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News Nuggets, 03.30.06
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Pirate Club leader moving up to new position

East Carolina University Educational Foundation Executive Director Dennis Young has been promoted to Associate Athletics Director, according to an announcement from Athletics Director Terry Holland.

The ECU Educational Foundation, better known as the Pirate Club, is the booster organization devoted to raising funds for athletic scholarships and capital projects.

Young's primary responsibility in his new position will be the planning and execution of all major fund-raising efforts to meet the department's future capital and endowment needs.

"Dennis is a valuable addition to our leadership team as this department faces an ever-changing and challenging environment," Holland stated in a press release issued by the university's sports media relations office. "Our goal is to compete at the highest level in Division I so it is imperative for our athletic program to establish itself as a leader in the quest for major gifts."

Under Young's leadership, the Pirate Club has raised more than $35 million in capital gifts to fund the expansion of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, build the Murphy Center and construct the state-of-the-art Clark-LeClair Baseball Stadium. During his 15 years as Executive Director, the Pirate Club annual fund campaigns have experienced a rise from $500,000 to nearly $4 million for athletic scholarships.

Young, a former East Carolina athlete, will begin his new duties as a member of the athletic department's leadership team on July 1. He has served as Executive Director of the Pirate Club since 1991.

Holland cited Young's experience and effectiveness with the Pirate Club as major strengths for the new position.

"Dennis Young is a former football player and a true Pirate in every sense of the word," Holland stated. "He knows and understands our donor base and is nationally respected and honored for his fund-raising abilities. Allowing him to focus his considerable skills on major gifts will pay huge dividends for ECU Athletics."

A native of Winston-Salem, Young earned his undergraduate degree in accounting from East Carolina in 1969. He lettered in football in 1966-67 during the tenure of ECU Hall of Fame football coach Clarence Stasavich.

The Pirate Club Executive Committee will establish a search committee to identify a replacement for Young immediately, noted the press release.

ECU tennis duo gathering accolades

The East Carolina doubles team of Gillie Bailey and Kirstin Buchanan share this week's Conference USA women's tennis player of the week honors.

Bailey and Buchanan earned the Pirates' first doubles national ranking in the program's history last Tuesday, coming in at No. 48 in the FILA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. The tandem extended its winning streak to 11, playing at the No. 1 position and helping ECU record a pair of C-USA wins over Memphis and UAB last week in Myrtle Beach.

Bailey is a senior from Launceston, Tasmania. Buchanan is a senior from Benoni, South Africa.

Included in their string of wins, which began Feb. 16 versus Elon, was an 8-7 (7-2) triumph over No. 45 Meg Fanjoy and Austin Smith of North Carolina on March 13. In all, Bailey and Buchanan have posted a 12-3 (.800) mark this spring and won 16 of 22 overall matches this season after recording a 4-3 mark during fall tournament play.

Ex-Tar Heel gridder charged with sex crime

Former UNC-Chapel Hill defensive back Robert Williams was dismissed on Monday from his positions as an assistant teacher and assistant coach at Gastonia Hunter Huss High School, according to a Charlotte Observer report.

Williams was charged with having sex with a 17-year-old student on school grounds and was released from the Gaston County Jail after posting a $20,000 bond.

Williams, a Shelby High School football star with a brief professional career, had been an in-school-suspension assistant teacher since Aug. 18. He also was an assistant junior varsity football coach and an assistant track coach.

Police and school officials say Williams coaxed the teenage girl into having sex with him in a car on school property one day after school in December.

Williams kept teaching at Hunter Huss until Friday, when the girl's father went to police. School officials suspended Williams with pay on Friday and fired him Monday.

Police would not disclose other information, citing the age of the victim.

Hoosiers tap N.C. native to guide hoops

North Carolina native Kelvin Sampson, a two-time national coach of the year who led Oklahoma to 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, three Big 12 Tournament titles and a share of the 2004-05 regular season league crown, has been named head basketball coach at Indiana, according to the university's athletic website.

Sampson replaces Mike Davis, who stepped down at the end of the 2005-06 season after leading the Hoosiers to the NCAA Tournament.

A Lumbee Indian, Sampson grew up in Robeson County and was educated at Purnell Swett High School and Pembroke State University. He guided Oklahoma to three Sweet 16, two Elite Eight and one Final Four finishes during his 12-year Sooner tenure.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from other sources. Copyright 2006 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007 12:46 PM