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This topic will be posted in every NCAA thread with teams corresponding to that conference. So go vote for your team. It will be interesting to see how large your teams fan base is on TFP. Do not vote unless its your team. That way we can get an accurate depiction of a teams fan base.
I am an USM alum and fan, but I have to admit I don't know if USM is going to deserve a bowl game, but due to the way the Conference is going, only Houston looks like a bowl quality team. I know our coach is only in his second year, but I really expected a better season.
I am surprised with Tulsa, I really thought they would have a better season, which leads me to ask, is the conference going to be able to meet it's bowl ties?
good for East Carolina, they did well in conference, and had a big win against VTech
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After a postseason of wondering, quarterback Patrick Pinkney and the East Carolina football team learned Friday the senior had been granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA.
Pinkney was earlier granted a medical hardship by Conference USA for the 2004 season, in which Pinkney was used in a jayvee game just days prior to undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. Now, the NCAA has granted Pinkney a fifth-year exemption for the 2005 campaign, in which the Fayetteville native underwent a second shoulder surgery and sat out the entire year.
ECU head coach Skip Holtz confirmed Friday the word was final on Pinkney's return. The senior, who has already graduated from school, is enrolled in graduate school for the spring term.
“These don't come along very often, and it's a good thing,“ said ECU compliance director Tim Metcalf, who was shouldered with the task of getting all the right paperwork on Pinkney — including all medical and academic records and a written statement from Pinkney himself into the right hands. “Patrick is a genuinely good guy, and you like to see good things happen to good people.â€
Pinkney became the Pirates' full-time starter last season after splitting duties with rising senior Rob Kass in 2007.
Thanks to the work of Metcalf and the NCAA's approval on Friday, Pinkney will be back once more to try to build on his 2,675-yard, 13-touchdown season and his team's first-ever C-USA championship.
“I consider myself very blessed with the opportunity to enjoy another year with my teammates and coaches, and play one more season at East Carolina,†Pinkney said. “To be a part of this program's first conference championship in many years last season was rewarding and I'm looking forward to being in a position to help contribute to a new set of goals in 2009. Obviously, ECU is a special place for me and my family, and I'm thankful for the NCAA's decision to allow me to get one year back.â€
For Metcalf, it is the end of a long ride into the unknown. Metcalf said prior to the Pirates' Jan. 2 Liberty Bowl appearance that with C-USA's nod for the 2004 season, the chance for NCAA approval on the 2005 campaign was very likely.
That didn't make it any easier to wait out the NCAA's decision.
“I felt bad because there was nothing I could tell anybody,†Metcalf said. “I couldn't call the NCAA every five minutes and ask them what's going on. I had to let them do their job. There was really nothing we could do but sit and wait.â€
With recruiting in full swing and National Signing Day looming in early February, it was understandably a decision on which the ECU coaching staff was hanging.
Now, Pinkney will get his chance to lead the Pirates for one more season, leaving Kass as the most likely backup ahead of redshirt freshman Josh Jordan.
“We're all excited for Patrick and our program that he'll be with us another year,†Holtz said. “It's nice to see his resiliency and ability to face adversity on and off the field rewarded in some respect. I know it was disappointing for him to fight through the injuries and start at the bottom of the depth chart, but to his credit, he continued to work hard and remain positive during his climb back up the ladder.
“Patrick has already earned his undergraduate degree and has been a role model in our community, so I'm not sure there's a better way for anyone to represent our program in a first-class manner than that.â€
For his career, Pinkney is currently fifth in the ECU record books with 4,033 passing yards and sixth in completions with 344.
According to Metcalf, there are no other major eligibility concerns like Pinkney's on the horizon for ECU football.
HOUSTON (AP) -Houston receiver Patrick Edwards, who broke his leg when he ran into a metal service cart in a game at Marshall last year, plans to play this season.
Edwards also said Monday he will pursue legal action against Marshall.
He was running full speed for a long pass when his right shin crashed into the cart just beyond the end zone.
The sophomore tells Houston television station KRIV that he's confident he can return at full strength. He was Houston's leading receiver with 634 yards when he was injured.
Marshall officials apologized after the incident, and several Thundering Herd players visited Edwards in the hospital. --cbssports.com
I'm glad to hear this. When I saw the incident, my first was "He's done, forever." I wish him the best of luck.
