News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

08.25.04: Inter-division slate pairs ECU with Rice, SMU, Tulsa ... LSU transplant named starting QB at Tulane ... More...

08.24.04: College football goes on after offseason of upheaval ... Scandalized UCF turns to tarnished coach for discipline ... More...

08.23.04: ECU hit-man Moore in chase for elite award ... Smooth sailing to BCS bowl for West Virginia? ... More...

08.22.04: USM announces cutoff date for Huskers, Tide tickets ... Terps extend coach's pact into next decade ... More...

08.21.04: Hurricane warning in effect for ACC country ... NCAA shuts out Globetrotters ... DePaul regional tickets going, going, gone ... More...

08.20.04: Jacksonville beats Charlotte for ACC title bout ... Billikens basketball books trip to 'Paradise' ... UConn coach nabbed in vice sting ... More...

08.19.04: Nevels gets nod as Army QB ... Expanded ACC hoops slate upends rivalries ... Pinkie injury fells Tar Heel tackle for season ... More...

08.18.04: Thundering Herd looking for one last MAC title ... Carolinas teams dot I-AA poll ... More...

08.17.04: Revved up WVU to ride QB's legs ... Billikens local TV slates ECU volleyball match ... More...

08.16.04: Army goes retro with football uniforms ... Wiser Price on mission of redemption at UTEP ... More...

08.15.04: Philly school still shopping for basketball coach ... Doping scandal questions spur action at NCSU ... Usual suspects lead Top 25; WVU No. 10 ... More...

08.14.04: Pirate heroes spanning generations headed for Hall ... Promising football recruit killed in shooting ... More...

08.13.04: ECU puts individual game tickets up for grabs ... Coaching carousel primed for drama in 2004 ... BCS has no corner on College Football Hall ... More...

08.12.04: Moore among four region players on Lombardi list ... MAC's success leads to new pact for commish ... More...

David Bell, a forward at La Salle the last two seasons, has transferred to East Carolina.

The 6-foot-7 Bell averaged 5.8 points and 2.5 rebounds last season at La Salle under coach Billy Hahn, who resigned in July after two of his former players were charged with raping a 19-year-old woman. John Giannini was introduced as La Salle's new coach on Monday.

Pirates head coach Bill Herrion, whose name had come up in recent weeks as a potential candidate to take over the LaSalle program, said Wednesday that Bell will sit out the upcoming season before playing for East Carolina in 2005-06.

"He's getting an opportunity to restart his career," Herrion said. "He played more around the basket at La Salle, but he's more of a perimeter player."

LaSalle is located in Philadelphia, where Herrion served a successful stint as head coach at Drexel before assuming the reigns of ECU's basketball program in 1999.

Sirius, a subscription-based satellite radio service with nationwide coverage, has announced that Saturday's Black Coaches Association Classic pitting Virginia Tech against Southern California will be first in a series of college football games it will broadcast this season.

The BCA had originally planned to showcase a nationally-televised matchup between East Carolina and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg's Lane Stadium, but the organization announced last December it would stage a game between the Hokies and Trojans instead.

The broadcast of the game, which will be played at FedEx Stadium in Landover, MD, will begin at 7:45 p.m., with Trojan announcers Pete Arbogast and Paul McDonald describing the action. Sirius is USC's official satellite radio partner.

Sirius, which has also signed a pact to broadcast an array of NFL games each Sunday during football season, indicated in a news release that it will carry an extensive package of college football games. The company noted it will announce additional games shortly.

Virginia Tech is in its first year as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. USC, ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Preseason Poll, is a member of the PAC-10.