East Carolina athletic director Jon Gilbert and football coach Blake Harrell fielded questions from reporters Monday about the Pirates’ acceptance of an invitation to face Pittsburgh in the Military Bowl. Gilbert touched on a wide range of topics including the factors that complicated the selection of teams for this season’s bowl games. While expressing satisfaction with ECU’s pairing against a P4 team, he went on to predict changes in the postseason structure and an expansion of the College Football Playoff field to address flaws that were exposed in the scramble to select teams. Harrell praised the Pitt program and noted that the Pirates practiced Monday. He said the players were enthusiastic about the chance to win back to back bowl games and talked about the key role ECU’s fanbase has played in the past. He said the team would take advantage of opportunities to tour sites in the nation’s capital and attend a Redskins-Cowboys game.

Play the YouTube clip of the presser below (26 minutes).

Courtesy of ECU Athletics

Courtesy of ECU Athletics