News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

12.19.06: ECU's Allison selected for Senior Bowl ... BC picks longtime ECU assistant Jagodzinski ... Television numbers up for college football

12.18.06: Former ECU aide Calloway takes helm at UAB ... Auburn suspends 3 from bowl game ... 17,000-plus watch Nebraska win volleyball title

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

East Carolina senior offensive tackle Eric Graham has been invited to participate in the 2007 Hula Bowl and the inaugural Texas vs. The Nation Game, according to an ECU athletic media relations release.

Graham, a native of Richlands, is a three-year starter on the offensive line and was named second-team All-Conference USA by the coaches and media in 2006. For his career, Graham had recorded 180.5 knockdowns and started 33 consecutive games heading into the 2006 season finale against N.C. State, which he sat out because of injury.

During his long stint on the line, Graham has provided protection for quarterback James Pinkney, who ranks first all-time in ECU's history in completions (679) and 200-yard passing games (23), and second all-time in passing yards (8,048).

This season, Graham posted a season-best eight knockdown blocks against No. 4 West Virginia. He has anchored an offensive line that produced three 100-yard rushing and four 100-yard receiving games. Along side fellow lineman Cory Dowless, Graham has provided backside protection for Pinkney, who has thrown for 2,658 yards while completing 224-of-372 passes with 11 touchdowns.

The Hula Bowl will be played on Jan. 14 at the home of the National Football League's Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, HI, at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN. Since the inaugural game in 1946, over 3,300 former college student-athletes have participated in the all-star classic. This years coaching staffs include Pat Hill (Fresno State), Mark Richt (Georgia), Rich Rodriguez (West Virginia) and Art Briles (Houston).

The Texas vs. The Nation Game is a post-season college football all-star game that was established in 2006. The format of the game will pit a team of top-rated college seniors who played college or high school football in Texas against a squad of top-rated seniors from the rest of the nation. Seniors rated in the top 15 at their position by the NFL will be eligible to play in the game.

The game will be held in El Paso, at the Sun Bowl Stadium on Feb. 2, beginning at 9:00 p.m., and will be broadcast on CSTV. Texas-El Paso head coach Mike Price will lead the Texas team and Buddy Ryan, former coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals, will guide the national squad.

Graham joins Pinkney (All-American Classic) and Aundrae Allison (Senior Bowl) as members of the 2006 East Carolina team to be invited to a post-season all-star game.

Stanford University introduced Jim Harbaugh as its new football coach at a press conference on the Stanford campus on Tuesday.

Harbaugh has spent the last three seasons (2004-06) as the head coach at the University of San Diego. Harbaugh posted a three-year overall record of 29-6 at San Diego, including 11-1 campaigns each of the past two seasons and an impressive 18-game win streak.

He played for five teams over 15 seasons (1987-2001) as a quarterback in the National Football League after entering the NFL as a first round draft pick of the Chicago Bears in 1987.

Harbaugh's NFL playing career was highlighted by his 1995 season when he led the Indianapolis Colts to the AFC Championship game while earning AFC offensive player of the year and NFL comeback player of the year honors during a Pro Bowl campaign. He passed for 26,288 yards and 129 touchdowns during his professional career, completing 2,305 of 3,918 passes.

Harbaugh began his coaching career while still playing in the NFL as an assistant coach under his father, Jack, at Western Kentucky University, for eight seasons from 1994-2001. He also spent two seasons (2002-03) as the quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders with the team reaching the Super Bowl in his first campaign.

He spent his collegiate playing days at Michigan and led the Wolverines to three bowl games as a player. As a senior in 1986, he guided Michigan to a No. 2 national ranking while earning Big Ten player of the year honors and finishing third in the Heisman balloting.

Harbaugh has local ties to Stanford, where his father spent two seasons (1980-81) as the school's defensive coordinator while Jim played two years of prep football at nearby Palo Alto High School.

Rain forced the Arizona State-Texas Tech women's basketball game to be called with 4:18 left on Monday night, according to an Arizona Republic report.

At least the women's teams can say they played in the second outdoor game, or better yet, they made history by being the first college basketball teams to play in a game that was rained out at a professional baseball facility. The game was played at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The teams were going to continue playing when the first drops came. A skeleton crew extended a maroon tarp on the court with the Phoenix Mercury's logo, and the retractable roof was being closed, but officials decided it was too risky to continue playing on a wet court. ASU had a comfortable lead, 61-45, when it was all over for the 7,791 fans who braved the elements.

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.