It’s quite a contrast from years gone by when similar brochures raved, “We’re Going after the Best!”
To me, the message between the lines is obvious. At the present, East Carolina’s athletic program is down, and may be so for some time to come. The football program is at its all time low coming off a 1-11 year, and though it is on the upswing, the basketball program is registering one sub-500 season after another. On the bright side, the baseball team is a solid top 25 program. Unfortunately, baseball doesn’t pay the bills.
Added misery came in the form of the recent reshuffling of conference memberships.
ECU was not ever seriously considered for membership in the Big East Conference, a position it had lobbied for many years now. Instead, the Big East opted for newcomer South Florida to go along with obvious choices Cincinnati and Louisville. To compound the dilemma, the Pirates have been navigating the turbulent waters of late without an athletic director at the helm.
Soon East Carolina athletics will be competing in the new Conference-USA, hoping to build fan interest for contests against the likes of Tulsa, Southern Methodist, and Rice.
It won’t be easy, but then nothing about ECU athletics ever is.