List of East Carolina Pirates football seasons

Last updated

Quarterback Brett Clay hands off the ball to his tailback Chris Johnson in the Pirates' 2007 opener at Virginia Tech 2007 VT ECU first play cropped.jpg
Quarterback Brett Clay hands off the ball to his tailback Chris Johnson in the Pirates' 2007 opener at Virginia Tech

This is a list of football seasons completed by the East Carolina Pirates since the team's creation in 1932 under Coach Kenneth Beatty. [1] Since that first season, the Pirates have played over 800 regular-season games and 20 bowl games.

Contents

Historically, East Carolina has seen moderate success. While East Carolina's first ten years of football included only three winning seasons, [2] [3] [4] the team has recorded one undefeated season and a share of the Small College National Championship in 1941, along with several one-loss seasons since their early struggles. [5] Football was called off for the 1942, 1943, and 1944 seasons due to World War II. [6] After the three-season hiatus, the Pirates joined the North State Conference. [7] East Carolina won its first championship—the North State Conference championship—in 1953. In its 15 years as a member of the North State Conference, the Pirates won two championships and went to two bowl games. In 1962, the team left the conference and returned to its previous status as a football independent. During two of those years, the Pirates went 9–1.

In 1965, the Pirates accepted membership in the Southern Conference. [8] The team won the Southern Conference championship under coach Clarence Stasavich in the following year, [9] but did not win another conference championship until 1972. The 1972 team was coached by Sonny Randle, who won the Southern Conference championship in his second year as head coach. In 1973, he again coached a conference-championship team—the only time in school history the team won two conference championships in a row. [10] Randle left to take a position as head football coach of Virginia in 1974 and was replaced by Pat Dye. Dye, in his third year, won the Pirates' fourth Southern Conference championship. In 1977, ECU left the Southern Conference and had three more winning seasons as a football independent. In 1980, under new head coach Ed Emory, the Pirates had their first losing season since 1971. The team struggled over the next two years. In 1983, Emory's Pirates ended the season ranked as one of the top 25 teams in the country by the Associated Press. [11]

The next seven seasons included just one winning season—1989. The Pirates gradually rebuilt the program, and the 1991 team, coached by Bill Lewis, went 11–1, losing only to Illinois in the season opener. The team capped off the season with an in-state win over North Carolina State in the Peach Bowl. Following the win, the Pirates entered the offseason ranked ninth in both the AP and Coaches Poll. Thanks to his performance during the year, Lewis was awarded the American Football Coaches Association Coach of the Year award. [12] The season marked the only time the Pirates finished the season ranked in the top 10. [11] In 1995, ECU won the Liberty Bowl over Stanford and finished 23rd in the Coaches' Poll. [11] The Pirates joined Conference USA (C-USA) in 1997, ending their status as football independents for the first time since 1976. Since joining the C-USA, the Pirates have had nine winning seasons, seven losing seasons, and one 6–6 year. [13] In 2014, the Pirates joined the American Athletic Conference as full members.

