VIEW THE MOBILE ALPHA VERSION OF THIS SITE

News Nuggets, 08.25.04
----------
NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...

Previous Day Nuggets...             Next Day Nuggets...

Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Inter-division slate pairs ECU with Rice, SMU, Tulsa

When Conference USA implements its divisional membership alignment in 2005-06, East Carolina will get a chance to become familiar with three Western Division teams on an up-close and personal basis.

The Pirates, who will be assigned to the Eastern Division, will play Rice, Southern Methodist and Tulsa on a home-and-away basis during the first two years of the league's new configuration.

Conference commissioner Britton Banowsky announced the 2005 and 2006 cross-over matches between Eastern and Western teams on Wednesday.

The scheduling model, which was approved during a meeting of athletic directors in Irving, TX, last week, calls for each team to play four home and four away games in league play. In addition to playing each of the other five teams in its division once, each school will play three games against opponents from the opposite division.

Beginning in 2005, C-USA will conduct a football championship game between the champions of the East and West divisions. The title game will be held at the school with the highest conference winning percentage.

Here are the cross-over pairings for 2005 and 2006:

WEST DIVISION
Houston – Memphis/Southern Miss/UCF
Rice – ECU/UAB/UCF
SMU – ECU/Marshall/UAB
Tulane – Marshall/Southern Miss/UCF
Tulsa – ECU/Memphis/Southern Miss
UTEP – Marshall/Memphis/UAB

EAST DIVISION
East Carolina – Rice/SMU/Tulsa
Marshall – SMU/Tulane/UTEP
Memphis – Houston/Tulsa/UTEP
Southern Miss – Houston/Tulane/Tulsa
UAB – Rice/SMU/UTEP
UCF – Houston/Rice/Tulane

The league also announced the home and away opponents for each school for 2005 and 2006.

In 2005, ECU will host Rice, Southern Miss, UAB and Central Florida and pay visits to Marshall, Memphis, Tulsa and SMU. The home fields will be reversed the following season.

LSU transplant named starting QB at Tulane

The Tulane football team had an important visitor when it held its final practice before the start of Fall classes Tuesday afternoon. And the Green Wave settled a big question about a key position before the day was over.

The university's president, Scott Cowen, addressed the team at the start of practice, ending his remarks with a spirited rendition of the Tulane Fight Song.

Lester Ricard probably felt like joining in.

Ricard, who transfered from LSU, was named Tulane's starting quzarterback by coach Chris Scelfo. A 6-foot-5 sophomore, Ricard did not win the job in the spring and was competing with Nick Cannon and Richard Irvin to replace NFL draft pick J.P. Lossman.

Making Ricard No. 1 does not mean the job cannot suddenly become Cannon's or Irvin's, Scelfo said.

"What I told them is that position is going to be evaluated like any other position on our football team," Scelfo said. "We feel Lester's ahead and that's how we're going to approach today's practice."

Ricard was redshirted during his freshman season at LSU, then decided to leave before the start of last season. He has no game experience. Ricard has looked impressive at times, as have Cannon and Irvin, but Scelfo said there was something that pushed Ricard to No. 1.

"I think the big thing right now is (Ricard's) able to make all the throws and he's been making good decisions," Scelfo said. "He still has deficiencies, but that's expected. It's not so much what the others haven't done at this point, he's just done a little more. Hopefully, all three will continue to develop because things can change."

News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2004 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007