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News Nuggets, 08.13.04
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

East Carolina puts individual game tickets up for grabs

Need an extra ticket or a handful for one or more of East Carolina's 2004 home football games? Not a problem.

ECU athletic officials announced Thursday that single game tickets are now available for all five games at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium as well as for the Pirates' Nov. 27 showdown against N.C. State at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

Ticket prices for the games in Greenville against Wake Forest, Cincinnati, Tulane, Army and Memphis are $25 each, while ducats for ECU's battle with the Wolfpack in the home stadium of the NFL's Carolina Panthers are priced at $45 for lower level seats and $30 for upper level seats.

According to the ECU press release, tickets for the Pirates' Oct. 30 home game against Army are available for $10 each to members of the military and their immediate family members with a valid military ID. ECU has designated the game with the Black Knights as Military Appreciation Day.

Tickets may be purchased online at ECUPirates.com or by calling the school's athletic ticket office at 1-800-DIAL-ECU or 252-328-4500.

Coaching carousel primed for drama in 2004

Job security is not part of a college football coach's package. Take Clemson's Tommy Bowden. When he was hired in 1999, he was a hot commodity. By last season many were looking to run Bowden out of Death Valley. Then Clemson finished with five straight wins and he was given a three-year contract extension.

HOT COACHES

URBAN MEYER, UTAH: After two years at Bowling Green, one at Utah and a 27-8 record, Meyer appears to be on the fast track to a big-money job in a BCS conference.

JEFF TEDFORD, CALIFORNIA: The Golden Bears were supposed to be rebuilding last year, Tedford's second in Berkeley. Instead, Cal went 8-6 and was the only team to beat Southern Cal.

GARY PINKEL, MISSOURI: Took the Tigers bowling for the first time since 1998 and is bringing top recruits to Columbia. In his fourth season, Pinkel has turned Mizzou into the Big 12 North favorite.

COACHES ON THE HOT SEAT

JOHN BUNTING, NORTH CAROLINA: Sure, it's a basketball school, but the facilities and resources are too good for the Tar Heels to accept 13-24 in three seasons.

PAUL PASQUALONI, SYRACUSE: Heading into his 14th season, Pasqualoni is in need of a turnaround after 10 wins and no bowl appearances over the past two years.

RON TURNER, ILLINOIS, AND GARY CROTON, BYU: Two more examples of how quickly perceptions can change. In 2001, when the Illini were Big Ten champs and the Cougars went 12-2, Turner and Croton were well-regarded offensive gurus. Two awful years later and both are on shaky ground.

BCS has no corner on College Football Hall

While the schools from six conferences have managed to reserve an inside track for themselves when it comes to landing Bowl Championship Series berths, the eclectic roster of the newest batch of players and coaches tabbed for the College Football Hall of Fame supports the notion that the extension of recognition by the hallowed Hall is based more on enduring merit than privileged access.

Here are the capsules of the 22 men who will be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, IN, on Saturday, Aug. 14:

PLAYERS

Ricky Bell: Running back Southern California, 1973-76
Led USC to a 38-8-2 record, winning the national championship in the coaches poll in 1974. ... Heisman Trophy runner-up in 1976, third in 1975. ... Fourth on USC's career rushing list with 3,689 yards. ... Died in 1984 of heart disease.

Murry Bowden: Linebacker Dartmouth, 1968-70
Co-captain of 1970 team that went 9-0, won the Ivy League and was ranked No. 14. ... Dartmouth allowed just 42 points, fewest in Division I that season, registering six shutouts. ... Dartmouth went 28-8 during his three seasons.

Tom Brown: Guard Minnesota, 1958-60
Finished second in Heisman Trophy voting in 1960, highest finish for an interior lineman. ... Helped Gophers go from last place in Big Ten in 1959 to a league title and a national championship in 1960. ... In 1960 he won the Outland Trophy as the outstanding collegiate interior lineman and was named Big Ten MVP.

Jimbo Covert: Offensive tackle Pittsburgh, 1978-82
The Panthers went 31-5 during the three years he started, finishing No. 2 in 1980, No. 4 in 1981 and No. 10 in 1982. ... Allowed only three sacks, none as a senior.

Harold Davis: Quarterback Westminster, 1953-56
The Titans went 28-1-1 during Davis' four years as quarterback, going undefeated in 1953, 1955 and 1956. ... He was the first three-time NAIA All-American in school history.

Darrell Green: Defensive back Texas A&I, 1978, 1980-82
A world-class sprinter at Texas A&I, now known as Texas A&M-Kingsville. ... He ran a 10.08 in the 100-meter dash for the Javelinas. ... He was named the Lone Star Conference most valuable player in 1982.

Garney Henley: Halfback Huron, 1956-59
He set NAIA career records with 394 points scored and more than 4,000 rushing yards in leading Huron to a 27-5-2 record. ... Scored five touchdowns in one game. ... Had never played or even seen a football game before arriving at college.

