coaching carousel < 1. reference to Thames administration ploy of nudging coaches to leave USM; 2. is effected by not offering a contract renewal, usually at the point when a given coach has only 1 year remaining on his/her contract; 3. ploy seemingly successful with James Green (see babbs’ list) and Rick Reeves (see babbs’ list), and may be in operation currently (4/04) on head football coach Jeff Bower.

cronyism < 1. favoritism shown to close friends and companions without regard for their qualifications; 2. at USM (under Thames), it’s just our way of "helping people," after all that’s what "Southern Miss is all about" these days; [quote from Shelby Thames in April of 2004: "That’s what Southern Miss is all about — helping people."]

nepotism < 1. favoritism shown or patronage granted by persons in high office to relatives or close friends; 2. see Dana Thames; 3. at USM (under Thames), it’s just our way of "helping people," after all that’s what "Southern Miss is all about" these days; [quote from Shelby Thames in April of 2004: "That’s what Southern Miss is all about — helping people."]

Roundhouse cleaning < reference to subtle signs in March/April 2004 that the Thames administration was in the throes of collapse. The subtle signs included (a) Angeline and Mark Dvorak’s garage sale, (b) Joe Paul’s resignation from the Hattiesburg City Schools Board, supporting the belief that he was to become the new VP of Student Affairs at Texas A&M University, (c) discovery that Provost Tim Hudson was a finalist for the presidencies at Slippery Rock and Texas – Pan Am, and (d) word that Aubrey K. Lucas’ daughter was building a home in Canebrake.