VIEW THE MOBILE ALPHA VERSION OF THIS SITE

News Nuggets, 10.17.03
NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...

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

Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

'Productive' BCS skull session hands off to presidents

It wasn't long after Conference USA's presidents left their annual board of directors meeting in Chicago on Tuesday before the bigwigs of the Bowl Championship Series arrived in the Windy City to discuss some weighty issues of their own.

The BCS decision makers conducted a session on Wednesday and Thursday that presumably focused on the future makeup of the cartel that currently involves four major bowl games, ABC Television, and six of the nation's 11 Division I-A football leagues.

Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese, the lead administrator of the BCS working group — which also includes the commissioners of the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, PAC-10 and SEC — indicated the meetings made progress but decisions would be left up to the CEO's of the six leagues' schools.

“We’ve had two days of very productive meetings," Tranghese said in a prepared statement. "No conclusions were reached as to the future structure of the BCS. We, the commissioners, are functioning as a staff for our presidents. We will turn over our information to them.”

Ironically, the C-USA presidents dedicated much of their Tuesday meeting to plotting strategies for reconfiguring their conference in the event an anticipated Big East raid sweeps up several of its members.

Wolfpack rides Rivers' arm past Clemson

RALEIGH — Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes to tie the Atlantic Coast Conference career record as North Carolina State beat Clemson 17-15 Thursday night.

Rivers had scoring tosses to T.A. McLendon and Richard Washington for the Wolfpack (5-3, 2-2), who improved to 5-0 at home this season. Rivers now has 79 touchdown passes in his career, tying the mark set by Florida State's Chris Weinke.

Chad Jasmin scored the only touchdown for the Tigers (4-3, 2-2), who trailed throughout the contest. Aaron Hunt added three field goals as Clemson fell to 0-5 in nationally televised Thursday night games.

Clemson had won three of the last four meetings here, but the Wolfpack took an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter and held off a comeback attempt by the Tigers.

Kick for a Million Tour lands at Papa John's

LOUISVILLE — The BellSouth Kick for a Million Tour makes its sixth stop of the 2003 college season when it travels to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium for the University of Louisville's Friday night football game with Tulane.

Located in the Green Lot, fans can visit the BellSouth Kick for a Million Tour and the BellSouth e-Zone to register for the chance to kick for $1 million at this year's Peach Bowl. Fans can compete in the Quarterback Challenge, for various prizes.

While at the BellSouth e-Zone, fans can check the stats and scores of various college games online using BellSouth Fast-Access DSL internet service, and, check out the on-going games on 45" plasma screens. Fans visiting the e-Zone can also learn about other BellSouth products and services.

The Conference USA battle between the Cardinals and Green Wave (ESPN) kicks off at 8:06 p.m.

Davis, Schobel on mid-season All-America list

Southern Miss senior linebacker Rod Davis and Texas Christian defensive end Bo Schobel have been named to the midseason All-American team by CollegeFootballNews.com.

Davis, a two-time All-American and the No. 2 player listed on the top 150 list by CollegeFootballNews.com's preseason list, leads Southern Miss in tackles (77), solo tackles (55) and ties for the team lead in tackles for loss (9.0) and forced fumbles (2). He is ranked second in the nation in total tackles, sixth in solo tackles and 23rd in tackles for loss.

Schobel leads the Frogs in both tackles for loss (15) and in sacks (9.5). He is just one-half sack shy of tying the school record, set by his cousin, Aaron, in 1999. Last week he was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week for his 3.0-sack performance at USF, as the Frogs broke the Bulls' 21-game home winning streak. He has helped the Horned Frog defense rank among the nation's best in rushing defense, total defense and scoring defense.

USM and TCU are currently tied with Houston for first place in Conference USA.

Atlantic Sun Conference adds Buccaneers

MACON, Ga. – The Atlantic Sun Conference formally voted to extend conference membership to East Tennessee State at its Presidents Council meeting Thursday in Atlanta. The Buccaneers, currently members of the Southern Conference, will begin A-Sun competition in the fall of the 2005-06 athletic season.

ETSU, which has long fielded a Division I-AA football team, announced last spring it planned to drop the sport after the current season. The Southern Conference — perhaps the nation's premiere I-AA league — declined to grant the school a waiver for continued membership beyond June 30, 2005.

The A-Sun currently includes 10 members, including Campbell University, was glad to give the Buccaneers a new home.

“The Atlantic Sun is proud to announce the addition of East Tennessee State University,” said  A-Sun Commissioner Bill Bibb. “It is exciting to add an institution that is committed to maintaining its already outstanding athletic program. The leadership of President Dr. Paul Stanton and Athletic Director Dave Mullins is evident in the school’s commitment to achieving the highest standards of both academic and athletic success. The facilities are very attractive and the Johnson City community support makes ETSU an ideal fit in our league.”

ETSU boasts an already successful athletic program at the NCAA Division I level and will be immediately eligible for all Atlantic Sun Championships and automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.

“I’m extremely pleased to have ETSU voted into membership in the Atlantic Sun, which we consider a very prestigious conference,” said Stanton. “I am also quite pleased that our future venues for athletic competition will be in cities which have major ETSU alumni populations, who for the first time may be able to come to many of our games.”

Located in Johnson City, Tenn., ETSU plays its home basketball games inside Memorial Center, a 12,000-seat domed arena that also houses indoor practice facilities for the athletic program's other 17 varsity sports.

The Buccaneers will begin competition in 2005-06 in the A-Sun, which at that time will consist of 11 members, including Belmont, Campbell, UCF, ETSU, Florida Atlantic, Gardner-We.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2003 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007