News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

12.14.06: Grobe gets national recognition for coaching ... ECU soccer duo receives honors

12.13.06: Pirate baseball competes to get in shape ... Holy Toledo! Green Wave's search over ... Arizona State fills football coaching void

12.12.06: Garrard not complaining after Jags win ... Rutgers' Schiano named coach of year ... Wolfpack dominates Lady Pirates in Raleigh

12.11.06: Watson Brown heads home to Tennessee Tech ... Boston College names Spaziani interim coach ... Georgia Tech's Johnson wins Biletnikoff award

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

Charlie Cobb is squeezing every drop out of Appalachian State's 2005 NCAA Division I-AA football championship, according to a Charlotte Observer report by David Scott.

Cobb, the Mountaineers' second-year athletics director, is helping preside over a period of unmatched growth at Appalachian, much of it fueled by the school's football success.

With the Mountaineers going for a second straight title Friday in Chattanooga, TN, against UMass and appearing on ESPN for a third consecutive week, there is a lot going on in Boone:

"It's humbling to me," said Cobb, a former center on N.C. State's football team and former Wolfpack associate athletics director. "The impact this has had on the campus and around our community, it's the kind of thing that gives you chill bumps just to be a part of it."

Football isn't the only success story at Appalachian. The Mountaineers had the top overall men's and women's athletics programs in Southern Conference in 2005-06, winning the league's Commissioner's and Germann cups.

The athletics facilities expansion, in the works before last season's football championship, will take care of several other sports. Funded by student fees and private donations, it has gotten a boost from Appalachian's new-found national prominence.

"The biggest thing is that the championship really helped push the facilities campaign," said Cobb. "People want to see change. We felt like Appalachian was a great place academically and Boone is a great place to live. But our facilities are sorely behind."

The centerpiece of the athletics facilities expansion is a 100,000-square-foot, four-story field house that will be built behind Kidd Brewer Stadium's home stands. Construction is expected to begin next week.

A new baseball stadium is also scheduled to be ready for the 2007 season. The old one will be renovated for the softball team in time for the '07 season, with an indoor training facility to be built in the right-field area. Construction on a soccer stadium is also scheduled to begin in 2007.

Rice's Jarett Dillard has added another honor to his spectacular sophomore season as he was named by the Associated Press a second-team All-American for 2006. Texas-El Paso's Johnnie Lee Higgins was named to the third team.

Dillard is one of just six sophomores named to the AP first and second teams, according to a release on the Conference USA website.

Dillard set school single-season marks for receptions (82) yards (1,176) and touchdown catches (20). He tied the NCAA record by catching a scoring pass in 12 consecutive games this season. His overall streak of 14 consecutive games with a TD pass is the second longest in NCAA history.

Since the NCAA recognizes bowl games for statistical purposes, both streaks will be on the line when the Owls take on Troy in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.

Higgins was named to the AFCA Coaches' All-America team last month. He averaged 109.9 yards receiving per game in 2006 to rank second nationally. He was also third in the country in all-purpose yards (156.1 avg.). Higgins is UTEP's all-time leader for receiving yards (3,218) and receiving touchdowns (32).

Miami offensive coordinator Rich Olson is leaving the Hurricanes to become the offensive coordinator for Arizona State under just-hired head coach Dennis Erickson, the Miami Herald reported.

Olson, 58, is close friends with Erickson, who formerly won two national championships as the head coach of the Hurricanes and was not expected to be retained by new Miami head coach Randy Shannon.

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.