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News Nuggets, 06.15.05
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

BCS scrounging around for voters for new poll

NEW YORK — The Bowl Championship Series has a plan for a new college football poll, and hired a company Tuesday to find voters.

The new poll, which would be added to the BCS weekly rankings, would consist of former players, coaches, administrators and members of the media, the BCS said in a statement.

Harris Interactive, a marketing research and polling firm that operates The Harris Poll, ``is in the process of contacting a random sample of individuals nominated by the conferences and Notre Dame to determine interest in participating in the poll,'' BCS coordinator and Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg said in the statement.

BCS spokesman Bob Burda said Harris would be in charge of coordinating the poll and counting the votes on a weekly basis. The Big 12 and National Football Foundation will still be responsible for compiling the weekly BCS standings, Burda said.

A decision by the 11 Division I-A conferences and Notre Dame on whether to use the new poll could be made by mid-July.

``I am generally supportive of the concept (of a new poll),'' Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said. ``We have not seen a formal presentation on it yet so it's premature for me to comment on the specifics. I've been aware of it and like the fact that it has some independence. It is appealing to me that an outside organization would oversee the administration.''

The move comes following the decision by two major news organizations to opt out of the BCS ranking system, which determines the two teams that play in its national championship game.

In December, The Associated Press told the BCS to stop using its media poll in its weekly formula; ESPN withdrew from the coaches' poll last week. The coaches' poll remains part of the BCS rankings, and coaches agreed for the first time to reveal their votes for the final regular season poll.

The AP poll and the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll had been the major components of the BCS rankings, and last season they held more weight than ever. The polls each counted for one-third of a team's BCS grade, with a compilation of computer rankings making up the other third.

USA Today will continue compiling the coaches' poll.

No cakewalk for Big East and Cincinnati in 2005

Cincinnati's first year in the Big East won't be a cakewalk, says a national media outlet.

The Bearcats will play the 12th most difficult football schedule in the nation in 2005, according to rankings compiled by columnist Dennis Dodd at CBS SportsLine.com.

The Big East collectively also faces a challenging season, UC Athletics reported in a Web release, with the reconfigured league staring at the toughest strength of schedule rating in college football.

The conference ratings were achieved by compiling the overall winning percentage of the leagues based on their 2005 memberships, with points added for 2004 bowl teams and games against opponents that won 10 or more games last season.

Six of the Big East's eight members went to bowl games last season, wrote Dodd, with the league getting a boost in strength of schedule by adding former Conference USA members Cincinnati and Louisville. Both the Bearcats and Cardinals earned postseason bids in 2004.

Seven Big East football members ranked among the Top 12. West Virginia and Rutgers tied for No. 3, Syracuse was No. 7, new member South Florida No. 8, Connecticut and Pittsburgh tied for No. 10 and Cincinnati was No. 12.

North Carolina and Georgia Tech tied for No. 1 in strength of schedule ratings.

Compiled from a Cincinnati Athletics report.

Charlotte 49ers strike gold with annual auction

The Charlotte athletic department struck a rich vein mining bidders earlier this month at its 22nd annual Great Gold Rush Auction, the school reported Tuesday.

The event raised over $220,000, surpassing its goal of $200,000 and posting a 13 percent increase over last year's previous record haul of $194,000.

Proceeds from the June 4 auction, which attracted over 550 people, go to the 49ers Athletic Scholarship fund. The event included an early-evening silent auction followed by dinner and the live auction.

Over 1400 items valued at more than $400,000 were available, including 53 live auction items.

Among the items were a a 2.5 carat diamond bracelet, a life-sized statue of Star Wars character Yoda, vacations to various destinations, including Orlando, Hilton Head, Kiawah, Daytona Beach and Mexico, a pair of center court season tickets to 49ers basketball and a deluxe NASCAR UAW/GM Quality 500 package.

Compiled from a Charlotte Athletics report.

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 Associated Press and other sources. Copyright 2005 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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