, so, it was definitely a blessing to receive this award.”
Why Jamarion Davis-Fleming is excited for his future Mississippi State basketball career
When Davis-Fleming committed to Mississippi State basketball last October and later signed in February, he pointed to one area heavily — potentially earning playing time. At an elite level program, having to earn everything the hard way is a challenge he wants to accept.
“I’m just ready to go down there and work, and I’m gonna work my tail off,” he said. “Just play in front of Starkvegas, you know, I got to get my mind right, my body right. So just to have an opportunity to go up there and play, gonna try to play right away, and do some big things for Mississippi State.”
Townsend sees his former center excelling quickly under Chris Jans’ program.
“I think he’ll fit in well, especially with him going over there to play the four spot,” Townsend said. “His hard work and his work ethic, it’s gonna lead him to be a great player.
But they are also getting a great person as well.
“He’s not going to cause any problems or any distractions to the team. I just feel like he’s gonna be very, very successful at Mississippi State.”
Michael Chavez covers high school sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.
Mississippi
Feds plan to terminate leases at Mississippi River recreation headquarters and visitor center in Minnesota

The canceled lease is for a ranger station and was expected because the new center will accommodate park rangers, said Christina Hausman Rhode, executive director of Voyageurs Conservancy, a philanthropic partner of the park. The center’s grand opening is June 6.
According to the natural resources committee list, the GSA will also cancel the lease Sept. 30 for a Fish & Wildlife Service office in downtown Winona. And the U.S. Geological Survey’s Minnesota Water Science Center in Mounds View will lose its leased space in September 2026. Calls to both offices for comment were unanswered.
The list of federal park office and site closures is separate from another list of federal office buildings eyed for sale released last week.
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