News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

11.13.06: Houston clinches
C-USA championship berth ... ECU volleyball slips in regular season finale ... Grad rates: Athletes outperform student body

11.12.06: ECU announces women's hoops signees ... Miners extinguish Blazers' bowl hopes ... Mustang duo in contention for Hermann Trophy

11.11.06: Rutgers kicks Cards out of title picture ... Roach selected for district academic honor ... Krug getting it done on court, in classroom

11.10.06: Pirates prepare for Saturday hoops opener ... Houston's Kolb makes cut on O'Brien award list ... UNC-CH officials mum on Davis' status

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

The kickoff time for East Carolina's regular season
finale at N.C. State on Nov. 25 has been moved back to 7:00 p.m. to accommodate a live ESPNU television broadcast, according to an ECU athletic media relations release.

The game will also be broadcast on the Pirate-ISP Sports Network, with the pre-game show starting at 6 p.m. with play-by-play announcer Jeff Charles, analyst Carlester Crumpler and studio host Marty Feurer.

North Carolina football fans can finally call it a “done deal,’’ according to a Fayetteville Observer report by Sammy Batten.

Butch Davis, the former University of Miami and Cleveland Browns coach, was announced as the next head coach of the Tar Heels on Monday afternoon. The school issued a press release at about 4 p.m. verifying that the 54-year-old will take over next season for John Bunting.

The release said UNC-CH athletics director Dick Baddour and Chancellor James Moeser will introduce Davis as the head coach on Nov. 27.

“We are proud to make this announcement and delighted with the results of this search," Baddour said in a statement. “Butch Davis became our first choice early in the process, although we did not know of his interest in us. We were excited to learn of his interest in Carolina and our football program and proceeded from that point. He's a first class individual who is committed to preparing his student-athletes for success in all aspects of their lives. I was impressed with his knowledge of the University and his vision for the football program.’’

Three head coaches made successful debuts in Conference USA over the weekend weekend, according to a report on the league website.

Texas-El Paso coach Tony Barbee and UAB coach Mike Davis both played in three-day tournaments and posted 2-1 records in season-opening action with their new teams.

The Miners jumped out to a 2-0 start before falling to host and No. 20 Syracuse, 83-69, in the final day of the Black Coaches Association Invitational. UAB won two in a row after losing its opener at the John Thompson Foundation Challenge in Milwaukee.

Southern head coach Matt Doherty also picked up a win in his debut with a 57-55 victory against Illinois State in the first round of the Colonial Classic in Tallahassee, FL. Senior Devon Pearson's tip-in at the buzzer gave the Mustangs the win.

UAB senior Wen Mukubu led the Blazers in all three games in Milwaukee. Mukubu is averaging 18.0 points per game, with a team-high 19 in Sunday's 75-60 win over host Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He also had 19 in a 71-60 loss to Washington State and a team-best 16 points in UAB's 76-63 win over Radford Saturday.

Barbee picked up a win in his first appearance as a Miner as UTEP defeated 2006 NCAA Tournament participant Penn, 69-66, on Friday night. Sophomore Stefon Jackson scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead UTEP. On Saturday, UTEP built a 12-point second-half lead before holding off a late rally by St. Francis (NY. to earn the 54-52 victory.

Tulsa won both of its matches over the weekend to win the 2006 Conference USA volleyball regular season championship outright. The regular season crown is the first in program history. The Golden Hurricane improved to 26-6 overall and 13-3 in the league with the wins and finished the conference season undefeated at home for the second consecutive year. Tulsa secured a first round bye in the conference championship set to begin on Thursday, Nov. 16, at Hofheinz Pavilion on the campus of the University of Houston.

Tulsa will play the winner of No. 8 Southern Methodist and No. 9 Southern Miss in second round action on Friday at noon. Marshall (20-10, 12-4), Memphis (25-7, 11-5) and Tulane (15-10, 11-5) round out the top four seeds and will also receive first round byes.

Thursday's action will begin at noon with SMU (16-14, 7-9) taking on Southern Miss (15-17, 6-10). Game two is scheduled for 2 p.m. as No. 5 UAB (23-9, 10-6) will face No. 12 Central Florida (5-23, 1-15), followed by No. 7 Houston (17-14, 8-8) battling No. 10 Rice (12-18, 5-11). The final match on Thursday features No. 6 East Carolina (19-11, 10-6) facing No. 11 UTEP (6-24, 2-14).

No. 2 Marshall will face the winner of the Houston-Rice match at 5 p.m. on Friday, followed by No. 3 Memphis battling the winner of the East Carolina-UTEP match at 7 p.m. No. 4 Tulane will play at 2 p.m. on Friday against the winner of the UAB-UCF match.

Saturday's semifinals begin at 6 p.m., while the second match is slated for 8 p.m. Sunday's championship begins at 5 p.m. and will be aired live on CSTV.

Meredith Alexis scored a 30 points, one shy of her career-high, to pace host James Madison's 82-66 win over East Carolina on Sunday afternoon in the season opener for both schools.

Andrea Benvenuto tallied 14 points for JMU, including eight free throws in the closing minutes of the game, and Jennifer Brown added 12 points.

Jasmine Young led the Lady Pirates with 16 points and eight assists, going 3-5 from behind the arc. Cherie Mills added 11 points while LaCoya Terry chipped in 10. Nicole Days led ECU on the boards, pulling down six rebounds.

The Lady Pirates return to action on Friday as the team travels to Burlington, VT, to participate in the TD Banknorth Tournament on the campus of the University of Vermont. ECU will face Harvard in the opening round on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. The Lady Pirates will play either Holy Cross or host Vermont on Saturday.

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.