News Nuggets, 09.30.04
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NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...
Previous Day Nuggets...
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Compiled from staff reports
and electronic dispatches
Deja Vu ECU? Florida A&M prez
fired amidst turmoil
PREVIOUS NUGGETS |
09.29.04: Herd
trying to head off worst start in decades ... C-USA
standings, scoreboard, schedule & TV ... AP college football
poll
...
More... |
09.28.04: Bearcat
sack artist honored for disrupting Pirates ... C-USA teams
pepper preseason hoops poll
...
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09.27.04: No Nuggets posted
because of technical issues. |
09.26.04: Gamecocks
formally unveil "Pops" in win over Troy ... Major football,
baseball changes under study
...
More... |
09.25.04: Duke
dealing with meager home crowds, QB issues ... Bush inks
legislation targeting shady agents
...
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09.24.04: NCAA
gives thumbs up to South Carolina's "Pops" ... Imperfect
Miami manages win at Houston ... Hula Bowl's future in
question
...
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09.23.04: Pirates
order up heavy hoops menu ... Miami seeks win and new
recruits in Houston
...
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09.22.04: 'Pack,
Pirates in opposite BCA tourney brackets ... Knight
criticizes Olympic team's priorities ... Bowden Bowl again
pivotal for Clemson coach
...
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09.21.04: USM
turns to former stars to fill athletics positions ... Tigers
take two of league's weekly awards ... UH students get more
ducats for ESPN game
...
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09.20.04: C-USA
standings, scoreboard, schedule & TV ... Associated Press
college football poll ... USM, Cal reschedule Ivan-delayed
game ... Cowboys in party mode after long skid ends
...
More... |
09.19.04: Frogs
to collaborate with European reality TV show ...
Historically black schools get showcase game ... Cal under
the gun to fund stadium upgrades ... Legislation takes aim
at sleazy sports agents
...
More... |
09.18.04: Diamond
Pirates post 'Help Wanted' notice ... Stanford band's satire
finally goes too far ... Cincinnati vs. Syracuse: Preview of
the future ... Bulls poised for taste of BCS football ...
Wolfpack, Buckeyes try to live up to 2003 classic
...
More... |
09.17.04: Storm
refugees invited to FSU-UAB game on the house ... Coaches
ditch plan for 5th year of eligibility ... CSU cracks down
on alcohol in wake of death
...
More... |
09.16.04: Marshall
coach navigates hot water over remark ... Air Force locks in
DeBerry through 2009 ... Bowling Green football player dies
...
More... |
09.15.04: USM's
Bower blasts Cal handling of postponement ... More Ivan:
Tulane-Louisville game postponed ... Big bucks lure Hawaii
to Alabama in 2006
...
More... |
09.14.04: Ivan blows Southern Miss-Cal showdown off track ... Happy
days in Memphis over national ranking ... SMU, Texas A&M
agree to three-game series
...
More... |
09.13.04: C-USA
standings, scoreboard, schedule & TV ... AP Top 25: Memphis,
Louisville make the cut ... College football weekend: stars
& storylines
...
More... |
09.12.04: Southern
Miss bags big prey in Big 12 country ... Pitcher sues over
weight-training injury
...
More... |
09.11.04: Tulane football crisis turns into boon for program ...
Sooners licking chops over visiting Houston?
...
More... |
09.10.04: ECU
boomer Dougherty nominated for punting award ... Army's Ross
still fired up about coaching
...
More... |
09.09.04: Golden
Eagles in countdown mode for Nebraska ... ESPN branching out
with new ventures ... Tar Heels book trip to Maui
Invitational
...
More... |
09.08.04: It's
official: Holland the chosen one ... AP agrees: Holland the
chosen one ... Delayed start an unforgiving one for USM ...
Old skeptic Holtz goes positive
...
More... |
09.07.04: Storm-related
tragedy slams Bowden family ... Army AD Greenspan enlists
with Hoosiers
...
