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News Nuggets, 04.08.06
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Purple-Gold stage is set

East Carolina will officially complete its spring season Saturday with the playing of the annual Purple-Gold Game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium beginning at 3:00 p.m., according to a release from the ECU media relations department.

Head coach Skip Holtz fine-tuned his depth chart Friday morning and identified the first and second units to establish game rosters for Saturday's contest.

The two teams will be divided up as "East Carolina" and "Pirates." In order to promote competition between equal units of the depth chart, the "East Carolina" squad will feature the program's first offensive unit and the remaining non-starters on defense. On the other side, the "Pirates" will field
the top defensive unit and the second, third and fourth levels of the offensive two-deep.

Holtz identified the "East Carolina" offensive unit as Bobby Good (WR), Phillip Henry (WR), Kevin Roach (WR), Steven Rogers (WR), Alex Taylor (WR), Dominique Lindsay (RB), Patrick Dosh (FB), James Pinkney (QB), Davon Drew (TE), Matt Butler (OL), Terence Campbell (OL), Josh Coffman (OL), Eric Graham (OL) and Thomas Wingenbach (OL).

Players selected to head up the "Pirates" top defensive efforts include Shauntae Hunt (DL), Mark Robinson (DL), Scotty Robinson (DL), Brandon Setzer (DL), Jeremy Chambliss (LB), Quentin Cotton (LB), Durwin Lamb (LB), Kyle Chase (S), Jamar Flournoy (S), Pierre Parker (S), Kasey Ross (CB), Stacy Walls (CB) and Travis Williams (CB).

The contest will feature many similarities of a regular season game in regards to scoring, officiating and an operative clock, and live hitting will be permitted on all positions.

In addition to a handful of players who have sat out the spring season for rehabilitation assignments, Holtz indicated that linebacker Brandon Floyd, defensive lineman Craig Harper, wide receiver Michael Hickman, linebacker Julius Hill, defensive lineman Matt Newman, linebacker Ryan Howard, tight end Martin Tanski and linebacker Jarrett Wiggins will also miss the contest because of injuries.

In a special pre-game ceremony, Holtz and each position coach will recognize the most improved player from their respective unit and cite individuals who have displayed an outstanding attitude, effort and leadership skills during spring drills.

"This is certainly an event we all really look forward to," Holtz said. "Anytime we have the chance to play in front of the greatest fans in the country, it's a tremendous and overwhelming experience."

Seating for the public will be on the south side of the stadium and fans are asked to enter through Gate 2. Game tickets will be available Saturday for $5.00, or $10.00 with the addition of a plate of award-winning barbeque from the 23rd Annual Great Pirate Purple-Gold Pigskin Pigout Party.

Barbeque will be served beginning at 11:00 a.m., rain or shine, at the big white tent located adjacent to the Clark-LeClair Stadium parking lot off Charles Boulevard. For convenience in case of rain, there will also be a drive-thru pick-up location in the same area.

As a courtesy to fans, complimentary roster flip-cards containing a listing of players by uniform color (offense and defense), will be available at all entrance gates.

Davis returns to native state as UAB coach

Mike Davis has taken the reins of the UAB basketball team as the native Alabamian and former head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers was named Friday as the fourth head basketball coach in the program's 28-year history.

Blazers interim athletic director Richard Margison made the announcement Friday in the Green and Gold Room at Bartow Arena, according to the Conference USA website.

"Mike brings a tremendous amount of energy and success to our program," Margison said. "His ability to recruit, play a demanding schedule and his style of play have proven to be a winning formula that I know our fans will appreciate and support."

Davis has been the head coach for Indiana University the past six years, compiling a 115-79 record. His Hoosiers teams were 7-4 in the NCAA Tournament, including a run to the national championship game in 2002.

"UAB is a program that has been in the national spotlight and I look forward to the opportunity to make that spotlight shine even brighter," Davis said. "The support the fans and administration have shown for this program is tremendous. I and my players will do everything we can to grow that support and demonstrate it is deserved."

"Mike has a history of recruiting excellent young men who perform well not only on the basketball court, but also in the classroom and in everyday life," said UAB President Carol Garrison. "I am confident he will take our program to unprecedented heights."

Davis is a native of Fayette, AL, and played collegiate basketball at the University of Alabama, where he was a four-year standout.

After playing in Europe and in the Continental Basketball Association, Davis began his coaching career in Birmingham at Miles College in 1989. After one season, he headed to Venezuela, coaching the country's national team for two summers as well as professional teams there. He returned to the United States to coach in the Continental Basketball Association for five years, garnering the league championship once.

He then joined the University of Alabama staff as an assistant coach for two years (1995-97) before heading to Indiana and serving three years as an assistant under Bobby Knight (1997-2000) before taking over the program.

Davis, 45, is married to the former Tamilya Floyd. The couple has one son, Antoine. Additionally, Davis has another son, Mike, Jr., and a daughter, Lateesha.

Davis earned a degree in telecommunications from Thomas Edison College in Trenton, NJ.

Army women's basketball coach dies at age 28

Army women's basketball coach Maggie Dixon, 28, died Thursday night, April 6, at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, NY.

Coach Dixon collapsed Wednesday during an afternoon tea and was taken immediately to Keller Army Community Hospital. She was then airlifted to Westchester.

West Point superintendent Lt. Gen. William J. Lennox, Jr., said the entire community is heartbroken by her death.

"From the time Maggie arrived here, her enthusiastic 'no limits' approach earned her the respect and love of everyone," he said. "She consistently displayed great leadership and served as an outstanding role model for those both on — and off — her team. She was a leader of character with a commitment to excellence who set the example in all she did."

"Her joy in coaching these young women made them believe in themselves and depend on each other," said Army athletic director Kevin Anderson. "Her guidance not only helped them excel here, it will help them become better, more compassionate leaders."

That sentiment was echoed by one of Army's star basketball players, guard Cara Enright.

"I just loved the energy that coach brought to practice every day and the way she never gave up on us, always believed in us," Enright said. "She would tell us to 'use what you've learned here at the academy and apply it to basketball.'

Coach Dixon made us love the game even more and we played our hearts out every single time we stepped on the court. "She showed us how to be winners on the field and off."

And that winning legacy will always be remembered, Lennox said.

"Maggie has been a credit to herself and to the mission of the U.S. Military Academy. Her presence here enriched the lives of everyone," he said. "I will never forget the image of the cadets carrying her on their shoulders as they celebrated the team's Patriot League championship."

"Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and we will be forever grateful for all she has given us, both on the playing field and off," Lennox added.

Dixon arrived just 11 days before the start of the season and took over as coach of the Army women's basketball team. She guided them to their first Patriot League regular season and tournament titles, earning West Point its first trip to the NCAA tournament at the Division I level.

Complications from an enlarged heart were determined to have been the cause of Dixon's untimely passing.

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.

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