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News Nuggets, 11.23.04
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Brawl scratches bowl trips for Clemson, South Carolina

COLUMBIA — Clemson and South Carolina will not accept bowl bids, punishment for players who brawled toward the end of Saturday's game.

South Carolina athletic director Mike McGee said Monday that the Gamecocks' actions on the field were not consistent with the values and ethics of the school.

``This decision will have a significant financial impact on USC athletics. We will also lose a month of prebowl practice,'' McGee said. ``It was a decision that had to be made.''

Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips said in a statement the decision isn't fair to the majority of the players.

``But given the circumstances, I believe strongly that it is the right decision so that our university, our student-athletes, supporters and all people that love Clemson know without question what our values are,'' he said.

Both teams qualified for the postseason with 6-5 records.

The brawl, which broke out with about six minutes left in the game, started when Tigers defensive lineman Bobby Williamson took down South Carolina quarterback Syvelle Newton and appeared to linger too long on top of him.

South Carolina coach Lou Holtz, in his last game after a 33-year career, and Clemson coach Tommy Bowden tried to break up the brawl. Eventually, security and police officers were needed to restore order. Clemson won 29-7.

McGee said individual suspensions for players will be forthcoming.

Fox snatches up BCS rights for $320 million

NEW YORK — Fox is adding the Bowl Championship Series to its high-priced sports lineup.

The network and the BCS announced a four-year deal worth $320 million Monday that gives Fox the broadcast rights to the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar bowls from 2007-10 and the national title game from 2007-09.

In scooping up the BCS, Fox is sticking with a strategy of banking on big-time sporting events that started when it landed the NFL 11 years ago. The network recently extended its deal with the NFL, paying $4.3 billion for the rights to broadcast NFC games through 2011.

In 2000, Fox acquired the exclusive rights to major league baseball's postseason and All-Star game from 2001-06 for $2.5 billion.

``If you look at the landscape of television ... it's a very shaky quagmire,'' Fox Sports chairman David Hill said. ``Big sporting events are the only guarantee there is for advertisers to find viewers.''

ABC has held the broadcast rights to the BCS since college football's major conferences implemented the system to crown a national champion in 1998.

ABC withdrew from the bidding last week. Network officials said they were unhappy with the new BCS structure, which added a fifth game. Starting with the 2006 season, the national title game will be played at the site of either the Fiesta, Orange, Sugar or Rose Bowls the week after those games.

``I think we were concerned as we went into the process whether there would be market support for the extra game,'' BCS coordinator and Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg said. ``We were pleased to find that we had good interest on the part of multiple networks.''

The deal with Fox cements the new setup, which increases the number of teams in the BCS from eight to 10.

The BCS considered making the fifth game a championship game with two teams advancing from the first four bowls, essentially taking the first step toward a Division I-A playoff. But college presidents shot down that so-called ``plus-one'' concept -- although there still was speculation that a TV network would persuade the BCS to adopt that mini-playoff.

Now that possibility again appears to be dead, at least until 2010.

``We totally accepted what was being offered by the BCS,'' Hill said.

The national title game will rotate among the four bowl games. ABC still holds the rights to the Rose Bowl through 2014, including the rights to the national title game when it is played in Pasadena.

ABC paid about $305 million for four years in its expiring BCS deal.

``This agreement does allow us to have increased revenue for distribution in our system,'' Weiberg said.

BCS games have been paying out $14-$17 million to the participants. Weiberg said the BCS projects those payouts to increase during the Fox contract.

Weiberg said all the Division I-A conferences and Notre Dame were involved in the negotiations.

``I feel very strongly that it is time to end the talk of BCS and non-BCS conferences,'' he said.

Weiberg said the BCS also drew interest from sponsor-driven groups, including at least one that would have involved the College Sports Network.

``That interest says the BCS is valuable to corporate America and Madison Avenue,'' Fox Sports president Ed Goren said.

Until now, Fox hasn't been a major player in college football. The network has had the rights to the Cotton Bowl since 1999, and its Fox SportsNet affiliates have contracts with the Big 12 and Pac-10.

The network has no immediate plans to expand its regular season college football coverage.

Goren said Fox will be looking for announcers that will give their college football coverage a look and sound distinct from their other sports.

``We're looking to put together a production and broadcast team that will be associated with the BCS for many years to come,'' Goren said.

Bowl Championship Series rankings

(Through games of Nov. 21,2004)

[Conference USA team, including future members, and Carolinas teams in bold. ECU opponents in red. Teams belonging to a conference with no guaranteed BCS bowl bid in italics.]

    Rank/Team
    1. Southern California
    2. Oklahoma
    3. Auburn
    4. California
    5. Texas
    6. Utah
    7. Boise State
    8. Georgia
    9. Miami (FL)
   10. Louisville
   11. Iowa
   12. Michigan
   13. Louisiana State
   14. Virginia Tech
   15. Tennessee
   16. Arizona State
   17. Virginia
   18. Florida State
   19. Texas A&M
   20. Wisconsin
   21. Boston College
   22. Oklahoma State
   23. West Virginia
   24. Texas-El Paso
   25. Bowling Green

AP college basketball poll

The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Nov. 21, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:

[Conference USA team, including future members, and Carolinas teams in bold. East Carolina opponents in red.]

Rank/Team/(1st place votes)/(Record)/Points/Previous
 1. Wake Forest (25) (2-0) 1658 2
 2. Kansas (26) (1-0) 1637 1
 3. Georgia Tech (11) (1-0) 1585 3
 4. Syracuse (4-0) 1549 5
 5. Illinois (1) (2-0) 1450 6
 6. Oklahoma State (2) (1-0) 1386 7
 7. Connecticut (1-0) 1302 8
 8. Kentucky (1) (1-0) 1236 9
 9. Duke (1-0) 1064 11
10. Michigan State (1-0) 964 13
11. North Carolina (0-1) 934 4
12. Louisville (1-0) 918 14
13. Maryland (1-0) 833 15
14. Mississippi State (4-1) 746 12
15. Texas (1-0) 707 16
16. Pittsburgh) (1-0) 687 17
17. N.C. State (3-0) 576 19
18. Arizona  (2-1) 565 10
19. Alabama (2-0) 556 18
20. Wisconsin (1-0) 399 21
21. Notre Dame (1-0) 386 20
22. Washington (1-0) 337 22
23. Florida (1-0) 317 23
24. Gonzaga (2-0) 218 25
25. Memphis (3-1) 213 24

Dropped Out: None.

Others Receiving Votes: Virginia 151, Stanford 64, Michigan 64, Providence 40, Charlotte 35, Oklahoma 25, Southern Illinois 24, Cincinnati 22, Utah 17, Boston College 14, New Mexico 9, Texas-El Paso 7, East Tennessee State 6, Santa Clara 5, Alabama-Birmingham 5, Tennessee 4, Marquette 3, Rice 3, Nevada-Las Vegas 3, Vermont 3, Air Force 2, George Washington 2, Indiana 2, Louisiana State 2, Oregon 2, Davidson 1, DePaul 1, Iowa State 1.

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 Associated Press and other sources. 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 12:06 PM