UConn Huskies (1-5, 0-3 American) at No. 18 East Carolina Pirates (5-1, 2-0 American) 7 p.m. | ESPNU | UConn IMG Radio Network Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium | Greenville, N.C. The Coaches UCONN HEAD COACH BOB DIACO UConn head coach Bob Diaco is in his first year as the head coach at UConn and his first overall as a collegiate head coach. Diaco served on the Notre Dame coaching staff as the defensive coordinator for the past four years and the assistant head coach for the past two. He was the 2012 winner of the Frank Broyles Award, given to the top assistant college football coach in the country and was the first Irish assistant to receive the prestigious award. He was a semifinalist for the award in 2011. Diaco joined the Notre Dame staff in 2010 as defensive coordinator and inside linebacker coach, took responsibility for the entire linebacker position in 2011 and added responsibilities as associate head coach in 2012. His 2012 Irish defense ranked among the top 10 in the Football Bowl Subdivision in 12 different categories as the school played in the BCS National Championship Game and posted an overall record of 12-1. Diaco has an impressive coaching resume as he served at Virginia (2006-08) as the linebackers and special teams coordinator and Cincinnati (2009) as the defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach before joining the Notre Dame staff. A native of Cedar Grove, N.J., and a 1995 Iowa graduate, Diaco began his coaching career in 1996-97 as a graduate assistant at his alma mater. He then served on the staffs of Western Illinois (1999-2000) as the special teams coordinator and running backs coach, Eastern Michigan (2001-2003) working with the same positions and Central Michigan (2005) as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He was a two-time All-Big Ten selection at Iowa as a linebacker under Hall of Fame coach Hayden Fry and was named the team’s co-MVP in 1995, starting in all 23 games over his junior and senior seasons. EAST CAROLINA HEAD COACH RUFFIN McNEIL Ruffin McNeil is in his fifth year as the head coach at East Carolina and has led the school to bowl appearances in three of the past four seasons, including a win over Ohio in the Beef ’O’ Brady’s Bowl last year. He currently has a 34-23 record at the school and has an overall head coaching record of 35-23 after serving as head coach at Texas Tech in 2009 in the Alamo Bowl. Ruffin was on the Texas Tech staff for ten years from 2000-09 and also coached at Clemson (1985-86), Austin Peay (1987), North Alabama (1988), Appalachian State (1993-96), UNLV (1997-98) and Fresno State (1999). McNeil is a 1980 graduate of East Carolina and was a three-year starter at defensive back and a two-time team captain.
Radio & TV Coverage TELEVISION COVERAGE Thursday’s game will be televised nationally by ESPNU. Anish Shroff is on playby-play with Kelly Stouffer on color. Todd Kulis is the producer while Paul Druchniak directs. RADIO COVERAGE The UConn IMG Sports Network is the home of Husky football on the radio. WTIC Newstalk 1080 in Hartford serves as the flagship station and is the state’s only 50,000 watt signal and can be heard in 23 state s and parts of Canada. The 2014-15 year marks the 23rd consecutive season that WTIC is the flagship for UConn sports. The 2014-15 football and men’s and women’s basketball season also marks the third year that the radio rights are held by IMG College, which is UConn’s multi-media rights partner. Veteran UConn announcers Joe D’Ambrosio (play-by-play) and Wayne Norman (color commentary) return to call the action with Kevin Nathan on the sidelines and Anthony “Rex” McCalla on production. UConn football on home noon Saturday dates gets going early with “Breakfast At The Rent” with Ray Dunaway beginning at 5:30 a.m. For noon games, the UConn Tailgate Show airs from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m with Bob Joyce and Nathan. “UConn Football Magazine” begins at 10:30 a.m. as the network pregame show.
UConn Schedule/Results Date Opponent (TV) Score/Time 8/29 BYU (ESPN) L, 35-10 9/6 STONY BROOK (SNY) W, 19-16 9/13 BOISE STATE (ABC/ESPN2) L, 38-21 9/19 at USF * (ESPN) L, 17-14 9/27 TEMPLE * (ESPNews) L, 36-10 10/11 at Tulane * (ESPNews) L, 12-3 10/23 at No. 18 East Carolina * (ESPNU) 7 p.m. 11/1 UCF * TBA 11/8 vs. Army (Yankee Stadium) (CBSSN) 3:30 p.m. 11/22 CINCINNATI * TBA 11/29 at Memphis * TBA 12/6 SMU * TBA *Denotes American Athletic Conference Game
ECU Schedule/Results Date Opponent (TV) Score/Time 8/30 NC CENTRAL (ESPNews) W, 52-7 9/6 at No. 21 South Carolina (ESPNU) L, 33-23 9/13 at No. 17 Virginia Tech (ESPN) W, 28-21 9/20 NORTH CAROLINA (ESPNU) W, 70-41 10/4 SMU * (ESPNU) W, 45-24 10/11 at USF * (ESPNU) W, 28-17 10/23 UCONN * (ESPNU) 7 p.m. 11/1 at Temple * TBA 11/13 at Cincinnati * (ESPN2) 7 p.m. 11/22 TULANE * TBA 11/28 at Tulsa * TBA 12/4 UCF * (ESPN) 7:30 p.m. * Denotes American Athletic Conference Game
• •
•
•
•
Quick Hits
Geremy Davis has a reception in 32 straight contests, tied for the 10th longest streak in the FBS Against Boise State on Sept. 13, Davis became the seventh player in UConn history to eclipse 2,000 career receiving yards In the same game, Chandler Whitmer became the eighth player in program history to eclipse 4,000 career passing yards Freshman tailback Arkeel Newsome scored the first touchdown of his career with a 74-yard reception vs. Temple on Sept. 27 Linebacker Marquise Vann has made at least nine tackles in all but one game this season and leads the Huskies with 56 stops, including a career-high 14 at USF on Sept. 19