by Scott Stirling
It was quite apparent sophomore Tim Winston wasn’t your run-of-the-mill sports fan when he showed up for his interview with The Echo wearing a shirt that prominently boasted about an event that most every other sports fan disapproved.
The shirt, complete with an illustration of the infamous container, proclaimed “I threw the cup at Ron Artest,” referring to the brawl-inspiring cup of beer that hit NBA player Artest last season. Artest went after the fan who threw the cup and the rest is history. Winston, although he really didn’t throw the cup, is trying to make a little history at UCA along with sophomore Tim Daulong.
The Tims are doing there best to promote UCA sports by being the guys who not only go to nearly every game they can, but go shirtless with purple and gray writing all over their bodies. But the games aren’t the only place these guys are fans; they’ve also been doing their best to make themselves known in cyberspace as the leaders of the Purple Haze Army.
“The Purple Haze Army is a group dedicated to the defense and protection of the University of Central Arkansas from any who by claim, action or allegiance are enemies of the University of Central Arkansas,” says the mission statement on the at top of the page of the facebook group. But how they go about defending and protecting UCA is a little unorthodox.
The Purple Haze Army is a facebook group, presently consisting of 599 UCA students, that harasses adversaries by poking opposing athletes, causing the victim to have to click on each individual poke to clear their facebook profile. And when you get poked by 600 people, it could take a while to get rid of those. But the goal of the group is not only to aggravate the opposition, but also to get UCA students fired up about the Bears and Sugar Bears.
“We go to basketball games and we realize there’s not really that big of a fan base there, it’s kinda disappointing,” Daulong said. “I was disappointed because in high school it was like standing room only. So I was really pumped about coming to college and then we got here and there’s really not that big of a fan base. So we just wanted to find a way to reach out to the rest of the student body – to let them know when games are, the results of games or whatever and to somewhat terrorize other people – it just makes it fun.”
Winston said that a few people from other schools have threatened him and the Purple Haze Army, and some UCA students have messaged him disapproving of the group that some think take it over the line. One student from Harding made it known he didn’t appreciate the attack from the Winston and his army.
“One of them was very vulgar about it because I think he was really upset.” Winston said. “I can’t remember what we called him at the soccer games but he didn’t get to play much so we made fun of him a lot. He was very vulgar about it asking us how we did in the tournament. But it was an easy reply because Harding didn’t even make it to the national tournament.”
There’s not an exact science as to who the leaders of the group send a link to poke to every member of the army. Sometimes, it’s because they simply don’t like someone.
“We attend the games and we decide on a player who’s most vulnerable to poke or who did horrible, we just want to make them feel like a jackass,” Daulong said.
Daulong and Winston, both former cross country runners at UCA, came up with the name for the group by a chant their coach used to make them scream before competing: “One, two, three, Purple Haze!”
They got some help creating the group from sophomore Cody Stone, but said he couldn’t spend as much time leading the army as the Tims do once he got a girlfriend. After Stone’s downfall freshman Amir Rostampour stepped up and can be seen at the games alongside Daulong and Winston without a shirt – something the leaders of the army want to see from a lot more people with UCA’s move to Division I.
“I’m hoping like after we leave the Purple Haze Army carries on,” Daulong said. “I think that would be an awesome tradition to start. I watch like Duke basketball games and see their fan section, like everybody’s painted. That’s what I want, that’s our goal. Right now there’s only like four of us that get really painted and get right there in the action. I’m hoping we can fill the whole student section and I hope DI will give us that opportunity.”
Bears grab cross country signee
April 27, 2006
by Josh Goff
UCA got the signature of one of the state's best distance runners on Thursday when Justin Smith of Heber Springs inked with the Bears.
Smith, an all-conference and all-state selection in track and cross country since his freshman year, joins coach Richard Martin's team as the program begins its resurrection after a hiatus dating back to the early 90s.
"Coach [Richard] Martin’s a real nice guy, and they’re just starting their track program back up and I want to help get that going – that’s one big reason," Smith said. "My grandparents live in Conway, so I've got family there, too."
Smith has a part in two state records – his sophomore year he ran on 2-mile relay teams that set state records for class AAA in both indoor (8:21) and outdoor (8:09) at the state meet. Smith's Panthers have never finished worse than second as a team at the state meet.
Smith, who has a 3.4 GPA and is one of just two seniors on the track team this year, has been a valuable leader according to HSHS coach Dale Cresswell.
“He’s a good overall student, he makes good grades and he’s a good kid,” Cresswell said of Smith. “He’s not the kind where once you turn around he’ll start walking. He leads by example. He likes running so much – this year between cross country and track I finally told him to take a week off and I think in that week he ran anyway.”
UCA should also expect a signature in the near future from Conway High runner Raven Fuller, who has offers from Oklahoma and Oklahoma State but likes the advantages UCA offers.
"Most likely I'll go to UCA and stay close to home," he said. "And UCA's talking about more money. UCA is a good school and they'll be D-I, and really I just want to get my education because I know I'm not going to run after college."
Fuller also cited coach Richard Martin as part of UCA's appeal.
