| East Carolina Pirates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1932; 92 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | Jon Gilbert | ||
| Head coach | Blake Harrell 1st season, 4–0 (1.000) | ||
| Stadium | Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium (capacity: 51,000) | ||
| Field | Bagwell Field | ||
| Year built | 1963 | ||
| Field surface | Tifton 419 Hybrid Bermuda | ||
| Location | Greenville, North Carolina | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FBS | ||
| Conference | The American | ||
| Past conferences | Independent (1932–1946) North State (1947–1961) Independent (1962–1964) Southern (1965–1976) Independent (1977–1996) C-USA (1997–2013) | ||
| All-time record | 461–454–12 (.504) | ||
| Bowl record | 10–11 (.476) | ||
| Conference titles | 7 (1953, 1966, 1972, 1973, 1976, 2008, 2009) | ||
| Division titles | 3 (2008, 2009, 2012) | ||
| Rivalries | Marshall (rivalry) NC State (rivalry) | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | 3 | ||
| Current uniform | |||
 | |||
| Colors | Purple and gold[1] | ||
| Fight song | E.C. Victory | ||
| Mascot | PeeDee the Pirate | ||
| Marching band | The Marching Pirates | ||
| Outfitter | Adidas | ||
| Website | ecupirates.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). Blake Harrell is the interim 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.
- ^ ECU Athletics Style Guidelines (PDF). July 14, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.