VIEW THE MOBILE ALPHA VERSION OF THIS SITE

News Nuggets, 10.26.03
NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...

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

Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

C-USA football roundup: Frogs keep BCS flame flickering

Brandon Hassell threw for 375 yards and four touchdowns as No. 15 Texas Christian (8-0, 5-0 Conference USA) remained one of Division I-A's three undefeated teams despite allowing 684 yards, committing 12 penalties and letting a freshman quarterback run roughshod over them in a 62-55 victory over Houston.

The Horned Frogs joined top-ranked Oklahoma and No. 2 Miami as the only Division I-A teams to emerge from the weekend unbeaten. They also kept alive their slim chances for a major bowl bid out of a minor conference — unlike No. 12 Northern Illinois, which lost its perfect record earlier in the day with a 34-18 loss to No. 23 Bowling Green.

The TCU fans in attendance began chanting "BCS! BCS!" at game's end, referring to the Bowl Championship Series that determines participation in the major postseason games.

In other games involving C-USA teams:

— At Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, East Carolina hung tough with Louisville until buckling in the fourth quarter and succumbing 36-20 to start its season at 1-7 for the first time since the Pirates stumbled out of the gates to a 1-8 record in 1988.

— In New Orleans, DeAngelo Williams accounted for 236 offensive yards and scored two touchdowns as Memphis — which will host ECU next Saturday — defeated Tulane 41-9 to send the Green Wave to its fourth straight loss.

— At Nippert Stadium, Richard Hall ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns as Cincinnati overcame a fourth quarter deficit and handed Army its 10th straight loss, 33-29 on Saturday.

— In Hattiesburg, Marvin Young had 104 yards receiving and two touchdowns and Rod Davis ran 61 yards for another score on a botched field goal attempt as Southern Mississippi easily dispatched of South Florida 27-6 on Saturday.

— In an out-of-conference game, UAB went to Athens and took Georgia behind the hedges for much of the game before giving up two late field goals and falling to the Bulldogs 16-13.

C-USA hoops tips off with media event

Conference USA's annual Basketball Media Day will take place today in Chicago. All 28 men's and women's basketball coaches, including East Carolina's Bill Herrion and Sharon Baldwin-Tener, are expected to be on hand for the event, along with selected players from around the league.

Beginning on Monday, ConferenceUSA.com will have video clips, audio clips and transcripts from the gathering.

DePaul hardwood to be named Meyer Court

CHICAGO – DePaul’s home floor at the Allstate Arena will be named Ray & Marge Meyer Court in honor of the legendary coach and his late wife during the Blue Demons home game against Notre Dame on December 14.

“One of the things that is important to our athletic department is to honor the legacy of the people who have contributed to the quality of DePaul,” DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto said. “Ray and Marge were tremendous ambassadors for DePaul, not only in Chicago but throughout the entire nation. It is only fitting that we honor them in this way.”

No one is more associated with DePaul University or DePaul basketball than Ray Meyer. For many people, the word DePaul is synonymous with the name Ray Meyer. The Hall of Fame coach, who will turn 90 on December 18, spent 55 years of outstanding service not only to DePaul but also to college basketball. Marge and Ray were married for 46 years before she passed away on August 8, 1985.

In his 42 years as head coach of DePaul from 1942-84, he compiled a record of 724-354 (.671). In his career, 13 of his teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament and seven of his squads played in the National Invitational Tournament. His 1943 and 1979 teams advanced to the NCAA Final Four while his 1945 team, featuring future Hall of Famer George Mikan, won the NIT when it was considered the national championship. One of only 11 Division I coaches to win at least 700 games, Meyer posted 37 winning seasons and twelve 20-win campaigns. In his last seven years at DePaul (1977-84), he posted a record of 180-30 (.857). Six of those teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament and his 1983 team played in the NIT finals.

Meyer was Inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979 and was twice named national coach of the year by both the Associated Press and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

USM baseball sustains Top 25 attendance

HATTIESBURG - As Southern Mississippi prepares for Sunday's Black-Gold baseball game at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field, the Golden Eagles can already look towards the 2004 season with confidence their fans will show up in big numbers.

The Southern Miss baseball program won its first Conference USA regular season and tournament titles last year and the Golden Eagles' success was again reflected in their home attendance average which ranked among the top 25 in the nation for the 11th year in a row.

A total of 68,398 people (2,137 average) came to Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field to watch the Golden Eagles 32 times in 2003 as Southern Miss posted a 25-7 record in home games. The average attendance was the second highest in the history of the facility. The only year that the average attendance was better was 1997, when 67,999 fans attended 31 for an an average of 2,194. The total amount of fans in 2003 was the fourth highest in the school's history.

Southern Miss hosted the 2003 NCAA Hattiesburg Regional Tournament and set the Nos. 1, 2 and 5 single-game attendance marks. Against Baylor in the championship round of the regional, a record crowd of 4,601 fans attended the game, while 4,553 attended the semifinal matchup against Southern University the day before and a crowd of 4,236 watched the first-round matchup against Southern.

Southern Miss returns 17 letterwinners and two redshirts, including six starting position players, two starting pitchers, and five bullpen pitchers from last year’s squad that finished 47-16 overall.

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