News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

07.10.06: ECU alum Godwin to wear LSU's purple & gold ... Tulane resumes baseball stadium renovation ... Kelly rejoins O'Leary at Central Florida

07.09.06: Fitzgerald takes bittersweet promotion ... Paper defuses report on Mayo to USC ... More national acclaim for Houston's Lincoln ... SMU golfer wins Greater Cincy title

07.08.06: Former ECU slugger Hastings joins BC staff ... Tar Heel baseball stars transition to pros ... Rice's Britton packing to play in Philippines

07.07.06: Report: No. 1 prep hoops star choosing USC ... Motorcycle wreck claims Georgia Southern star ... NBA exhibition games coming to Dean Dome

07.06.06: Owls' St. Clair chosen for Team USA baseball ... Houston, Rice rookies make all-frosh team ... Case-era Pack hoops legend Dickey passes

07.05.06: National honors piling up for Houston's Lincoln ... Wade's wallet now packs a wallop ... Duke gets QB from prestigious prep program

07.04.06: Howard joins ECU media relations staff ... Bertman leads college baseball hall's first class ... Temple gets prized hometown grid recruit

07.03.06: Paper: C of C and Cremins come to agreement ... Four depart Oregon in search of playing time ... Gator recruit wins national prep QB award

07.02.06: College of Charleston hires Bobby Cremins ... Duke gets pair of football commitments ... Georgia Tech baseball coach gets extra year ... Big Sky Conference expands by one

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

D.J. McFADDEN (6-2 220) QB, Charlotte Independence High ... Comes from a nationally-prominent program that has won 92 straight games and six straight state 4-A or 4-AA championships going into the 2006 season. ... Patriots are coached by former Duke assistant Tom Knotts ... Phil Kornblut of Palmettosports.com reported that McFadden committed to East Carolina based on comments from the player's father. ... McFadden reportedly made the commitment to Pirates coach Skip Holtz in late June. ... "It's a strong commitment and I can't really see him pulling out," Mr. McFadden told Palmettosports.com. "South Carolina has been showing some good interest and that's the only school he would look at hard. That would be the only school that could get him to change his mind. But Skip just seems like a real nice guy and it seems like a real good move." .... McFadden attended a camp at USC this summer but was not offered by the Gamecocks. ... He also has offers from Vanderbilt and Marshall. ... Last season he passed for 3,729 yards and 33 touchdowns.

Former Memphis infielder Dan Uggla has added to Conference USA's baseball history by becoming the first former C-USA student-athlete to play in Major League Baseball's All-Star Game. The rookie second baseman is one of two Florida Marlins representatives in the 77th annual mid-summer classic (tonight 8 p.m. EDT on FOX) in Pittsburgh.

The lone rookie on the National League roster, Uggla's numbers are among the best for Major League second basemen. He is currently hitting .307 with 13 homers and 51 runs batted in. The Columbia, TN, native leads all rookies in batting average and is second among rookies in home runs and RBI's. Uggla has 15 doubles and four triples to go with his team-leading 13 home runs.

A strong candidate for National League Rookie of the Year, Uggla was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 11th round of the 2001 draft and played five seasons in the Diamondbacks' farm system. He made the jump from AA to the Majors when he was picked up by the Marlins in the Rule 5 Draft this past off-season. Uggla is the first-ever Rule 5 Draft selection to be named to the All-Star Game.

Uggla was a three-year letterwinner for the Tigers (1999-01), and is only the second Memphis player to reach the MLB All-Star Game, joining pitcher Charlie Lea, who earned the starting nod for the National League in 1984 as a member of the Montreal Expos.

The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) have named former U.S. President Gerald Ford as the 2006 recipient of its Dick Enberg Award. The award, presented by the group since 1997 and named after the longtime television sportscaster, annually recognizes one individual committed to promoting the values of education and academics while furthering the meaning of the student-athlete.

As a football star at the University of Michigan, Ford earned three varsity letters from 1932-1934 and participated on back-to-back undefeated and Big Ten title teams in '32 and '33. In 1934, Ford was named team MVP as starting center, and played in both the East-West Shrine Game and an All-Star game against the NFL champions Chicago Bears following the season.

Ford also served as an assistant coach at Yale University before embarking on a three-decade stint in national politics, culminating with his term as President of the United States from 1974-1977. Ford received the NCAA's Theodore Roosevelt Award in 1975 and the National Football Foundation's Gold Medal in 1972.

Roland Sparks, Houston's associate athletics director for facilities and operations, passed away Saturday morning, July 8, in his home after a lengthy battle with colon cancer, according to an announcement on the university's athletic website.

Graveside services will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 11, at the Anahuac Cemetery on North Bayshore Road in Anahuac, TX. Following graveside services, a reception will be held at the Anahuac Baptist Church. The family has asked in lieu of flowers, that donations be made in his name to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston or your favorite wildlife charity.

A native of Anahuac, Sparks was a member of the UH athletics department for 16 years, the last three as associate athletics director. Sparks served as the department's business manager and ticket manager during his first five years at the school. He was assistant athletics director for facilities the next six years before being promoted to associate athletics director in 2003.

A 1967 graduate of Lamar University with a degree in accounting, Sparks came to UH in 1988 after working as a public accountant in San Antonio.

Born April 18, 1944, Sparks is survived by his wife, Samantha; a son, Brett, and his wife Jennifer of Branson, Mo.; daughter, Kristen, and her husband Jason Hamilton of Dallas; and seven grandchildren.

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.