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ECU-Southern Miss Kickoff Advanced to 11:00 A.M.;
Louisville-TCU Clash Added to Nov. 23 TV Line-up
From Staff, ECU and C-USA
Reports - 10/24/01 East Carolina athletic
department officials had fretted all season about the
prospect of hosting Southern Mississippi in a made-for-TV
Friday night game that would clash with regional high school
playoff games on November 23.
Thanks to Wednesday announcements from
Conference USA and ESPN, the conflict has been abated � and
the Pirates and Golden Eagles will still appear on national
television. The annual showdown between the teams, slated
this season for the Friday after Thanksgiving, will now kickoff at
11 a.m. ET, Conference USA officials announced.
 The
game was originally set for a 6 p.m. kickoff, but that start time has been moved to
accommodate ESPN's expanded national television plans for C-USA on Nov. 23.
ECU's director of athletics, Mike Hamrick, was glad the timing of the
game was changed and thankful for the school's late reprieve from having a
home game that might distract from area prep football playoff games
scheduled for the same night.
"Obviously, this game's date and time have been dictated by television,"
he said. "However, we're pleased that
the game will not interfere with Friday night high school football in North
Carolina. The holiday weekend and a national TV audience should make for an
exciting atmosphere."
This marks the fifth consecutive season that the battle between the
Golden Eagles and Pirates will be nationally televised. ECU won last year's
game, 14-9, in Hattiesburg, Miss., but Southern Miss has won three of the
last four meetings.
The game will mark the final home appearance for several seniors who have made a
notable impact on the Pirate program, including quarterback David Garrard,
linebacker Pernell Griffin and running back Leonard Henry.
Louisville-TCU Game Added to Thanksgiving Friday TV Slate
In addition, ESPN announced that a second C-USA clash has been added to the
November 23 TV line-up. That evening's Louisville-Texas Christian contest in
Fort Worth, now slated for the 6:00 p.m. EST time slot, will be nationally
televised on ESPN.
Louisville will be making its first-ever visit to
TCU as the Cardinals close out their 2001 regular season campaign. The game
will mark Louisville's second straight appearance on ESPN, as the Cardinals
visit East Carolina on the previous Thursday (Nov. 15).
TCU will appear on ESPN 2 this coming Tuesday,
October 30, when it hosts East Carolina in a special Tuesday night telecast,
and will also close out its regular season on December 7 with a national TV
appearance at Southern Miss on ESPN 2.
Earlier this week, ESPN 2 announced that it would
televise the Southern Miss at Penn State matchup on November 3 at Noon EST
from State College, Pa. A complete list of Conference USA's remaining
schedule on ESPN and ESPN 2 appears below:
ESPN's C-USA Line-up:
Thursday, November 15 Louisville
at East Carolina 7:30 p.m. EST/6:30 p.m. CST
Friday, November 23 Louisville at TCU 6:00 p.m.
EST/5:00 p.m. CST Friday,
December 28 galleryfurniture.com Bowl 1:30 p.m. EST/12:30 p.m. CST
Saturday, December 29 Motor City Bowl Noon
EST/11:00 a.m. CST
Monday, December 31 AXA Liberty Bowl 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST
ESPN2's C-USA Line-up:
Tuesday, October 30 East Carolina
at TCU 8:00 p.m. EST/7:00 p.m. CST
Saturday, November 3 Southern Miss at Penn
State Noon EST/11:00 a.m. CST
Friday, November 23 Southern Miss at East
Carolina 11:00 a.m. EST/10:00 a.m. CST
Friday, December 7 TCU at Southern Miss 8:00
p.m. EST/7:00 p.m. CST
Wednesday, December 19 GMAC Bowl 7:30 p.m. EST/6:30 p.m. CST
- C-USA -
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