East Carolina Pirates
Encyclopedia
The East Carolina Pirates are the intercollegiate sports teams representing East Carolina University
in Greenville
, North Carolina
. All varsity-level sports teams sponsored by the university compete in NCAA Division I as a member of Conference USA
. In football
, the Pirates, as do all other C-USA members, play in the top-tier Division I Football Bowl Subdivision.
have long been associated with the North Carolina
coast. One of the most famous pirates, Blackbeard
, resided in the North Carolina coastal communities of Bath
, Beaufort
and Ocracoke
. The modern day mascot is based on the description of Blackbeard. Many other pirates used the shallow coast and Outer Banks
to evade capture. ECU officially became the Pirates in 1934. In 1983, a contest was developed to name the Pirates. Children from all over Pitt County submitted their ideas, and Pee Dee the Pirate was chosen. The Pee Dee River
is a river along the North Carolina and South Carolina
border where pirates often set up camp. The name was less than popular with ECU students, and in 1985 Chancellor Howell decided on his own to drop "Pee Dee" and be known only as "The Pirates". People still use the terms Pee Dee and Petey as the terms for The Pirates, and PeeDee is still the name of their mascot.
, with the latest appearance occurring in 1993 where they played the North Carolina Tar Heels
. East Carolina has had four players to reach the NBA level, Theodore "Blue" Edwards
, who was selected by the Utah Jazz
with the 21st overall pick of the 1989 NBA Draft
, Oliver Mack
who was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
as the third pick in the second round of the 1979 NBA Draft
, George Maynor, who was selected by the Chicago Bulls
as the sixth pick in the fourth round of the 1979 NBA Draft, and Charles Alford, who was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers as the ninth pick in the tenth round of the 1968 NBA Draft
.
After the departure of coach Mack McCarthey to an administrative job, the Pirates have hired former Auburn coach, Jeff Lebo as their new head coach.
In his first season at ECU Coach Jeff Lebo
took the Pirates to their first post season game since 1993 when the Pirates lost to the Tarheels in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The ECU Lady Pirates have made it to the NCAA Women's Division Tournament twice, in 2007 and 1982. During the 1982 Season the Pirates compiled a 17-9 record and were placed as the 6th seed in the Midwest Regional. but lost in the first round of the tournament to South Carolina 79-54. In 2007 the Lady Pirates claimed their first Conference USA tournament title with an upset victory over the Rice Owls. During the regular season the team had a record of 19-13. For the NCAA Tournament the Pirates earned the 13th seed in the Dayton Regional before falling to eventual runner-up 4th seed Rutgers by a score of 77-34.
From 2007-2010 the Lady Pirates have posted three consecutive winning seasons.
The first season for the women's team was 1969 and they have an overall record of 603-513 (.537) as of the end of the 2010-2011 season.
The ECU Pirates football team plays its home games at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
on the ECU campus. Football started in 1932 and the Pirates have been to 12 bowl games. In 2006 the Pirates ended the year with a 7-5 record and were invited to the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham
, Alabama
. The head coach of the Pirates is Ruffin McNeill
. Also in 2008 the pirates went to the C-USA Championship game in Tulsa Oklahoma who in which the ECU Pirates ended up beating The Golden Hurricane 27-24 Nineteen Pirate student-athletes have been honored as football All-Americans in addition to other awards. ECU has had 52 players selected in the NFL Draft
since 1961. The Pirates have had at least one player chosen in 12 of the past 16 NFL drafts with two first round selections. The No. 24 overall pick in the 1992 and 2008 drafts. ECU has produced eight players who have played in 11 Super Bowls dating back to 1985. Five of those Pirates have won World Championships. In 2007, ECU was chosen to play in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl against the Boise State Broncos
. The Pirates stunned the #24 ranked Broncos, quelling a late Broncos-rally, on a game-winning field goal 41-38. Running back Chris Johnson
was the game's most valuable player, setting an NCAA record by gathering 407 all-purpose yards. In the 2007-2008 season, ECU produced upset victories over #17 Virginia Tech and #8 West Virginia. The Pirates rode the wave all the way to their first C-USA championship by beating Tulsa, only to lose a heart breaker to Kentucky in the Liberty Bowl. In the 2009 season The Pirates lost two early season games to North Carolina and West Virginia before going on to win the C-USA East Division Title for the second straight year. East Carolina finished the 2009 regular season at 8-4 over all 7-1 in conference play. ECU won the 2009 C-USA Conference Championship game in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on December 5, 2009 at 12 noon, upsetting the 18th ranked University of Houston, 38-32. The East Carolina Pirates are the first Back-to-Back C-USA champions since divisional play was started in 2005. The Pirates lost another heart breaking Liberty Bowl on January 2, 2010, in Memphis, Tennessee. The Pirates lost to Arkansas 20-17 in overtime after ECU missed a game winning field goal to end regulation play. The 2010 Auto Zone Liberty Bowl tied ECU with Arkansas, Air Force, Alabama, Louisville and Mississippi for the most Liberty Bowl appearances at 4 each.
