I’ve seen school officials have some pretty interesting conversations with parents and students over the last few decades – explaining the school merger comes to mind immediately, of course the demerger too, along with the always charged conversations surrounding busing and even the kidnapping of a child from a school building. But when SCS superintendent Dorsey Hopson met parents and students from Kirby High School Thursday evening in Hickory Hill, it was new ground. The subject was rats – lots of rats.

2. Memphis Sports Hall of Fame Will Be One-of-a-Kind - Friday, July 27, 2018

To get an idea of what the future Memphis Sports Hall of Fame might look like, you can travel Interstate 40, stop in at Bridgestone Arena on Broadway in downtown Nashville, and see the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. But you can also go just around the corner, to 421 S. Main St., and visit the Blues Hall of Fame.

3. The Week Ahead: July 16-22 - Monday, July 16, 2018

Good morning, Memphis! The popular Roundhouse Revival at the Mid-South Coliseum returns this weekend, along with a retro skate night against the scenic backdrop of the Mississippi River at sunset. Check out those events and more happenings you need to know about in The Week Ahead...

4. Penny Hardaway Basketball Camps Begin in June - Saturday, May 19, 2018

University of Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway has announced a monthlong run of basketball camps that will begin June 5 and continue through June 28 on the school’s campus.

The team camp will be held June 5-6 for high-school-age boys teams at three locations: the Larry O. Finch Center, the Student Recreation and Fitness Center and the Laurie-Walton Family Basketball Center. The cost for the team camp will be $250 for three games and $500 for six games.

5. Editorial: Hardaway Takes Game Off The Court, Into the City - Saturday, May 19, 2018

While we have pondered and called meetings and probably hired consultants to help us get our arms around young Memphians who leave the city to seek their future and never return, something has been happening. And it has been happening around the city’s dominant sport – basketball.

6. Penny Mania - Saturday, May 19, 2018

Derek Jett was coming home from a business trip on the West Coast and making a connection at the airport in Dallas. It was football season, and because it was football season (and not basketball season), he was wearing his University of Memphis cap.

7. Penny Hardaway Basketball Camps Begin in June - Wednesday, May 16, 2018

University of Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway has announced a monthlong run of basketball camps that will begin June 5 and continue through June 28 on the school’s campus.

The team camp will be held June 5-6 for high-school-age boys teams at three locations: the Larry O. Finch Center, the Student Recreation and Fitness Center and the Laurie-Walton Family Basketball Center. The cost for the team camp will be $250 for three games and $500 for six games.

8. Under Hardaway, Memphis Again Can Have Hometown Heroes - Friday, April 6, 2018

Headline from the future: “Alex Lomax Leads Memphis Tigers into the Sweet 16.”

A certainty? Of course not. But it’s a possibility because Lomax has committed to Penny Hardaway and the University of Memphis. You know, as opposed to staying with his earlier choice of Gregg Marshall and Wichita State.

9. Last Word: SCS Plans For $15, IRIS Matinees and The Hard Hit Fund - Wednesday, March 21, 2018

“From a financial standpoint, we need our fans back and we need them back now.” University of Memphis president David Rudd breaking the university’s silence on the basketball coaching change that was made formal Tuesday with the announcement that Penny Hardaway is indeed the new coach. And Hardaway had a lot to say that Tigers fans and Memphians wanted to hear.

10. Last Word: Waiting on Hardaway, Campaign Habits and Hasheem Thabeet's Shadow - Friday, March 16, 2018

Penny Hardaway’s formal hiring as the new Tigers basketball coach is expected next week and you can almost hear all of the resume’s hitting Hardaway’s email as he puts together a staff. Hardaway’s name first surfaced as a possible coach in the last days of Josh Pastner, pre-Tubby Smith. It's only become stronger and better developed since then.

11. Editorial: Tubby Smith Meant Well But Memphis Needed More - Saturday, March 17, 2018

In two seasons as head basketball coach at the University of Memphis, Tubby Smith served the institution, the sport, and most importantly the players, with integrity.

