Â
East Carolina-North Carolina Matchup to be Televised by ESPN or ESPN2
GREENVILLE, N.C. – The kickoff time for East Carolina’s non-conference contest at North Carolina, scheduled for September 19 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, has been set for 12 noon (EDT) to accommodate a live ESPN or ESPN2 national television broadcast according to an announcement from the network Thursday morning.
The Tar Heels, one of two Atlantic Coast Conference opponents on ECU’s 2009 schedule, will host the Pirates for the first time since 2001 after more recent contests at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in 2003 and 2007 – the latter resulting in a 34-31 East Carolina triumph.
With the addition of the North Carolina game, the Pirates’ television broadcast schedule now features at least four regular season appearances on the ESPN family of networks. The other three are slated in successive fashion later in the campaign, including a Tuesday, Oct. 27 visit to Memphis, a Thursday, Nov. 5 home matchup against Virginia Tech and a Sunday, Nov. 15 clash at Tulsa.
The national telecast will be the seventh for East Carolina in its last 15 games on an ESPN entity, dating back to the Pirates’ season-opening 27-22 victory over the Hokies at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
Fifth-year head coach Skip Holtz has led ECU to three consecutive bowl appearances for the first time since 1999-2001 and its first conference championship in 32 years after the Pirates earned a 9-5 mark last season – the program’s highest win total in nine seasons.
The remainder of East Carolina’s kickoff times will be announced once other regional and local television broadcast schedules have been established.
Tom McClellan
Assistant AD/Media Relations
East Carolina University