News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

06.25.06: Coal industry to sponsor Marshall-WVU series ... Mountaineers extend Rodriguez deal to 2012 ... Vols add non-league challenges

06.24.06: Del Conte takes reins as AD at Rice ... Contact at combine means fine for Emory ... UNCW aligns with adidas for shoes, uniforms

06.23.06: Witter starts professional ball with a flourish ... Big Ben's little sister commits to Sooners ... Wake Forest football recruit faces felony charges

06.22.06: Big Ten scores momentous television deals ... Former ECU diver Derr to coach at JMU ... Grizzlies turn to Tinkle on hardwood

06.21.06: Troth returns to the fold as ECU assistant ... College of Charleston, Herrion settle on buyout ... Another national award for Houston's Lincoln

06.20.06: ECU announces long-term pact with Nike ... Pirates release women's soccer schedule ... Three C-USA linemen on Outland Trophy list

06.19.06: USM-Memphis game shifts to Sunday for ESPN ... Tar Heels AD Baddour gets contract extension ... U.S. Women's open to have distinct Duke flavor

06.18.06: Rice rallies in its College World Series opener ... Houston's Lincoln gets 2006 Howser Trophy ... C-USA's top scorer backs away from NBA draft

06.17.06: ECU grad Millican wins N.C. women's amateur ... College World Series: Tigers win in comeback ... LSU's Carter sweeps national track honors

06.16.06: Ex-ECU assistant named Campbell grid coach ... Pirate softball ace Keli Harrell named All-State .. Report: Back woes nix Redick draft workouts

06.15.06: Camels expected to name football coach ... Rice leads C-USA contingent on A-A team ... K-State, UCLA announce football dates

06.14.06: ECU's Smith among 7 C-USA All-Americans ... Duke star Redick charged with drunk driving ... UAB selects Shoop to guide baseball program

06.13.06: Owls carrying C-USA banner to Omaha ... ECU's Ray shares Coastal Plain League honor ... Terms of Huggins' K-State contract reported

06.12.06: ECU ticket office temporarily relocates ... Irish safety's ring debut: Bell rung quickly ... Miners seventh in NCAA men's track

06.11.06: Miami loses Berry- recruited QB to baseball ... Clemens award finalists have C-USA flavor ... Buckeyes announce series with Toledo

06.10.06: ECU network announces blowtorch flagships ... "The Buzz" remains in Pirate broadcast lineup ... Former LSU athlete turned pro wrestler dies

06.09.06: ECU's "Voice" revving up for benefit "Ride" ... Pirates bow out at NCAA track & field meet ... ODU makes plans to add I-AA football

06.08.06: MLB Draft: Smith selected by A's, Mathews by Giants ... ECU's Hunt, Krug take Scholar Athlete honors ... NCAA nixes course credits from 'diploma mills'

06.07.06: ECU's track elite at NCAA meet in Sacramento ... Super region pairings pit Rice against Sooners ... Cleared USC quarterback says he's rejoined team

06.06.06: NCAA change on grad transfers gets reaction ... Duke reinstates men's lacrosse with conditions ... Cardieri resigns as baseball coach at USF

06.05.06: Owls carry C-USA banner against Bears ... Laval steps down as LSU baseball coach ... Date of "Civil War" changed for TV

06.04.06: C-USA players reap All-America honors ... "Flesh- eating" germ claims Tulsa gridder ... Blazers baseball coach hangs up cleats

06.03.06: ECU's Jake Smith named 2nd-team All-America ... Pirates get first signee in McPhaul golfing era ... Duke men's lacrosse program to be reinstated

06.02.06: Bucs' new pitching coach has LeClair pedigree ... Three gridders depart WVU program ... ECU announces blue chip tennis signees

06.01.06: Pirates announce kickoff times, TV games ... ECU excels among C-USA's academic elite ... Rice's Degerman makes Academic All-America

Southern Methodist is the top-ranked Conference USA school and rates 45th nationally in the updated U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup Division I standings, according to a release on the Mustangs' athletic web site.

Final rankings will be available on June 29. Going back to its days in the Western Athletic Conference, SMU has ranked as the top school in its league for eight straight years in the Director's Cup standings.

At No. 45 nationally, SMU rates ahead of the three other C-USA schools in the top 100 — Texas-El Paso (70), Tulsa (77) and Rice (100) — and ahead of nearby Dallas-Ft. Worth rival Texas Christian (55).

With only baseball remaining, Stanford has secured its 12th consecutive national Director's Cup award.

For his hard work and dedication to the Tulane athletic program in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Green Wave athletic director Rick Dickson has received the Distinguished Service Award from the United States Sports Academy at the National Association of College Directors of Athletics Convention.

The award is given annually to those individuals who have made outstanding contributions to national or international sports through instruction, research or service.

Dating back to its inception in 1984, Dickson becomes the first winner of the honor from Tulane and the fourth overall from the state of Louisiana, joining legendary Grambling State football coach Eddie Robinson (1995), former LSU baseball coach and current athletic director Skip Bertman (2000) and former LSU basketball coach Dale Brown (2003).

Following the devastation caused by the largest natural disaster to hit the continental United States, Dickson helped spearhead an unprecedented move that allowed Tulane athletics to continue. With the campus and surrounding New Orleans area having suffered severe damages, Dickson helped devise a plan that saw the teams relocate to four campuses — Louisiana Tech, Southern Methodist, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.

For the second time in three months, Memphis basketball coach John Calipari will be a guest host on Fox Sports' "Best Damn Sports Show Period" tonight. Calipari, a guest host on BDSSP in early April, also will serve as the show's NBA Draft correspondent on Thursday, June 29, reviewing the new draft class.

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 other sources. Copyright 2006 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.