After SEC warns Ole Miss and MSU of ban over the state flag, is C-USA next with USM?
With the NCAA and SEC potentially banning postseason games on Mississippi’s college campuses if the state removes the Confederate emblem from its flag, Conference USA is in the process of determining if it will take a similar step.
Southern Miss is the lone Magnolia State representative in C-USA and one of the league’s charter members. USM often hosts the conference baseball tournament and the football program is consistently in the hunt to play in the championship game.
The NCAA’s ruling will prevent USM from hosting any NCAA championship events, including baseball regionals and super regionals for the Golden Eagles’ baseball program.
If C-USA follows with its own ban, the USM baseball, volleyball and softball programs may be eliminated from the chance to host conference tournaments.
Without specifically singling out USM, C-USA sent out a statement Thursday night indicating that it is considering such a move.
“Along with many of you, we have been listening, sharing and learning over the past few weeks,” C-USA commissioner Judy MacLeod said in the statement on Thursday. “We have heard the concerns regarding the homage paid to symbols and individuals that represent horrific injustices of the past. Providing non-discriminatory, welcoming respectful championship experiences for all of our student-athletes is paramount.
“Today, our Board of Directors pledges to conduct a process to review our championships hosting policies in order to ensure we provide environments that align with our continued mission to support and protect our student-athletes.”
The decision for C-USA is complicated by the fact that on June 1 it awarded USM the right to host the 2022 baseball tournament in Hattiesburg. The conference tournament has been played in Mississippi in eight of the last nine years with sites including Biloxi, Hattiesburg and Pearl.
It’s far from a sure thing that Conference USA will ban postseason events in Mississippi. C-USA has a history of taking its time when making big decisions, and it’s always been careful not to alienate its members.
USM supports NCAA decision
Mississippi’s public universities released a joint statement Friday in support of the NCAA’s decision, noting that the state could miss out on millions of dollars if it can’t host postseason events.
“We are looking forward to a time when our state flag represents the full and rich diversity of Mississippi, a diversity that is reflected in our student-athletes, our student bodies, and the friends and fans of our athletics teams,” the statement said. “We look forward to a time when Mississippi’s state flag unites Mississippians, rather than divides us.”
Both USM President Rodney Bennett, who is state’s the first black leader of a predominantly white college, and athletic director Jeremy McClain sent out tweets Friday in support of the universities’ joint statement.
“I fully support this statement from our higher education leaders throughout the state of Mississippi,” McClain said on Twitter. “It is time to make this long overdue change and allow us as Mississippians to pursue a brighter future TOGETHER!”
No public university in Mississippi currently flies the state flag on its campus.
Some support for flag change
USM removed the state flag from all of its campuses in October 2015, but Gov. Tate Reeves and his predecessor, Phil Bryant, have been reluctant to change the banner, since Mississippians voted by a nearly 2-to-1 margin to keep the flag in 2001.
Reeves has been adamant recently that he will not sign off on a change unless the state’s voters again weigh in on the issue through a referendum.
“My position has not changed,” Reeves said earlier this month. “I spent much of (the 2019 campaign) telling people of this state what I believe. There will come a time at some point in which the people of Mississippi want to change the flag.
“People have to make that decision. They don’t want a backroom deal by politicians in Mississippi.”
The state Legislature, with the support of Republican House Speaker Phillip Gunn, is considering taking up a bill that would change the state’s flag, but the bill’s fate appears uncertain.
It’s too late to place a referendum on the ballot in November, but a veto-proof bill can be implemented if the House and Senate pass it with two-thirds of those two chambers voting in support of the bill — before the governor vetoes it, and after.
This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 3:21 PM.
