Wake-Up Call: ACC returning to Carolina roots

The Wake-Up Call greets you each weekday with news, views and a few Tampa Bay area sports offerings to anticipate for the day and night. We encourage suggestions and contributions.

Good morning!

The sour economy was a front-burner topic during this week's Atlantic Coast Conference spring meetings at Amelia Island.

The ACC planned to hold its football media days - when coaches, writers and broadcasters congregate to preview the season - at the Saddlebrook Resort in Pasco County. But the event has been shifted to Greensboro, N.C., the conference headquarters, which will be more centrally located for the league's constituents.

Some of the league's coaches and administrators said it will be financially advantageous when the ACC football championship game leaves Florida after this season for a two-year stay in Charlotte, N.C.

The ACC held its game at Jacksonville for three years, then it moved to Tampa's Raymond James Stadium in 2008. Virginia Tech and Boston College drew a crowd of just 27,360 fans - many of the tickets were given away - raising concerns over the event's viability in Tampa if the right matchup (read: Florida State-Miami) doesn't happen.

"We've got to get to Charlotte [which hosts the game in 2010 and 2011]," Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver told the Florida Times-Union. "That doesn't mean Jacksonville and Tampa haven't done good jobs. It's simply too hard for people to get to Florida for a weekend game, then plan on going to a bowl game - especially now, in this economic downturn."

"Charlotte is more in the middle of our footprint," North Carolina State athletic director Lee Fowler said. "We've tried Jacksonville, and we're trying in Tampa. I'd like to see how the game performs in North Carolina."

ACC commissioner John Swofford has generally been in favor of staging league events in Florida - such as the 2002 baseball tournament in St. Petersburg and the 2007 men's basketball tournament in Tampa - hoping to heighten the conference's profile in a state that contains two league members (FSU, Miami).

"What we need to continue to try and find is the best locale that meets our needs as a conference," Swofford said. "Charlotte is more of a geographic center, and it may be something we learn."

Sign of the times? Perhaps.

Jacksonville bid for the 2011-13 ACC baseball tournament. Instead, the event was awarded on Wednesday to Myrtle Beach, S.C., primarily because of its centralized location.

The 2010 baseball tournament was scheduled for Boston's Fenway Park - a cool novelty, but hardly practical - and now it has been moved to Greensboro.

Brian Baisley promoted to T-Yanks

Former University of South Florida 1B Brian Baisley (Land O'Lakes), who was batting .339 at Charleston and tied for the South Atlantic League lead in RBIs (23), was promoted to the Tampa Yankees of the Florida State League. In his first appearance with the T-Yanks, Baisley went 2-for-3 with a stolen base at Daytona Beach on Monday night.

Baisley's brother, Jeff, is an infielder with Triple-A Sacramento in the Oakland Athletics' organization.

Conforti commits to USF baseball

Sarasota Cardinal Mooney CF and leadoff batter Nick Conforti has signed with the University of South Florida, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Conforti made quite an impact during a visit to Tampa last week. He was 4-for-5 with two home runs in the Cougars' 11-9 victory against Tampa Catholic in the Class 3A region quarterfinals. "The ball just jumps off his bat," Cardinal Mooney coach Greg Mulhollen said. Overall, Conforti is batting .476 with three homers and 21 stolen bases.

Plant's Givens ranked No. 31

Plant High School SS/RHP Mychal Givens is ranked No. 31 by Keith Law of ESPN.com and Scouts Inc., on the list of top 100 prospects for baseball's amateur draft. South Carolina RHP Sam Dyson (Jesuit) is ranked No. 33, Florida Southern College SS Robbie Shields (Pasco) is No. 62, Sarasota Cardinal Mooney RHP Michael Heller is No. 86 and Pendleton/IMG C John Ryan Murphy is No. 97.

Conspicuously absent from the list was Mitchell LHP Patrick Schuster, who recently set a Florida prep record with four consecutive no-hitters.

Coghlan goes deep

Florida Marlins LF Chris Coghlan (East Lake) hit his first major-league homer, a two-run shot in the first inning, during Wednesday's 8-6 loss at Milwaukee.