Jackie Hunt: Halfback Marshall, 1938-41
Hunt scored 27 touchdowns in 1940, setting an NCAA record he held for 31 years. ... School-record 162 points in 1940 was broken by Randy Moss (174) in 1996. ... He finished his career with 43 touchdowns, rushing for 1,956 yards. ... Died in 1991 at the age of 71.

Jerry LeVias: Wide receiver Southern Methodist, 1966-68
First black player in the Southwest Conference. ... In 1968, caught 80 passes for a school record 1,131 yards. ... In 1966, helped SMU win its first league championship in 18 years. Set school records for catches in a game (15), in a season (80), in a career (80) and yards in a season (1,131), career (2,275) and career TD catches (22).

Billy Neighbors: Tackle Alabama, 1959-61
Two-way player who helped lead Alabama to a 26-3-4 record over three years, including three straight bowl appearances. ... Alabama went 11-0 in 1961, with Neighbors leading a defense that allowed just 25 points. ... The Crimson Tide won the national championship in 1961 after winning the Sugar Bowl. ... MVP of the Senior Bowl.

Ron Pritchard: Linebacker Arizona State, 1966-68
Arizona State's first consensus All-America pick. ... A three-time All-Western Athletic Conference selection. ... In 1968, he was elected team captain and most valuable defensive player by his teammates. ... Led the Sun Devils in tackles and interceptions in 1968.

John Rauch: Quarterback Georgia, 1945-48
Started all 45 games of his college career. ... In 1946 led Georgia to an 11-0 season, finishing No. 3 in the AP poll. ... Most Valuable Player in the SEC as a senior in 1948. ... Was college football's all-time passing leader when he graduated, throwing for 4,044 yards.

Dan Ross: Tight end Northeastern, 1975-78
First Northeastern player inducted into the Hall of Fame. ... Ross set school records for single-season receptions (68), career receptions (153), single-season receiving yards (988) and career receiving yards (2,343).

Barry Sanders: Tailback Oklahoma State
Set 34 school records in winning the Heisman Trophy in 1988, rushing for 2,628 yards and scoring 37 touchdowns. ... Played behind Thurman Thomas for two years. ... In three years, Sanders had 3,797 yards and 55 touchdowns.

Bill Stromberg: Wide receiver Johns Hopkins, 1978-81
First Johns Hopkins player inducted into the Hall of Fame. ... Set school and NCAA Division III career records for receptions (258), receiving yards (3,776) and touchdowns (39). ... Twice led the nation in receiving and twice was named Middle Atlantic Conference MVP. ... Had 19 games where he had more than 100 receiving yards.

Joe Theismann: Quarterback Notre Dame, 1968-70
Finished second to Stanford's Jim Plunkett in Heisman Trophy balloting in 1970. ... Compiled a 20-3-2 record as a starter, throwing for 4,411 yards and 31 touchdowns. ... Set school records for passing yards in a game (526), season (2,429) and TD passes in a season (16).

Roger Wehrli: Defensive back Missouri, 1966-68
A two-time All-Big Eight player and defensive player of the year in 1968. ... Wehrli still holds school records for punt returns (92), and yards gained on punt returns in a game (156), season (478) and career (1,062). ... Had seven interceptions in 1968.

COACHES

Tom Beck: Illinois Benedictine, 1970-74; Elmhurst, 1976-83; Grand Valley State, 1985-90

Posted a 137-52-1 career record. ... After Benedictine had 18 straight losing seasons, he led the Eagles to a 37-21-1 record. ... After Elmhurst had only two winning seasons in 23 years, he led the Bluejays to a 50-22 record and two conference titles. ... Took over an 0-10 Grand Valley State team, led them to a 50-18 record and two conference titles.

Doug Dickey: Tennessee, 1964-69; Florida, 1970-78

Career record of 104-58-6, a .637 winning percentage. ... Tennessee was eight years removed from its last eight-win season when Dickey arrived. After a 4-5-1 start, he led the Vols to five straight seasons of eight wins or more. Led the Vols to two SEC championships. ... Posted a 58-43-2 record at Florida, leading the Gators to four bowl appearances.

Hayden Fry: Southern Methodist, 1962-72; North Texas State, 1973-78; Iowa, 1979-1998

A career record of 232-178-10, retiring 10th on the all-time list for wins. ... In 1966, he led the Mustangs to their first Southwest Conference title in 18 years. Was 143-89-6 in 20 seasons at Iowa, guiding the Hawkeyes to 14 bowl appearances, including three Rose Bowls.

Charlie Richard: Baker, 1980-90, 1992-94

Coaching record of 123-28-1, an .813 winning percentage. ... In 14 seasons, he guided the Wildcats to at least a share of 11 conference and 10 playoff appearances. ... Baker's teams were ranked in the NAIA Top 25 poll for 128 consecutive weeks at the end of the 1994 season. Died of a heart attack in 1994.

Dick Strahm: Findlay, 1975-98

He had a record of 183-46-5 with 22 winning seasons at Findlay. ... Led Findlay to four NAIA national championships. ... He was a four-time NAIA coach of the year.

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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