An Update From AD Jon Gilbert

Pirate Nation:

We had a whirlwind of activity on campus last weekend with two volleyball matches (2-0), baseball's Purple and Gold World Series, the annual Hall of Fame event and a nail-biting football game.

I'm incredibly proud of the effort of our football student-athletes, coaches and staff on Saturday night in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. We have high expectations for our program, and we continue to make positive strides under head coach Mike Houston. I want to thank all of Pirate Nation for their loyalty and support this year as we work to restore the prominence of East Carolina football. We will never take our fans for granted. We have one more opportunity in front of our fans with Senior Day against Tulsa on Nov. 30.

If you haven't watched it yet, please check out our social media sites (Twitter, YouTube) to see the United States Army Parachute Team, nicknamed the Golden Knights, drop into the stadium. It's an amazing video! I commend all the staff that teamed up to show appreciation for our military throughout the game. It was an honor to have U.S. Air Force Lt. Colonel Ed Tadlock and U.S. Army Major General Kurt Ryan serve as honorary captains.

Since I joined the University last December, I have met hundreds of former ECU student-athletes that built the foundation for Pirate Athletics. We welcomed more than 300 letterwinners back to campus last weekend along with our ECU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2019. Congrats to Tomekia Blackmon, Dave Hart, Kevin Miller, Sam Narron and Junior Smith on their induction.

The Pirate volleyball team did not lose a set all weekend as they defeated Connecticut and Temple. Following two games in Florida this weekend, the squad will wrap up the regular season at home against Cincinnati (Nov. 15) and Wichita State (Nov. 17).

Hoops season begins tonight
It's not slowing down on campus this week with the beginning of the men's and women's basketball season. Head coach Joe Dooley and his team tip off tonight against VMI at 7 p.m. in Minges Coliseum. This is a fun group to be around and Pirate Nation will appreciate how they play the game. Joe has set a standard for his staff and players and I'm looking forward to watching the continued growth and improvement of the program.

The first 250 students tonight will receive a No Quarter koozie and The District will be serving pizza to the first 100 students inside Gate 3. Make sure you get out tonight because the only other men's home game in November is Saturday, November 16 against Liberty at 4 p.m.

We will usher in a new era of East Carolina women's basketball on Wednesday with the debut of head coach Kim McNeill. It's hard to believe how much progress Kim and her staff have made since she was hired in March. Kim has a vision for how to build a program the right way and her players are buying into the process. You can expect to see a team that plays hard and will continue to evolve as the season moves along.

The marketing and ticketing staff have worked closely with 23 different area schools for the annual women's basketball Education Day on Wednesday against Middle Tennessee State at 11 a.m. We expect an attendance nearing 7,000. If you can take an extended lunch, reach out to the Athletics Ticket Office at 252-737-4500 today and enjoy a little basketball.

For anyone that can't attend a women's basketball home game this season, you can watch all the action on ecupirates.com. Local media personality Shirley Rhodes will serve as the play-by-play voice and will have a variety of guests join her throughout the season. ECU Athletics is proud to partner with WZMB 91.3 FM to call all women's basketball home games. The station is operated by East Carolina students.

Please consider purchasing a season ticket for our basketball programs. Season tickets continue to be an area of emphasis for our department and a necessity in helping us move forward. We have high caliber teams in the American Athletic Conference coming to Greenville that play an exciting brand of basketball. To create the atmosphere we want in Minges Coliseum, it's imperative that we have a vibrant and engaged student body.

When you enter Minges Coliseum tonight, you will see the new court redesign and the placement of more graphics throughout Williams Arena and on the concourse. For the first time, we will be selling alcohol at basketball games with 12 points of sale throughout the arena. In addition, we will have a Kids Zone in Minges located on the concourse between sections 212-213 that will include Pop-A-Shot, table games and two televisions set up to play video games.

Ron Mitchelson to lead East Carolina
Congrats to Dr. Ron Mitchelson on being named Interim Chancellor. Dr. Mitchelson understands East Carolina University, having served in a variety of important roles for the past 20 years. He is a Pirate! I've worked closely with Dr. Mitchelson over the past 11 months while serving on the Chancellor's Leadership Team and his knowledge and expertise will help elevate our University forward. It's going to take all of us aligned and I believe this is exciting time on our campus.

Baseball season tickets on sale
Thanks to all the fans that attended the final game of the Purple-Gold World Series and Meet the Pirates Sunday at Clark-LeClair Stadium. Judging by the number of children running the bases following the game and asking for autographs, we have a lot of future baseball players in the community.

Season tickets for the 2020 season go on sale Monday, November 18. You can buy tickets online at ecupirates.com or contact our Athletics Ticket Office at 252-737-4500.

Last season, East Carolina ranked 17th in the nation in total home attendance (105,098) and had the highest average attendance (3,130) since 2010. With the support of Pirate Nation, the Pirates led all teams in the state for attendance for the 18th consecutive year. Let's surpass that mark in 2020!

Pirate Tidbits:

Congratulations to junior Josh Spare for earning all-conference honors after finishing 13th in the American Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships in Memphis.
Thank you to all the fans that supported our men's and women's swimming and diving teams in their win over UNCW in Minges Natatorium last month. The Pirates won 30 of 32 events overall in front of a packed house. Sophomore Marek Osina was named The American Men's Swimmer-of-the-Week and freshman Rodrigo Romero earned The American Men's Diver-of-the-Week award for their performances.
The Pirates soccer season concluded last weekend. I'm proud of our team and the way they competed the entire season, battling through injuries, and continuing to fight all the way to the end. I'm encouraged with the direction of our program.
Make sure you check out the 2020 Pirate softball schedule. Looking forward to the Pirate Clash Feb. 14-16 and Pirate Invitational Feb. 21-23 where six different schools will be playing at the ECU Softball Stadium.

We invite everyone to join us in celebrating our student-athletes throughout the year and join us at one our athletic events. While you're at it, bring a friend.

See you on campus.

Go Pirates!

Jon

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