Conditions appear relatively mild for a noon kickoff in August as East Carolina starts football season at N.C. State today. The forecast is calling for 83 degrees at kickoff with 53 percent humidity, a zero percent chance of precipitation and northeast wind at 3 miles per hour. Conditions will change slightly by the conclusion of the contest with the temperature climbing to 88 … [Read more...]

An East Carolina coaching era officially ended last December 1 with a 58-3 loss at N.C. State. Mike Houston's first game as new coach of the Pirates on Saturday at noon is against the same opponent at the same site. The new staff has had ECU on a fast track to recovery from four straight losing seasons. "Preparations started last January," Houston said. "It's been a long … [Read more...]

August is a month of forging new routines — for kids returning to school, for parents, for teachers and for East Carolina football players. During this first official game week of the Mike Houston era, the staff has been focused on maintaining intensity and consistency as the season opener against N.C. State looms larger every day. With Houston setting the tone, game week is … [Read more...]

Game week is finally here for East Carolina. The long, hot summer unofficially ends with the Labor Day weekend and the first week of the college football season. Pirate fans will head west to Raleigh early Saturday for the season-opening matchup with North Carolina State. Last year the Wolfpack manhandled a broken Pirate football team in that ill-advised make-up game … [Read more...]

There is at least one thing about East Carolina’s most recent football game on which we can all agree. It should never have been played. The game was scheduled on the fly primarily to help N.C. State and the Pirates make up for revenue lost by earlier cancellations caused by Hurricane Florence. While both sides had good intentions when the deal was done, changes in … [Read more...]