News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

12.04.06: New recruiting thumbnail: Tyrell Worthington ... McFadden leads Independence into title game ... Bearcats bound for new bowl in Toronto

12.03.06: Paper: Hudson among Cincy coaching targets ... UAB ousted from NCAA volleyball by UCLA

12.02.06: Witter wins minor league baseball honor ... Millican in position in LPGA qualifying ... ECU announces challenging softball slate

12.01.06: C-USA announces football players of year ... Rice's Graham gets coach of year award ... ECU's Krug lands All-America honor

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

The University of Florida football team (12-1, 7-1 SEC) has been selected to meet Ohio State (12-0, 8-0 Big Ten) in the BCS National Championship on Jan. 8, 2007. The Fiesta Bowl will host the contest at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ, as part of a double-hosting model with the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

UF’s appearance in the BCS National Championship Game will mark the third time in history that the school's football program has entered a bowl game with a chance to win the national title. The Gators claimed the 1996 NCAA crown with a 52-20 victory over top-ranked Florida State in the Sugar Bowl behind a three-touchdown, 306-yard performance from Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel. The Gators played for the 1995 national championship in the Fiesta Bowl, losing to Nebraska 62-24 after posting a 12-0 regular-season record.

The matchup will also be the first-ever meeting between Florida and Ohio State on the gridiron. The Gators own a 5-3 all-time record in bowl games against teams from the Big Ten, including a 31-24 win over Iowa in the 2006 Outback Bowl.

Florida’s 12 wins heading into its bowl showdown with the Buckeyes match the 1995 and 1996 teams for the highest single-season total in school history. The Gators' 11-1 regular-season record equals the 1995 squad, which was the only other team in program history to win 11 games prior to a conference championship or bowl game.

UF will enter the BCS National Championship Game after claiming the seventh SEC title in school history with a 38-28 win over Arkansas in the conference championship game.

With more than 5,000 orange and blue clad faithful in attendance at Taco Bell Arena, the Boise State football team and fans let out a cheer as the team received the official BCS invite to take on 10th-ranked Oklahoma in the 36th annual Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. The game will be played on Jan. 1, in Glendale, AZ, according to the Boise State athletics website.

The announcement came one week after the Broncos wrapped up a perfect 12-0 regular season with a convincing 38-7 victory over Nevada. The victory also secured Boise State’s fifth straight WAC title and put the Broncos on the path to becoming just the second team from a non-BCS conference to be invited to one of the lucrative BCS games.

Alicia Gladden’s game-high 14 points led Florida State to a 62-44 win over the East Carolina women’s basketball team Sunday afternoon in the championship game of the fifth annual Lady Pirate Invitational.

The Seminoles improve to 8-1 on the year while the Lady Pirates fall to 3-5. Fairfield defeated North Dakota State 76-56 in the consolation game.

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.