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News Nuggets, 01.21.05
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Ugly end to Gamecocks' football season gets uglier

COLUMBIA — Six current and former South Carolina football players were charged Thursday with stealing $18,000 worth of equipment from Williams-Brice Stadium last November.

Offensive lineman Woodly Telfort is charged with grand larceny, a felony. He admitted to investigators he took a $4,000 laptop, according to an arrest warrant.

Quarterbacks Syvelle Newton and Dondrial Pinkins have been charged with a misdemeanor, petty larceny, along with defensive lineman Freddy Saint-Preux and safety Rodriques Wilson.

Arrest warrants say all four players took action photos of themselves from the South Carolina locker room area of the stadium and have confessed to the theft.

A warrant is pending for a sixth player the school did not identify.

A total of $18,000 worth of computer and video equipment and framed photographs were taken from the stadium on Nov. 22, shortly after the Gamecocks were told they would not go to a bowl as punishment for an on-field brawl with Clemson.

``Regrettably, a few of our student-athletes made a very poor decision during the course of a frustrating situation, and they must now face the consequences,'' athletic director Mike McGee said.

Newton is a rising junior and started several games for South Carolina last year. Saint-Preux, who was injured much of this season and Telfort, who saw extensive play as a reserve in 2004, will be seniors next year and have already been suspended for the Gamecocks opener Sept. 1 against Central Florida because of their involvement in the brawl with Clemson.

All three will now be suspended at least until the charges are resolved, McGee said.

Along with criminal charges, Telfort, Newton, Pinkins and Saint-Preux will face disciplinary hearings from the university.

Wilson is no longer a student at South Carolina.

Telephone calls placed to four of the players were not answered; one player was not listed. They were expected to be arraigned in Richland County bond court Thursday evening.

New Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier said he will support the decisions of campus police and prosecutors as the case moves forward.

``Hopefully we'll never have a situation like this happen again,'' Spurrier said.

The three laptop computers and two video projectors taken have been returned, and most if not all of the 12 framed pictures that were missing are back, the school said.

Owls hang on in I-A while searching for league

PHILADELPHIA — Temple's football program will remain at the Division I-A level but will play without a conference next season, the school announced Thursday.

A 12-member task force has been studying the future of Temple football since the summer. It made the recommendation to the chairman of Temple's board of trustees, Howard Gittis.

``There are challenges ahead for Temple football, with the most pressing being a conference affiliation,'' Gittis said. ``We are confident that our football program will be part of a Division I-A conference in the near future.''

The Owls will play as an independent next season and are actively seeking conference affiliation. Temple was kicked out of the Big East for failing to meet minimum requirements for membership, most notably in attendance, facilities and fielding a competitive team.

The school could join the mid-major Mid-American Conference, though they played two MAC teams last year and lost big both times, 45-17 at Toledo and 70-16 against Bowling Green.

Temple tallied just 14 conference wins in 14 seasons in the Big East. The Owls went 2-9 last year under coach Bobby Wallace and haven't had a winning record since 1990. They haven't played in a bowl game since 1979.

Temple took steps in the last few years to improve the program. It built a state-of-the-art practice facility that opened in 2001 and reached a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles to play all home games at Lincoln Financial Field.

NSU breaks ground with hiring of white coach

NORFOLK — Pete Adrian has been hired as head football coach at Norfolk State.

Adrian, a defensive coordinator at Bethune-Cookman the past seven seasons, is the first white head coach of a revenue-producing sport at Norfolk State.

President Marie V. McDemmond said Adrian, with 35 years of experience in collegiate and professional football, ``brings the expertise to turn the Spartans into a winner.''

``I believe that NSU is a gold mine waiting to happen,'' Adrian said in a statement. He vowed to bring a winning tradition to the school, ``and hopefully a lot quicker than people think.''

Adrian, the Spartans' third head coach in four years, succeeds Willie Gillus, who was fired on Dec. 4 after a 2-19 season.

The school cited NCAA violations for his Gillus's dismissal.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from Associated Press and other sources. Copyright 2005 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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