I understand wanting to change a philosophy of the team and getting players to play your "brand" of football, but cutting players with no real explanation on why they are being released is kind of harsh. Almost sounds like this is the quickest way he can get the type of players he wants on his team and getting the players he doesn't like off the team. Definitely good that he is removing the players that were "acting up" on the team.
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SMU football head coach June Jones has been on the job for only 13 months, but in that short time he has sent his message loud and clear.
His much-publicized three strikes policy led to numerous suspensions last season, and just last week he made the decision to cut nine scholarship players from the team-several of whom have said that they will appeal the decision.
Jones, in the midst of the controversy, explained his policies and expectations at the SMU Faculty Club Distinguished Luncheon on Wednesday.
"It was a hard decision to make," said Jones in front of about 70 SMU teachers and administrators packed into the Faculty Club dining room. "But I made the decision in the best interest of, believe it or not, the kids…It's a privilege to play football at SMU. Your contract [scholarship] is for one year, not four or five years."
All athletes released from their scholarships are sent an appeals form in the mail, and they have the option to take the case before a university committee. If they win the appeal they still remain off the team, but they retain their athletic scholarships.
Jones said that the majority of the nine players had violated team rules and had "no objection." However, a couple others have voiced their disagreements and are still confused about why they were let go.
"I have still, to this current date, not been given any factual reason that had any kind of proof to why they have decided to not renew my scholarship," stated sophomore linebacker Taylor Bon in an e-mail sent last weekend. He said on Wednesday that he is appealing the decision.
Redshirt freshman linebacker Benjamin Goldthorpe confirmed, in an e-mail, that he will appeal the decision as well. A couple other players are also considering taking action.
In an interview after the luncheon, Jones did not comment on why specific players were released, except to say, "life isn't fair sometimes." He said that he even encouraged several players to appeal the decision, despite the fact that the team would lose the scholarships if the players win on appeal.
There has been speculation that Jones made the cuts to free up scholarships for future recruits, but he denied that those allegations are true. The team is allowed 85 scholarships.
"That had no bearing [on the decision]," said Jones. "We'll play short of those kids."
Jones came to SMU after a 12-1 season at the University of Hawaii, where he resurrected a dying program. He said that the team's trip to the Sugar Bowl in 2008 was "a bigger deal than when Hawaii became a state."
Despite high expectations in Jones' opening season at SMU, the Mustangs stumbled to a 1-11 record. He promised redemption at Wednesday's luncheon.
"I'd be really disappointed if over the next 24 months we're not in a bowl game," said Jones. "If not, y'all should fire me."
He recently inked 25 players to National Letters of Intent for the 2009 season and called it "the best recruiting class on paper at SMU in maybe 25 years."
He singled out Estonian track star Margus Hunt, who hasn't played a down of football in his life. Hunt (6-foot-7, 270 pounds) is a world-class discuss thrower and runs a 4.7-second 40-yard dash. He is projected as a defensive lineman.
"If I was in the NFL, I would've signed this guy," said Jones. "After four years with me, or maybe three years, he may be a first- or second-round draft pick."
In addition to picking up additional talent, Jones said one of the first keys to turning the program around is establishing discipline, both on the field and off it. He allows players three "strikes"-whether they be missed practices, study halls, weight-lifting sessions or classes-per semester.
If the players violate the three-strike policy, they are suspended for two games. If the behavior persists over a span of two semesters, the players are booted.
"You can't compromise attitude or behavior if everyone isn't on same page," said Jones. He said that in his first two years at Hawaii, he released 25 or 30 players, and he said it is fairly commonplace for new coaches to make dramatic roster changes in the first couple years.
How ridiculous,if someone doesn't get punished for this bunk is an absolute outrage. Unacceptable. to be honest,I would sue Marshall University to the fullest extent of the law,clearly they broke violations for having this stupid cart in the endzone.
I'm a little surprised there are no previous C-USA posts in this forum. Is there no one who likes on e of their teams? So who thinks the Pirates can do it again? After their upset over VT, the WVU-ECU game has been getting more publicity. I look forward to watching this one, though I don't think ECU will do it again. WVU is a front-runner (along with USF) to win the Big East, and you can bet they watched the VT-ECU game tape about a hundred times over this week to prevent a similar upset. My prediction: WVU 35 - ECU 17.
Conference USA
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