Jon Gilbert has received a 3-year contract extension as athletic director at East Carolina that will run through December of 2029. Gilbert’s salary will be $625,000 annually.
“It’s very generous of the chancellor (Dr. Philip G. Rogers),” Gilbert said. “When you get something like that, it certainly validates the work that my staff and I have done over the last several years.
“Katie and I love Greenville. It’s a great community to live in. So we’re very happy here.”
Gilbert came from the AD post at Southern Miss in December of 2018. His tenure has been marked by record-breaking fundraising and academic performance by athletes.
Blake Harrell is 14-5 in football since Gilbert made a coaching change in October of 2024.
Baseball has kept its run of American Conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances intact.
Basketball had 19 wins last season and challenged for a berth in the American tournament this year in a campaign marred by injuries.
President Donald Trump said last week that he will issue an executive order this week in regard to college athletics. The president met with a group that included conference commissioners, with Tim Pernetti representing the American.
The only thing Trump said he was sure of was that he would be sued.
Gilbert knows a flexible stance is best as he commented on his vision.
“As you look to the future, I think first you have to be willing and able to constantly evolve,” Gilbert said. “The state of college athletics, your strategic plan is about three months because something is going to change.
“You have to be able to adapt to that. I feel like we’ve done that really well here. We’ve turned our attention to this Purple and Gold Society and Excellence Fund to help create additional revenue as it relates to revenue sharing (with athletes).
“I want to make sure that we remain adaptable and nimble to the changing market.”
Hoops tournament format change
The American went from being all inclusive in its basketball tournament to reducing the field to the top 10 teams (among the 13 that compete in basketball) in the standings this season.
ECU, 6-6 to end the season, was left out.
The league tournament starts Wednesday in Birmingham. It moves to Tampa next year.
“We talked about this a year ago,” Gilbert said. “The commissioner laid this out. One of the things that was really important for us moving forward is trying to be a multi-bid league.
“If we reduce the field to 10, both the first and the second seed, would get a bye to the semis. … We are positioning our best teams to make sure that we do have the opportunity to be a multi-bid league.”
League composition changed
Gilbert noted how the American’s membership has evolved.
“We had Houston, Cincinnati and Central Florida where we were a multi-bid league and we were sharing in that NCAA basketball revenue. As we get further away from those schools being in the league, we need to make sure that we can continue to get some basketball revenue.
“I do think everyone was a hundred percent supportive of going in that direction.”
ECU will share
Gilbert said the new format will benefit the Pirates financially, even if they don’t qualify for the league tournament.
“There’s a revenue sharing model and that’s been in our league for a very long time,” Gilbert said. “Yes, we would share in that type of revenue.”
Coaching changes
Gibert dismissed Mike Houston as football coach on Oct. 20, 2024. He issued a statement before the end of the recently completed ECU basketball season that Coach Mike Schwartz would be returning for next year.
“Each situation is unique,” Gilbert said. “As I reflect on our basketball program, last year we had one of the best seasons we’ve ever had in basketball, short of making an NCA tournament, just from a winning record standpoint.
“I felt like based on the injuries, based on our history, I didn’t want to get into a cycle of every four years we’re changing coaches because I think when you do that, you really need to look more inward at what’s going on.
“I think we’ve got to continue to invest in basketball. It’s really important to me personally. I fully believe we can win in basketball at East Carolina, but I think we’ve got to continue to be creative and find ways to invest in it.”
Expanding playoffs
There are ongoing conversations about expanding the College Football Playoff and adding teams to the NCAA Tournament in basketball.
Those are two separate subjects to the ECU AD.
“I’m supportive of college football playoff expansion,” he said. “I do think that it’s warranted. There are a lot of good football teams out there that I still think could make a run at the end of the year.
“As long as schools like East Carolina still have a pathway to play in the playoffs, I’m certainly in favor of that expansion.”
A bigger field in basketball doesn’t get Gilbert’s endorsement.
“I’m not as in favor of expansion of the basketball tournament, just because I think that there are not as many good teams that deserve to be in the tournament that get left out,” he said.
“The tournament is really good like it is. And I think the draw of that tournament is you do see some David versus Goliath matchups that people want to see.
“Like this year, can a Miami of Ohio beat one of the big boys? Most teams don’t want to schedule them, but they’re pretty much going to be forced to play them in the NCA tournament.
“Those games are must-watch TV and that’s what makes it so exciting. I think the tournament is in a really good place.”
Facilities update
There is a lot of athletic facility construction going on.
“We really have three facilities going on,” Gilbert said. “First, I’d start with the Isley Indoor (Performance Center, football). It’s going really well. We just completed putting the roof on. Over the next couple of weeks, we’re going to work on putting the siding on.
“So on record, it’s supposed to be done in early October. I do think that we should hit sometime in September, given how quickly the builders are working on the project.
“Our baseball project is going really well. It’s a little more complex, but they continue to work on that as well. Excited about where baseball is.”
The Pirates are currently using the first base dugout but will move back to the third base side when construction is completed. Gilbert expects the project to be completed before the 2027 baseball season.
“Out at Ironwood Golf Course, we have broken ground on that and are working on a clubhouse for our men’s and women’s golf teams,” Gilbert noted.
The Pirates will have a separate clubhouse from the pro shop, lockers and dining area at Ironwood.
Deacon buyout
Wake Forest bought out a scheduled football game in Greenville in 2027 for $750,000 because the ACC is going to nine league games.
The Pirates will still take on the Demon Deacons in 2028 in Winston-Salem, which is closer than any American Conference away games.
Gilbert is looking to fill the 2027 void.
“We are working on that,” he said. “We do not have a contract at this point, but we’re talking to a couple of teams regionally about a home and home game that I think our fans will enjoy going to.
“Nothing final at this point.”
Spring football
Gibert noted that spring football starts shortly with the Pigskin Pig-Out coming up April 17-18.
The Purple-Gold game will be Saturday, April 18, at 1 p.m., which should be compelling, considering the skill position competition that will be taking place following transfer portal losses and additions.
“Just want to get people out and see the new football team and continue to come to baseball games,” Gilbert said. “A lot of sporting events this spring that people can come watch the Pirates compete.”
Football season tickets
Season tickets are on sale for the 2026 football season.
“We just started those,” Gilbert said. “It’s too early to say what the numbers are, but we’re obviously coming off bowl wins so I anticipate that season ticket sales will be good.”
The home schedule will include Appalachian State (Sept. 12), N.C. Central (Sept. 26), Rice (Oct. 10), Temple (Oct. 31), South Florida (Nov. 6) and Florida Atlantic (Nov. 27).
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