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News Nuggets, 05.09.04
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

ECU golfer Millican lands spot in NCAA Championship

East Carolina’s Adrienne Millican will carry the banner of Conference USA at the NCAA Women's Golf Championship.

A final round of 74 at the East Regional on Saturday was good enough to propel Millican to a berth in the women's national title event May 18-21 at the par-72 Grand National Lake Course in Auburn, AL.

Millican, competing as an individual, finished tied for ninth place in the regional at Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort at Howie-in-the-Hills, FL, with a three-day six-over par 222. She is the first women’s golfer in ECU history to advance to the national championship.

Tulane, which participated at the East Regional as a team, finished in 10th place, two spots off of making the top eight teams from that region to qualify for nationals. The Green Wave finished with a three-round 928 (+64).

McGee brushes off Broyles' criticism of Holtz

LITTLE ROCK — South Carolina's athletic director came to the defense of football coach Lou Holtz on Saturday, a day after Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles testified in federal court about his decision to fire Holtz after the 1983 season.

Mike McGee, an Elizabeth City native and former Duke All-American who served as East Carolina's head coach in 1970, praised Holtz' leadership of the South Carolina football program.

"I want to make it very clear that at South Carolina (Holtz) has been exemplary in his support and his availability both to the campus and community wide," McGee told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

A day earlier, Broyles testified in Little Rock at the federal trial of a lawsuit former basketball coach Nolan Richardson filed against the University of Arkansas.

Richardson, who also coached at Tulsa, alleges racial discrimination led to his 2002 firing.

Broyles testified Friday that the sole reason Richardson was fired was because he expressed doubt in the Arkansas program by saying publicly that Arkansas could buy out his contract for half its $1 million-a-year value.

Broyles cited his decision to fire Holtz, Arkansas second-winningest football coach, as an example of how he handles coaches. Broyles fired Holtz despite a 60-21-2 record that included six straight bowl appearances.

"I felt like he was losing the fan base with things he said and did," Broyles said. Among perceived slights was Holtz' missing a homecoming game pep rally so he could make a speech in St. Louis, Broyles said. Holtz coached at Arkansas from 1977-1983.

McGee said that while he didn't know details about Holtz's past at Arkansas, Holtz has done much to foster South Carolina's fan base.

"Here at USC, Lou has been more generous with his time and resources at the university and in the community than any coach I've ever worked with," McGee said.

Holtz won a national championship in 1988 at Notre Dame, where he coached 11 seasons until leaving in 1996.

Holtz was hired by South Carolina after the 1998 season. His team went 0-11 in 1999. After taking the Gamecock's to back-to-back bowl games in 2000 and 2001, Holtz' teams ended the 2002 and 2003 seasons 5-7.

Calipari joins DiMaggio, Lombardi, et al, in Italian American HOF

CHICAGO — University of Memphis head basketball coach John Calipari was selected as one of 10 individuals to be inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame Saturday night.

The XXVII annual National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame Gala was to be held in the International Ballroom of the Chicago Hilton and Towers, with Hall of Fame baseball manager Tommy Lasorda hosting the black-tie event.

The Class of 2004 inductees also include former Miami Dolphin Dan Marino, former Cy Young Award winner Frank Viola, two-time World Boxing Champion Bobby Czyz, former NFL All-Pro guard Jim Covert, Tampa Bay Devil Rays CEO Vince Naimoli, middleweight boxing great Joe DeNucci, women's sports pioneer Margaret Gisolo, baseball great John Beradino and former N.C. State head coach Jim Valvano.

Calipari, who has a 93-39 record in four seasons at Memphis, has served as a head basketball coach at both the collegiate and professional level for 15 years. As the Tigers' mentor, Calipari has guided Memphis to 20-win seasons and postseason appearances in each of his four years. Last season, Calipari directed the Tigers to a 22-8 overall record and a 12-4 Conference USA mark, claiming a share of the C-USA regular season title. The C-USA crown was the program's first regular-season championship since 1995-96.

The 2003-04 Memphis squad also earned a second-straight NCAA Tournament bid and advanced to the second round, before falling to NCAA Final Four participant Oklahoma State. The NCAA Tournament first-round victory was the program's first since the 1995 NCAA postseason.

The Tigers finished 2003-04 ranked No. 24 in final Associated Press Top 25 poll, marking the first time Memphis completed consecutive seasons ranked in the final poll since 1985 and 1986. Memphis finished 2002-03 ranked No. 19 in the final AP poll.

After 12 college seasons, Calipari has the sixth-most wins among coaches in the history of collegiate basketball, behind Roy Williams, Everett Case, Denny Crum, Jim Boeheim and Nolan Richardson.

Calipari gained national attention for the University of Massachusetts as the head basketball coach from 1988 through 1996. He led his Minutemen teams to five NCAA Tournaments and two NIT appearances over the eight-year span, and his 1995-96 UMass squad reached the NCAA Final Four.

Following his tenure at UMass, Calipari was hired as the head coach of the NBA New Jersey Nets and took his 1997-98 team to the NBA playoffs.

Past inductees into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame include such noted athletes as Joe DiMaggio, Vince Lombardi, Mary Lou Retton and Rocky Marciano.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2004 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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