"He's come to a couple of my meets and he'll talk to you like he's one of your friends," Fuller said. "He's pretty cool."
Fuller runs cross country, the 2-mile relay, the 800m run, 1-mile and 2-mile run for the Wampus Cats. And, he also suits up for the basketball team.
"UCA's looking at me just to run," he said. "Hendrix and a couple other schools looking at me to do both, but that's fine because I don't think I could do both and still keep up with my schoolwork."
Fuller even gave golf a brief shot this year, but don't expect to see him helping out Ryke Dismuke's team at UCA.
"I tried to play golf some but I figured I wasn't any good," he said. "I wanted to play every sport my senior year so I tried it, I tried it and I like it I'm just not good at it."
Fuller came in fifth overall and was the top finisher from Arkansas at the Oklahoma/Arkansas All-Star meet during the 2005 cross country season. He has been all-state in cross country since his freshman year and in track since he was a sophomore.
Echo Sports grabs 15 ACMA awards
April 22, 2006
Echo Sports
Echo Sports founders Kai Caddy and Josh Goff combined for 15 awards at Friday's Arkansas College Media Association awards banquet.
Goff, the editor of The Echo, won nine awards. Caddy, sports editor of The Echo, came away with six.
Goff's awards include: First place in Sports Feature Writing, First place in Sports Column Writing, Third place in Sports Story Writing, Honorable Mention in Sports Feature Writing, Honorable Mention in Sports Photography, Second place in General Column Writing, Secondplace in Editorial Writing, Second place in Feature writing and Third place in Editorial Writing.
Caddy was named Designer of the Year for the second consecutive year. He also won First place in Sports Photography, First place in Sports Page Layout, First place in Art/Illustration Photo, Third place in Sports Page Layout, Third place in Art/Illustration Photo.
Bears beat Bisons in baseball battle
April 19, 2006
by Josh Goff
It might not've been pretty – but it's still a win.
Despite a handful of miscues and a rare earned run given up by closer Brian Blankenship, the UCA Bears (27-13) were able to stage a three-run, 9th-inning rally to defeat the Bisons of Harding University in a non-conference game Tuesday at UCA Field.
"We weren't ready to play," UCA coach Doug Clark said. "Let's call a spade a spade. We were not ready to play – the coaches, the players. I guess we just thought we'd throw on our gloves and hats and go out there and win."
After Blankenship – who entered the game with a miniscule 0.44 ERA – allowed Harding's Ben Wimberly to score in the top of the 9th, UCA entered the home half trailing 5-3.
Just two pitches later, it was 5-4 as UCA designated hitter Matt Warren blasted a Casey Benincosa pitch over the left field wall for the solo home run. Benincosa followed that up by plunking Roger Lenderman, who advanced to second on a balk. Catcher Chris Davis followed with a single, and shortstop Jonathan Ashworth added one of his own to plate Lenderman and knot the score at 5.
A sacrifice bunt by Dallas Black gave the Bears runners at second and third with just one out, and Harding opted to give an intentional pass to second baseman Jeff Mack – who was 0-for-3 in the game – to load the bases for third baseman Craig Nyborg, who was 2-for-3 entering the final at-bat.
Nyborg connected with Benincosa's 2-2 offering, sending a shot to Harding second baseman Zach Fisher. Fisher flipped the ball over to Whitaker at second for the second out, but Nyborg beat the throw to first to avoid the double play and allowed Davis to cross the plate with the winning run.
"I had played the situation out in my head," Nyborg said. "I just waited back to see the ball, and hit it."
Harding jumped out to a 4-0 lead on UCA early, scoring in each of the first three innings. The Bears' bats were silenced early by Bisons starter Brian McCrackin, who gave up just one earned run in 6.2 innings and allowed UCA just two hits through four innings – the first coming with two out in the 3rd.
UCA finally got on the board in the 6th, when Davis and Ashworth scored thanks in part to a pair of miscues by the Bisons. The Bears added their third run in the 7th on a towering homer by right fielder Chris Houk that cleared the scoreboard in left-center field with ease.
Blankenship moved to 3-1 with the win while Benincosa fell to 2-1.
Zach Barnett started the game for the Bears and lasted just two innings, giving up three hits, two
earned runs, striking out three and walking three.
In two innings of work, Benincosa allowed three runs, walked one, hit four batters and struck out none for Harding.
Fite Nite '06 Photo Galleries
April 11, 2006
First string offense, defense dominates spring game
April 09, 2006
by Kai Caddy
UCA football coach Clint Conque's office redecoration is now complete, just like his team's first spring as a Division I-AA squad.
The Bears wrapped up spring practice last Friday night before an estimated 500 fans at Estes Stadium in the annual spring game, in which the projected first string showed why they're in that position as the first offense and first defense dominated their counterparts on the second string.
The first-string offense put on a show for the fans early and often. After the first defense held the second offense to a three and out, the first offense didn't waste much time before getting in the end zone.
