Coastal Carolina released their 2012 football schedule today in anticipation for their new campaign.  The Chanticleers are looking to improve upon their 7-4 record from last season, as well as their 3-3 conference record from a year ago. 

The team will open their season on September 1, at home against North Carolina A&T.  Coastal will then travel to take on in-state rival Furman the next Saturday, September 8. 

Other key dates include a home game against defending conference champion Stony Brook on October 13, their homecoming game October 27 vs. Liberty, and Senior Day on November 17 against Charleston Southern.

The NCAA Football Division I Championship Playoffs begin on November 24.

The full schedule is listed below.

 Coastal Carolina 2012 Football Schedule

Date                     Opponent

9/1                      vs. North Carolina A&T

9/8                      at Furman

9/15                    vs. Eastern Kentucky (Family Weekend)

9/22                    at Toledo

9/29                    at Appalachian State

10/13                  vs. Stony Brook (Hall of Fame Weekend)*

10/20                   at VMI*

10/27                   vs. Liberty (Homecoming)*

11/3                    at Gardner-Webb*

11/10                  at Presbyterian*

11/17                  vs. Charleston Southern (Senior Day)*

11/24                  NCAA Division I Championship First Round

12/1                    NCAA Division I Championship Round of 16

12/8                    NCAA Division I Championship Quarterfinals

12/14                  NCAA Division I Championship Semifinals

12/15                  NCAA Division I Championship Semifinals

*=conference game

Kerwin Bell

Coastal Carolina is moving forward with its search for a new head football coach after the plan to hire USC assistant Steve Spurrier Jr. fell thru earlier in the week.  Officials met with current assistant coach Maurice Drayton on Thursday primarily for informational purposes. 

According to sources, Jacksonville University (FL) head coach Kerwin Bell and Lexington High School coach Scott Earley are two parties of interest to the school.    Bell is a former Florida quarterback and is also under consideration for the offensive coordinator’s job with the Gators, a job Bell has said he is interested in.  Bell has been the Dolphins head coach since 2007.   He also serves as the team’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. 

Earley is the former head coach at Myrtle Beach High School where he won the 3A state championship in 2008.  This season Earley led Lexington to an undefeated regular season only to lose in the opening round of the 4A playoffs. 

Earley is known for his offensive creativity.  His teams at Myrtle Beach and Lexington were among the highest scoring teams in the state. 

Earley is the second high school coach in the state known to be connected to the opening.  Goose Creek coach Chuck Reedy, who won the 4A-Division Two state championship this season, also is interested in meeting with Coastal officials. 

The Coastal board of trustees will meet Friday morning to discuss the recent turn of events in the football program that saw the ouster of David Bennett last Friday night.  One of the questions about the hiring process revolves around how much Coastal can and will spend for its new coach and staff.  Coastal is on the hook for five more years of Bennett’s contract.  That could be close to a million dollars, depending on what lawyers for both sides work out.    The school has told Bennett it will create a new position for him but it’s not certain Bennett will accept the new job. 

It was concern over the salary for the head coaching position and the assistant positions that led Spurrier Jr. and later fellow USC assistant Shawn Elliott to withdraw from consideration earlier in the week.   The school president told the Myrtle Beach Sun News that the salary for the new football coach should be in line with what the school is paying its basketball and baseball coaches, a base salary of 175-thousand dollars with incentives.

David Bennett was fired Friday night

Coastal Carolina University President David DeCenzo and Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek announced today that David Bennetthas been relieved of his head coaching duties, effective immediately, and he will be reassigned to another position within the University.

“This was, to date, the hardest decision I have had to make as President of this institution,” DeCenzo said. “However, following an exhaustive review and assessment of our football program, I have concluded that new leadership is necessary to direct our program toward its goals. We will be forever grateful to David for shepherding our program from its beginning and developing our student-athletes into responsible members of our community”

Bennett is the only head coach Coastal’s football program has known, coming to Conway in 2002 and laying the foundation for the 2003 season, the Chanticleers’ first year of competition. Bennett compiled a nine-year record of 63-39. However, the Chanticleers were just 29-28 over his last five seasons, including a 15-12 mark in Big South Conference games.

“I was asked to complete a thorough evaluation of our football program that included a review of all on and off the field areas associated with the program,” Yurachek said. “Upon finalizing this evaluation, it was decided that a change of leadership was necessary for our football program to continue to grow and achieve the level of success that is reflective of the investment the University has made in the program.

“A search for our new head coach will begin immediately with an aggressive timetable. I anticipate a significant level of interest from candidates across the country,” Yurachek said.

Bennett owns a 16-year career head coaching record of 126-56, including a 63-17 mark in seven years at Catawba College prior to starting the Coastal Carolina program.

Bennett led CCU to four Big South championships (2004, 2005, 2006 and 2010) and was named the league’s Coach of the Year twice (2004 and 2010). He led Coastal to the Big South’s first and only NCAA at-large playoff berth in 2006, while earning the league’s first NCAA automatic playoff berth in 2010.

(Story from Coastal Carolina SID)

AUDIO: Cliff Ellis

AUDIO: David Bennett

AUDIO: David Bennett

David Duran

In his three years at Coastal, David Duran has caught 58 passes for 820 yards, averaging an impressive 14.1 yards per reception. He is only two receptions shy of becoming the first Big South tight end to have 60 career receptions. Gardner-Webb’s Josh Miller is currently the league’s all-time leader for receptions by a tight end with 59.

That record will be put on hold as he announced this week he will have season-ending surgery on Nov. 1 to repair his shoulder, injured during the Georgia game. Duran played sparingly the following week at North Carolina A&T and has missed each contest since. 

Duran, who was shutout in the season-opening Furman win, had three catches for 61 yards in the Catawba win, added an 11-yard reception at Georgia and caught one ball for three yards at North Carolina A&T.

Duran currently ranks seventh on the CCU all-time receptions list and sixth on the all-time receiving yards list.

Story from Coastal Carolina SID

AUDIO: David Bennett

This week the Chanticleers are off, and will enjoy their bye week.  Normally we look ahead to the Chants opponents, but tonight we kept the conversation casual, discussing his QB play so far on the season, amongst other things.  Coach Bennett also makes a pretty bold prediction.

AUDIO: David Bennett

AUDIO: David Bennett

This week, Coastal will host Catawba at Brooks Stadium at 6:00.  Catawba is a program Bennett knows all to well.  He breaks down this weeks game for us, and takes a look back to what he took away from their week one win against the Paladins.