East Carolina Pirates football

East Carolina Pirates
2023 East Carolina Pirates football team
First season1932
Athletic directorJon Gilbert
Head coachMike Houston
5th season, 24–34 (.414)
StadiumDowdy–Ficklen Stadium
(capacity: 51,000)
FieldBagwell Field
Year built1963
Field surfaceTifton 419 Hybrid Bermuda
LocationGreenville, North Carolina
NCAA divisionDivision I FBS
ConferenceThe American
Past conferencesIndependent (1932–1946)
North State (1947–1961)
Independent (1962–1964)
Southern (1965–1976)
Independent (1977–1996)
C-USA (1997–2013)
All-time record461–454–12 (.504)
Bowl record10–11 (.476)
Conference titles7 (1953, 1966, 1972, 1973, 1976, 2008, 2009)
Division titles3 (2008, 2009, 2012)
RivalriesMarshall (rivalry)
NC State (rivalry)
Charlotte (rivalry)
Consensus All-Americans3
ColorsPurple and gold[1]
   
Fight songE.C. Victory
MascotPeeDee the Pirate
Marching bandThe Marching Pirates
OutfitterAdidas
Websiteecupirates.com

The East Carolina Pirates are a college football team that represents East Carolina University (variously "East Carolina" or "ECU"). The team is a member of the American Athletic Conference, which is in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Mike Houston is the head coach.

The Pirates have won seven conference championships and ten bowl games. The Pirates have 20 All-Americans over their history. Four players have their jerseys retired. Numerous Pirates have played in the NFL, including ten current players.

The team played its inaugural season in 1932. The team played home games at College Stadium on the main campus from the 1949 to the 1962 season. With the exception of the 1999 Miami football game, they have played their home games at Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium every year since 1963. The stadium is located south of East Carolina's main campus near the intersection of South Charles Boulevard and 14th Street. Dowdy-Ficklen underwent an expansion in 2010, raising the capacity of the stadium to 50,000. The Pirates announced a $55 million renovation project to Dowdy-Ficklen in 2016, which added a new tower above the south side stands, among other things.

The coaches and administrative support is located in the Ward Sports Medicine Building, which is located adjacent to the stadium. Strength and conditioning for the players occurs in the Murphy Center, a $13 million indoor training facility which was completed in June 2002 and which is located in the west end zone of Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium. The Pirates also practice and train at the Cliff Moore Practice Facility, which was fully renovated in 2005 and which has two full-length NFL-caliber fields.

  1. ^ ECU Athletics Style Guidelines (PDF). July 14, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.

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