An Update From AD Jon Gilbert
April 08, 2022 | General
Pirate Nation:
There's no place better to be this weekend than with friends and family supporting the Pirates. The Grady-White Boats Athletic Campus will be buzzing with activity.
The football team concludes the spring with the 37th Annual Great Pirate Purple/Gold Pigskin Pig-Out Party on Friday and Saturday. Information on the weekend's festivities surrounding Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium can be found on the Pigskin Pig-Out Page.
Our staff has been working hard to produce a great event on Saturday morning with plenty of activities for families highlighted by the football team signing autographs beginning at 10 a.m. Kickoff for the spring game is at 12:30 p.m.
Following the football game, there will be plenty of action on campus and nearby.
The Pirates softball team hosts Houston at Max R. Joyner Family Stadium for a three-game series beginning Friday at 5 p.m. Wichita State visits Clark-LeClair Stadium this weekend to face the Pirates baseball team. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
In addition, the women's tennis team will complete their 2022 home schedule on Saturday at 12 noon with a Senior Day matchup against Campbell at River Birch Tennis Complex.
2022 Football Season Ticket Update
With less than four months remaining until the season-opener against NC State at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, we are encouraged by our football season ticket sales. We are nearing 12,000 tickets sold, which is well above our pace a year ago. In 2021, we finished with 13,500 season tickets sold and would love to see the number over 15,000 this season.
Our premium tickets in TowneBank Tower are expected to sell out shortly and we are seeing continuous sales in the Williams Clark Club on the north side.
We need to continue to grow the season ticket base over the next couple of months so we can have a packed house when the Wolfpack visit Greenville in early September. If you already have tickets, consider purchasing a couple more or tell a friend and co-worker. This is going to be exciting season with seven home games.
Student-Athletes Are The Priority
It's vital in this industry to occasionally step back and reflect about what is truly important and why one pursues a career in collegiate athletics. Personally, it's about our student-athletes and ensuring they get a quality education and have a first-class experience while they are a Pirate.
Nothing is better for me than watching our student-athletes compete in practice or competition, or just having a simple conversation about life. They are amazing individuals who have so much pride in wearing the purple and gold.
However, no one does it alone. There are so many individuals who play a critical role in the success of a student-athlete, whether it's a coach, athletic trainer, strength coach, academic counselor, professor or just a friend.
Over the past week I have been reminded how fortunate we all are to work in college athletics.
Attending the Senior Day festivities last week for track and field, it was truly inspiring to see family members supporting their loved ones and the true appreciation shown to our departing seniors by teammates, fellow student-athletes and friends. True bonds are formed in collegiate athletics among teammates and coaches, and those are friendships that will last a lifetime.
Our women's golf team hosted an event earlier this week and it was invigorating to see all the parents walking with their daughters, not focused on the outcome but just showing support. We had parents and siblings from Norway, Spain and Germany all make the long trek over to watch our student-athletes compete. The parents have been in Greenville all week and I know they are leaving with fond memories of our community and University. There's no doubt the purple and gold will be well-represented on their flights back home.
Pirate Nation continues to grow and there's no doubt the seniors who move on with a degree in hand will be terrific ambassadors for the Pirates into the future.
HV3 Makes Masters Debut
We are looking forward to watching ECU alum Harold Varner III compete this week at the 2022 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. The event began yesterday and continues throughout the weekend.
It has been exciting to watch Harold grow over the last three years, not only on the golf course but as a husband and father. He is not bashful about showing his love for the Pirates no matter where he tees it up. We are looking forward to having him at our football season-opener.
Pirate Club News
Thank you to all the teams that signed up for the annual Pirate Club Golf Tournament this morning at Brook Valley. We have a full field of 25 teams participating and we are already talking about doing a morning and afternoon flight next year with the amount of interest for the event. It was nice to see Coach Houston, his assistant coaches and staff out early this morning greeting the participants and talking football.
