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News Nuggets, 12.19.05
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

C-USA Basketball Standings, Scores & Schedule

Conference USA Postseason Bowl Scoreboard

Thompson caught up in Spurrier staff shakeup

The status of former East Carolina coach John Thompson as an assistant coach at South Carolina is in limbo as Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier begins a makeover of his staff.

Spurrier said Friday that Thompson, the team's co-defensive coordinator this season, was on a leave of absence and would not be with South Carolina (7-4) for its Independence Bowl matchup with Missouri on Dec. 30.

"He's still officially listed as one of our coaches," Spurrier said. "We're not looking for a replacement right now."

Forced out at ECU after the Pirates nosedived to a 3-20 record during his 2003-04 tenure, Thompson was among the first staffers hired after Spurrier took the South Carolina job last year.

Thompson shared the coordinator's title with Tyrone Nix, but called the Gamecocks' defensive signals for the first several games of the season.

As the team's defense lagged, Spurrier turned defensive play calling over to Nix and South Carolina went on to win five straight, including landmark wins over Tennessee and Florida.

Nix was recently promoted to assistant head coach.

Spurrier didn't discuss details of Thompson's time away.

"We'll see where it leads into January and go from there," Spurrier said.

Thompson's other assignment as inside linebackers coach will go to Ron Cooper, USC's outside linebackers coach.

Spurrier also announced the hiring of longtime Duke assistant Fred Chatham as tight ends coach and promoted graduate assistant Robert Gillespie to running backs coach.

Chatham spent 17 seasons at Duke, surviving four coaching changes. Spurrier, then Duke coach, brought Chatham to the Blue Devils in 1989 in time for the team's last Atlantic Coast Conference title.

The Gamecocks opened bowl practice on Saturday.

From staff and wire reports

Bowl tied to ECU football lore changes its name

The annual bowl game in which East Carolina made its most prominent postseason appearance will have a new name in 2006, when the Atlanta-based Peach Bowl becomes the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

The fast-food restaurant chain, headquartered in Atlanta, became a title sponsor of the bowl in 1997, and its name will become the sole one associated with the game beginning next season, joining the growing number of postseason games that have gone with corporate names to increase revenue.

When East Carolina defeated N.C. State in the New Year's Day 1992 Peach Bowl, the teams secured a unique place in the game's history — playing in the final football game in the since-demolished Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in front of the largest crowd to that date in the bowl's history (59,322).

ECU, then a I-A independent, vaulted into the Top Ten after storming back from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Wolfpack 37-34. The 11-1 Pirates were No. 9 in that season's final Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls.

Established in 1968, the Peach Bowl moved to the Georgia Dome in 1993.

Peach Bowl officials said the new arrangement includes a significant increase in Chick-fil-A's financial support and a multiyear extension of the sponsorship deal.

"This new agreement with our partners at Chick-fil-A will guarantee the continued growth and success of our game and allow us to make huge strides in elevating the already prominent status of this bowl game," Peach Bowl president Gary Stokan said.

For Chick-fil-A, the deal ensures that its name will be included in any mention of the game. Company officials were troubled that many media outlets left out their brand and simply referred to the game as the Peach Bowl, even though Chick-fil-A is part of the official name.

"Chick-fil-A is completely committed to making our sponsorship of the Chick-fil-A Bowl the most significant marketing initiative we have around college athletics," said Steve Robinson, the company's senior vice president of marketing. "As Chick-fil-A grows nationally as a chain, our goal is to clearly communicate our brand in a meaningful way, and we believe the Chick-fil-A Bowl will be a national platform for that effort."

The company dropped its sponsorship of an Atlanta-area LPGA golf tournament after this year's event, deciding to focus its marketing on college athletics.

The 38-year-old Peach Bowl is following the trend in postseason games, which began in 1990 when the Sun Bowl became the first to go totally corporate with the John Hancock Bowl. This season, seven of 28 bowls games are named after a sponsoring company (though not the Sun, which went back to its original name in 1994).

The final Peach Bowl with the current name will be Dec. 30, pitting ninth-ranked Miami and No. 10 Louisiana State in the only non-BSC matchup of two Top 10 teams. Bowl officials already have announced their ninth straight sellout and a record payout of $2.4 million for the game, which matches teams from the Southeastern and Atlantic Coast conferences.

"There is no doubt that this bowl is where it is today because of Chick-fil-A," Stokan said. "And there is also no doubt that this new agreement will set the Chick-fil-A Bowl down a path ensuring its position on the top tier of bowl games in the country."

From staff and wire reports

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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