Seasons

Conference ChampionsBowl game berth [14]
SeasonConferenceSeason resultsBowl resultFinal ranking
Conference finishWinsLossesTies [15] AP Poll [16] Coaches Poll [17]
East Carolina Pirates football seasons
1932 Independent050N/AN/A
1933 Independent150N/AN/A
1934 Independent141N/AN/A
1935 Independent330N/AN/A
1936 Independent320N/A
1937 Independent250N/A
1938 Independent161N/A
1939 Independent080N/A
1940 Independent530N/A
1941 Independent700N/A
1942 East Carolina did not play football during the 1942–1945 seasons because of World War II
1943
1944
1945
1946 Independent531N/A
1947 North State Conference360N/A
1948 North State Conference090N/A
1949 North State Conference451N/A
1950 North State Conference730
1951 North State Conference460
1952 North State Conference632Lost Lions Bowl vs. Clarion 13–6
1953 North State Conference820Lost Elks Bowl vs. Morris Harvey 12–0 [18]
1954 North State Conference541
1955 North State Conference450
1956 North State Conference271
1957 North State Conference180
1958 North State Conference640
1959 North State Conference560
1960 North State Conference730
1961 Carolinas Conference [19] 541
1962 Independent540
1963 Independent910Won Eastern Bowl vs. Northeastern 27–6
1964 Independent910Won Tangerine Bowl vs. Massachusetts 14–13
1965 Southern Conference3910Won Tangerine Bowl vs. Maine 31–0
1966 Southern Conference1451
1967 Southern Conference2820
1968 Southern Conference3460
1969 Southern Conference5270
1970 Southern Conference4380
1971 Southern Conference4460
1972 Southern Conference1920
1973 Southern Conference1920
1974 Southern Conference3740
1975 Southern Conference2830
1976 Southern Conference1920
1977 Independent830
1978 Independent930Won Independence Bowl vs. Louisiana Tech 35–13
1979 Independent731
1980 Independent470
1981 Independent560
1982 Independent740
1983 Independent83020
1984 Independent290
1985 Independent290
1986 Independent380
1987 Independent560
1988 Independent380
1989 Independent650
1990 Independent560
1991 Independent1110Won Peach Bowl vs. NC State 37–3499
1992 Independent560
1993 Independent290
1994 Independent750Lost Liberty Bowl vs. Illinois 30–0
1995 Independent930Won Liberty Bowl vs. Stanford 19–1323
1996 Independent83
1997 Conference USA356
1998 Conference USA465
1999 Conference USA293Lost Mobile Alabama Bowl vs. Texas Christian 28–14
2000 Conference USA384Won Galleryfurniture.com Bowl vs. Texas Tech 40–27
2001 Conference USA366Lost GMAC Bowl vs. Marshall 64–61
2002 Conference USA748
2003 Conference USA10111
2004 Conference USA1029
2005 Conference USA East456
2006 Conference USA East276Lost PapaJohns.com Bowl vs. South Florida 24–7
2007 Conference USA East285Won Hawai'i Bowl vs. Boise State 41–38
2008 Conference USA East195Won C-USA Championship vs. Tulsa 27–24
Lost Liberty Bowl vs Kentucky 19-25
2009 Conference USA East195Won C-USA Championship vs. Houston 38-32
Lost Liberty Bowl vs Arkansas 17-20
2010 Conference USA East267Lost Military Bowl vs Maryland 20-51
2011 Conference USA East357
2012 Conference USA East285Lost New Orleans Bowl vs Louisiana–Lafayette 49-34
2013 Conference USA East2103Won Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl vs Ohio 37-20
2014 American Athletic Conference485Lost Birmingham Bowl vs Florida 28-20
2015 American Athletic Conference East557
2016 American Athletic Conference East639
2017 American Athletic Conference East439
2018 American Athletic Conference East539
2019 American Athletic Conference East548
2020 American Athletic Conference936
2021 American Athletic Conference475Cancelled Military Bowl vs. Boston College
2022 American Athletic Conference685Won Birmingham Bowl vs Coastal Carolina 53-29
2023 American Athletic Conference14210
Totals45343711(regular season games only)
10110(bowl games only)
46344811(all games)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic Coast Conference</span> American collegiate athletics conference

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I. ACC football teams compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The ACC sponsors competition in twenty-seven sports with many of its member institutions held in high regard nationally. Current members of the conference are: Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skip Holtz</span> American football player and coach (born 1964)

Louis Leo "Skip" Holtz Jr. is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League (USFL), during his tenure leading the team to two USFL Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Miss Golden Eagles</span> Athletics program of the University of Southern Mississippi

The Southern Miss Golden Eagles and Lady Eagles are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The Golden Eagles compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level mainly as a member of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). USM's newest sport of women's beach volleyball, a sport not currently sponsored by the Sun Belt, was added in the 2018–19 school year and competes in Conference USA. The school's earliest nickname was Tigers. Thereafter came such nicknames as Normalites, Yellow Jackets, Confederates, and Southerners. Golden Eagles was selected in a student/alumni vote in the early 1972. Seymour d'Campus is the name of the modern-day mascot eagle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon Ducks football</span> College football team for the University of Oregon

