News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

07.01.06: SI.com columnist rates O'Leary among best ... Bogdan, Floyd get top awards in C-USA track ... Northwestern mourns passing of Walker

06.30.06: NCAA gives new life to Houston bowl game ... Memphis duo makes school history in NBA draft ... LSU selects Mainieri to direct baseball program ... Marshall backpedals back to Winthrop

06.29.06: BCS to tweak timing of weekly poll ... Louisville to push two players for Heisman ... Redick fares well in draft despite impediments

06.28.06: Postgraduate scholarship goes to ECU's Davenport ... UCF center foregoes final year of eligibility ... Sinclair named women's athlete of the year

06.27.06: Beavers beat Heels to win College World Series ... Irish baseball coach to interview for LSU job ... Cal quarterback suspended after assault charge

06.26.06: Mustangs lead
C-USA teams in Director's Cup ... Tulane AD receives prestigious service award ... Calipari racking up some broadcast work

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

Former Georgia Tech basketball coach Bobby Cremins has returned to coaching after a six-year absence from the bench.

According to various news reports, The College of Charleston has hired Cremins, 59, to fill the gap left by Gregg Marshall, who briefly accepted the Cougars' post earlier this week only to change his mind and stay with Winthrop.

Cremins, a former star player at South Carolina, once agreed to become head coach of the Gamecocks and then backtracked to stay with Georgia Tech. He hasn't coached since 2000, when he retired from the Yellow Jackets after nearly two decades.

Former College of Charleston coach Tom Herrion was forced out by the school last month. Herrion is the brother of former East Carolina coach and current New Hampshire coach Bill Herrion.

The Durham Herald-Sun has reported that Oxford Webb High School linebacker Justin Wilkerson has committed to to Duke for the 2007 incoming class, along with running back Brian Sumlar of Orange Park High in Florida.

Duke's 26-deep incoming freshman class had just one player with North Carolina ties, Charlotte native Ifreke Okpokowuruk, who actually attended high school in Tennessee. The class contained five recruits from Florida.

Wilkerson, a 6-3, 230-pounder, said he chose Duke because Coach Ted Roof and his staff impressed him when he attended the Blue Devils' summer camp earlier this month. He also was interested in the school's sports medicine program.

Although he was recruited for defense, Wilkerson's contact with Duke started with a visit in May from offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien. Other schools who recruited him, including East Carolina and Wake Forest, expressed an interest in playing Wilkerson at fullback. He runs 4.7-second time in the 40-yard dash, boasts a 36-inch vertical leap and squats 405 pounds.

Sumlar ran for 670 yards as a junior, averaging 6.8 yards per carry. Sumlar had gotten interest from just about every Florida school and had a scholarship offer from Florida Atlantic.

Duke now has three confirmed verbal commitments. Erik Reks, a linebacker from Wrentham, MA, committed earlier this month.

Georgia Tech baseball coach Danny Hall, who led the Yellow Jackets to the 2006 College World Series, has been awarded a one-year extension of his contract through 2011, athletic director Dan Radakovich announced via the institute's athletic website.

Hall just completed the first year of a new five-year deal that he received following the 2005 season.

"Danny Hall is one of the top baseball coaches in the country," Radakovich said. "He did an outstanding job this season to take his team to the World Series despite some significant injuries. He wins consistently, and he does it with players who are good students and great representatives of Georgia Tech."

In 13 seasons with the Yellow Jackets, Hall has compiled a record of 579-248 (.700), an average of 44.5 wins per year, the eighth-highest figure in the nation during that stretch. His 579 victories make him the winningest Georgia Tech head coach in any sport.

He has led Tech to the NCAA Tournament in 12 of his 13 years, including six regional championships and College World Series berths in 1994, 2002 and 2006.

Over the last five years, he has directed the most successful run in Georgia Tech baseball history, leading the Yellow Jackets to two ACC regular season championships, two ACC tournament titles, four NCAA regional championships and two College World Series appearances. The Jackets have hosted NCAA regionals each of the last five years.

Tech is the only school in the nation to earn a Top Eight national seed each of the last four years.

The Big Sky Conference officially became a nine-team league on Saturday with the addition of the University of Northern Colorado, according to the league's website.

Northern Colorado, in Greeley, was unanimously approved for membership by the Big Sky presidents council on May 17 of last year.

Northern Colorado joins league members Eastern Washington, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Northern Arizona, Sacramento State, Portland State and Weber State.

Northern Colorado will play complete Big Sky Conference schedules in all sports during the 2006-07 season. However, because UNC is still in a transition phase following a move from Division II to Division I, the Bears will be ineligible to compete in NCAA championships with the exception of volleyball.

When UNC declared its intention to reclassify to a Division I institution, it was allowed to select a sport from each gender — except football and basketball — that advanced one year ahead of all other sports. UNC selected volleyball and wrestling, which is not a Big Sky sponsored sport.

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.