ECU, Appalachian State To Play Football In 2009
October 21, 2008 | Football
Oct. 21, 2008
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina announced Tuesday that the Pirates have added Appalachian State University to their 2009 football schedule. The game, which will be played September 5 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, will renew an in-state football rivalry that covers 77 years and will mark ECU's first matchup against a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, opponent since 2001.
The Mountaineers own a 19-10 lead in a series that dates back to 1932 but the two programs haven't met since the Pirates posted a 38-21 victory over ASU in Boone on Nov. 3, 1979.
Appalachian State, winner of three consecutive FCS national championships under coach Jerry Moore, have also posted the second-highest combined win total in the last seven-plus years among the classification's scholarship programs.
In addition, the contest against the Pirates will continue a 31-year streak of consecutive Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponents on ASU's schedule that recently has featured meetings against N.C. State (2006), Michigan (2007) and LSU (2008).
The Pirates have recorded an all-time 40-2 record against FCS programs since the classification was established in 1978, but have only faced five since 1990 - UCF ('91, '93), East Tennessee State ('96), Chattanooga ('98) and William & Mary ('01).
East Carolina has also produced a record of 58-40 against current members of the its former league, the Southern Conference, after earlier battles against Chattanooga, The Citadel, Furman, Georgia Southern, Western Carolina and Wofford.
