News Nuggets, 07.27.04
----------
NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...
Previous Day Nuggets...
Next Day Nuggets...
Compiled from staff reports
and electronic dispatches
Chopper ride for hearing-impaired will have a 'Voice'
PREVIOUS NUGGETS |
07.26.04: Boyce
to ride herd on Pirates' classroom pursuits ... IU fans'
suit over Knight firing gets new life ...
More... |
07.25.04: Controversy-ridden
Clemons seeks exile at Livingstone ... USM honors grad with
N.C. business ties ...
More... |
07.24.04: ECU
harrier coach hired by Longhorns ... .. Tulane, Florida A&M
pair up for Superdome extravaganza ...
More... |
07.23.04: Future
Pirate sprints to glory at World meet ... .. Legendary 'Big
O' subs for sidelined Huggins ... .. Rattlers' I-A vision
buried under avalanche of penalties ...
More... |
07.22.04: NCAA
panel endorses major recruiting reforms ... Clemens honor
gives Weaver sweep of baseball awards ...
More... |
No Nuggets 05.20.04 -
05.21.04 because of technical problems. |
07.19.04: Former
ECU assistant VanDerHeyden retires from UAB staff ...
Bearcats land junior college punter ...
More... |
07.18.04: ECU
touts corporate football packages ... SLU marketing themes
earn national awards ...
More... |
07.17.04: Laurinburg
Institute star inks with DePaul ... Long Beach State ace
captures Golden Spikes ...
More... |
07.16.04: Stats
ditched, computers downgraded in new BCS equation ...
Huggins exile to end next month ...
More... |
07.15.04: BCS
to roll out new title scheme ... Catamounts AD rejoins old
boss Todd Turner ... ECU's Walker Center awarded outreach
grant ...
More... |
07.14.04: Diamond
success spurs bigger bucks for Mazey ... Five C-USA
quarterbacks on O'Brien watch list ...
More... |
07.13.04: UAB,
USF swap Saturday date for Wednesday TV game ... Divided
school ditches Indian nicknames ...
More... |
|
|
A fundraising initiative by Ron Ayers
Motorsports and Marketing Matters, on behalf of the Eastern North Carolina
School for the Deaf, has an ally with experience in getting the word out
loud and clear.
The Greenville firms will team with
Jeff Charles, the broadcast "Voice" of the East Carolina Pirates, to host a
benefit motorcycle ride Oct. 16th
for the Wilson school.
Students form all over Eastern N.C. in
grades pre-school through 12 are served by the venerable institution.
The ride is scheduled for an open date
Saturday during ECU's football season. Riders will pay an entry fee.
"It's going to be fun," Charles said. "In visiting with the kids, they have
a real need ... and they don't have a lot of money so we're going to try and
help them out."
All funds raised will be used to repair
the school's swimming pool and for athletic equipment and uniforms.
Donations may be sent to Dave Richmond,
Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf, P.O. Drawer 2768, Wilson, NC
27894.
Fulmer shuns SEC gathering in hostile Alabama
KNOXVILLE — Tennessee coach Phillip
Fulmer will not attend this week's Southeastern Conference media days after
learning that attorneys in a lawsuit against the NCAA plan to subpoena him
at the event in Alabama.
Attorneys representing a former Alabama
assistant coach have accused Fulmer of conspiring with the NCAA in bringing
down the Crimson Tide football program by speaking to an NCAA investigator
four years ago. Alabama was placed on five years probation in 2002 after the
NCAA uncovered recruiting violations that included payments to players from
boosters.
"I am not attending media days because
of the legal circus that has been created by an isolated group of attorneys.
They want to hijack media days for their own benefit, but I am not going to
allow that to happen," Fulmer said in a statement Monday. "This day is for
the players. They should be center stage instead of this small group of
lawyers who intend on attacking the integrity of the NCAA's enforcement
process."
University president John Petersen and
athletic director Mike Hamilton defended their decision to protect Fulmer
from an onslaught of media attention and the threat of being served a
subpoena.
"I don't think this is tucking and
running," Hamilton said at a Monday night news conference.
One of the attorneys notified SEC
commissioner Mike Slive that Fulmer would be issued a subpoena at media days
if the coach did not agree to give a deposition, the Tuscaloosa News
reported Monday on its Web site.
Fulmer will be fined $10,000 by the SEC
for not attending media days, but will be available to reporters Thursday
via teleconference during the time he was supposed to appear in person.
Players Michael Munoz and Kevin Burnett will attend as scheduled.
Petersen tried to persuade Slive not to
fine Fulmer.
"I think we will potentially avert
something that would not be in the best interest of the NCAA, the conference
or the coach of the University of Tennessee," Petersen said.
Tennessee officials voiced their
concern last week about Fulmer's safety in Birmingham while meeting with
reporters at the annual SEC event. Fulmer was scheduled to appear the same
day Alabama coach Mike Shula and two players are on the agenda.
Media days is held in a hotel and many
fans — mostly of Alabama — go there to watch the players and coaches.
In 2000, Fulmer was interviewed three
times by an NCAA investigator looking into possible recruiting violations at
Alabama. Other coaches from the SEC and the Big Ten conference also spoke to
investigators, according to NCAA documents. Some, including Fulmer, also
testified before a grand jury in Memphis that indicted Alabama booster Logan
Young allegedly paid $150,000 to steer prospect Albert Means to Alabama in
1999.
Attorney Tommy Gallion and his
colleagues, who are representing former Tide coach Ronnie Cottrell in a
lawsuit against the NCAA, have alleged Fulmer provided information to the
NCAA in exchange for the NCAA overlooking violations at Tennessee.
Fulmer has defended his actions in the
past, but had not said much at length publicly about it until Monday's
statement.
"When you get behind all the smoke and
the big pile of lawsuits, the truth still stands: rules were broken, an
investigation proved it, those who broke the rules admitted their guilt, and
a university paid the price. There are a few people who cannot accept the
truth, so they file lawsuits hoping the truth will go away," Fulmer said.
"As one of several coaches contacted by
the NCAA regarding these serious violations by a small group of boosters, my
response was honest, in line with our code of conduct, and the right thing
to do."
Former Alabama recruit and Tennessee
player Kenny Smith also has filed a defamation lawsuit against Fulmer for
telling the NCAA investigator he heard there were rumors Smith's mother was
involved with a Tide assistant.
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.
|