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News Nuggets, 05.04.05
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Charlotte center Iti bolting after sophomore season

Less than two years after his much-heralded arrival in the Charlotte basketball program, Martin Iti announced his intention to leave the 49ers after a pair of seasons in which he produced mixed results.

``I enjoyed my time and had a good experience,'' Iti said. ``Things just didn't work out.''

The school's Web site includes a career profile of Iti that describes the 7-foot center as the highest-rated recruit ever to sign with the 49ers. He inked with Charlotte after starring at Durham's Mt. Zion Academy.

49ers head coach Bobby Lutz indicated in a news release that Iti plans to transfer. The release did not say to which school he will transfer.

Iti started 27 of 29 games for Charlotte last season and averaged 5.0 points and 4.0 rebounds. He led the 49ers with 48 blocked shots and 38 dunks.

A native of Sydney, Australia, Iti flirted with entering the NBA draft after his freshman year, participating in pre-draft camps. Because he did not hire an agent, he was able to return to Charlotte for his sophomore season.

``We appreciate all the contributions that Martin provided in his two years at Charlotte,'' Lutz said in a statement. ``He has been a very good teammate and will be missed. We wish Martin the very best in his future endeavors and well follow his career.''

Iti compiled a .512 field goal shooting percentage and averaged 18.2 minutes of playing time last season for the 49ers.

He was a Conference USA all-freshman selection the previous season before declaring for and then withdrawing from the NBA draft.

Compiled from staff and wire reports and a Charlotte Athletics release.

New bowl has sponsor, draws C-USA support

San Diego's second postseason college football game, coordinated by the group that manages the Holiday Bowl, will be called the Poinsettia Bowl and be sponsored by the San Diego County Credit Union.

Holiday Bowl officials said last week that they expect the Poinsettia Bowl to produce approximately $20 million annually during what traditionally is the slowest week of the year for the San Diego area's tourism industry.

The Poinsettia Bowl, licensed last month by the NCAA, will be played Dec. 22 at Qualcomm Stadium. It will be run by the same officials who will then stage the Holiday Bowl the following week on Dec. 29.

The Poinsettia Bowl will match a team from the Mountain West Conference against an at-large team. The bowl has received support from the Western Athletic Conference, Conference USA and Navy.

The Poinsettia Bowl was the second choice in a poll that named the Holiday Bowl in 1978. The nation's biggest poinsettia producer, Ecke Ranch, is in northern San Diego County.

Report: ACC strikes silent deal to settle case

Approximately $5 million has been quietly paid to settle a legal battle initiated by the Connecticut attorney general in response to the Atlantic Coast Conference's raid on the Big East Conference, a Connecticut newspaper is reporting.

Under terms of the settlement, Big East members Connecticut, Rutgers, Pittsburgh and West Virginia will apparently each receive about $1 million with an additional $1 million dollars going into the Big East's coffers to offset what would have been an exit fee assessed against Boston College for its impending departure from the Big East for the ACC.

Miami and Virginia Tech bolted the Big East and joined the ACC last year and Boston College has accepted an invitation to join the ACC this July.

The original lawsuit, filed in 2003, named the ACC, Miami and Boston College as defendants, accusing the parties of "a backroom conspiracy" to expand and enrich the ACC at the expense of the four Big East Schools.

The proceedings had been scheduled for a September trial until the parties agreed to mediation.

The developments were reported Wednesday night on the Web site of the Hartford (CT) Courant, which noted that it had not been able to determine the exact amount of the settlement or how its cost was shared between the ACC, Miami and Boston College.

Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal, reported the paper, indicated in a statement that the parties to the settlement had agreed to not "alert the media of this settlement" or hold a "press conference or briefing."

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.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007 12:23 PM