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News Nuggets, 08.20.04
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Jacksonville beats Charlotte for ACC title bout

JACKSONVILLE, FL — The Atlantic Coast Conference chose Jacksonville on Thursday to host its first two championship games.

The first game will be played Dec. 3, 2005, at Alltel Stadium, and is expected to earn the revamped conference about $6 million.

The ACC added the game as part of its expansion to 12 teams; Miami and Virginia Tech are joining the conference this year, and Boston College will join next year.

The conference has the option to renew the contract for another two years, ACC commissioner John Swofford said in a teleconference from Greensboro.

"Alltel Stadium and the city of Jacksonville will provide our schools with not only an outstanding facility in which to play, but also an enthusiastic community that has always embraced college football," Swofford said.

ACC faculty representatives unanimously chose Jacksonville over Charlotte in a telephone conference call Thursday morning.

Swofford refused to discuss the amount of money pledged by Jacksonville. He said the city's financial bid, its sports facilities and its long association with the ACC and the Gator Bowl were factors in the decision. The Gator Bowl typically hosts an ACC team for its New Year's Day game.

Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton accepted the offer on behalf of the city. He estimated the game will put $50 million in the city economy because of out-of-town guests staying at hotels and eating at restaurants.

"We have always had a special spot in our hearts for college football, as any Gator Bowl or Florida-Georgia participant can tell you," Peyton said. "We will give a warm welcome to the fans, and we look forward to working with the ACC and the Gator Bowl Association to build another great football tradition here."

The Gator Bowl Association will run the game for the city, which is not charging the ACC for use of Alltel Stadium.

Peyton said getting a Super Bowl and regularly hosting NFL and college football games proves that Jacksonville knows how to put on a big event.

The ACC title game winner earns a spot in the Bowl Championship Series.

Gator Bowl president Rick Catlett said the decision came down to stadium size. Charlotte's stadium is privately owned and seats about 73,000. Alltel Stadium is owned by the city and seats 77,497.

Catlett sweetened the city's initial bid by guaranteeing a sellout. Based on the number of seats and league-established ticket prices, the financial guarantee is $5.9 million, compared to $5.3 million.

Billikens basketball books trip to 'Paradise'

ST. LOUIS — The Saint Louis University department of athletics today has announced a 2004-05 non-conference basketball schedule featuring road dates at Gonzaga and Iowa along with an early-season appearance at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. The Billikens will face eight teams that earned postseason bids last spring.

"Between our Conference USA schedule and our non-conference schedule, the level of competition is high," said Billikens head coach Brad Soderberg. "Our goal every year is to create a schedule that will be respected on Selection Sunday. While we may not have that top five team in the mix this year, the overall quality of our opponents is stronger than last year."

Saint Louis opens the season in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, Nov. 19-22. The Paradise Jam field includes Southeastern Conference member Arkansas and perennial Big South contender Winthrop, which has been an NCAA participant four of the past six seasons, along with 2004 NIT participants Austin Peay and Troy State. One more team is expected to be added to the field.

The Billikens' regular-season home opener at Savvis Center is Sat., Nov. 27, against Mid-Continent Conference member Oral Roberts. After facing the Golden Eagles, the Bills host 2004 NIT entrants Hawai'i and UW-Milwaukee back-to-back on Sat., Dec. 4, and Tue., Dec. 7.

Saint Louis makes its visit to 2004 NCAA Tournament No. 2 seed Gonzaga on Sat., Dec. 11. The Zags have won the West Coast Conference regular-season or postseason tournament championship for seven consecutive seasons.

After the trip to Spokane, the Bills return home to entertain Oakland (Mich.) and 2004 NCAA participant Dayton on Wed., Dec. 15, and Sat., Dec. 18, respectively. The Flyers were the 2004 Atlantic 10 Western Division champions and have reached the NCAA Tournament in three of the past four seasons.

The Billikens have back-to-back dates with regional rivals Southern Illinois on Tue., Dec. 21, in Carbondale and Southeast Missouri State on Wed., Dec. 29, at Savvis. The Salukis are the Missouri Valley Conference three-time defending regular-season champions and have received three straight NCAA Tournament at-large berths. Re-named the Red Hawks, SEMO is a challenger in the Ohio Valley Conference.

After defeating Iowa in an NIT first-round game at Dayton last season on New Year's Eve, the Billikens hope to handle the Hawkeyes again on Fri., Dec. 31, this time in Iowa City. The game is a rematch of SLU's last-second first-round NIT triumph over the Iowa last spring.

The Billikens' final non-conference game is with Indiana-Purdue/Fort Wayne in mid-February. The game will be played on either Feb. 14 or 16, depending upon the C-USA schedule.

Saint Louis played a challenging schedule last season with its schedule strength rated 56th in the RPI. The Bills were 19-13 overall and 9-7 in C-USA, tying Louisville for sixth overall in the 14-team league. The Billikens advanced to the second round of the 2004 NIT before being eliminated by Notre Dame.

The Billikens will play two exhibition games at Savvis Center on Fri., Nov. 5, against Missouri-St. Louis and Sat., Nov. 15, against Truman State.

UConn coach nabbed in vice sting

HARTFORD — Clyde Vaughan, an assistant basketball coach at Connecticut, was among more than a dozen people arrested Wednesday in a prostitution sting run by Hartford police.

Vaughan was charged with patronizing a prostitute and interfering with police after authorities said he tried to pay an undercover officer $10 for oral sex. Police said he struggled with officers when he learned he was part of a sting.

Vaughan, who will be entering his third year as an assistant for the defending national champions, was released on $2,500 bail.

A graduate and former player at Pittsburgh, Vaughan was an assistant at South Florida for three years and at Long Beach State for seven years before coming to UConn.

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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