He talked about real issues in college athletics that have made him an outlier in many ways. He’s widely regarded as the coach who does everything the right way, who values the educational attainment and personal development of student-athletes more than the wins.

12. Last Word: River Crests, Tigers Post-Season and Library Shift - Monday, March 12, 2018

The slow fall of the Mississippi River begins. The river at Memphis crested at 39.2 feet over the weekend. By Friday it should be below flood stage, which at Memphis is 34 feet. The high river season here was marked mostly by a lot of watching by Memphis public works and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the river and its tributaries moved into the bottom land it usually occupies at this time of the year.

13. November 24-30, 2017: This week in Memphis history - Saturday, November 25, 2017

2012: Memphis Federal Court Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays rules the six suburban towns and cities in Shelby County have to stop their movement toward suburban school districts, voiding the moves they already had made, including school board elections. The six suburbs will soon restart the efforts with the formal work toward building the school systems from the ground up starting in January 2014 toward an opening of all six of the districts eight months later.

14. Tigers' New Basketball Facility a Palatial Recruiting Tool - Thursday, November 23, 2017

When you donate $10 million toward the construction of new basketball practice facility that bears your name, you are entitled to make a joke. So former Tiger Bill Laurie, who played on the 1972-73 Memphis State team that was NCAA runner-up, went for the laugh at the recent ribbon cutting ceremony for the University of Memphis’ $21 million Laurie-Walton Family Basketball Center on south campus named after Laurie and his wife, Nancy Walton Laurie.

15. Last Word: Cooper-Young Complications, The Mackin Investigation and Tuition Hike - Monday, June 26, 2017

Landmarks status for Cooper-Young is on hold because part of the process for the status isn’t an official part of the application process. That would be the part that requires a certain number of signatures to get the status. And it has put on hold a similar process in Vollintine-Evergreen.

16. Tubby Smith Basketball Camps Start This Month - Saturday, June 3, 2017

University of Memphis head basketball coach Tubby Smith has announced a series of basketball camps, including one four-day camp for the summer of 2017 and a team camp.

The first day camp will run from June 12-15.

17. Tubby Smith Basketball Camps Start in June - Monday, May 29, 2017

University of Memphis head basketball coach Tubby Smith has announced a series of basketball camps, including one four-day camp for the summer of 2017 and a team camp.

The first day camp will run from June 12-15.

18. Last Word: No More Lottery Balls, The Voucher Bill Advances and UCLA - Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Spring is in the air, which can only mean one thing – the Overton Park Greensward controversy is back on. Just this past weekend, I was in the park noting the metal barrier that separates Greensward pedestrians from Zoo parkers and that the barrier was not “decorated” with save the greensward paraphernalia as much as it has been the previous three springs.

19. Tigers Facing Tall Order in AAC Tournament - Thursday, March 9, 2017

Leven and Mary Williams had come to FedExForum last week for Senior Night. They wanted to see their beloved University of Memphis Tigers one more time and, who knows, maybe see Dedric Lawson play at home for the last time.

20. Editorial: Sports Remains Part Of Memphis’ Pulse - Saturday, January 21, 2017

When we talk about the culture of Memphis, you probably think music first, then maybe food. Perhaps church.

But is that really the sum total of the city’s pulse, or are the big three the expression of a cultural mix that is more diverse and more complex?

21. Markel Crawford Finally Arrives In His Redshirt Junior Year - Friday, January 20, 2017

It’s a distinguished list of alumni that have gone from Melrose High School to play basketball at the University of Memphis: William Bedford, Larry Finch, Ronnie Robinson and Adonis Thomas. And yes, Markel Crawford planned to uphold that legacy.

22. U of M Music Building to Get Mechanical Update - Saturday, June 18, 2016

The University of Memphis is preparing some mechanical upgrades to its 50-year-old music building.

A $3.4 million building permit application filed with the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement calls for a “mechanical modernization” of the music building at 3775 Central Ave., which houses the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, Harris Concert Hall and other related offices and classrooms.

