Inside Game Day Thursday, October 4, 2012 By Al Myatt

Holland: Visit by Tar Heels in 2013 unlikely

Al Myatt
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ORLANDO — The Atlantic Coast Conference apparently will play eight league games in football next season rather than nine as had been initially projected with the addition of new members Pitt and Syracuse.

East Carolina athletic director Terry Holland said Thursday night in Orlando that probably doesn't mean a home game with North Carolina will be salvaged for the 2013 season as had been contracted earlier.

"We worked hard to work around the nine games," Holland said. "The rules have changed again. We had already scheduled for the next couple of years, which is the critical time.

"We're kind of caught right now. We have no room to mess around with it."

Holland said the Pirates will have eight Conference USA games next season and are committed to matchups with four non-conference opponents, which will be announced later. The nonconference games at present, he said, do not include the Tar Heels.

"It's what we could do with the ACC playing nine conference games," Holland said of ECU's nonconference schedule next season. "It would have been nice if they had made that decision (to play eight league games) earlier."

Holland has indicated that the Pirates will continue to schedule N.C. State and North Carolina.

"The eight games may work in our favor in the long run," he said.

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PAGE UPDATED 10/05/12 04:35 AM.