SMU-ECU Football Clash Moved Up One Day
April 01, 2010 | Football
April 1, 2010
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina's 2010 regular season finale against SMU, originally scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 27 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, has been moved up to a Friday afternoon kickoff in order to accommodate a live CBS College Sports national television broadcast according to an announcement from Conference USA Thursday.
ECU, network and league officials have established a 2:00 p.m. (ET) kickoff time on November 26 in order to work cooperatively with the North Carolina High School Athletic Association's playoff schedule during the Thanksgiving Weekend.
"We sincerely appreciate East Carolina University keeping us informed regarding their television discussions with C-USA as it pertains to their football scheduling," Davis Whitfield, NCHSAA Executive Director, said. "This game will in no way conflict with our state football playoff games, which will be played in their traditional Friday night time slots. As a result, sports fans across the state will have the opportunity to watch the Pirates compete in the afternoon and then support their local high school football team later in the evening. Again, we are grateful for the advanced communication and relationship we have with ECU and appreciate its concern for our programs."
The SMU-ECU contest is one of three CBS College Sports national broadcasts that will feature the Pirates this season, joining the N.C. State (Saturday, Oct. 16/12 noon) and UAB (Thursday, Nov. 11/8:00 p.m.) games. East Carolina's road weekday matchup against the Blazers will come just five days after the Pirates face Navy's triple-option attack, marking the seventh time in the program's modern day history and first since 2003 that ECU will have a short preparation week of identical duration.
In addition to the three CBS College Sports broadcasts, ESPN announced earlier it will air first-year head coach Ruffin McNeill's debut when East Carolina opens its season against Tulsa Sunday, Sept. 5. The remainder of the Pirates' complete 2010 television schedule, including regional and local coverage, will be released at a later date when finalized.
