Dave Hart was contracted by Chancellor Cecil Staton in March to conduct an extensive review of East Carolina’s athletic department and formulate a plan to help revitalize the Pirates both financially and on the field of competition. He’s also doubled as an interim athletic director responsible for filling the three most important positions on ECU’s staff. After the events … [Read more...]

Figuratively speaking, East Carolina hit both the PowerBall and MegaMillions jackpots this week with the twin hirings of athletic director Jon Gilbert and football coach Mike Houston. Just three days later, the Pirates came into an actual financial windfall with the announcement of a $20 million cash infusion into the school’s athletic budget. Ten million of those dollars … [Read more...]

It took awhile to happen, but once the dominoes finally began to fall, they all came down in a hurry. First came the emergency meeting of East Carolina's Board of Trustees last Wednesday, followed in rapid succession by the announcement a day later that Scottie Montgomery had been fired, effective immediately, as the Pirates’ football coach. The timing of the dismissal … [Read more...]

East Carolina didn’t wait until after its final game of its season to part ways with football coach Scottie Montgomery. Chancellor Cecil Staton announced the move Thursday after consultation with special advisor Dave Hart and the university’s Board of Trustees. The dismissal is effective immediately. Defensive coordinator David Blackwell will lead the team in its season … [Read more...]

I buy a PowerBall ticket every week, using the same numbers each time. It’s a system that has yet to pay off. Once, I actually got three numbers right and it felt as though I was finally getting close to collecting the big jackpot. But several months have gone by since then and it still hasn’t happened. So I’ve decided to go with a new set of numbers. After doing … [Read more...]