Cleveland, the former executive director of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and current historian, will join Mississippi Today starting Sept. 1 as its sports columnist. Cleveland, who was appointed the second executive director of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in April 2012, stated that he has mixed emotions about the decision to leave the institution. “I’m proud of the progress we’ve made and very happy that Bill Blackwell is now the executive director to preserve and promote Mississippi’s amazing sports heritage,” stated Fred Anklam Jr. (co-editor) of Mississippi Today. Cleveland will be writing two columns per week for Mississippi Today. He will also write daily blog posts and news stories, according to plans. Cleveland will continue to write a weekly column that is syndicated by the Mississippi Press Association for Mississippi newspapers. Cleveland added: “I began my career in Mississippi sports writing at the age of 13 and that’s how I want to end my career. I do what I love and write about what I love. Anklam stated that he believes in Mississippi Today’s mission and looks forward to new challenges. “We are excited to make his columns available free at Mississippitoday.org.” Cleveland, long-time sports editor and columnist of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, is the most decorated sports journalist in Mississippi history, having won numerous national, regional and state sports writing awards. He was the first sports journalist to receive the Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence in 2011. He was awarded the Distinguished Mississippian Award by the Mississippi Press Association in 2000. He was voted Mississippi’s Sports Writers of the Year a record ten times, and has authored four books. Ron Winford, President of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors, stated: “When we lost Michael Rubenstein in late 2011, the museum’s first and only director. We knew it would be hard to replace him. It was an easy decision to hire Rick Cleveland. The museum is stronger than ever. Rick will leave it in a better state than he found. The Board of Directors would like to thank Rick for his weekly column on sports that he wrote for Mississippi Today in June. It ran on Friday afternoons. To support this work, make a regular donation today to celebrate our Spring Member Drive. This will allow us to continue important work such as this story.