News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

08.30.05: Pirates set for reunions with Deacons, Seahawks

08.29.05: New home offers lavish new perks for Louisville

08.28.05: Wooden pulls out of Wooden Award ceremony

08.27.05: NCAA issues 'heads up' on new spearing rule ... Huggins ouster speeds up Cincy AD's departure

08.26.05: ECU's Moore sole Carolinas player on Butkus list ... New BCS voters panel already in for shakeup

08.25.05: Mayo's destination has well-worn path to ECU ... NCAA adds extra year to Gamecocks' probation

08.24.05: Transgression nets suspension for ECU's Flournoy ... Cincinnati will enter Big East without Huggins ... VPI poised to pony up to keep Beamer, staff

08.23.05: West Virginia announces halt to ECU ticket sales ... Polling company unveils official BCS voters list

08.22.05: Mountain West angling for clearer path to BCS

08.21.05: Associated Press preseason college football poll

08.20.05: Groh signs $1.7 million per year deal with UVa

08.19.05: Mountain West tidying up postseason deals

08.18.05: Talk 1070 touts Pirates, Panthers, new shows ... Fort Worth Bowl embraces Mountain West, TCU... NYC schools reap windfall from NCAA-NIT deal

IRVING, TX — The Tulane-Southern Mississippi game that was supposed to be played Sunday in Hattiesburg, MS, has been moved to the Saturday after Thanksgiving because of the problems caused by Hurricane Katrina.

``We have been in contact with the administrators for both universities and we all agree that the focus of our attention should be on the continued safety of the student-athletes, coaches and the lives of those affected by this storm,'' Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky said Tuesday. ``Playing a football game is not our highest priority at this time.''

Tulane and Southern Miss, both of which are members of C-USA, were scheduled to end their seasons Nov. 19. Now, their opener will become their finale on Nov. 26.

ESPN2, which was to carry Sunday's game, told the conference it will still try honoring those plans.

Tulane's football and women's soccer teams fled New Orleans on Sunday, making a 9 1/2 -hour bus ride to Jackson, MS. They've been practicing at Jackson State University, although the storm cut power to the campus Monday afternoon after battering Louisiana and heading east.

A pair of freshmen walk-ons with impressive offensive resumes have joined the East Carolina basketball team, first-year head coach Ricky Stokes announced Tuesday.

The addition of the newcomers, Nick Mattone and Jeff Robinson, increases the Pirates' pool of talent to 17 players, completing the team's 2005-06 roster.

Mattone, a 6-4 guard from Forestdale, MA, averaged 17.5 points per game at IMG Academy in Tampa a year ago. Prior to spending last year at the Florida prep school, he attended St. Andrews High School in Barrington, R., where he led the team to a conference championship as junior and averaged 15 ppg as a senior.

Robinson, a 6-3 guard from Lisle, IL, averaged 21.2 ppg and was named second-team all-state by the Chicago Sun Times. As a senior, he led his team to 25-7 overall record and a sectional championship.

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.