23. Collierville FedEx Center Getting $12.7 Million Renovation - Thursday, June 16, 2016

3860 S. Forest Hill-Irene Road
Collierville, TN 38125
Permit Amount: $12.7 million

Owner: FedEx Corp.
Tenant: FedEx Corp.
Contractor: Grinder & Haizlip Construction
Details: Contractor Grinder & Haizlip Construction has filed a $12.7 million building permit for renovations at the FedEx World Technology Center in Collierville.
In January, the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen ratified a 20-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes incentive package for the FedEx center at 3860 S. Forest Hill-Irene Road.
A term of the PILOT agreement is that FedEx has to invest $40 million in real property and personal property upgrades.
The FedEx World Technology Center has been an economic driver for the city since its 16-acre campus opened in 1998. Currently, the tech hub is the largest employer in Collierville, with 2,500 total workers and a capacity for 3,200.

24. U of M Music Building to Get Mechanical Update - Tuesday, June 14, 2016

The University of Memphis is preparing some mechanical upgrades to its 50-year-old music building.

A $3.4 million building permit application filed with the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement calls for a “mechanical modernization” of the music building at 3775 Central Ave., which houses the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, Harris Concert Hall and other related offices and classrooms.

25. Tubby Smith Basketball Camps Begin in June - Monday, May 9, 2016

New Memphis head basketball coach Tubby Smith has announced a series of basketball camps – two-day camps and a team camp – for the summer of 2016.

The first day camp will run from June 6-9, while the second day camp will be from June 13-16. There will be a two-day team camp from June 17-18.

26. Last Word: Tiger Drumbeat, Eye on Drones and Shelby County Biggest Home Sale - Monday, March 14, 2016

Let the coaching drumbeat resume after the Tigers Sunday post-season collapse one game past Tulsa.
A confession here – I am so sports challenged that I thought UConn was a team from Alaska until I saw it spelled out.
In my defense, who associates Huskies with Connecticut?
My point is what happens next isn’t just about basketball. It’s about a change with a good track record of being emotional in the worst way.
It’s linked to how we want to be known for treating people and what they think of us as a result of that.
In those two areas, it’s never just business. It’s always personal.
Josh Pastner’s four predecessors were each very different case studies in this regard.
It could have been any stop in any city with a basketball court and a one-and-done star he could find and recruit to John Calipari. But he still had to hide under a blanket in the back seat of a car on the way to the airport and lie about it long after everyone knew.
Knew about the Kentucky job that is. The mess he left at the university would surface shortly thereafter.
Tic Price was two fast seasons and the proof that the Memphis job isn’t just about what happens on the court and the attendance at games.
Price was clearly excited about coming to Memphis. He clearly understood the importance and heritage of Tigers basketball and valued it. And he wasted no time at all getting lost in the Memphis that is not a part of that all encompassing world.
It was the only job Larry Finch wanted and ultimately the job he couldn’t continue to have. That after ignoring conventional wisdom as a player and coming from Melrose High to Memphis State, bringing a beloved team with him and then picking Memphis again in the ABA over the Lakers in the NBA.
None of that was considered in pushing him out the door and then naming a building after him.
Dana Kirk wanted to be the hustler John Calipari was. He was certainly impersonal enough about it and he took the team to an era where a post-season NCAA bid was expected and is still expected to this day.
But his impersonality exacted a high cost and he paid most of that cost. Although you could argue the experience for his team that produced some legendary players also made some of them legendary casualties of his emotional distance. It didn’t allow him to go elsewhere because he never figured out that he was being underestimated just as much as the team whose needs he ignored was in the national view of college basketball.
While Calipari dodged big trouble twice, Kirk wasn’t even in Calipari’s league when it came to ducking and timing.
We are past our inferiority complex. That’s what the last NFL drive of the 1990s did for us.
But it’s not necessarily a bad thing that we see the people chosen to occupy these very public positions as a reflection to the world of who we are.

27. Tigers’ Dedric Lawson selected AAC Rookie of the Year - Thursday, March 10, 2016

University of Memphis freshman forward Dedric Lawson has been named the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year.

