Two signings

East Chapel Hill diver Nick McCrory will sign a national letter of intent Wednesday to attend Duke, according to East Athletic Director Ray Hartsfield. McCrory will sign along with ECH baseball player James Heine, who has an NTI to attend Georgetown.

McCrory's decision isn't surprising. He represented Duke Aquatics Club at last spring's Olympic Trials. McCrory is the nation's best high school diver and has broken the N.C. High School Athletic Association record three years in a row.

Heine is a top all-around athlete at East Chapel Hill. He was a three-letter man -- football, basketball and baseball -- before deciding to concentrate on his pitching for the Wildcats last season.

Game times switched for football finals

The N.C. High School Athletic Association has changed its football championship dates because of conflicts on the University of North Carolina campus in Chapel Hill.

Three games had been scheduled to be played Saturday, Dec. 13, at UNC's Kenan Stadium. The state 2-A final has been switched to Friday, Dec. 12, at 7:30 p.m. The 4-A final will still be played on Saturday but at 11 a.m. The 4-AA title game has been moved to Sunday, Dec. 14, at 3 p.m.

The NCHSAA typically does not allow member schools to play or practice on Sunday but will move state playoff games to a Sunday if necessary. The association has held baseball and softball championship games on Sundays.

Rick Strunk, an associate executive director of the NCHSAA, wrote in an e-mail message that the Chapel Hill games were rescheduled to avoid conflicts with UNC men's basketball, women's basketball and winter graduation.

The 1-A, 1-AA and 2-AA title games are scheduled for N.C. State's Carter-Finley Stadium on Dec. 13. The 3-A and 3-AA finals are set for Wake Forest University's BB&T Field in Winston-Salem.

-- Tim Stevens / newsobserver.com

COLLEGES

Conference at UNC

The College Sport Research Institute and the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at the University of North Carolina will host the 2009 Scholarly Conference on College Sport. The event will be held April 15-18 at the William and Ida Friday Center in Chapel Hill.

The conference will feature one day of keynote speakers and panels on various topics, two days of original research presentations, and a case study competition for current students. Panel topics will consist of "The 'ESPNification' of College Sport," "Special Admit Limbo: How Low Can You Go?" and "The College Sport Arms Race: Is There an End in Sight?"

In conjunction with the conference, the Tee Off for Tar Heels golf tournament will be held at UNC Finley Golf Course. Guests wishing to attend both the tournament and the conference will receive a discounted rate on each event.

Those interested in more information on the 2009 Conference, including event times, locations, and speaker announcements are invited to visit www.csriconference.org.

Founded in 2007, the College Sport Research Institute's mission is to: encourage and support cross-disciplinary, collaborative college-sport research; serve as a consortium for college-sport researchers from across the United States; and disseminate research results to academics, college-sport practitioners, and the general public.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the flagship of the 16-school University of North Carolina system. Chartered in 1789, it was the first public university in the United States and ranks among the top research universities in the country. The faculty at UNC received a total of $593 million in research funding in the 2006 fiscal year.

Heels hope to advance

The North Carolina field hockey team received an at-large bid into the 2008 NCAA Field Hockey Championship field and was scheduled to meet Michigan State on Saturday in East Lansing, Mich. The seventh-ranked Tar Heels, 14-5 and winners of five previous NCAA titles, were making their 25th appearance in the field.

The Spartans were 16-5 this season and ranked No. 10 in the final NFHCA coaches' poll, released Tuesday. The UNC-Michigan State winner advances to meet either No. 13 Louisville (14-6) or sixth-ranked Iowa (16-4) today at 2 p.m. in East Lansing. Today's winner qualifies for the NCAA semifinals, to be played in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 21.

Maryland is the top overall seed in the 16-team field, with Wake Forest No. 2 and Syracuse No. 3. Five of the six Atlantic Coast Conference teams were included in the bracket, with Duke and Virginia joining Maryland, Wake and UNC.

Awesome, baby!

Noted ESPN commentator Dick Vitale will be on the UNC campus from noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday to sign copies of his newest book at the Bull's Head Bookshop. Vitale's book, "Fabulous 50 Players & Moments in College Basketball: From the Best Seat in the House During My 30 Years at ESPN." If previous history is any indicator, Vitale may make a comment or two, or a hundred, while he signs.

In his book, Vitale ranks his favorite players and moments from 50 to No. 1. The legends (like then-freshman Michael Jordan's NCAA championship-winning shot against Georgetown in 1982) are included, but there are some unexpected examples as well. Some, such as Kansas guard Mario Chalmers' three-point shot to force overtime against Memphis in the 2008 national championship game, may surprise some fans.

For 30 years, Dick Vitale has been synonymous with college basketball. His enthusiasm, knowledge, unique turn of a phrase and passion are trademarks, much imitated throughout fandom. He has been an integral part of ESPN since the network's early days in 1979. Prior to TV, he served as head coach on the scholastic, collegiate and professional levels, and he was inducted as a member of the Class of 2008 in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame - the highest honor in the sport.

For more information visit ascendmediabooks.com.

Austin to step down

University of North Carolina head women's golf coach Sally Austin will step down at the conclusion of the 2008-09 season to pursue other interests and to spend more time with her family after serving as coach of the Tar Heels for the last 16 years.