Better late than never

Four University of Tampa softball players missed last Friday's graduation ceremonies because the Spartans were competing in the NCAA South Regional at Valdosta, Ga. But Monday, those UT seniors were honored in a private ceremony at Plant Hall. Ashley Arcuri, Rachel Browning, Kallan Casey and Jessica Keefe received their diplomas from UT president Ronald Vaughn. Also in attendance: their families, friends, Spartans softball coach Leslie Kanter and UT athletic director Larry Marfise.

The Spartans (27-14) dropped two straight games in Valdosta to end their season. UT earned its second straight NCAA Tournament bid and was periodically ranked among the nation's top 25 teams in NCAA Division II.

Ice time

Florida's Sunshine State Games will hold its Figure Skating Championships this weekend at Incredible Ice in Coral Springs. The Tampa Bay area has 18 skaters competing - Rayna Dereus and Ashlyn Gaughan of Brandon; Sarah Bowman of Lutz; Brittany Boyette of Odessa; Kailey-Rose Fernandez, Kerianne Fernandez, Ainsley Mischka, Caitlyn Murdock, Sarah Jenkins, Jessica Riddle and Tania Sexauer of Tampa; Katelyn McGlauflin of Land O'Lakes; Victoria Kerr of Oldsmar; Amanda Cattel and Megan Cattel of Palm Harbor; Ashley Gilroy and Caroline Tuxhorn of Dunedin; and Emma Oleck of Safety Harbor.

Ivey takes over with Rams

B.J. Ivey, 28, is the new boys basketball coach at Sarasota's Riverview High School, taking over for Jim Ward, who resigned to become the school's athletic director after registering 413 victories in 20 seasons. Ivey led the Rams' girls basketball teams to 68 wins and two district titles in the past three seasons. The Riverview boys graduated nine seniors from a 25-6 team that lost at Sickles in the region quarterfinals.

Honors at Washington College

Two Tampa Bay area athletes were recently honored at Washington College, an NCAA Division III school in Chestertown, Md.

Junior skipper Conner Blouin (Jesuit) was named the sailing team's most valuable sailor for the second straight year. Blouin helped his team qualify for the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association Co-Ed Dinghy National Championships on June 1-3 in San Francisco.

Meanwhile, freshman Aaron Ellison (St. Petersburg) was named the men's tennis team's most improved player.

Bloomin' good deal

The Outback Bowl, which matches teams from the SEC and Big Ten on New Year's Day, has renewed its title-sponsorship contract for four additional years with Outback Steakhouse. Now it runs through the 2014 game. That will be the 19th consecutive year for the Outback Bowl name, the second-longest title-sponsorship agreement ever for a bowl game.

Birthday wishes

Happy birthday to former Boston College WR Kelvin Martin, who caught the winning touchdown pass against Georgia in the closing seconds of the inaugural Hall of Fame Bowl at Tampa Stadium. It was a rainy night in 1986, two days before Christmas, at the old Tampa Stadium. Martin later played for the Dallas Cowboys (and the Hall of Fame Bowl has since become the Outback Bowl). Today, Martin turns 44.

The Answer Man

Here's the answer to Wednesday's trivia question:

Ten men who served as Bucs' assistants later became NFL head coaches. Here they are.

• Jim Caldwell (1990 quarterbacks coach; now head coach with Indianapolis Colts).

• Herman Edwards (1996-2000 assistant head coach/defensive backs; head coach with New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs).

• Wayne Fontes (1976-84, assistant head coach/defensive coordinator/defensive backs; head coach with Detroit Lions).

• Joe Gibbs (1978 offensive coordinator; head coach with Washington Redskins).

• Rod Marinelli (1996-2005 assistant head coach/defensive line; head coach with Detroit Lions).

• Raheem Morris (2002-03; 04-08 defensive backs; head coach with Bucs).

• Mike Mularkey (1994-95 quality control/tight ends; head coach with Buffalo Bills).

• Lovie Smith (1996-2000 linebackers; head coach with Chicago Bears).

• Mike Tomlin (2001-05 defensive backs; head coach with Pittsburgh Steelers).

• Richard Williamson (1987-90 assistant head coach/wide receivers; head coach with Bucs).

Thursday trivia

Here's our daily sports trivia question, featuring a Tampa Bay/Florida spin. Try your luck by commenting below.

Ryan Zimmerman's 30-game hitting streak ended Wednesday for the Washington Nationals? Who has the longest hitting streak in Rays' franchise history?

Check for the answer in Friday's Wake-Up Call.