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News Nuggets, 07.20.06
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

ECU to hold public "celebration" of LeClair's life

The East Carolina athletic department will conduct a public celebration of the life of Keith LeClair on Friday, July 21, beginning at 6:00 p.m. at Clark-LeClair Stadium, according to a release from the school's athletics media relations office.

LeClair, the Pirates' head baseball coach from 1997 to 2002, passed away Monday after a five-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

As part of the celebration program, many of LeClair's former players, coaches and other colleagues will be invited to share brief memories and testimonials of his life. In addition, video and slideshow tributes on the stadium's PirateVision board will chronicle LeClair's accomplishments and contributions to East Carolina University and its baseball program.

Attendees are encouraged to dress casually due to anticipated high temperatures and will be permitted to bring their own refreshments, noted the release. Bottled water and soft drinks will be available at the stadium concession stand with proceeds going to the ALS Association (Jim "Catfish" Hunter Chapter) and SPORTworks Ministry.

Complimentary seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis in the purple chair-back and grandstand areas. Parking will be available in the Clark-LeClair, Jungle (leftfield), Purple (adjacent to the Ward Sports Medicine Building) and White (practice soccer field, accessible via Fieldside Drive) parking lots. Parking will also be available on the west side of Charles Boulevard in the Allied Health Lot.

A memorial service will be held earlier in the day at 2:00 p.m. at Oakmont Baptist Church, located at 1100 Red Banks Road in Greenville. The family will receive friends Thursday evening between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m. at S.G. Wilkerson and Sons Funeral Home at 2100 East Fifth Street in Greenville.

LeClair rites to be broadcast and live-streamed

Due to the anticipated turnout of mourners who will be paying their respects to deceased former East Carolina baseball coach Keith LeClair on Friday, WNCT-AM Talk 1070 and the ECU Athletic Department have arranged to carry the memorial service over the radio and on the Internet.

Talk 1070, operated by Hinton Media Group, will broadcast the afternoon service and the audio feed will be streamed over the Web on ecupirates.com and through the facilities of Bonesville.net on the station's talk1070.com Website.

The funeral service will be held Friday at 2:00 p.m. at Oakmont Baptist Church in Greenville. The family will receive friends this evening between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m. at S.G. Wilkerson and Sons Funeral Home on 5th Street in Greenville.

The Hinton Media Group's local television property, Cable 7, will air the service on tape delay on Friday at 9:00 p.m.

LeClair, a member of ECU's sports hall of fame, served as the Pirates' head baseball coach from 1997 to 2002. He died at his home Monday following an extended battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly referred (ALS), commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease. The forty year old had been battling the disease for the past five years.

Future Pirate Fields tallies 8 points in East loss

In the East-West boys basketball game at the Greensboro Coliseum on Tuesday night, the East led by eight points at halftime but dropped a 109-93 decision to the West.

Fayetteville Jack Britt’s John Fields, an East Carolina signee, scored eight points for the East, according to a Fayetteville Observer report.

“We had a lot of turnovers and we didn’t rebound very well,’’ Fields said of his team’s second-half play. “There were some little mistakes because we were new to each other. It flowed pretty well in the first half. In the second half it got stagnant.’’

C-USA announces staff additions, promotions

Conference USA has announced the hiring of two new staff members along with four promotions and a pair of title changes.

Robert Philippi will fill the newly created role of Assistant Commissioner for Compliance and Academics, while Tod Meisner will step into the vacated position of Assistant Director of Media Relations.

The organization's promotions include Courtney Morrison-Archer to Assistant Commissioner for Public Affairs, Keisha Dunlap to Director of Sports Services, Ryan Powell to Associate Director of Media Relations and Emily Agler to Associate Director of Marketing and Events.

Russell Anderson moves from Assistant Commissioner for Media Relations to Assistant Commissioner for Football and Baseball Operations, while Monay Wallin takes on the new title of Director of Events.

Philippi joins the C-USA staff from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas where he held the titles of Director of Student-Athlete Academic Services from 2004-06, NCAA Compliance Specialist from 2002-04, Director of NCAA Compliance and Student Services from 1996-99 and Athletic Academic Advisor from 1995-96. In between his two stints at UNLV, Philippi worked on the NCAA staff in Indianapolis, IN, as a Membership Services Representative from 1999-2002.

Philippi holds two degrees and is currently a doctoral student working towards his Ph.D. in Higher Education at UNLV. His degrees include a Bachelor of Arts in Management Information Systems from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a Master of Arts in Physical Education-Sports Administration from Minnesota State University-Mankato.

Meisner joins the league from the Missouri Valley Conference, where he spent six months as the league's Assistant Director of Communications. During his stint in the MVC's St. Louis office, he served as the primary contact for volleyball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's track and field and softball. Meisner will provide coverage for several of those same sports at C-USA.

Meisner holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication from Illinois State University. Following graduation, he spent a year and a half in the Southern Methodist Athletic Department as a media relations assistant in the school's Athletic Media Relations office. Meisner also logged a stretch as a Public Relations Intern for the Dallas Cowboys.

UCF uses buyout; Vols host Wolfpack in 2008

The Memphis Commercial-Appeal has reported that Tennessee has accepted a game buyout from Central Florida and replaced the Golden Knights on the 2007 home schedule with Louisiana-Lafayette.

Central Florida, which was set to play in Knoxville on Sept. 29, 2007, exercised its option and paid Tennessee $10,000 to cancel the game.

As a result, Tennessee has signed Louisiana-Lafayette for a game Nov. 3, and turned the Sept. 29 spot into an open date. That gives the Vols another week to prepare for SEC Eastern Division rival Georgia, which comes to Knoxville on Oct. 6, 2007.

The reshuffling preserves a seven-game home slate for Tennessee in 2007.

Tennessee also has announced its 2008 schedule. The 12-game lineup includes seven contests at Neyland Stadium, including non-conference matchups with North Carolina State, San Jose State and Wyoming.

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.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007 12:49 PM