"It is with mixed emotions that I leave this great University," says Austin. "My greatest joy has been working with these wonderful young women on one of the finest teams in the country."

"Sally Austin has spent more than 20 years of her life as a Tar Heel golfer, assistant coach and head coach," says Director of Athletics Dick Baddour. "She is a true ambassador for the game of golf, for women's athletics and the University of North Carolina."

Austin, a native of Raeford, graduated from UNC in 1977 and after winning four letters in women's golf. Winner of the 1979 North Carolina Women's Amateur Championship, Austin won events on the Women's Professional Golf Tour and the Futures Tour. She received her LPGA Tour card in 1987.

Another state rival

Charlotte, the school that produced Cedric Maxwell, an unlikely Final Four appearance in 1977 and consistent NCAA tournament basketball teams ever since, wants to try its hand at football. But it will only happen if the school raises about $45 million, quickly, to pay for coaches, scholarships and a 12,000-seat on-campus stadium.

With much fanfare, the school's board of trustees voted on Thursday to accept chancellor Philip Dubois recommendation that Charlotte move forward with starting a football program by 2013. But the unanimous vote came with qualifications that school have funds on hand, first.

If the money is raised, athletic director Judy Rose would need to find a conference for the football team, then hire a coach in 2011, who would put together the first recruiting class a year later. The team could begin play in the fall of 2013, possibly at Charlotte's Memorial Stadium until a campus stadium is built.

RailHawks name Rennie as coach

Scottish-born Martin Rennie was announced last week as the new head coach of the Carolina RailHawks soccer team. Rennie comes to the RailHawks after spending two successful seasons with the Cleveland City Stars, earning him Coach of the Year honors in 2007 and a USL-2 Championship title in 2008 -- the team's second year of existence.

He formerly coached the PDL's Cascade Surge, which won a division championship in 2005. That team also qualified for the U.S. Open Cup for the only time in its 12-year history.

"He is by far the best candidate for the job and will make a difference on the field and in the community," said RailHawks owner Brian Wellman.

Rennie passed his coaching exams in Scotland, and is one of the youngest-ever coaches to attain a UEFA 'A' License. In all, Rennie has attained more than 12 qualifications from the Scottish Football Association or UEFA, including the prestigious Youth License.

Rennie, 35, was born in Thurso, Scotland, but grew up in Bettyhill, where he lived until the age of 10 before the family moved to Falkirk. He is the son of former Bettyhill and Altnaharra Church of Scotland minister, the Rev Cliff Rennie.

Tryouts for the Railhawks will be held at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on Dec. 13-14.

Carolina women sign four more

UNC women's basketball has signed four high school seniors to National Letters of Intent for the UNC class of 2013: Krista Gross of Concord, Waltia Rolle of Nassau, The Bahamas, Cierra Warren of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., and Nyree Williams of Ellicott City, Md.

Head coach Sylvia Hatchell called the 6-0 Gross, a guard at the Cannon School in Concord, "the best senior in North Carolina." Gross is a four-time all-state performer who has scored over 3,000 career points.

"She has tremendous versatility and can play all over the court," Hatchell said. "She can shoot the three and post you up, and she is a very accomplished student."

Rolle, who attends Westbury Christian School in Houston, Texas, is a 6-6 forward/center. A first-team TAPPS all-state performer and the District 4-5A Player of the Year as a junior, Rolle is ranked as the No. 9 post in the country by both ESPNU HoopGurlz and the All-Star Girls Report. Warren, who attends Los Osos High in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., is a 6-4 forward. Ranked No. 31 in the nation by ESPNU HoopGurlz, Warren averaged 22.1 points, 12.9 rebounds, 4.6 blocks per game as a junior. Williams, who attends Howard High in Ellicott City, Md., is a 6-1 forward. She is rated as the No. 16 senior forward in the country by ESPNU HoopGurlz.

BRIEFLY ...

East Chapel Hill High School held its annual fall sports banquet Wednesday night. Among the honorees were three coaches who had been named Conference Coach of the Year in their respective sports: Kristin Kelly (field hockey), Lindsey Linker (tennis) and Stephen Marquis (cross country). Sitting at the ECH awards banquet Wednesday, Wildcat PA announcer John Austin noted how much his daughter enjoyed the previous week's Blue & Red All-Star Tournament at the Greensboro Sportsplex. It featured PAC-6 volleyball all-stars against teams from will be matched up against teams from the Greater Neuse River, Metro, Northwestern and Central Piedmont leagues. East Chapel Hill's Melanie Slack played at left outside-hitter positions; Chapel Hill's Ellen Porter was the PAC-6 libero and John's daughter Kayla Austin of ECH was the setter. Chapel Hill's Debbie Goldbach was named to the all-star team but had a scheduling conflict. ... North Carolina coach Butch Davis says he doesn't know what junior receiver Hakeem Nicks will do about the upcoming NFL Draft. "When the season's over with, he and I will sit down with this family and we'll take a look realistically. There's no sense of urgency. We've got plenty of time," Davis says. ... Former Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin met with Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips last week about the Tigers football opening.