Georgia Southern Athletics announced Thursday that the contract of Georgia Southern Cross Country/Track and Field Coach Natalie Smith will not be renewed for the 2011-2012 season.
    A national search will begin immediately to find a replacement.
    Smith completed her fifth year at Georgia Southern after taking over the programs in August of 2006. The Eagles finished 12th in the 2010 Southern Conference Cross Country championship and placed third and fifth in the 2011 SoCon Track & Field championships for the indoor and outdoor seasons, respectively.

Eagles lose, gain a B-back
    Georgia Southern transfer running back Martez Eastland requested and has been granted a release from Georgia Southern.
    Eastland transferred to GSU from Ole Miss in January.
    Junior running back Zeke Rozier, who received a medical redshirt and missed the entire  2010  season, as well as most of 2007, with injuries, has been reinstated to the football team.
SoCon has new marketing/media partner
    SPARTANBURG, S.C. — The Southern Conference announced Thursday that it has reached an agreement with Atlanta-based Career Sports & Entertainment (CSE) to serve as the league’s marketing rights holder and media partner. 
    The two sides agreed on a three-year deal which will begin July 1 and run through the 2013-14 academic year.
    Under the terms of the agreement, CSE will manage all rights associated with marketing, championships, broadcasting, digital and new media.  CSE will also support the conference office through strategic consulting, analytics and branding initiatives.

SBCPRD diamond scores
    In the Midget Boys league of the Statesboro/Bulloch County Parks and Recreation Department, the Bulloch Well Drilling Phillies beat the Clubhouse Giants 6-1. The Statesboro Floor Covering Nationals won against the Statesboro Appliance Center Tigers 7-4. The Dark Horse Properties Braves pulled out a win against the Oates Plumbing Royals 9-8. The Doctor's Hospital of Tattnall Cubs beat the Kiwanis Club of Statesboro Pirates 9-4. The Citizens Bank of Bulloch County Padres tied the Digital Office Equipment White Sox 3-3.
    In the Midget softball league, the Kiwanis Club of Statesboro Braves pulled out a win against the Pawn City Cubs 2-1. The Blue Jays beat the Bulloch Pediatrics Group Rays 9-5. The Splash in the Boro Diamondbacks won against the SRS Orioles 15-0.
    In the Minor baseball league, the Blanchard Equipment Mariners beat the Sheppard Lumber Cubs 13-4. The Farmers and Merchants Bank Indians won against the Sigma Chi Orioles 16-3. The Doctor's Hospital of Tattnall Braves beat the Thigpen, Lanier, Westerfield and Deal Giants 9-2. The Heritage Investment Center Yankees beat the Clubhouse Nationals 16-5. The Splash in the Boro Dodgers won against the Kiwanis Club of Statesboro Phillies 12-2. The Reel Masonry A's pulled out a win against the Chick-fil-a Cardinals 7-6. The Statesboro Children's Dental Center Mets won against the Ogeechee Lodge Reds 6-5.
    To see updated standings, visit www.bullochrec.com.

BA celebrates state titles
    Bulloch Academy wrestlers Daniel Hendrix, Codi Johnson and Mitchell Ball were honored for their state title at the Spring Sports Awards Ceremony, which was held recently in the fellowship hall of the First United Methodist Church.
    In February, the trio won individual state titles in the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) Class AAA state traditional wrestling tournament.
    Hendrix won his state championship in the 112-pound weight class, Johnson won his in the 189-pound division and Ball captured the 103-pound state title.
    For the season, Hendrix was 25-1 and Johnson was 26-0 with 23 pins. The state title was Ball’s second straight and, over the two-year period, he has accumulated a 44-0 record.
    As a team, Bulloch Academy won the state runner-up trophy.

Bubba, Monken kiss 'Reba'
    The Statesboro/Bulloch County team of local businessman Tim “Bubba” Hunt and Georgia Southern football coach Jeff Monken won the honor of kissing “Reba,” one of the mascots for this year’s American Diabetes Association (ADA) “Kiss-a-Pig” campaign.         The largest fundraiser of the year for the ADA ended on Saturday night at the Hyatt Regency Ballroom in Savannah with the announcement that the campaign brought in more than $260,000 and exceeded its target goal.
    The first team from Statesboro/Bulloch County team to compete in the campaign was up against 12 other teams or “Jedi Warriors.” Two veteran teams slugged it out in the “Big Pig” category with the Community of Liberty County pulling out the win.
    The Hunt and Monken team, through donations from the many Statesboro and Bulloch County supporters, raised $33,619 through several events.

Lady Eagles hosting June camps
    The Georgia Southern Lady Eagles, head coach Rusty Cram and the GSU coaching staff will host a Girls Individual Basketball Camp June 10-12 followed by a team camp June 17-18.
    For more information contact assistant coach Amy Kratch at (912) 478-1486, or by email at
akrach@georgiasouthern.edu.

    If you have a score to report, please call the Statesboro Herald sports desk