(CAA). The women's team won conference championships in 1995 through 1997 and 2000 in the CAA; 2001 in the East Coast Athletic Conference; and 2003 in C-USA. The head coach is Rick Kobe. The assistant coaches are Matt Jabs, Kate Gordon, and Ed Pretre; Mark Lenzi
serves as the head diving coach.
on campus. The Pirate baseball team has consistently finished with a winning record over the past several years. They have been regular season conference champions 12 times and conference tournament champions 10 times. The Pirates have gone to the NCAA Tournament 22 times, including in 2007. The Pirates have appeared in 22 NCAA Baseball Regional tournaments (including seven straight between 1999 and 2005), two NCAA Baseball Super Regional appearances, one Conference USA regular-season championship, and have won 40+ games in five of the last seven seasons. Over the years, 15 players have been honored as All-Americans, over 100 former players have played in the Major Leagues
, and in 1961 the Diamond Bucs won the NAIA National Championship. The current coach is Billy Godwin
.
Pitcher Toni Paisley was drafted 10th overall in the 2011 National Pro Fastpitch
Draft by the Akron Racers
.
Other Varsity Women's teams include: Cross Country, Golf, Soccer (2008 C-USA Regular Season Champions), Tennis, Track and Field and Volleyball.
East Carolina University
East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...
in Greenville
Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. All varsity-level sports teams sponsored by the university compete in NCAA Division I as a member of Conference USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
. In football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, the Pirates, as do all other C-USA members, play in the top-tier Division I Football Bowl Subdivision.
Name origin
PiratesPiracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
have long been associated with the North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
coast. One of the most famous pirates, Blackbeard
Blackbeard
Edward Teach , better known as Blackbeard, was a notorious English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of the American colonies....
, resided in the North Carolina coastal communities of Bath
Bath, North Carolina
Bath is a town in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 268 at the 2008 census. Incorporated in 1705, Bath was North Carolina's first port of entry. Bath is North Carolina's oldest town, celebrating its 300th anniversary in 2005...
, Beaufort
Beaufort, North Carolina
Beaufort is a town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. Established in 1709, it is the third-oldest town in North Carolina.The population was 4,189 at the 2008 census and it is the county seat of Carteret County...
and Ocracoke
Ocracoke, North Carolina
Ocracoke is a census-designated place and unincorporated town located at the southern end of Ocracoke Island, located entirely within Hyde County, North Carolina. The population was 769 as of the 2000 census...
. The modern day mascot is based on the description of Blackbeard. Many other pirates used the shallow coast and Outer Banks
Outer Banks
The Outer Banks is a 200-mile long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, beginning in the southeastern corner of Virginia Beach on the east coast of the United States....
to evade capture. ECU officially became the Pirates in 1934. In 1983, a contest was developed to name the Pirates. Children from all over Pitt County submitted their ideas, and Pee Dee the Pirate was chosen. The Pee Dee River
Pee Dee River
The Pee Dee River, also known as the Great Pee Dee River, is a river in North Carolina and South Carolina. It originates in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, where its upper course above the mouth of the Uwharrie River is known as the Yadkin River. It is extensively dammed for flood...
is a river along the North Carolina and South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
border where pirates often set up camp. The name was less than popular with ECU students, and in 1985 Chancellor Howell decided on his own to drop "Pee Dee" and be known only as "The Pirates". People still use the terms Pee Dee and Petey as the terms for The Pirates, and PeeDee is still the name of their mascot.
Color origin
One of the first order of business once students arrived to East Carolina in 1909 was to decide on colors for the school. The students voted and Old Gold and Royal Purple won. The university official standardized these colors in 1916. ECU has been purple and gold ever since, though the current official colors have dropped adjectives describing the colors and now list them as Purple and Gold.Men's Basketball
The Pirates appeared in the NAIA National Tournament two years (1953 and 1954), each year losing in the first round. The Pirates combined record in the NAIA was 2-2. The Pirates have also made two appearances in the NCAA TournamentNCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
, with the latest appearance occurring in 1993 where they played the North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina Tar Heels
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the athletic teams for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the Tar Heel State...
