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News Nuggets, 07.25.04
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Controversy-ridden Clemons seeks exile at Livingstone

ST. LOUIS — Former Missouri basketball player Ricky Clemons has applied for admission to Livingstone College in North Carolina.

Sports information director Adrian Ferguson confirmed Saturday Clemons' application and said he has not yet been accepted for enrollment.

Ferguson said the university probably would not be able to offer Clemons an athletic scholarship because no basketball scholarships were currently available.

Clemons' claims that he was paid by former coaches at Missouri are at the center of a still-unresolved NCAA investigation.

Clemons was released from the Missouri basketball program after serving 60 days in a Boone County jail for assault and false imprisonment. He had his probation transferred from Missouri to North Carolina in January.

USM honors grad with N.C. business ties

HATTIESBURG — The football field at Southern Mississippi's M.M. Roberts Stadium will undergo a name change this season, honoring one of the University's most-generous supporters. The field will be renamed Carlisle-Faulkner Field at M.M. Roberts Stadium in honor of Gene Carlisle, a USM graduate, businessman and Golden Eagle supporter, the school's athletics director, Richard Giannini, announced earlier this month.

Carlisle is involved in a number of real estate and other ventures, including a regional chain of Wendy's Restaurants spanning North Carolina, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana.

The official dedication will take place on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2004, during the home-opening game against California. The renaming of the field was approved by the IHL Board.

"We are thankful to Gene for all his contributions and support to Southern Miss," Giannini said. "He has been an outstanding contributor to the University for years and has made significant contributions to athletics, now totalling more than a million dollars. We have a lot of respect and gratitude to him and want to let everyone know that we appreciate his generosity and love for this University."

The Field was originally named Faulkner Field in 1932 when the stadium first opened. L.E. Faulkner, a local Hattiesburg businessman, donated materials, equipment and recruited unemployed laborers to the do the construction. The stadium was built at no cost to the college and dedicated on Oct. 29, 1932.

"The football program is very appreciative to Gene for his contributions and support," Southern Miss Head Football Coach Jeff Bower said. "There are many benefits that the new surface in the stadium will offer our football program, including greater flexibility with our practice schedule and a faster surface that will allow us to better utilize our team speed. Poor field conditions due to excessive rain in recent years have forced us to relocate practices indoors, where we can't simulate true game situations as we can outdoors. Excessive wear on our practice fields also has caused problems in the past. Having the ability to practice in the stadium will provide the practice fields greater recovery time."

Money donated by Carlisle was used to install the Momentum Turf by Sportexe in place of the grass field in Roberts Stadium. The project was started in March with Hattiesburg-based Warren Paving constructing the field base and then SportExe laying the turf in April.

"It is important for a University to have as good of facilities as everyone else has in the country," Carlisle said. "It is my goal and my desire for Southern Miss to compete at the highest level against the best teams in the nation. It starts with facilities and the first step in attracting good coaches and athletes is to have first-class facilities. I am proud to be able to help and be a part of Southern Miss Athletics."

Carlisle graduated from Southern Miss in 1964 and since then has been a dedicated alumnus. He is the chairman of Southern Miss College of Business and Economic Development's Business Advisory Council and serves on Southern Miss' Foundation Board of Directors and the Athletic Foundation's Board of Directors. He also has chaired the campaign to raise funds for the a College of Buisness building. He was named the CBED's Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 2002.

Carlisle is founder of the Carlisle Corporation, which includes the Carlisle Properties, Carlisle Hotels Inc., Carlisle Media and Wendelta Inc. The corporation handles the operation of three Holiday Inn Hotels, one Hampton Inn, various apartment complexes and more than 100 Wendy's Restaurants.

Carlisle was a Mississippi Business Hall of Fame inductee in 2002, and was named Operator of the Year in 2001 for the Wendy's Southeast Region.

Carlisle and his wife, Karen, reside in Memphis. They have three children: Courtney, Chance and Chase.

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.

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