The Oregon Ducks football program is a college football team for the University of Oregon, located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the FBS and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12). They will join the Big Ten Conference in 2024. Although now known as the Ducks, the team was commonly called the Webfoots until the mid-1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Gators football</span> Team representing the University of Florida in American college football

The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) They play their home games in Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utah Utes football</span> University of Utah football team

The Utah Utes football program is a college football team that competes in the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12) of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of NCAA Division I and represents the University of Utah. The Utah college football program began in 1892 and has played home games at the current site of Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City since 1927. They have won 28 conference championships in five conferences during their history, and, as of the end of the 2022 season, they have a cumulative record of 711 wins, 476 losses, and 31 ties (.596).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Carolina Pirates</span> Athletic teams that represent East Carolina University

The East Carolina Pirates are the athletic teams that represent East Carolina University (ECU), located in Greenville, North Carolina. All varsity-level sports teams participate at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the American Athletic Conference. The school became an NCAA member in 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowling Green Falcons football</span> Sports program

The Bowling Green Falcons football program is the intercollegiate football team of Bowling Green State University. The team is a member of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level; BGSU football competes within the Mid-American Conference in the East Division. The Falcons have played their home games in Doyt Perry Stadium since 1966. The stadium holds 24,000 spectators. In their 93-year history, the Falcons have won 12 MAC championships and a College Division national championship – as voted by the UPI in 1959. The head coach is Scot Loeffler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarence Stasavich</span>

Clarence Stasavich was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Lenoir–Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina from 1946 to 1961 and at East Carolina College—renamed East Carolina University in 1967—from 1963 to 1969, compiling a career college football of 171–64–7. He led Lenoir–Rhyne to the NAIA Football National Championship in 1960. Stasavich was also the athletic director at East Carolina from 1963 to 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Carolina Pirates football</span> College football team

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

The 2007 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Boise State University Broncos from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and the East Carolina University Pirates from Conference USA (C-USA). This sixth edition of the Hawaii Bowl, sponsored by Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu on December 23, 2007. The game was the final competition of the 2007 football season for each team and resulted in a 41–38 East Carolina victory, even though sportsbooks favored Boise State to win by 10+12 points. Many experts believed East Carolina to be big underdogs to Boise State, which had defeated the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. The 2007 Hawaiʻi Bowl paid $750,000 to each team's conference in exchange for their participation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Houston Cougars football team</span> American college football season

The 2008 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH, represented the University of Houston in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the 63rd year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by first-year head football coach, Kevin Sumlin whose previous position was as co-offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners. He replaced Art Briles. The team played its home games at Robertson Stadium, a 32,000-person capacity stadium on-campus in Houston. Competing against the Air Force Falcons in the 2008 Armed Forces Bowl, the Cougars won their first bowl game since 1980, and broke the longest current bowl game losing streak in Division I FBS football at that time. In addition, Houston defeated two nationally ranked opponents, which the Cougars hadn't achieved since their 1984 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruffin McNeill</span> American football player and coach (born 1958)

Ruffin Horne McNeill Jr. is an American football coach and former player who currently serves as the special assistant to the head coach at NC State University. He previously served as the assistant head coach and outside linebackers coach at the University of Oklahoma and the assistant head coach and defensive line coach at the University of Virginia. McNeill also served as the head coach of the East Carolina Pirates from 2010 to 2015. Before being named head coach of the Pirates, McNeill served the Texas Tech Red Raiders as an interim head coach, assistant head coach, special teams coordinator, and linebackers coach. On December 28, 2009, he was named interim head coach of the Red Raiders following the suspension and later firing of head coach Mike Leach. He served in the position until the hiring of Tommy Tuberville, who subsequently released him as defensive coordinator.