Lawson was a unanimous choice for the Rookie of the Year award after earning a conference-record six Rookie of the Week honors. He led the AAC in rebounding, averaging 9.2 rebounds per game, including grabbing 96 offensive rebounds. His 275 rebounds this season are fourth-most by a freshman in Memphis history, and is nine away from moving past David Vaughn into third overall.

28. Hoops & Dreams - Saturday, November 14, 2015

They were but a few words, yet they seemed to capture the mindset of the University of Memphis basketball program’s high-expectation fan base.

“Get back to like it was,” said former Tigers guard Jeremy Hunt.

29. This Week in Memphis History: March 27-April 2 - Saturday, March 28, 2015

1985: The NCAA Final Four basketball playoffs in Lexington, Ky., with the Memphis State University Tigers among the four top teams, along with St. John’s, Villanova and Georgetown.

The Tigers team of Keith Lee, Baskerville Holmes, Andre Turner, Vincent Askew, William Bedford, Aaron Price and John Wilfong – coached by Dana Kirk and recruited by assistant coach Larry Finch – lost to Villanova, which went on to beat Georgetown.

30. Tigers Prepare for Cincinnati Without Cronin - Thursday, January 15, 2015

Every team has its adversities. For the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, there’s a big one: playing this season without head coach Mick Cronin on the sideline.

Cronin has a non-life-threatening vascular condition known as arterial dissection and won’t coach again this season, though he’s remaining involved in an advisory capacity. When the Bearcats (11-4, 2-1 in the American Athletic Conference) play the University of Memphis in a 6 p.m. game at FedExForum on Thursday, Jan. 15, long-time associate head coach Larry Davis will be running the team.

31. U of M to Host Girls’ Basketball Camps - Saturday, April 12, 2014

University of Memphis women’s basketball coach Melissa McFerrin will hold summer basketball camps for girls in third through ninth grades.

The camps begin with a one-day Elite Camp on June 18 for high school girls entering ninth to 12th grade. The Elite Camp will be held at the Larry Finch Center and University of Memphis Student Recreation and Fitness Center.

32. University of Memphis Planning Girls' Basketball Camps - Thursday, April 10, 2014

University of Memphis women’s basketball coach Melissa McFerrin will hold summer basketball camps for girls in third through ninth grades.

The camps begin with a one-day Elite Camp on June 18 for high school girls entering ninth to 12th grade. The Elite Camp will be held at the Larry Finch Center and University of Memphis Student Recreation and Fitness Center.

33. Tigers Revel in Season Sweep of Louisville - Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Any in-the-moment analytical evaluation of the Tigers’ chances after Louisville forward Montrezl Harrell slammed home a dunk for an eight-point lead with 4:46 left in the game would have been dire.

34. High School Hoops Tourney Coming to FedExForum - Saturday, February 8, 2014

Some of the best high school basketball teams from Shelby County will compete at FedExForum for bragging rights in the SCIAA Fever Basketball Tournament Sunday, Feb. 9.

Formerly known as the MIAA City Championships, 2014 will mark the inaugural SCIAA Fever tournament, a winner-take-all style tournament dating back to the 1960s. Past stars of the MIAA City Championships include Memphis’ own Larry Finch, Larry Spicer, John Gunn, James Bradley, Andre Turner, Todd Day, Cedric Henderson, Penny Hardaway and Elliot Perry.

35. High School Hoops Tourney Coming to FedExForum - Monday, February 3, 2014

Some of the best high school basketball teams from Shelby County will compete at FedExForum for bragging rights in the SCIAA Fever Basketball Tournament Sunday, Feb. 9.

Formerly known as the MIAA City Championships, 2014 will mark the inaugural SCIAA Fever tournament, a winner-take-all style tournament dating back to the 1960s.

36. Nicest AD In the World Steps Down - Friday, April 27, 2012

Sixteen years ago R.C. Johnson became the University of Memphis athletic director and he started the tradition of an annual media appreciation luncheon. John Calipari, among others, would have choked on the idea.