. East Carolina has had four players to reach the NBA level, Theodore "Blue" Edwards
Blue Edwards
Theodore "Blue" Edwards is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the NBA. Edwards played ten years in the league.-Biography:Edwards' hometown was Walstonburg, North Carolina...
, who was selected by the Utah Jazz
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
with the 21st overall pick of the 1989 NBA Draft
1989 NBA Draft
The 1989 NBA Draft took place on June 27, 1989 in New York City, New York, USA. It has been regarded as one of the worst drafts in NBA history, along with the 1986 NBA Draft and the 2000 NBA Draft. Though the draft produced talented players such as Shawn Kemp, Glen Rice, Sean Elliott, Nick...
, Oliver Mack
Oliver Mack
Oliver Mack is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a 6'3" 185 lb shooting guard and played collegiately at San Jacinto Junior College and East Carolina University.Mack was selected with the 3rd pick of the second round in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers...
who was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
as the third pick in the second round of the 1979 NBA Draft
1979 NBA Draft
The 1979 NBA Draft was the 33rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on June 25, 1979, before the 1979–80 season. In this draft, 22 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players...
, George Maynor, who was selected by the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
as the sixth pick in the fourth round of the 1979 NBA Draft, and Charles Alford, who was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers as the ninth pick in the tenth round of the 1968 NBA Draft
1968 NBA Draft
The 1968 NBA Draft was the 22nd annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on April 3, 1968 and May 8, 1968 before the 1968–69 season. In this draft, 14 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. A player who had finished his four-year...
.
After the departure of coach Mack McCarthey to an administrative job, the Pirates have hired former Auburn coach, Jeff Lebo as their new head coach.
In his first season at ECU Coach Jeff Lebo
Jeff Lebo
-External links:*** @ basketballreference.com...
took the Pirates to their first post season game since 1993 when the Pirates lost to the Tarheels in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Women's Basketball
The Lady Pirates are led by second year head coach Heather Macy who led the team to a 19-16 record in her first season at the helm.The ECU Lady Pirates have made it to the NCAA Women's Division Tournament twice, in 2007 and 1982. During the 1982 Season the Pirates compiled a 17-9 record and were placed as the 6th seed in the Midwest Regional. but lost in the first round of the tournament to South Carolina 79-54. In 2007 the Lady Pirates claimed their first Conference USA tournament title with an upset victory over the Rice Owls. During the regular season the team had a record of 19-13. For the NCAA Tournament the Pirates earned the 13th seed in the Dayton Regional before falling to eventual runner-up 4th seed Rutgers by a score of 77-34.
From 2007-2010 the Lady Pirates have posted three consecutive winning seasons.
The first season for the women's team was 1969 and they have an overall record of 603-513 (.537) as of the end of the 2010-2011 season.
Football
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
Bagwell Field at Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium is the on-campus football facility for the East Carolina Pirates in Greenville, North Carolina. The official capacity of the stadium is 50,000, making it the third largest college stadium in North Carolina. The record attendance for the stadium was on October...
on the ECU campus. Football started in 1932 and the Pirates have been to 12 bowl games. In 2006 the Pirates ended the year with a 7-5 record and were invited to the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. The head coach of the Pirates is Ruffin McNeill
Ruffin McNeill
Ruffin McNeill is the head football coach for the East Carolina Pirates. Before being named head coach, McNeill served the Texas Tech Red Raiders as an interim head coach, assistant head coach, special teams coordinator, and linebackers coach...
. Also in 2008 the pirates went to the C-USA Championship game in Tulsa Oklahoma who in which the ECU Pirates ended up beating The Golden Hurricane 27-24 Nineteen Pirate student-athletes have been honored as football All-Americans in addition to other awards. ECU has had 52 players selected in the NFL Draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
since 1961. The Pirates have had at least one player chosen in 12 of the past 16 NFL drafts with two first round selections. The No. 24 overall pick in the 1992 and 2008 drafts. ECU has produced eight players who have played in 11 Super Bowls dating back to 1985. Five of those Pirates have won World Championships. In 2007, ECU was chosen to play in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl against the Boise State Broncos
Boise State Broncos
The Boise State Broncos are the official athletic program of Boise State University. The Broncos compete in a wide variety of sports. Perhaps the most well-known of these sports is the football program. The program attained a 13-0 season in 2006 capped by a memorable overtime win in the 2007 Fiesta...
