Halstead didn't say directly that the row would make his job of selling Hattiesburg more challenging. But he wants the Southern Miss matter put to rest.
"It is time for all parties at USM to rise above the fray for the good of everybody concerned," he said. "It is a fray. And it's got a life of its own and it's time for it to stop and for them to all get strategic and say we're going to put this behind us and focus on creating and being all we can be - both at the university and the greater Hattiesburg Pine Belt area."