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News Nuggets, 08.24.05
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Transgression nets suspension for Flournoy

With its opener against Duke less than two weeks away, the prospect of one of East Carolina's top defenders playing in that game or any other game has been thrown into doubt.

Senior linebacker-turned-safety Jamar Flournoy, the Pirates' third-leading tackler in 2004, has been suspended from the team for a breach of team rules, ECU head coach Skip Holtz announced Tuesday.

A press release from the school's athletic media relations office, citing Holtz, characterized the suspension as being "until further notice" and noted that Holtz would "discuss future options" with Flournoy during a scheduled meeting today.

Today is the first day of classes of ECU's fall semester.

Flournoy, who recorded 75 tackles last season, was beginning his second season with the Pirates after transferring from Hutchinson (KS) Community College. He opened preseason camp as the projected starter at free safety after moving from outside linebacker to the secondary during spring drills.

Cincinnati will enter Big East without Huggins

CINCINNATI — Bob Huggins' days as the Cincinnati Bearcats' basketball coach are down to one.

The volcanic coach who won more games than anyone else in Cincinnati history has been shown the door by an academically minded school president who doesn't like Huggins' history or philosophy.

The university sent Huggins an ultimatum Tuesday, ordering him to resign as coach or be fired at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Huggins was out of town when the ultimatum was faxed to his lawyer, giving him a 24-hour window to choose his exit.

Huggins returned to town Tuesday night, but didn't immediately make a decision.

School president Nancy Zimpher pointed to the history of poor graduation rates and player arrests during Huggins' 16-year stay at Cincinnati. Also, Huggins was convicted of drunken driving last year.

``We expect to recruit very strong students, both on the court and in the classroom,'' Zimpher said emphatically. ``We expect our coaches to be role models, and we expect our students to be role models. I will not apologize for setting high standards.''

Tensions between Huggins and Zimpher — two strong-willed people with conflicting views of athletics — have been building since Huggins' drunken driving conviction. The videotape of Huggins staggering through his field sobriety test was shown nationally, embarrassing the school.

The stakes escalated last May, when the school decided not to give Huggins an automatic contract extension. Without the roll-over provision, Huggins had only two years left, a lame-duck status that made it difficult to recruit.

Huggins' lawyer repeatedly approached the school about an extension this summer, but was rebuffed.

``We've been discussing with them for the last six or eight weeks an extension of the contract,'' lawyer Richard Katz said. ``It appeared he wasn't going to be able to fulfill the remaining two years of the contract because he couldn't recruit, he was running into obstacles at the university. It would not have been appropriate for that to continue.''

Zimpher was willing to let Huggins, 51, coach this season, the Bearcats' first in the Big East. She wasn't willing to give him anything more.

``It was in acknowledgment of his rich history here that we wanted to give him an opportunity to coach in the Big East and to have a wonderful sort of termination of his career at the University of Cincinnati,'' Zimpher said. ``Obviously that didn't turn out to be a viable option for him, but I'm optimistic about the future of our program.''

The short-term outlook is bleak. By waiting until less than two months before the start of the season, Zimpher left the Bearcats in chaos for their move into one of the toughest basketball conferences in the country.

Athletic director Bob Goin hasn't decided who'll be the interim coach. Whoever takes the job will be handling players who came to Cincinnati to play for someone else. Recruits won't be interested in the school until a new coach is hired after the 2005-06 season.

The basketball program could feel repercussions for years, but Zimpher said Huggins' removal would help the university in the long run. She noted that the school has been improving in national academic rankings.

``The only variable that we have stagnated on is our national reputation,'' Zimpher said, blaming the basketball program.

Huggins went 399-127 in 16 seasons at Cincinnati, rebuilding it into a nationally prominent program. His teams made 14 consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament, and reached the Final Four in 1992.

The program went on two years' probation in 1998 after the NCAA concluded there was a lack of institutional control.

VPI poised to pony up to keep Beamer, staff

Virginia Tech believes it recognizes a good thing when it sees it and is willing to back up that belief with money.

Tech has offered football coach Frank Beamer a new contract that would boost his average annual compensation from $1.3 million to more than $2 million for the next seven years.

``The university and myself believe that Coach Beamer is the one who built this program, and we absolutely want Coach Beamer to be here for the very rest of his career,'' athletic director Jim Weaver said Monday night on the weekly ``Hokie Hotline'' radio show.

Weaver said he hoped the deal could be completed before Virginia Tech's Sept. 4 opener at North Carolina State. The holdup is Beamer's refusal to agree to any new contract that doesn't include raises for each of his nine full-time assistant coaches.

``That's all I'm looking for,'' Beamer said Saturday. ``I don't need all the other stuff.''

Weaver said Beamer and his agent, Jimmy Sexton of Memphis, TN, asked him and other university officials to examine assistant coaches' salaries at other top programs and pay Beamer's aides accordingly. He said that analysis is in progress.

``I'm not sure when we'll get to the end of the line, but we're committed to getting there,'' Weaver said.

Beamer, 58, who is starting his 19th season as Tech's coach, signed his current contract in 2000.

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 12:27 PM