. The Pirates stunned the #24 ranked Broncos, quelling a late Broncos-rally, on a game-winning field goal 41-38. Running back Chris Johnson
Chris Johnson (running back)
Christopher Duan Johnson is an American football running back for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League...
was the game's most valuable player, setting an NCAA record by gathering 407 all-purpose yards. In the 2007-2008 season, ECU produced upset victories over #17 Virginia Tech and #8 West Virginia. The Pirates rode the wave all the way to their first C-USA championship by beating Tulsa, only to lose a heart breaker to Kentucky in the Liberty Bowl. In the 2009 season The Pirates lost two early season games to North Carolina and West Virginia before going on to win the C-USA East Division Title for the second straight year. East Carolina finished the 2009 regular season at 8-4 over all 7-1 in conference play. ECU won the 2009 C-USA Conference Championship game in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on December 5, 2009 at 12 noon, upsetting the 18th ranked University of Houston, 38-32. The East Carolina Pirates are the first Back-to-Back C-USA champions since divisional play was started in 2005. The Pirates lost another heart breaking Liberty Bowl on January 2, 2010, in Memphis, Tennessee. The Pirates lost to Arkansas 20-17 in overtime after ECU missed a game winning field goal to end regulation play. The 2010 Auto Zone Liberty Bowl tied ECU with Arkansas, Air Force, Alabama, Louisville and Mississippi for the most Liberty Bowl appearances at 4 each.
Swimming and diving
The men's team started in the 1953-54 season and the women's team started in the 1977-78 season. In 1957, the men's swimming and diving team became the first team at ECU to win a national championship. Over the years, 87 ECU swimmers and divers have been All-Americans. The men's teams were Conference Champions in 1986 and 1989 in the Colonial Athletic AssociationColonial Athletic Association
The Colonial Athletic Association is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose full-time members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to Georgia. Most of its members are public universities, with five in Virginia alone, and the conference is headquartered in Richmond,...
(CAA). The women's team won conference championships in 1995 through 1997 and 2000 in the CAA; 2001 in the East Coast Athletic Conference; and 2003 in C-USA. The head coach is Rick Kobe. The assistant coaches are Matt Jabs, Kate Gordon, and Ed Pretre; Mark Lenzi
Mark Lenzi
Mark Edward Lenzi is a former American Olympic diver and diving coach. Lenzi is known for his Olympic gold medal in the 1992 Olympic Games, and his Olympic bronze medal in the 1996 Olympic Games on the 3m springboard....
serves as the head diving coach.
Baseball
The ECU baseball team is a Division I NCAA program that competes in Conference USA. The men's baseball team currently plays at Clark-LeClair StadiumClark-LeClair Stadium
Clark-LeClair Stadium is the home of Pirate baseball at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. The stadium was named after Pirate alumnus and key contributor Bill Clark and former Pirate skipper Keith LeClair. The current ECU Head Coach is Billy Godwin.The stadium has 3,000...
on campus. The Pirate baseball team has consistently finished with a winning record over the past several years. They have been regular season conference champions 12 times and conference tournament champions 10 times. The Pirates have gone to the NCAA Tournament 22 times, including in 2007. The Pirates have appeared in 22 NCAA Baseball Regional tournaments (including seven straight between 1999 and 2005), two NCAA Baseball Super Regional appearances, one Conference USA regular-season championship, and have won 40+ games in five of the last seven seasons. Over the years, 15 players have been honored as All-Americans, over 100 former players have played in the Major Leagues
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, and in 1961 the Diamond Bucs won the NAIA National Championship. The current coach is Billy Godwin
Billy Godwin
Billy Godwin is the current Head Coach at East Carolina University. He assumed the role on an interim basis on October 10, 2005. He was renamed Head Baseball Coach on October 28, 2005 by Athletic Director Terry Holland.-Early years:...
.
Softball
The ECU Lady Pirates won the 2010 C-USA Softball regular season and conference tournament titles. The head coach of the Lady Bucs is Tracey Kee who became just the 45th head coach to win 600 career games on April 17, 2010, all as the Head Coach at East Carolina.Pitcher Toni Paisley was drafted 10th overall in the 2011 National Pro Fastpitch
National Pro Fastpitch
National Pro Fastpitch , formerly the Women's Pro Softball League , is the only professional women's softball league in the United States. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001. The NPF revived the league in 2004 and currently features four teams: USSSA Pride, Akron Racers, Chicago...
Draft by the Akron Racers
Akron Racers
- 2010 :The following is the Racers 2010 home schedule:* Thursday, June 24 * Friday, June 25 * Saturday, June 26 * Sunday, June 27 * Thursday, July 1 * Friday, July 2 * Saturday, July 3...
.
Other
Additional Varsity Men's teams include: Cross Country, Golf, Tennis and Track and Field.Other Varsity Women's teams include: Cross Country, Golf, Soccer (2008 C-USA Regular Season Champions), Tennis, Track and Field and Volleyball.