News Nuggets, 03.08.04
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

C-USA final regular season standings, tourney pairings

Cards ink Pitino, Petrino to long-term pacts

LOUISVILLE — Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino and football coach Bobby Petrino got contract extensions through 2010 Thursday, and athletic director Tom Jurich was given a raise.

Pitino is 63-27 in three years with the Cardinals, who are 19-7 and ranked 25th. When he was hired in March 2001, he signed a six-year contract that included a $5 million bonus if he stayed until the end of the deal.

Jurich called Pitino the "economic engine" of the athletic department. Since Pitino's arrival, donations to the school's general fund have gone up $2 million.

Petrino, who flirted with an offer to coach Auburn in December, also got a three-year extension. The Cardinals were 9-4 in his first season, reaching a bowl game for the sixth straight year.

Jurich signed a 12-year contract in August 2002 that will keep him at Louisville through 2016.

The university is facing a fiscal crisis expected to result in job cuts and a tuition increase. Louisville president James Ramsey defended the contract moves.

"This is the right time for us to be making these announcements," Ramsey said. "For me to devote every ounce of energy I have to moving the academic mission of this campus forward, it's very important we have stability in our athletics program."

Ramsey said the money for the contracts comes from sources that are independent from what can be used to solve the school's budget problems.

JMU coach steps down after poor season

HARRISONBURG — Sherman Dillard resigned as basketball coach at James Madison University on Sunday.

Dillard led the Dukes to a 7-21 record, including a 3-15 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association. His contract ran through the 2004-05 season, but his resignation is effective immediately, athletic director Jeff Bourne said.

"Coach Dillard has been very dedicated to our program and to JMU's student-athletes and their success, both on and off the court," Bourne said. "He gave our team and program his total commitment. His efforts have been appreciated and valued, unfortunately the team's performance is not where it needs to be."

Dillard, who completed his seventh season for the Dukes with a 44-41 loss to N.C.-Wilmington on Friday in the first round of the CAA tournament, compiled a 93-106 overall record and was 50-68 in regular-season conference games.

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