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News Nuggets, 09.14.05
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Dye headlines ECU's Hall of Fame Class of 2005

Three months after the College Football Hall of Fame said it would enshrine Pat Dye, East Carolina has announced the former Pirate football coach will also be inducted into its Hall of Fame.

Dye, a protégé of Alabama coaching legend Paul "Bear" Bryant, will be inducted into ECU's Hall along with ex-Pirate athletes Gail Sykes-Clayton, Larry "Pumpsie" Crayton and Latonya Hargrove.

The official ceremony will take place Oct. 7 in conjunction with ECU's annual Hall of Fame/Letterwinners' Banquet at Harvey Hall inside the Murphy Center. The four inductees will also be recognized at halftime of the East Carolina-Rice football game the following night.

During Dye's six years as head football coach (1974-79), ECU compiled a record of 48-18-1, winning at least seven games each season and capturing nine victories in 1976 and 1978. Dye directed the Pirates to a Southern Conference championship in 1977 and an Independence Bowl victory in 1978.

After departing ECU, Dye served a one-year stint at Wyoming before taking over at Auburn, where he led the Tigers to a number of Southeastern Conference championships and became one of college football's most prominent coaches during a tenure that lasted from 1981-92.

Clayton, who played golf as an individual alongside the men's team from 1968-71, was one of only six golfers to be named to the first Women's Intercollegiate All-America golf team in 1969. She enrolled at ECU during the fall semester of 1968 after winning the National Intercollegiate Championship as an individual that same year. While at ECU, she competed in an LPGA event in Raleigh and was the low amateur. After graduating, she continued to play competitively and won consecutive Ohio State Women's Championships in 1975 and '76.

Crayton earned three varsity letters as a pitcher on the Pirate baseball team from 1959-61 and finished his career with a record of 26-4, a winning percentage of .867. His 26 career victories rank as seventh most in school history. Despite foregoing his senior season to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals, Crayton struck out a school record 330 batters during his three-year career and fanned 119 batters as a junior in 1961, which still stands as an ECU single season mark. He helped lead the Pirates to the 1961 NAIA National Championship, where he was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Hargrove finished her career as the fourth-leading scorer in the history of ECU women's basketball with 1,532 points. A two-time first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association player, she earned CAA Player-of-the-Year honors in 1991 and was voted to the league's all-decade team in 1995, representing the league's first 10 years of existence. She still ranks among the school's all-time top 10 in rebounds (4th/815), field goal percentage (2nd/.529), blocked shots (3rd/87) and steals (5th/178).

Established in 1974, the ECU Athletics Hall of Fame will have 114 members with the addition of the new inductees. To be eligible for selection, a person must not have been connected with the University in the capacity to which the nominee is being elected for a minimum of 10 academic calendar years.

Ophelia shutters ECU; dormitories remain open

East Carolina administrators announced Tuesday that the university will be closed today and classes cancelled due to the threat of severe weather related to Hurricane Ophelia.

Only ECU employees required to maintain basic university operations are expected to report to work today, noted the announcement.

ECU School of Medicine clinical staff are instructed to call 744-5080 or 1-800-745-5181 for specific instructions.

ECU Transit information can be obtained by calling ECU-BUS1 or by visiting www.transit.ecu.edu.

School officials urged that state and personal vehicles parked in low-lying areas should be moved to higher ground, especially those parked in the lower College Hill Drive area and the lower Minges Coliseum lot because of the risk of the heightened risk of flooding in those areas.

Residence Halls will remain open, said the announcement, which indicated that updated information would be issued after 3 p.m. today unless conditions warrant an earlier announcement.

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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