An Update From AD Jon Gilbert

Pirate Nation:

I wanted to share with you a few updates from the athletics department.

ECU Athletics and the Pirate Club launched the "We Believe" fundraising campaign last week.

In just five days, the "We Believe" fund has generated nearly $230,000 in donations to support student-athlete scholarships. Earlier today, we received a significant leadership gift from Bill Clark Homes (Bill, Lance, Heath, Hunter), longtime Pirate Club donors and staples in the community. Gifts last week from Glenn and Jennifer Hall, Sean and Andrea Smith, Woody and Jennifer Tyner, Ray Sharpe and David and Pam Bond really catapulted the campaign.

I want to acknowledge the following individuals who have invested in the "We Believe" fund in the first week: Ron and Sarah Mitchelson, Neil Dorsey, Dr. Randy G. Fussell, Ann Laliotes, Major General John McCarthy and Sally McCarthy, Donna G. King, J.J. McLamb, Joey Hines, Mark and Cheri Hessert, Jane Reel, John and Becky Osborne, Teresa Dilday, Keith and Shannon Frazier, Wilkinson Cadillac Chevrolet Buick GMC, Matthew Forte, Heath Courtright, Jim Stevens, Jim Buckman, Elizabeth Bolka, Lauren Lumley, Ryan Robinson, Jeffrey Champigny, Sara Thorndike, Mike and Karen Hanley, James & Joanne Salisbury, Jim Banks, Robert S. Cansler, L.B. Clayton, Jr., Bill Ferrell, Bob and Joan Gray, Woody Hogg, Jr., Matt and Laurie Maloney, Michael M. Mills, Todd Moser, William C. Shelton, Jack Thomas Thompson, and H. Morrie Turner Jr.

Our student-athletes, coaches and staff are grateful and stand in awe of the support from our donors. We are fortunate to be in a community where people care so much about the success of our University and athletics department.

This is a critical time for our department as we work our way through the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate the financial impact while continuing to serve our 378 student-athletes in 16 varsity sports.

Quite frankly, COVID-19 is the toughest opponent ECU has ever faced. It has brought enormous financial challenges that will take several years to address.

Our department continues to look for efficient ways of doing business and we are analyzing every possible measure to ensure we are fiscally responsible.

But we do need your assistance and investment more than ever.

We continue to rank near the bottom of the AAC in overall budget and that is just reality. Pirates don't make excuses; they just exhaust all possibilities to be successful.

With the support of our generous donors, we provide a first-class experience for our student-athletes. Simply put, we won't be able to maintain our current model without further assistance.

I believe all our student-athletes who compete and graduate from ECU will go on to become leaders in their respective communities and leave with a road map for success. It is our hope they will return and provide opportunities for a new ship of Pirates.

We are going to move forward as One Pirate Nation and give No Quarter to the challenges that we face. As I have written before, Pirates are unique. We don't get easy.

There's no doubt that Pirate Nation believes in our student-athletes and what we can accomplish.

For more information about the "We Believe" campaign, please visit ecupirates.com or ecupirateclub.com.

Update on basketball season tickets
Both men's and women's basketball teams open play later this month. The men's team begins their season with three games at the Gulf Coast Classic in Estero, Fla. from Nov. 25-27 before returning home to face Radford on Dec. 5. The women travel to Towson on Nov. 25 to start the 2020-21 campaign and open the home portion of their schedule on Dec. 3 vs. Georgia. Full conference schedules are expected to be released soon.

We have received several inquiries about what basketball season is going to look like from a spectator standpoint due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our plan is to send an official release later this week, but I will share our initial thoughts with you now. We anticipate all games in December at Minges Coliseum to be played with no fans. Our hope is we can allow limited fans for our conference games beginning in January as we continue to work with University, local and state health officials. It is a fluid process and we will communicate any new developments.

We will not be selling season tickets for the 2020-21 basketball season. If our capacity restrictions decrease, we will sell single-game tickets distributed based on priority. All men's and women's home games not picked up be a linear network (ESPN, ESPN 2, etc.) will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Delivery of SMU Football Tickets
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, fans assigned tickets for the SMU football game on Nov. 28 will receive those via email from the Athletics Tickets Office early next week. We will have an official kickoff time on Monday for the SMU game.

Veterans Day
Thank you to our veterans for your service to our country. Eastern North Carolina is home to multiple military bases and we at ECU Athletics salute you and the many sacrifices you made for this country.

Thank you very much for your continued support of the Pirates.

Go Pirates!

Jon

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