News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

11.09.06: Former star QB to represent N.C. in Congress ... Homicide unit probing death of Miami player ... Krog's 73 puts her in top five at Augusta

11.08.06: UK's win over Payne's charges not flawless ... SMU, UAB gain NCAA men's soccer berths ... Three C-USA women's teams get NCAA slots

11.07.06: Two Marshall players get C-USA honors ... UAB women capture C-USA soccer title ... Punter faces attempted murder charge

11.06.06: Pirate volleyball takes down Memphis ... Denny O'Brien's Harris Poll ballot ... ECU swimmers, divers perform well ... Paterno recovering from fractured leg

11.05.06: Promotions aplenty for ECU-Marshall game ...
Ex-Tulsa great Largent gets humanitarian honor

11.04.06: Dougherty a semifinalist for Ray Guy Award ... Butch Davis deal with Tar Heels imminent? ... Cardinals talking national title, again ... Honors abound for ECU women's soccer team

11.03.06: Boise State rolls past Bulldogs ... Reale, Pirates earn seconds at Kitty Hawk ... ECU softball's Kozlowski promoted

11.02.06: Mustangs a win away from bowl eligibility ... Hunt, Icenhower lead East Carolina divers ... ECU's Moore earns academic honor with 4.0

11.01.06: Kragthorpe curtails Tar Heel speculation ... Pirates in C-USA women's soccer tourney ... Backup QB Lee to start for FSU against Cavs

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

East Carolina basketball coach Ricky Stokes has been working his team hard in preparation for the 2006-07 season. The Pirates open at home on Saturday at 6 p.m. against Morgan State.

An admission discount to the basketball game is available for those who have a ticket stub from the Marshall-East Carolina football game earlier in the day.

"We are very excited about the season," said the ECU coach. "I am excited to get started, excited about this team and how hard they have worked. One of the things that my staff and I did this summer was evaluate everything that we did within the program and decide what changes needed to be made to get better. We have assembled a group of young men that have worked extremely hard. From the first day of school we really started practicing and preparing.

"One of the things we have done in order to prepare is to make preseason really difficult. We have so many new guys that we couldn't wait and wanted to start implementing what we do. With freshmen you want them to grow up so that in the middle of the season they are no longer freshmen anymore. We have so many freshmen that they are going to have to grow up a lot sooner than that."

Stokes has brought in seven freshmen, one sophomore and two juniors to augment the talent from an 8-20 team last season.

Houston senior quarterback Kevin Kolb has been was named as one of eighteen semifinalists for the 2006 Davey O'Brien national quarterback award. Awarded by the Davey O'Brien Foundation, the award is presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback. The organization's original watch list, unveiled in August, included 34 players.

Kolb has started in a school record 46 straight games and has led the Cougars to a 7-3 record this season, including 5-1 in Conference USA. Kolb virtually holds every UH total offense and passing record with just two regular season games left on the schedule. So far this season, Kolb leads the league in total offense and passing with 297.3 and 285.2 yards per game, respectfully.

The O'Brien Selection Committee, made up of a nationwide panel of sportswriters, commentators and former O'Brien Award winners, will vote later this month to narrow the field again. The National College Football Awards Association will announce the three finalists November 21 in a joint effort among college football award programs.

The winner of the 2006 Davey O'Brien national quarterback award will be announced on ESPN's College Football Awards Show scheduled for December 7 at 7 p.m. EST. The show will air live from the Atlantic Dance Hall on The Boardwalk at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. The winner will then be honored on February 19, at the 30th annual Davey O'Brien awards dinner at The Fort Worth Club in downtown Fort Worth, TX, along with Paul Hornung, recipient of the 2006 Davey O'Brien legends award, and the O'Brien high school scholarship award winner.

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE

Erik Ainge, Tennessee, Jr.
Chris Leak, Florida, Sr.
JaMarcus Russell, LSU, Jr.

MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE

John Beck, BYU, Sr.

PACIFIC 10

John David Booty, USC, Jr.
Nate Longshore, California, So.

WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Colt Brennan, Hawaii, Jr.;
Jared Zabransky, Boise State, Sr.

BIG EAST CONFERENCE

Brian Brohm, Louisville, Jr.
Tyler Palko, Pittsburgh, Sr.
Pat White, West Virginia, So.

BIG TEN CONFERENCE

Chad Henne, Michigan, Jr.
Troy Smith, Ohio State, Sr.
John Stocco, Wisconsin, Sr.

CONFERENCE USA

Kevin Kolb, Houston, Sr.

BIG 12 CONFERENCE

Colt McCoy, Texas, Fr.
Bobby Reid, Oklahoma State, So.

INDEPENDENT

Brady Quinn, Notre Dame, Sr.

Only a handful of people know for sure and most of them weren’t talking Wednesday as rumors swirled that Butch Davis had finally signed a contract to become North Carolina’s next head football coach.

The former University of Miami and Cleveland Browns head coach had reportedly agreed to terms with the school late last week. But as of Wednesday evening school officials were refusing to deny or verify that Davis had made the deal official with his signature Wednesday morning, according to a Fayetteville Observer report.

“The only answer that stands is that there is no news on the coaching search,’’ North Carolina Associate Athletic Director for Communications Steve Kirschner said when asked about reports Davis had signed a contract to replace John Bunting.

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.