News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

11.19.05: Falwell cleans house to jumpstart drive to I-A ... C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.18.05: Regional cable network strikes deal with CSTV ... C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.17.05: NCAA wraps up investigation of South Carolina ... C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.16.05: Fall signing period nets tall timber for Pirates ... Tigers, 'Cocks to kiss and make up before game ...
C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.15.05: Calipari primes young Tigers for Preseason NIT ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.14.05: College Football Headliners: Stars & Storylines ... Updated C-USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.13.05: ECU tested by Eagles in exhibition hoops victory ... Updated C-USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.12.05: Pirate basketball edging toward the limelight ... ECU in league's upper tier in football attendance ... C-USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.11.05: Tangle with Titans headlines ECU baseball slate ... C-USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.10.05: East Carolina football hire rates a "B" from BCA ... C-USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.09.05: Southern Miss escapes Huntington with OT win ... Updated C-USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.08.05: Holland beefs up rivalries with Wolfpack, Hokies ... ECU's Lee makes semifinal cut for Groza Award ... C-USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.07.05: College Football Headliners: Stars & Storylines ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.06.05: Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.05.05: Litke: Politically correct or not, blacks run faster ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.04.05: Throat-slash gesture nets trouble for Callahan ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.03.05: Green Wave's road trip to Navy on the house ... Tulane coming home for C-USA hoops schedule ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.02.05: Fledgling FIU program lands series with Miami ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.01.05: Fledgling FIU program lands series with Miami ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.31.05: College Football Headliners: Stars & Storylines ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.30.05: C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.29.05: Wake football team loses four to suspension ...
C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.28.05: UTEP QB Palmer gaining his own slice of respect ... C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.27.05: Renewal of USM-NCSU series set for television ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.26.05: Pirate basketball set for lights, camera, action ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.25.05: Stokes' first squad opening act for Homecoming ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.24.05: College Football Headliners: Stars & Storylines ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.23.05: C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.22.05: C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.21.05: ECU injury report a mixed bag for U of M game ... NCAA tinkers with experimental basketball rules ... C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.20.05: Storm-weary Tulane blown off course again ... Video company repents for N.C. State incident ... C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

(Through games of Saturday, Nov. 19, 2005)

CONFERENCE USA STANDINGS

EAST DIVISION

TEAM                  C-USA ALL
Central Florida        7-1   8-3
Southern Miss          4-3   5-5
Memphis                4-4   5-5
UAB                    3-4   5-5
East Carolina          3-4   4-6
Marshall               3-4   4-6

WEST DIVISION

TEAM                  C-USA ALL
Tulsa                  6-2   7-4
Texas-El Paso          5-2   8-2
Houston                3-4   5-5
Southern Methodist     3-4   4-6
Rice                   1-6   1-9
Tulane                 1-7   2-8

SCORES

[C-USA teams in bold; ECU opponents in red.]

SUNDAY, NOV. 13

Houston 27, Southern Mississippi 24

SATURDAY, NOV. 19

   Tulsa 38, Tulane 14
   Central Florida 31, Rice 28
   East Carolina 34, Marshall 29
   Southern Methodist 29, Houston 24
   UAB 35, Texas-El Paso 23
   Memphis 24, Southern Mississippi 22
   North Carolina 24, Duke 21

SCHEDULE

[C-USA teams in bold; ECU opponents in red.]

SATURDAY, NOV. 26

   UAB at East Carolina, 12:00 pm
   Tulane at Southern Mississippi, TBA
   Marshall at Memphis, 2:00 pm
   Texas-El Paso at Southern Methodist, 3:00 pm
   Rice at Houston, 4:00 pm
   Pittsburgh at West Virginia, 8:00 pm

LYNCHBURG, VA — The Rev. Jerry Falwell cleaned house at Liberty University's athletic department, firing the football coach and two top administrators while another resigned.

"For the past year we have been very unhappy with the direction of football here," Falwell said Friday in a phone interview with The Associated Press. "We have good men ... but we just have different philosophies of getting to where we want to go. ... We want to go I-A."

"We're winning in everything except in football," he added. "So we've taken a clean sweep."

Coach Ken Karcher's dismissal came two days before the Flames' final game at Norfolk State. Karcher, who is 21-45 in six years at Liberty and 1-9 this season, was given the news before practice Thursday. He declined comment.

Karcher was in the first year of a four-year contract. He signed an extension in December despite three losing seasons in his first five years.

Athletic director Thom Park resigned and two associate athletics directors were fired.

"We're not even playing par I-AA football here, so obviously we have to start over, and that's what we're doing," said Falwell, chancellor of the school he founded.

The school's athletic program lost $7.4 million in 2004, the biggest drain by any department on Liberty's overall budget.

Falwell said he already has talked to three head coaching candidates and plans to have the positions filled within two weeks.

"I'm 72," he told The News & Advance of Lynchburg. "I don't have much time to get the football program in the Top 20."

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.