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News Nuggets, 10.14.05
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Va. Tech ponies up bonanza for Beamer, staff

BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer has a new seven-year contract that will boost his annual salary from $1.4 million to $2 million and runs through 2012 season.

The deal has an option for three additional years.

``I am pleased and proud that this contract will enable Frank Beamer to conclude his coaching career at Virginia Tech,'' athletic director Jim Weaver said in a statement Thursday. ``He has done an outstanding job building this program and has proven himself to be one of the nation's elite coaches.''

The agreement also guarantees the 58-year-old Beamer, who is in his 19th season as Tech's coach, additional bonuses. His assistants also will receive substantial pay increases and performance-based annual raises.

Both Beamer and his assistants will receive a new bonuses for postseason appearances.

Officials had hoped to complete the deal before Virginia Tech's Sept. 4 opener at North Carolina State. Beamer had refused to agree to any new contract that didn't include raises for each of his nine full-time assistant coaches.

``I think we have the greatest staff in the country and I want to keep them,'' he said.

Beamer has built Virginia Tech from a perennial also-ran into a national power. He is 183-100-4 in his career, the third most victories of any active major college coach. In the past 12 seasons, Beamer's Hokies are 117-37 with 12 consecutive bowl appearances.

He led the Hokies to an Atlantic Coast Conference championship last season, their first in the ACC.

No. 3 Virginia Tech (6-0) is off this week and plays ACC rival Maryland on Oct. 20.

Lefty-inspired hoops tradition goes primetime

Find some space between the baseball playoffs and those college football rivalries. College basketball is officially back at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, or a little earlier if you want.

With new NCAA rules allowing those staging Midnight Madness to start three hours earlier in prime time for the fans' sake, college basketball practice really gets under way Friday night with plenty of fanfare.

Kentucky's Big Blue Madness will be the biggest show of the night with a record 23,000 tickets distributed for the event moved this year to Rupp Arena. How big a deal is the start of practice at Kentucky? The first 20,000 tickets were grabbed in 35 minutes.

Wildcats fans will break the record of the 21,700 who were in the Smith Center in 2003 when Roy Williams had his first practice at North Carolina.

The record won't last long, however.

Texas A&M is holding Maroon Madness in conjunction with its traditional Midnight Yell Practice, a tradition before home football games.

A court and baskets will be set up on one of the sidelines at Kyle Field, and a crowd between 25,000 and 30,000 is expected to see the Aggies in a real Midnight Madness.

``It should be a very unique experience, and it should be a lot of fun for everybody,'' Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie said. ``We talked about doing it last year but we didn't have a home football game to match it up with.''

Well, Oklahoma State is in College Station for a football game Saturday and that means those attending Midnight Yell Practice will have some hoops to watch as well.

Kansas' ``Late Night in the Phog'' will be a chance for the public to see renovations to Allen Fieldhouse, including a new floor and scoreboard.

George Washington will have the Harlem Globetrotters as part of ``Colonials Invasion.''

Midnight Madness was last a national television event in 1997. ESPN is bringing it back Friday night with five hours of coverage. Following a one-hour season preview show, five live, one-hour events will be shown from Memphis, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State and Oregon.

Midnight Madness was started in 1970 at Maryland by Lefty Driesell. In a demonstration of work ethic, he had them gather at 12:01 a.m., the first minute possible, to run a mile in the dark.

The idea, obviously, caught on in a big way. And with a little-noticed rule change, it even made it to prime time.

Conference USA standings, scores & schedule

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 12:28 PM