The 2008 East Carolina Pirates football team represented East Carolina University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. and plays their home games in Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium. The team was coached by Skip Holtz, who was in his fifth year with the program.

The 1967 East Carolina Pirates football team was an American football team that represented East Carolina University as a member of the Southern Conference during the 1967 NCAA University Division football season. In their sixth season under head coach Clarence Stasavich, the team compiled a 8–2 record.

The 2009 East Carolina Pirates football team represented East Carolina University in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season and played their home games in Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium. The team was coached by Skip Holtz, who was in his fifth and final year with the program. The 2009 Pirates were defending their first ever Conference USA Football Championship.

College Football Data Warehouse was an American college football statistics website that was established in 2000. The site compiled the yearly team records, game-by-game results, championships, and statistics of college football teams, conferences, and head coaches at the NCAA Division I FBS and Division I FCS levels, as well as those of some NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, NJCAA, and discontinued programs. The site listed as its references annual editions of Spalding's Official Football Guide, Street and Smith's Football Yearbooks, NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA record books and guides, and historical college football texts.

Michael Glenn Houston is an American football coach who currently serves as head coach at East Carolina University. He previously won the 2016 FCS championship during his time as the head coach of James Madison. Houston has also served as the head coach of Lenoir–Rhyne and The Citadel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 East Carolina Pirates football team</span> American college football season

The 2018 East Carolina Pirates football team represented East Carolina University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Pirates, led by third-year head coach Scottie Montgomery, played their home games at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, and were members of the East Division in the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 3–9, 1–7 in AAC play to finish in fifth place in the East Division.

References

General

  • "East Carolina Pirates". College Football Data Warehouse. 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  • "Year by Year Standings" (PDF). 2005 Southern Conference Football. Southern Conference. 2005. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
  • "Standings". History/Records. Conference USA. Archived from the original on September 18, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2008.

Specific

  1. "East Carolina Coaching Records". College Football Data Warehouse. 2008. Archived from the original on April 21, 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2008.
  2. "1932 - 1934". East Carolina Yearly Results. College Football Data Warehouse. 2015. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  3. "1935 - 1939". East Carolina Yearly Results. College Football Data Warehouse. 2015. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  4. "1940 - 1945". East Carolina Yearly Results. College Football Data Warehouse. 2015. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  5. Staino, Patricia (November 2003). "The East Carolina story". Metro Magazine. Archived from the original on October 24, 2006. Retrieved February 23, 2008.
  6. "Olympic Sports" (PDF). Pirate Pulse. East Carolina Alumni Association. July 2007. Retrieved February 23, 2008.
  7. "Conference Affiliations". East Carolina Pirates. College Football Data Warehouse. 2015. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  8. Peele, Woody (February 25, 2005). "Nothing new under the sun at ECU". Woody's Ramblings. Bonesville.net. Archived from the original on February 15, 2008. Retrieved February 26, 2008.
  9. "Clarence Stasavich Records by Year". All-Time Coaching Records. College Football Data Warehouse. 2008. Archived from the original on April 22, 2008. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
  10. "East Carolina Composite Championship Listing". College Football Data Warehouse. 2015. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 "East Carolina In the Polls". Major College Football Polls. College Football Data Warehouse. 2015. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  12. "AFCA Coach of the Year Award – Past Winners". AFCA. January 15, 2008. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
  13. "Standings". History/Records. Conference USA. Archived from the original on September 18, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
  14. The blue color is used only when East Carolina reaches a bowl but does not hold a share in the conference title. In any case that East Carolina has a share of the conference championship, the gold color is used.
  15. Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible.
  16. The AP Poll was introduced in 1934. Thus, there are no polls for previous seasons.
  17. The Coaches Poll was introduced in 1950. Therefore, polls for prior seasons do not exist.
  18. "Harvey Triumphs In Elks Bowl Tilt" . Brooklyn Daily Eagle . New York City. U.P. January 3, 1954. Retrieved March 29, 2017 via newspapers.com.
  19. North State Conference became the Carolinas Conference in 1961.