News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

11.30.06: T.H. issues direct appeal to fans for ticket sales ... New recruiting thumbnail: Maurice Mercer ... Dougherty, Johnson first team All-Conference ... Five from ECU on C-USA All-Freshman team

11.29.06: C-USA bowl slate sends ECU to Birmingham ... SMU's Needham a finalist for Hermann Trophy ... Bearcats coach bolts for Michigan State

11.28.06: ECU's Roach on
C-USA academic team ... Wager on Clemson-South Carolina turns deadly ... Shula era comes to end at Alabama

11.27.06: C-USA title game features UH-USM rematch ... Bunting farewell to press a succinct one ... ECU announces swimming, diving signees

11.26.06: Pirates add Lugo to 2008 baseball class ... VCU prevails over ECU in women's hoops ... Tulsa gains momentum for postseason trip

11.25.06: ECU-bound Herlocker paces Charlotte Catholic ... Miami enters search mode for football coach ... BC out of ACC title contention

11.24.06: Herd takes ECU hopes to Hattiesburg ... Gonzaga has a Garden party in NIT semis ... Iowa State search eliminates two candidates

11.23.06: Yow taking leave of absence for treatment ... Marshall's Bradshaw nabs
C-USA weekly honor

11.22.06: Pirates face Houston if Marshall wins ... Former teammates push Raye for MSU coach ... SMU's Wideman named academic player of year

11.21.06: Duke, Wake athletes named Rhodes scholars ... UAB captures Conference USA volleyball ... Old Dominion stuns Georgetown on the road

11.20.06: Ohio State-Michigan rematch possible ... Video helps inspire Tar Heels to beat State ... Cords stepping down as AD at Marquette

11.19.06: Cougars to host USM or ECU in C-USA title game ... ECU falls in women's hoops to Vermont ... Pirate swimming teams in seventh place

11.18.06: ECU baseball bringing in 10-man class ... UTEP edges Pirates in C-USA volleyball ... West Virginia steamrolls Pitt

11.17.06: Pirates reschedule hoops contest with NCCU ... ECU volleyball places 3 on all- league team ... Top-ranked SMU goes down in NCAA soccer

11.16.06: Paterno's hall of fame induction postponed ... Tressel downplays his dominance vs. Michigan ... ECU softball announces pair of signees

11.15.06: Pirates control their fate in East Division ... Pinkney in star game, playing for Buddy Ryan ... ECU's Lee named special teams player of week

11.14.06: ECU-NCSU kickoff moved to 7 p.m. for TV ... Butch will succeed Bunting at UNC- Chapel Hill ... Conference USA coaches make debuts ... Pirates seeded sixth in C-USA volleyball ... Lady Pirates drop hoops opener to JMU

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

Conference USA has announced its 2006 players of the year, as selected by a panel of media members in each conference city.

Houston senior quarterback Kevin Kolb was named offensive player of the year. He has completed 68.2 percent (247-of-362) of his passes for 3,165 yards and 25 touchdowns with just three interceptions.

Defensive honors went to Marshall sophomore defensive end Albert McClellan. A first team All-Conference USA selection, McClellan leads C-USA in sacks with 11.5, in tackles for loss with 19 and ranks second in forced fumbles with four. He has been credited with 77 total tackles.

The special teams player of the year award went to Texas-El Paso senior punt returner/kicker returner Johnnie Lee Higgins. He should shatter the conference's single-season average for punt returns of 17.7, as he averaged 23.4 yards per return this season. Higgins has returned two punts for touchdowns, tied for second-most in a season in C-USA history.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Willis of Southern Methodist was named the league's freshman of the year. He re-wrote the Mustangs single-season passing records during his first year on the Hilltop, setting a new school record for touchdown passes with a league-high-tying 26. For the year, he completed 182-of-270 for 2,047 yards and just six interceptions, ranking 10th in the nation in passing efficiency.

C-USA will stage its second annual championship game this Friday night when Houston hosts Southern Miss (8 p.m. EST on ESPN2).

After leading his team to the biggest improvement in Division I-A this season, Rice's first-year coach Todd Graham has been named the Conference USA coach of the year, as selected by a panel of media members in each conference city.

Graham took over the reigns of the Rice football program on Jan. 1. Less than one year later, he has transformed a team that finished 1-10 last season into a squad that will play in the school's first bowl game in 45 years. On Dec. 22, the Owls will play in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, ending the second-longest bowl drought in college football.

Rice will enter its bowl game on a six-game winning streak, the longest in Conference USA. After opening the season at 0-4 and dealing with the tragic death of freshman DB Dale Lloyd on Sept. 24, the Owls posted an emotional 48-14 victory at Army on Sept. 30.

Following a loss at Tulane on Oct. 7, Rice has not lost a football game since. Three of its victories during that time came on its final offensive play, including a dramatic field goal that sealed an 18-17 win over East Carolina on Nov. 18.

After being picked to finish in last place in the West Division, the Owls finished in second place with a 6-2 league ledger. Only a one-point loss on opening day against Houston prohibited the Blue and Gray from playing in the C-USA championship game.

Senior setter Heidi Krug of East Carolina has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America women's volleyball first team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Krug, a senior biology major, is a three-time Conference USA commissioner's academic honor roll and commissioner's academic medal recipient, while compiling an overall GPA of 4.00. In addition, she was named the 2005-06 Conference USA scholar athlete of the year and has placed on the Academic All-District team for the past three seasons, including being named to the first team last year. She was also named to the All-America third team last season.

On Oct. 13 at Southern Miss, Krug passed Lisa Donovan to become ECU's all time leader in assists, and finished her career with 4,439 total assists.

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.