News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

10.31.06: Kickoff return nets
C-USA honor for Johnson ... Pirate volleyball streaks to school record ... Mountaineers on fringe of national title picture

10.30.06: ECU's Williams: 'I just wanted it more' ... Stokes plans to give Wynn time to develop ... Central Florida's 530 yards of offense not enough

10.29.06: ECU women's volleyball extends streak ... Pirate swimmers leave Towson behind ... UTEP takes muddy victory in Grimesland

10.28.06: Cougars quarterback piling up the numbers ... ECU vs. USM part of pay-per-view twinbill ... Hokies tame Tigers in key ACC battle

10.27.06: Rice's Almond named Wooden candidate ... Pirates hosting C-USA cross country ... ECU freshman Bools shares C-USA honor

10.26.06: Tickets for Troops promotion expands ... Another C-USA honor for ECU's Icenhower ... Report: Davis would have interest in Heels

10.25.06: Ex-Pirate Adams attempts PGA qualifying ...
C-USA names football players of week ... Tar Heels will retain many football recruits

10.24.06: New thumbnails: Baker, Byrd and Thompson ... Ore golden in Hokies' win over Southern Miss ... Unbeaten start for ECU swim teams ... Tar Heels picked first in ACC hoops

10.23.06: Jenkins' three lifts Gold in scrimmage ... ECU volleyball takes sixth straight C-USA win ... Bools finishes sixth in Lady Pirate golf

10.22.06: Pirates volleyball on record streak ... Mountaineers handle Huskies, stay unbeaten ... Georgia golfer gets call to play in South Africa

10.21.06: Report: UNC-Chapel Hill's Bunting to resign ... Coaches' challenges yield few reversals ... Southern Miss prepared for Hokies

10.20.06: ECU's Roach nominated for Draddy Award ... Memphis picked first in C-USA basketball ... 4th-ranked UTEP runners coming to Greenville

10.19.06: Koren Robinson suspended by NFL ... Miami broadcaster axed over brawl comments ... Dartmouth, Holy Cross row gets investigation

10.18.06: League teams busy; ECU ends homestand ... C-USA names football players of week ... ECU's Krug captures C-USA weekly honor

10.17.06: ACC, Miami announce additional suspensions ... More suspensions also on Sun Belt's agenda ... Duke lacrosse under "60 Minutes" scrutiny

10.16.06: Coker suspends eight Miami players after brawl ... Pirate volleyball continues roll at UCF ... Szilard leads ECU women's soccer win ... Harris Poll's top 5 varies from BCS Standings

10.15.06: Stokes convenes season's first hoops practice ... Pirate volleyball wins third straight ... ECU women open basketball practice at Rose

10.14.06: EA Sports video game features ECU baseball stadium ... Pirates announce Tickets for Troops drive ... Six C-USA gridders in All-American Classic

10.13.06: Pirate basketball gets national TV dates ... ECU women's hoops getting tube time, too ... East Carolina baseball to host winter camp

10.12.06: ECU hoops scrimmages set for Homecoming ... Camels stun No. 3 UNC-Chapel Hill in soccer ... ECU picked 7th in C-USA women's hoops

10.11.06: Dougherty gets
C-USA special teams honor ... Pirate promotions abound for Tulsa game ... UCF versus Pitt on TV Friday night

10.10.06: Tulsa netter Brugues takes national title ... Miami (OH) reeling after sixth loss ... Pirates host unique diving competition

10.09.06: Buckeyes, Trojans, Gators top Harris Poll ... Denny O'Brien's Harris Poll ballot ... Gators continue success in Swamp ... Pirates stun Memphis in volleyball ... ECU soccer shuts out Herd

10.08.06: Jeff Blake bows out of hall induction ... NCAA's tax status under investigation ... North Dakota challenges NCAA mascot policy

10.07.06: Amato continues mastery of Seminoles ... ECU volleyball triumphs at home over UAB ... Millican continues bid for spot on LPGA Tour

10.06.06: Big Ten announces fines, reprimands ... Central Florida wins late field goal battle ... Millican shoots 74 in qualifying event

10.05.06: Gold captures ECU World Series with 8-7 win ... Tulsa runs past Southern Miss ... Former ECU golfer Millican in LPGA qualifying

10.04.06: TV exposure continues for C-USA teams ... Former UVa stars make $1 million gift ... SMU takes two of three weekly league honors

10.03.06: Curry to receive Stagg award ... Inspired by fallen teammate, Rice whips Army ... ECU women's golf team finishes 11th

10.02.06: Takeaways, sacks mean good things for UVa ... Gators pull even with WVU in Harris BCS poll ... Swofford presented with Homer Rice Award ... Tulsa win streak continues at ECU's expense

10.01.06: Cavs blast Duke 37-0 in Durham ... Vols deal Memphis a resounding defeat ... Pirate women's cross country wins meet

As Tulsa began preparation for Saturday's Conference USA matchup against the Houston Cougars, Golden Hurricane coach Steve Kragthorpe made an announcement at the end of his Monday press conference regarding speculation surrounding the coaching position at North Carolina, according to a release on the Tulsa athletic website.