More... |
|
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In a move reminiscent of East
Carolina's recent rocky times within its administration, the president of
Florida's historically black public university was fired this week after a
tenure of little more than two-years marked by a dispute over the school's
football program and bookkeeping problems.
Florida A&M board of trustees voted 9-4
Tuesday to dismiss Fred Gainous effective Dec. 31. The board provided what
all agreed was a meaningless caveat — that he could keep the job if he wins
unanimous board support by then.
"We knew the job was dangerous when we
took it," Gainous said. "We thought we could make a difference. And I think
we have."
Gainous became president of the
13,000-student university in July 2002. His decision earlier this year to
delay moving the football program to NCAA Division I-A left a badly split
board and divided loyalties among the school's alumni.
William Muse was forced out as East
Carolina's chancellor in September 2003 in the wake of his oversight of a
series of hotly-contested firings and personnel moves that split the
school's supporters into warring factions.
Muse's ouster — which followed within
weeks of the pressure-accelerated departure of controversy-plagued former ECU AD Mike Hamrick in
a parallel career move to Nevada-Las Vegas — was brought to a head by
University of North Carolina System president Molly Broad soon after
questions were raised by a federal audit of the school's handling of grants.
Broad also cited ECU's hiring and firing practices under Muse as concerns.
Gov. Jeb Bush said he supported the
decision to remove Gainous, saying in a statement: "It is my sincere hope
that the interests of FAMU's students remain the school's number one
priority."
Trustees chairman James Corbin said
there would be a national search for a replacement. Trustee Barney Bishop
III, however, called the ouster "a railroad job."
"This agenda was manipulated to get the
result that they wanted," Bishop said.
Though Bishop said he feared the
decision would slow fund-raising efforts, a faculty member said it was time
for a change.
"Sooner or later, you can't continue to
say, 'Sorry I made a mistake," said William Tucker, president of the
university's chapter of the United Faculty of Florida. "Too much water had
gone under the bridge for the situation to be salvageable."
Among other problems, a 2003 review
found the school's construction budget was off by more than $3 million.
The rough ride at East Carolina began
to subside this summer with the appointment of new chancellor Steve Ballard
and his hiring this month of
Terry Holland as athletic director.
Marshall hangs on to break
into win column
HUNTINGTON, WV — Stan Hill and Jonathan
Goddard wouldn't let future Conference USA member Marshall slip to its worst
start in 35 years.
Hill, playing with elbow tendinitis and
a strained thumb on his throwing hand, threw three touchdown passes and
Marshall held off a late rally to beat Miami, Ohio 33-25 Wednesday night in
a Mid-American Conference showdown.
Marshall (1-3, 1-0 Mid-American
Conference) avoided its first 0-4 start since 1969 with the help of its
defense. The Thundering Herd, which next season will depart the MAC for
C-USA, sacked Josh Betts six times and converted three turnovers into
points.
Goddard had four sacks, recovered a
fumble and forced another.
Miami (2-3, 1-1) lost to Marshall for
the sixth time in seven meetings, the exception a 45-6 home win last year.
Hill sat out that game, missing the second half of the season with a knee
injury. On Wednesday, he beat Miami for the second time in Huntington.
Hill had first-quarter scoring passes
of 27 yards to Brad Bates and 16 yards to Josh Davis. He also had a 6-yarder
to Bates midway through the third quarter to put Marshall ahead 26-14.
Hill, who finished 23-of-37 for 184
yards, said having a week off after a 13-3 loss at No. 3 Georgia helped his
body recover. ``My arm felt a lot better,'' Hill said. ``My body was able to
heal.''
Betts, the league's top passer,
continued an up-and-down season as the heir to Ben Roethlisberger, now the
Pittsburgh Steelers' starting quarterback.
Betts, 14-of-23 for 144 yards, was
without his favorite target, Martin Nance, who left the game with a leg
injury on Miami's second series and did not return.
Betts was intercepted twice and fumbled
three times, losing two. ``How can you expect to win a game like that?''
Betts said. ``I take responsibility for four of those. I need to step up and
do something.''
He almost did, nearly bringing Miami
back from a 33-14 deficit.
