4 ACC Opponents in the Coliseum (Update)

The News & Record is reporting that UNCG will play home games against 4 ACC schools this upcoming season in addition to out of conference games against East Carolina and Princeton. Maryland, Clemson, Wake Forest & NC State will play the Spartans in their new home, the Greensboro Coliseum.

According to the article, the schedule is not completely finalized yet. There are possibilities of several of these games appearing on TV.

"I know there's been some interest from Raycom with us making this move," Hirschman said, "and when you're playing those caliber opponents, there's also some interest from ESPNU.

"Let's face it: We want to be on television as much as we can. So you want to keep the door open. And when you do that, you don't want to tell your fans, 'We're playing this team on this date at this time' when TV could move that game two weeks."

UPDATE: Here's what fans of NC State and Clemson are saying on their Scout.com forums.

Taking a Break

Since we've crossed over into June (and just went over 4,100 in site hits, thanks) I think we can say that things are really winding down until fall. I've got several vacations planned over the next two months, and I haven't really had much to post this past month anyways.

So, I think I'm going into a little hibernation mode. I will make some posts when something of note happens. I thought about writing one big wrap-up post, but then thought better of it. Do I really need to rehash 5-25? I would rather just wait a couple of months to write some posts based on the excitement of a great recruiting class and moving to the coliseum.

In the meantime, I'm working on a new layout for the site with some new graphics. Don't forget to keep up with things over at UNCG Fans.

Clement to NC Central

Former Spartan guard Landon Clement has transferred to NC Central according to both the News & Record and NCCU's athletics website. Central's new head coach, Levelle Morton is Clement's former AAU coach and high school coach. Clement averaged 6.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 18 games for UNCG this season. Clement shot over 30 % from behind the arc and 82% from the free throw line. Landon will have to sit out this upcoming season, per NCAA transfer rules.

SoCon Looking at Options (Updated)

The Southern Conference will decide whether or not to alter the format of its men's and women's basketball tournaments at the conference meetings in Hilton Head (SC) this week.

Here's an article in the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Iamarino said the three major options that will be discussed before the athletic directors’ vote Friday are leaving the tournament the way it is, including every team but playing first-round games at campus sites and limiting the fields to the top eight teams.

“I do think there’s a consensus about one thing,” UTC athletic director Rick Hart said. “We’ve tried all 23 teams in one venue and it doesn’t work.”

The schedule in that case is too crowded, leading to playing six games on the second day, starting at 9 a.m. The full schedule also limits the amount of practice time teams have on the arena floor.

UPDATE: The SoCon has decided to use two venues from 2012 and beyond (next season will be played in Charlotte and 2011 in Chattanooga). This will limit future sites moving forward.

While no bids are presently on the table for 2012, among the Southeast cities with two suitable venues that could be good fits are Charleston, Birmingham, Winston-Salem and Greensboro, N.C. For cities such as Charleston and Birmingham to host, that would likely require the use of on-campus venues, such as the College of Charleston’s new Carolina First Arena or Samford’s Pete Hanna Center.

Eargle Leaving Greensboro

I'm sure most Spartan fans figured out that there was going to be one more player leaving the program (in addition to Oliver and Clement). It was confirmed yesterday by Fox's Jeff Goodman that Damian Eargle would be that player.

This shouldn't come as much of shock to most fans as it was discussed on a UNCGfans.com thread several weeks ago. This is just the first official confirmation that I've seen. Without knowing anything about the situation, I just want to wish Damian luck and hope he finds future success.

UNCG Passes APR Test

UNCG received passing marks in all sports for this year's APR Report. Last year, men's basketball and baseball fell below the magic "925" mark and were assessed penalties. This season was much improved.

On this year’s report, men’s baseball has a score of 937, while men’s basketball has a score of 930. Last year, both of those program’s had good eligibility scores, but were hurt by retention rates. In fact, UNCG’s men’s basketball four-year score is now nearly in-line with the national average of 933."

You can find individual APR scores for all schools here.
Here is the list of penalized institutions. You'll notice SoCon men's basketball teams from Georgia Southern & UT-Chattanooga on the list of penalized teams.

Bobb Steps Down

UNCG Athletics Director Nelson Bobb is leaving his position. Here is the article from UNCG athletics website. I'm behind on this one as I've had a lot going on this past week. My thoughts are coming later.