The offense's first drive was highlighted by a throw and catch from quarterback Nathan Brown to receiver Che Jones, then running back Ross Brown took off on a 16-yard jaunt for another first down. Later Nathan Brown hit Ross Brown for a 14-yard completion, and finally Nathan Brown hooked up with one of his favorite targets, Aaron Fairooz, for a 25-yard touchdown.
After another three-and-out from the second offense, the first team only needed one play to score. Ross Brown took the handoff and broke a couple tackles and wound up in the end zone 65 yards later.
On the third drive it was more Ross Brown and Fairooz. Brown had an 11-yard run and Fairooz had a catch for 13 yards and one for 15. Transfer tight end Charles Twilley was on the receiving end of an 11-yard pass, while a couple poor defenders were on the receiving end of Twilley not wanting to go down. The drive sputtered out, though, and James Paul was called in to attempt a 46-yard field goal. Paul nailed it.
The second offense finally saw a little success on the next series. But not before transfer cornerback Tristan Jackson nearly made an acrobatic interception. On the next play, though, Marcus Smith, a transfer running back from Arkansas-Pine Bluff took off on a tough 15-yard run before being stopped. That gave the second offense its first first down of the day. But, freshman Zach Hyatt ended all that, picking off a Robby Park pass to end the half.
Just after the half, the first offense found itself in some trouble after a sack and a penalty. But on third-and-long, Nathan Brown hit Ross Brown on a screen. Ross Brown was close to the first down, but a scuffle broke out behind the play when offensive lineman Lane Freiwald threw down defensive lineman Josh Fay, hovered over him and commenced punching.
After order was restored, the first offense started its next series deep in its own territory. But Ross Brown quickly got the offense out of the shadow of its own end zone, running 35 yards for the first down. Ross Brown carried for another first down before the passing game took over. Nathan Brown hit Jones for a 12-yard pickup, then on fourth-and-eight hit Brandon Payne for a gain of 13. Nathan Brown hit Fairooz for another first down, then Ross Brown capped off the long drive with a 13-yard run.
The 13-yard run would be the last touchdown until late in the scrimmage when linebacker Quentin Maxfield scooped up a fumble and scored from 12 yards out.
Linebacker Ryan Taylor, cornerback Dathan Johnson, receiver Cameron Kinard and offensive lineman Ronnie Lee all sat out the scrimmage because of injury, but all are expected to be back for the fall.
Also returning in the fall will be linebacker Calvin Dumas, who has missed the last two seasons with injuries.
Dennis takes Tournament Challenge
April 07, 2006
David Dennis needed just one more win wrap up the 2006 Echo Sports Tournament Challenge, and Saturday night he got he got that win.
The Los Angeles native saw his hometown UCLA Bruins knock off LSU 59-45 in Saturday’s semifinal, which cemented the Tourney Challenge win.
Dennis correctly guessed 37 of 63 (58.7 percent) games and was one of only three contestants to even guess a Final Four team right.
First major scrimmage goes well
April 01, 2006
Photos
by Kai Caddy
UCA's first major scrimmage as a Division IAA program on Saturday in front of a crowd of about 200 in Estes Stadium provided plenty of positives heading into the Bears' final week of spring drills.
The 75-play scrimmage was one of a situational nature. The Bears worked first string vs. first string and second string vs. second string for most of the session, but at the end the first strings proved why there were first stringers as they took on the second string.
Running back Ross Brown showed a little bit of extra speed that he accumulated sometime between the end of last season and this spring. He went 60 yards untouched after bouncing a run out to the left sideline then all the way to paydirt for the first touchdown of the scrimmage during some third down situational work.
He scored another touchdown during work inside the 10. He scored from one yard out on a sweep to the left side of the field.
Junior transfer tight end Charles Twilley would not go down. The big bruiser caught several passes early on and punished defenders as he fought for more yards. He scored the second touchdown of the day during redzone work when returning quarterback Nathan Brown rolled out and hit him for a 7-yard TD strike.
Transfer quarterback Robby Park saw work primarily with the second string, but also got to work with the ones. He threw some good balls and looked comfortable in the offense. He did throw one interception, but it bounced off the receivers hands right into the defender's.
When the first offense took on the second defense, they quickly showed the flair from last season when they averaged 40.1 points per game en route to a Gulf South Conference championship.
On the first play Nathan Brown hit Che Jones and Jones quickly accelerated by the entire defense and scooted 65 yards for a score. Jasper Johnson, a starting safety last season but playing on the second string defense in the scrimmage, put a big hit on All-American receiver Aaron Fairooz on the next play.
Later Nathan Brown hooked up with Fairooz as they did several times last season for a big 41-yard score.
The Bears came out of the scrimmage relatively injury free. Offensive lineman Ronnie Lee is out for the spring with a bad knee, receiver Cameron Kinard ended his spring over spring break when he broke his hand. Punter Muhammad Spreco is out for the spring with a knee injury as well.
Offensive linemen Brad Gordon and cornerback Dathan Johnson were out for the scrimmage, but will return to action this spring.
The Bears wrap up spring drills on Friday when they hold their annual Spring Game at 7 p.m. in Estes Stadium.