37. University of Memphis Statement on Bartow’s Death - Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Gene Bartow, the legendary college basketball coach and a native of Browning, Missouri, who led the 1973 Tiger basketball team to the NCAA National Championship Game against UCLA, has lost his long battle against cancer. Bartow, age 81, died on January 3rd at his home in Birmingham, Alabama.

38. Tigers Ace First Test, Take Talents to Maui - Friday, November 18, 2011

Every season has a first game. But this was not a perfunctory tip to an ordinary season. This one felt different, felt like the first act of a play that could have the ultimate, dramatic, ending.

Months from now, no one will remember all the particulars from the University of Memphis’ 97-81 victory over Belmont on Tuesday, Nov. 15. People will forget that Will Barton, Wesley Witherspoon and Joe Jackson all went for at least 20 points, that the game started at 11 a.m. on a Tuesday (to accommodate ESPN) and that outside FedExForum it was a gray, rainy day.

39. Memphis to Open Athletic Hall of Fame Tuesday - Tuesday, August 30, 2011

MEMPHIS (AP) – The Penny Hardaway/University of Memphis Athletic Hall of Fame will open Tuesday.

40. Hoop Dreams - Friday, March 26, 2010

The name “John Paul Jones” is etched on the newsroom office door of The Daily News building in Downtown Memphis and also on the main entrance of a 16,000-seat arena at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

41. Out of Bounds - Monday, November 16, 2009

The August report from the NCAA calls him “student-athlete 1.” Everyone but the NCAA and the University of Memphis calls him Derrick Rose.

42. Tigers Ready to Pounce On UCLA, Final Four History - Friday, April 4, 2008

When the University of Memphis Tigers play UCLA in the first semifinal game of Saturday's Final Four, it won't be the first meeting between the two schools. That came in 1973, when the Bruins defeated the Tigers 87-66 in the national championship game.

43. City Council Member's Land to Be Sold at Oct. Tax Sale - Friday, June 22, 2007

Two parcels of vacant land owned by Memphis City Council member Jack Sammons are due to be sold at the Shelby County Trustee's Tax Sale Oct. 29, according to a public notice in today's Daily News.

The properties, both in the 38111 ZIP code near the University of Memphis, are included in a list of parcels owned by delinquent taxpayers "not to be found." The listing is part of the exhaustive effort county trustee Bob Patterson's office legally is required to make in order to adequately notify delinquent taxpayers they are behind on property taxes.

44. Tribute CD ReleasedFor Coach Larry Finch - Tuesday, December 12, 2006
     A tribute CD to former University of Memphis men's basketball player and coach Larry Finch goes on sale today.
     "Eye of a Tiger: A Tribute to Larry Finch" is available at Wal-Mart, Best B

45. Events - Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Friends of Larry Finch holds a press conference to unveil its logo and announce coming events to benefit former University of Memphis Coach Larry Finch today at 11 a.m. at Cal's Championship Steak House at the Doubletree Hotel, 5069 Sanderlin Ave. Contact Kenneth Moody at 758-8753 for more information.

46. Archived Article: Newsmakers - Wednesday, June 1, 2005
St

St. Jude Researcher Named to Royal Society

Dr. Tom Curran, chair of the department of Developmental Neurobiology and the co-leader of the Neurobiology and Brain Tumor program at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital, was elected to the Fello...

47. Archived Article: Register (lead) - Monday, August 14, 2000
By STACEY WIEDOWER Familiar names surface for county register race By STACEY WIEDOWER The Daily News Potential candidates for the office of Shelby County Register are beginning to make known their interest in the election, which will be included on ...

48. Archived Article: U Of M Bott - Thursday, July 1, 1999
By SUZANNE THOMPSON Construction projects progress steadily on U of M campus By SUZANNE THOMPSON The Daily News Students and others attending functions at Harris Concert Hall on the campus of the University of Memphis soon will be watching from diff...

49. Archived Article: Standout Lj - Friday, December 22, 1995
lj 10/5 cates Former U of M hoop star continues to score Reed promotes minority vendors, encourages business savvy in students By LAURIE JOHNSON The Daily News From the basketball court to the upper levels of administration, Dexter Reed has helped t...