Betts scored on a 1-yard run midway
through the fourth quarter and threw for a 2-point conversion to Ryan Busing
to make it 33-25.
Joey Card intercepted Hill on the next
play from scrimmage and returned it 26 yards to the Marshall 16. But Mike
Smith couldn't handle Betts' pitch and the ball went through the end zone
for a touchback.
Betts got another chance with 3 minutes
left, marching Miami to the Marshall 33. Jamus Martin sacked Betts on third
down and Betts threw an incompletion to end the threat.
Pessimism wanes at SMU after long skid ends
DALLAS — Future Conference USA member
Southern Methodist is feeling confident after breaking a 15-game losing
streak, but it may be a little early to say the Mustangs have turned things
around.
Sure, they looked impressive in a 36-13
victory over San Jose State on Saturday that snapped the nation's
second-longest losing streak.
But San Jose State was the one team SMU
was expected to beat. The Spartans were picked to finish last in the Western
Athletic Conference and the team's only win this season came against I-AA
Morgan State.
This week SMU (1-3, 1-0) will get a
much bigger test at No. 23 Boise State. The Broncos (4-0, 1-0) have the
nation's longest winning streak at 15 in a row and their 21 consecutive wins
at home is also tops in the country.
"We are still not where we want to be,"
SMU athletic director Jim Copeland said. "The next step is to win a game we
are not supposed to or to win a close game."
While coach Phil Bennett knows beating
San Jose State doesn't mean his team is ready to compete against a WAC power
like Boise State, he is encouraged.
"There are a lot of things that we need
to improve on," said Bennett, who is 4-24 with the Mustangs. "But I saw some
things (against San Jose State) that give me a lot of hope. I've told the
players that we are just looking for improvement from week to week."
It's been a while since there's been
hope at SMU, a one-time powerhouse that went 11-0-1 in 1982 and won 10 games
three times in early 1980s.
But then the NCAA shut down the program
for a year for rampant violations and the school voluntarily made it two to
clean up the program. Since coming back in 1989, SMU has had just one
winning season, going 6-5 in 1997.
Last year the Mustangs were 0-12, and
this year hasn't started much better. SMU lost its first three games by a
combined score of 130-20.
There are some bright spots for the
Mustangs, and all of the bright spots will be particularly needed next
season when SMU departs the WAC for C-USA.
The Mustangs have three capable
quarterbacks. The position has been a revolving door in recent years, after
the team lost one quarterback to a rock band, another to an accounting job
and a third who quit last year after being benched.
Junior college transfer Tony Eckert got
his first start against San Jose State in place of injured starter Chris
Phillips. He was 8-of-15 for 91 yards and led the team to touchdowns on its
first two possessions.
Even though the team has struggled on
offense, averaging 14 points and 298 yards, that's actually an improvement.
Last year the Mustangs were ranked last in Division I total offense, with
just 260 yards and 11 points a game.
The 36 points in last week's win was
the most by an SMU team since a 42-35 win over UTEP in November 2002.
A lot of credit goes to new offensive
coordinator Rusty Burns, who helped Cincinnati to a C-USA championship in
2002 as well as school records for passing yards, total offense and points.
He implemented a spread offense, but
was disappointed that no SMU quarterback had thrown a touchdown pass in the
first three games. That changed against San Jose State as Eckert and backup
Jerad Romo threw one each.
Foy Munlin, a transfer from Texas Tech,
finally got a running game going for SMU. His 116 yards against San Jose
State were more than he managed in SMU's other three games combined.
Bennett credits his players' youth as a
factor in their ability to bounce back from 22 months without a win.
"Our guys are so young that they always
feel like they have a chance," he said. "This has been some tough times, but
we've got some eager guys that believe in what we are doing."
Throughout the losing streak, SMU
officials stood behind Bennett and they are still convinced he is the man to
lead the Mustangs back.
"Our goal is not to win one game,"
Copeland said. "Our goal is to win a championship. We're still a work in
progress, but I know that Coach Bennett is the key to us turning things
around."
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
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