The Conference USA coaches seemed more focused than ever on pursuit of the league championship in their remarks at the C-USA football media day last weekend in Memphis.

"Our number one goal is to get into Conference USA and be effective when we're there," said first-year Tulsa grid boss Bill Blankenship.

Winning C-USA back-to-back in 2008 and 2009 helped the momentum for a stadium expansion at East Carolina. An interest in success at Southern Methodist led to a big contract for coach June Jones that began to pay off last season with a trip to the conference championship game. The league has recovered and stabilized sufficiently from the exodus of Louisville, Cincinnati, Texas Christian, South Florida and Army after the 2004 season to attract a $43 million television contract from Fox Sports, a significantly better deal than the one it had previously with ESPN.

The league may not have an automatic qualifier in the Bowl Championship Series but it is a competitive entity within itself. Despite its geographic diversity, C-USA has drawn closer in terms of its developing rivalries. The two-division format that began in 2005 with the feature of a championship game has made college football from Greenville to El Paso more compelling.

Sure, the Pirates would love to get that phone call from the Big East — or maybe even the ACC in a perfect world — but until then there are challenges to be met and rewards to be realized in C-USA.

The situation is what it is and those with purple passion might as well enjoy the chase for a championship in ECU's current conference affiliation until something better comes along. With half of the league's teams averaging more than 33 points in C-USA games last season, it is an entertaining, often dramatic brand of football.

ECU's chase for its third league title begins after demanding non-conference dates with South Carolina and Virginia Tech. One positive factor in terms of taking on two relatively physical BCS programs is that the Pirates have an open date before embarking on the league schedule.

Let's take a look at C-USA and how the opposition shapes up. After all, the Pirates would like to win a C-USA ring as much as anyone.

Sept. 24, UAB at East Carolina

The Blazers have a proven passer. As a junior, Bryan Ellis threw for 2,940 yards and 25 touchdowns during a 4-8 (3-5 C-USA) season. He is one of seven starters back on offense. There are eight starters back on defense, including the entire secondary. Former Memphis coach Tommy West has taken over as defensive coordinator for UAB head coach Neil Calloway, a former Pirate assistant. West brings a good knowledge of the league to an experienced unit. The promising aspect of the matchup from ECU's standpoint is that its own defense has been reworked in terms of scheme and personnel. It should be more effective than a year ago when the Pirates persevered for a 54-42 Thursday night win in Birmingham that made them bowl eligible.

Oct. 8, East Carolina at Houston

The road matchup with the Cougars comes without a buffer week after a potentially emotionally-draining game in Greenville with North Carolina. The Cougars will have a little more downtime prior to facing the Pirates as they will be coming off a Thursday night duel at UTEP on Sept. 29. ECU and Houston haven't played since the 2009 league championship game, a 38-32 win in Skip Holtz's last game in Greenville. The Cougars have Heisman candidate Case Keenum returning at quarterback as a senior. He went out in the third game last season after tearing an ACL at UCLA. Fourth-year coach Kevin Sumlin has seven starters back on each side of the ball from a team that went 5-7 overall and 4-4 in C-USA. Houston's non-conference schedule is relatively weak.

Oct. 15, East Carolina at Memphis

The schedule bestowed three straight games on the road for the Pirates and the second leg of the journey takes ECU to the Liberty Bowl. A win over the Tigers is paramount for a possible return trip as league champions in late December. Early turnovers led to one of ECU's most comfortable wins, 49-27, in 2010 when Memphis visited Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. That was the second game and the Tigers went on to finish 1-11 (0-8 in C-USA) in Larry Porter's first season as head coach. The Tigers will have an inexperienced quarterback to direct the new spread attack. One bit of good news for Memphis is that punter Tom Hornsey is back after averaging 42.7 yards last season. The bad news is that the Tigers may be calling on him quite a bit.

Oct. 29, Tulane at East Carolina

Green Wave coach Bob Toledo is optimistic with seven starters back on each side of the ball from a 4-8 team in 2010 that went 2-6 in the league. Orleans Darkwa ran for 925 yards last season as a freshman and provides an offensive weapon to go along with quarterback Ryan Griffin, who has mended after surgeries in the offseason. Linebacker Trent Mackey looks to follow up after making 124 tackles last season as a sophomore. The schedule isn't overpowering and there is the opportunity to build some early momentum. The Wave will come to Greenville after successive home games against Syracuse, UTEP and Memphis, which translates as a potentially favorable situation in terms of developing confidence. ECU won the last meeting in 2008 in New Orleans, 28-24.

Nov. 5, Southern Miss at East Carolina

The Golden Eagles are 14-3 all-time at ECU but have played a less physical style of offense since Larry Fedora took over for Jeff Bower three seasons ago. A 44-43 Pirates win last year in Hattiesburg gave ECU back-to-back victories in the series for the first time since 1995. Southern Miss was a respectable 8-5 overall and 5-3 in C-USA in 2010 but a 50-49 upset loss at home to UAB in double overtime put a dent in league title aspirations. The Eagles were still the only C-USA team to beat Central Florida, the eventual league champion. Senior quarterback Austin Davis (3,103 passing yards and 20 touchdowns in 2010) was asked about his goals at C-USA media day. "I came to Southern Miss to win a conference championship and we haven't done that yet," he said.

Nov. 12, East Carolina at Texas-El Paso

The week after a likely showdown with the Golden Eagles, the Pirates will take off for a 3,800-mile round trip to UTEP. Despite the distance, ECU may find the Miners with a Pirate-like chip on their shoulder. In his media day remarks, coach Mike Price sounded indignant about preseason C-USA preseason polls that have offered UTEP little respect. There are only two starters back on offense but Price said the talent level has been boosted by junior college transfers that include quarterback Nick Lamaison, who moved to the forefront in the position competition in the spring, along with Javia Hall. Joe Banyard, who ran for 623 yards for a 6-7 team (3-5 C-USA), is back. The defense looks better with nine starters returning. Five of UTEP's 2010 wins were at home, which could be interpreted as an uh-oh for ECU.

Nov. 19, Central Florida at East Carolina

The Knights were C-USA champions in 2010, going 7-1 in the league and 11-3 overall with a Liberty Bowl win over Georgia. Despite those accomplishments, a lawsuit involving the wrongful death of former UCF player Ereck Plancher drew much of the focus on the program in the offseason. UCF is appealing a $10 million award. Coach George O'Leary faces some rebuilding with only four starters returning from the league's best defense. There are nine starters back on offense, including quarterback Jeff Godfrey and back Ronnie Weaver, who ran for 890 yards last season. The Knights broke a four-game losing streak to ECU last year with a 49-35 win in Orlando. This late season meeting obviously could have division title implications for both parties.

Nov. 26, East Carolina at Marshall

Thundering Herd coach Doc Holliday was unable to attend media day but welcomed back eight defensive starters from a team that won four of its last five after a 1-6 start. Marshall went 4-4 in C-USA. Senior defensive end Vinny Curry had 12 sacks last season and is an NFL-sized load. A decision between sophomore quarterbacks A.J. Graham and Eddie Sullivan had not been made going into preseason camp. Whoever wins the job will have Aaron Dobson as a top target after his 2010 season produced 689 yards in receptions and five touchdowns. ECU, which soundly defeated Marshall 37-10 last season in Greenville, has won five of the last six in the series. The lone breakthrough for the Herd during that span was a 26-7 win in Huntington in 2007.

Dec. 3, C-USA Championship, ???