VIEW THE MOBILE ALPHA VERSION OF THIS SITE

News Nuggets, 11.11.03
NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...

Previous Day Nuggets...             Next Day Nuggets...

Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

C-USA wins academic realignment war

Conference USA had the biggest gains in the classroom from the recent wave of expansion in college sports. The graduation rate for football players in the conference will improve from 42 percent to 57 percent after replacing Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida with Rice, Tulsa and SMU.

The ACC remained first with a 59 percent football graduation rate after adding Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech.

The graduation rates were compiled by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida. The data is based on students graduating from the 1993-94 academic year through 1996-97. Athletes are given six years to graduate.

The Pac-10 joined Conference USA with a 57 percent graduation rate, followed by the Big Ten, Mid-American, Southeastern, Big 12, Big East, Western Athletic, Sun Belt and Mountain West.

49ers headed to A-10, Billikens set to follow

Charlotte accepted an invitation Monday to join the Atlantic 10 Conference, which is also awaiting a decision from Saint Louis.

The A-10 invited both schools to join last week and St. Louis is expected to accept on Tuesday, pushing the conference to 14 teams.

Charlotte and Saint Louis are in Conference USA, which is losing Cincinnati, Louisville, South Florida, Marquette and DePaul to the Big East in 2005.

"The landscape has changed and the Conference USA that we have known and loved will no longer exist," Charlotte athletic director Judy Rose said. "We needed to find a new home and the Atlantic 10 was a perfect fit."

When the five C-USA schools decided to leave for the Big East, Rose said she knew Charlotte needed to find a strong new basketball conference. The 49ers have been in C-USA since 1995-96.

The Atlantic 10 already has 12 members: Dayton, Duquesne, Fordham, George Washington, La Salle, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Richmond, St. Bonaventure, Saint Joseph's, Temple and Xavier.

Atlantic 10 commissioner Linda Bruno said there is no plan to change the name of the conference.

"There hasn't been 10 schools since 1990," Bruno said. "We have a lot of equity in that name and we just redid our logo."

Britton Banowsky, commissioner of C-USA, issued a statement acknowledging the A-10's bids to the 49ers and Billikens had been expected.

“It comes as no surprise to us that Charlotte and Saint Louis have been invited to join the Atlantic 10 Conference and we expect them to accept those invitations," Banowsky said. "Both are fine institutions and will be valuable additions to the A-10."

As for the impact on his own conference, Banowsky indicated in his statement that the departures of the two schools would actually help C-USA achieve a key objective — a configuration in which all members sponsor Division I-A football programs.

“We’re moving forward with our membership plans, which include developing Conference USA into a competitive, all-sport conference," he said. "I’m excited about the future of C-USA and pleased with the professionalism and integrity that our university administrators have exhibited during this difficult transition period.”

The league is adding Central Florida, Marshall, Rice, Tulsa and Southern Methodist to replace its departing teams and is expected to align itself into eastern and western divisions to reduce travel expenses and to meet the NCAA criteria for conducting a championship game in football.

Coach of beleaguered UCF football program dismissed

Central Florida football coach Mike Kruczek was fired Monday after the team struggled with a poor record on the field and problems with player behavior off it.

He will be replaced by assistant coach Alan Gooch for the final two games.

A combination of onfield and off-field events led to the decision to fire Krucek, said athletic director Steve Orsini.

Kruczek had been with the program for 19 years. He wasn't available to talk to reporters, said assistant athletic director John Marini.

Kruczek had signed a three-year extension in April to keep him at UCF through the 2007 season. The university agreed to pay the remainder of his contract, about $185,000 for each of the next four years.

The Golden Knights (3-7, 2-4 Mid-American Conference) are assured of their first losing season since 1999.

In the past week, Kruczek suspended five players, including starting quarterback Ryan Schneider, for off-the-field disciplinary problems. Schneider and two others were suspended for the season.

Another player, cornerback Omar Laurence, has been suspended indefinitely pending criminal charges that he brought a gun on campus.

"This has nothing to do with anything Mike did as far as NCAA rules, university rules," Orsini said. "I felt in my decision that we weren't going in the right direction. ... Sometimes hard decisions like this have to be made."

The department wanted to move ahead in its search for a new coach, Orsini said.

"We made this decision now so that we could go through the proper hiring process because it takes time," Orsini said. "We want to have someone in place before the end of the recruiting season."

In five-plus seasons, Kruczek posted a 36-30 record. He had spent 13 seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UCF before 1998 when he replaced Gene McDowell.

Kruczek led UCF into the Mid-American Conference last season, posting a 6-2 league record. UCF was an independent previously and is due to join Conference USA in 2005.

Gooch, who said he would apply for the permanent job, acknowledged it has been a tough week for the program.

"It has been a little bit of a ride," he said. "But again, how you handle adversity determines your success."

News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2003 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007