East Carolina closed the 2024 football season with a 26-21 Military Bowl win over N.C. State, an outcome that has been widespread in its favorable implications for the university community.

Athletic director Jon Gilbert addressed the ripple effect of the dramatic triumph enabled by an 86-yard touchdown run by Rahjai Harris with 1:33 remaining at Navy Marine Corps Stadium.

“I’m excited for Pirate fans, our players and our staff,” Gilbert said. “Anytime you can win a bowl game and play on national TV, the exposure that it brings is really important, not only to athletics, but the institution at large.

“Obviously, the ability to beat a program like N.C. State, beating a Power Four team with a differential in resources just speaks volumes.

“The ability for us to capitalize off of that during the offseason and leading up to the start of the season, it’s really important.

“You walk off the field a winner. You immediately go into recruiting mode, selling season tickets, promoting the program, just a leg up for Coach (Blake) Harrell and the staff and our student athletes to be able to do that.”

Season opening date change

Since the bowl game, it was announced that ECU’s 2025 opener at State will be played on Thursday, Aug. 28. It was originally set for Aug. 30. The contest will be shown on ESPN.

“We had been talking to N.C. State for quite a time about that move and had agreed to do that before it was made public,” Gilbert said. “Ultimately, the TV partners decide when those game times and places happen.

“It’s not a bad thing for us to play on a Thursday night. Again, national exposure, and I think the biggest thing is, particularly in Eastern North Carolina, fans can still go to the game on Thursday night and get to the beach for Labor Day weekend one last time.”

Productive decision

Gilbert made a bold and decisive move on Oct. 29 to relieve Mike Houston of his duties as head football coach and replace him with defensive coordinator Blake Harrell.

“It certainly played out in the public eye,” Gilbert said.  “We were not trending in the right direction and felt like a change, the leadership change needed to be made.

“Obviously, Mike Houston did a lot to grow and build this program and is a really good person and a good coach. But I felt like we needed a leadership change.

“When you do those things, we had several weeks to get going on the search, and you really didn’t anticipate doing what we were doing. I credit our players and Coach Harrell and the staff for managing a difficult situation midyear and then coming out on the other end with an 8-win season and a victory over an in-state team.

“It took a lot to do that because, as coaches, they have concern about what their future looks like and how that plays out. And so, really happy it turned out the way that it did. And when we look back on this season, certainly you can deem this season a successful and a meaningful one for the Pirates.”

Interviews took place

Gilbert conducted interviews before the team’s performance under Harrell made him the obvious choice to continue without the interim tag.

“I interviewed a lot of coaches,” Gilbert said.

Final minute skirmish

The pushing and shoving that took place between the rivals in the final minute of the bowl game was unfortunate because it took the spotlight off a tremendous play by Harris and rekindled memories of bygone hostilities in the series.

ECU and State didn’t meet in the regular season until 1996 after fights involving fans and security followed a 32-14 Pirates win in Raleigh in 1987.

The 2024 incident has been addressed.

“We’ve managed it both internally and with our (American Athletic) conference office,” Gilbert said. “It has been handled.”

House settlement repercussions

The NCAA has settled a lawsuit that will distribute $2.8 billion in backpay damages over 10 years to Division I athletes

“There’s still a lot of road to travel on finalizing the (NCAA vs. House) settlement,” Gilbert said. “I do think that we will revenue share in the future with our teams. I do think that it’s purely speculative at this point, but I do think it’s going to significantly change the landscape of intercollegiate athletics.

“We are all waiting anxiously to determine what the outcome is of that settlement so we can finalize a game plan. We certainly have been talking for some time about things that we’re going to do, but it really is just talk until the suit becomes final and we all understand what the rules are.”

Financial value rankings

CNBC published rankings of the Football Bowl Subdivisions by their financial value.

ECU was listed 73rd among the 131 FBS programs.

“I did see the list,” Gilbert said. “I think they did a model, much like they do in the NFL, that an owner bought the team at this amount and now the team is valued at this number.

“I think what they did is they went into colleges and they looked at a variety of things and put a value on it.

“I think a lot of that stems from the history of East Carolina football. You look at our fan base and then the amount of revenue that we drive internally. We are one of the better schools on our level about driving revenue internally. A lot of schools that have bigger budgets than us are getting it from larger enrollment or institutional support.

“If you look at what East Carolina delivers from ticket sales, premium suite sales, multimedia rights agreement licensing and all those things, our numbers all rang very favorably.”

Speculation on UNC’s affiliation

There have been speculative reports that North Carolina could leave the ACC for the Big 10 or SEC. The Tar Heels have made a big commitment to football by hiring Bill Belichick.

“I don’t really see that scenario playing out,” Gilbert said of a potential UNC exit. “The ACC just redid their TV contract to 2036. Obviously, everybody is trying to invest as much as they can in football. It is the chief revenue driver for every FBS athletic department. And so, not surprised that more schools are doubling down on their investments in their football program.”

NCAA basketball tournament expansion

Despite the conversations about expanding the NCAA Tournament in basketball, Gilbert likes the status quo.

“I don’t think that the tournament should be tinkered with too much,” he said. “Now, can we add a few teams here and there? I’d say if you added a few more teams, you’re not fundamentally changing the tournament.

“But I think why the tournament is so appealing is it really is a comprehensive tournament, all-inclusive, where you do have some David and Goliath matchups. When the smaller schools win, it really does, in my mind, enhance the viewership numbers. And so, I think that’s pretty important.”

Indoor football practice facility

A fundraising effort is progressing for projects that include an indoor practice facility for football.

“I’m anticipating breaking ground on it sometime in April or May,” Gilbert said.

Harrell’s salary

Harrell’s base salary as football coach is $1.3 million annually for four years.  Houston’s last contract was for $1.4 million a year.

Harrell will receive more from media rights revenue and potential bonuses.

Gilbert said the deals are comparable.

“Very similar from a language standpoint,” he said. “Obviously not from a revenue standpoint, not as much as what Mike was being compensated, but obviously there’s a difference in the number of years that Mike has been a head coach versus Blake.”

Houston will be paid $2.8 million for the remaining two years of his contract.