News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

12.10.06: Junior Smith involved in Cox commitment ... WVU's Rodriguez says no to Bama's big bucks ... Boykin leaves Blue Devils hoops program

12.09.06: Garrard named AFC player of the week ... C-USA players of year: Kolb, Bunting, Higgins ,,, Miami elevates Shannon to head coach

12.08.06: Rivers tips off conclusion of coaching search ... Orioles' Roberts serving FCA baseball camps ... Hoops: Lady Pirates defeat UNC-Wilmington

12.07.06: Nine Pirates named to all-conference teams ... League honors four ECU freshman gridders ... Recruiting thumbnail: Rodney Cox ... ECU's Norris named to All-South 2nd team

12.06.06: UTEP's Higgins named AFCA All-American ... Memphis thumps Herd in C-USA hoops opener ... C-USA names top cross country performers

12.05.06: First-ever Gators- Buckeyes match-up a big one ... Boise State crashes BCS party in Fiesta ... Seminoles top Lady Pirates for tourney title

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

There's no place like home for Watson Brown, according to a report from the Cookeville (TN) Herald-Citizen.

The Cookeville native is returning to his hometown to become the head football coach at Tennessee Tech. Brown accepted an offer from TTU and becomes the 10th Golden Eagle head coach since 1922. Brown's mother and a brother, Mel, live in the Cookesville area.

Brown was officially introduced as the Tennessee Tech head football coach at halftime of the men's home basketball game on Saturday night.

Brown will replace Mike Hennigan, who was on a medical leave of absence during the 2006 season. Finalists for the position included Brown, TTU offensive coordinator Doug Malone, Kentucky assistant Randy Sanders and North Carolina defensive coordinator Marvin Sanders.

Brown, a former East Carolina assistant in the Pat Dye era, had a 62-74 record at UAB. His 2006 Blazers team was 3-9 with a 17-12 win over the Pirates.

Tennessee Tech, a member of the Division I-AA Ohio Valley Conference, went 4-7 this season under Malone, the interim coach.

Brown told the Birmingham News that he planned to relinquish coaching duties at UAB to former Blazers offensive coordinator Pat Sullivan and return to the athletic director's position. That plan did not work out and Sullivan recently accepted the head coaching position at Samford in Birmingham.

Boston College athletic director Gene DeFilippo has named Frank Spaziani interim football coach. Spaziani will coach the Eagles when they take on Navy in the December 30 Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte.

BC's current assistant coaches are expected to remain with the Eagles through the bowl game as well. DeFilippo made the announcement following the news that Tom O'Brien was leaving BC to be head coach at N.C. State.

Spaziani is in his 10th year on the BC coaching staff and his eighth as defensive coordinator. He joined the BC staff after three seasons with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. During his coaching tenure at Calgary, he served two seasons as the defensive coordinator.

Prior to his coaching stint at Calgary, he served as the defensive coordinator for two years with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Spaziani spent nine years as a member of the Virginia coaching staff, where he was defensive coordinator for his last five seasons in Charlottesville, after having been defensive backs coach for the first four.

Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver, during the College Football Awards Show in Orlando, FL.

A junior from Tyrone, GA, Johnson has 67 catches for 1,016 yards and 13 touchdowns, which ranks fourth in the nation.

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.