"I think the job at North Carolina is a great job." he said. "Chapel Hill would be a great place to live. But I'm not interested in being the head football coach at the University of North Carolina. I want to be the head football coach at Tulsa. I love it here and it's a great place to work every day."

The 41-year-old Kragthorpe has orchestrated a major turnaround at Tulsa, where before his arrival in 2003 the program hadn’t had a winning record in 12 seasons. Four years later the Golden Hurricane are the defending C-USA and Liberty Bowl champions with a 7-1 record this year.

Southern Methodist compiled an 8-1 conference mark during the regular season to clinch the top seed in the 2006 Conference USA women's soccer championship, which will be hosted at SMU's Westcott Field in Dallas, November 1-5, according to an East Carolina University athletic media relations release.

The top eight of the 12 C-USA teams advance to the league tournament, which begins Wednesday with first-round matches at 1:00 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. The semifinals are Friday at 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., with the final set for Sunday at 4:00 p.m. (EST). The final will be aired on CSTV. Conference USA's official website, conferenceusa.com, will provide updates, box scores, recaps and photos.

The host Mustangs (15-3-1) meet eighth-seeded Tulsa (7-10-1, 3-5-1) in the opening match to kick off the championship. Tulsa became the final team to qualify with a 1-1 tie at Central Florida on Monday. SMU edged the Golden Hurricane, 1-0, on the road earlier this season. The Mustangs had compiled a string of 11 straight wins before suffering their only conference loss of the season with a 2-1 double overtime decision at UCF on Oct. 27.

No. 4 seed Texas-El Paso (15-5-0, 6-3-0) and No. 5 Colorado College (13-4-1, 6-3-0), which is playing its first season in Conference USA as an affiliate member, will square off the in the 3:30 p.m. match. The two teams have been pretty even all season and produced identical conference marks. UTEP earned the tie-breaker with a 2-0 regular season win on October 21.

The 6 p.m. match pits second-seeded UCF (11-5-2, 7-1-1) against No. 7 UAB (6-11-0, 4-5-0). The Golden Knights were the only team to knock off top-seeded SMU during the regular season, a team they shared the regular season title with in 2005. The Blazers will be looking for a different decision after suffering a 2-0 loss on the road to UCF on Oct. 8.

The nightcap should heat things up as No. 3 seed Memphis (10-6-2, 6-2-1) squares off against No. 6 seed East Carolina (10-7-2, 5-3-1). The Tigers have won three in a row, including a 4-2 road win at UAB on Friday night, while the Pirates posted two key wins this weekend over UTEP (2-0) and Colorado College (2-1) to secure the sixth slot.

The Pirates are heading into the tournament winning four of their last five games, including three shutouts. The two teams played each other in Memphis, TN, on Sept. 29, with the game ending in a 1-1 tie.

An hour was all the notice quarterback Xavier Lee had before making his first start at Florida State. He has the rest of the week to think about start No. 2, according to a report by Jack Corcoran in the Tallahassee Democrat.

With Drew Weatherford stuck in a protective boot until midweek, FSU coach Bobby Bowden decided there wasn't any sense in keeping the obvious unofficial. He announced that Lee will start against Virginia on Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Weatherford, who injured a tendon in his right ankle last week, said he will wear the boot until Wednesday and then will likely undergo another MRI.

Filling in for Weatherford, Lee passed for 286 yards and added an air of excitement in FSU's 27-24 loss at Maryland on Saturday.

Lee had his moments in relief against Rice on Sept. 23, but struggled off the bench at Duke on Oct. 14, throwing three interceptions.

If Weatherford is not available on Saturday, FSU might have to turn to walk-on Tommy Keane in an emergency. Bowden said he would not want to use freshmen D'Vontrey Richardson or Christian Ponder, who have been redshirting this season.

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 electronic services and other sources. Copyright 2006 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.