News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

12.17.06: Orange Bowl resets ECU-Wake hoops to Jan. 1 ... Spurrier's wife, Lawing commit infractions ... Rebs, Bulldogs shuffled on Memphis schedule

12.16.06: Appalachian State repeats as I-AA champ ... DeBerry announces retirement at Air Force ... Possible perp in Pata shooting held in Boston

12.15.06: Boone booming with football success ... All-America: Rice's Dillard and UTEP's Higgins ... Miami offensive coordinator moving to ASU

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

Neil Callaway is the new football coach at UAB, interim athletic director Richard Margison announced Sunday via the Blazers' athletic website.

During his six years at Georgia, Callaway was part of a staff that won two SEC championships, three SEC Eastern Division titles, three bowl games, and had four top 10 finishes in the final national polls. In 2002, the Bulldogs finished as the SEC's top scoring (32.14 ppg) and pass efficiency (138.91) offense. They were second in scoring offense in 2005.

Callaway, a native of Macon, GA, and graduate of Alabama, served as offensive line coach for the Crimson Tide in 1997 and line coach and offensive coordinator from 1998 to 2000. Prior to joining the Tide staff, he served as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Houston (1993-96). He was the long-time offensive line coach under head coach Pat Dye at Auburn (1981-92). Callaway also served on Dye's staff at Wyoming (1980) and at East Carolina (1978-79). He was inducted into the Macon Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

During Callaway's tenure at Auburn, the Tigers won or shared four SEC championships and he produced four first team All-Americans and 14 All-SEC players.

In his four seasons coaching at Houston, the Cougars' offensive line allowed just 19.5 sacks per season, including only 10 sacks in his final year. Houston won the inaugural Conference USA championship while he was there.

Senior linebacker Kevin Sears has played his last Auburn football game, and the careers of redshirt freshman linebacker Tray Blackmon and sophomore tailback Brad Lester are on hold, according to a Huntsville Times report.

Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said that the three have been suspended indefinitely for violating team rules and will not make the trip to Dallas for No. 10 Auburn's Jan. 1 game against No. 22 Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl.

Sears, his eligibility used up, has left the team. Tuberville said he expects Blackmon and Lester to return in time for spring practice.

Blackmon and Sears were previously suspended for violating team rules. Blackmon sat out the first six games of this season. Sears missed two games last season and the first three games of this season.

A celebrated signee out of LaGrange, GA, in 2005, Blackmon made an immediate impact when he returned and beat out sophomore Merrill Johnson to become the starter at weakside linebacker for the final four games of the regular season. Sears was praised by Auburn coaches, who said he played his best game in a 22-15 win over Alabama in the regular-season finale.

Johnson was back with the first team in Friday's practice, backed up by sophomore Steve Gandy. Sophomore Chris Evans replaced Sears as the No. 2 middle linebacker behind Karibi Dede.

Lester rushed for 510 yards and nine touchdowns as the backup tailback. Senior Tre Smith and freshman Ben Tate will compete for playing time behind senior starter Kenny Irons.
Tuberville said he expects his team to pull together and overcome the losses.

Sarah Pavan and Jordan Larson combined for 41 kills as No. 1 Nebraska (33-1) rallied to defeat No. 2 Stanford (30-4) 27-30, 30-26, 30-28, 30-27 for the Cornhuskers' third NCAA Division I women’s volleyball championship in front of a record-crowd of 17,209 fans at the Qwest Center in Omaha on Saturday evening.

Nebraska, competing in the finals for the sixth time, also captured NCAA women’s volleyball championships in 1995 and 2000 with Husker coach John Cook leading the team during the past two title seasons. Only Stanford has won more women’s volleyball titles with six. The Huskers are the first team since 1991 to win a national title as the host institution.

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.