To say the Sixth Annual Pirate Nation Gives was a success would be an understatement. The Pirate Club raised more than $250,000 and had approximately 600 individuals make donations. The focus for Pirate Nation Gives from athletics was on our sport programs and increasing their restricted funds. Thank you to all the donors who supported the initiative. We must give props to our student-athletes and coaches, along with the Pirate Club staff who played a major role in getting the word out.
Sport Program Updates
•Check out the recap of the Bill Carson Invitational at the Bate Foundation Track and Field Facility last weekend. The women's won its fifth straight team title while the men finished second.
•The Pirates women's golf team hosted the Ironwood Invitational earlier this week where the squad finished fourth. Senior Julie Boysen Hillestad led the Pirates with a fourth-place individual finish.
•Our lacrosse team opened up conference play by defeating Old Dominion 14-11 last weekend. The Pirates, 8-5 overall, travel to Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Go Pirates –
Jon
Â
There's no place better to be this weekend than with friends and family supporting the Pirates. The Grady-White Boats Athletic Campus will be buzzing with activity.
The football team concludes the spring with the 37th Annual Great Pirate Purple/Gold Pigskin Pig-Out Party on Friday and Saturday. Information on the weekend's festivities surrounding Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium can be found on the Pigskin Pig-Out Page.
Our staff has been working hard to produce a great event on Saturday morning with plenty of activities for families highlighted by the football team signing autographs beginning at 10 a.m. Kickoff for the spring game is at 12:30 p.m.
Following the football game, there will be plenty of action on campus and nearby.
The Pirates softball team hosts Houston at Max R. Joyner Family Stadium for a three-game series beginning Friday at 5 p.m. Wichita State visits Clark-LeClair Stadium this weekend to face the Pirates baseball team. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
In addition, the women's tennis team will complete their 2022 home schedule on Saturday at 12 noon with a Senior Day matchup against Campbell at River Birch Tennis Complex.
2022 Football Season Ticket Update
With less than four months remaining until the season-opener against NC State at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, we are encouraged by our football season ticket sales. We are nearing 12,000 tickets sold, which is well above our pace a year ago. In 2021, we finished with 13,500 season tickets sold and would love to see the number over 15,000 this season.
Our premium tickets in TowneBank Tower are expected to sell out shortly and we are seeing continuous sales in the Williams Clark Club on the north side.
We need to continue to grow the season ticket base over the next couple of months so we can have a packed house when the Wolfpack visit Greenville in early September. If you already have tickets, consider purchasing a couple more or tell a friend and co-worker. This is going to be exciting season with seven home games.
Student-Athletes Are The Priority
It's vital in this industry to occasionally step back and reflect about what is truly important and why one pursues a career in collegiate athletics. Personally, it's about our student-athletes and ensuring they get a quality education and have a first-class experience while they are a Pirate.
Nothing is better for me than watching our student-athletes compete in practice or competition, or just having a simple conversation about life. They are amazing individuals who have so much pride in wearing the purple and gold.
However, no one does it alone. There are so many individuals who play a critical role in the success of a student-athlete, whether it's a coach, athletic trainer, strength coach, academic counselor, professor or just a friend.
Over the past week I have been reminded how fortunate we all are to work in college athletics.
Attending the Senior Day festivities last week for track and field, it was truly inspiring to see family members supporting their loved ones and the true appreciation shown to our departing seniors by teammates, fellow student-athletes and friends. True bonds are formed in collegiate athletics among teammates and coaches, and those are friendships that will last a lifetime.
Our women's golf team hosted an event earlier this week and it was invigorating to see all the parents walking with their daughters, not focused on the outcome but just showing support. We had parents and siblings from Norway, Spain and Germany all make the long trek over to watch our student-athletes compete. The parents have been in Greenville all week and I know they are leaving with fond memories of our community and University. There's no doubt the purple and gold will be well-represented on their flights back home.
Pirate Nation continues to grow and there's no doubt the seniors who move on with a degree in hand will be terrific ambassadors for the Pirates into the future.
HV3 Makes Masters Debut
We are looking forward to watching ECU alum Harold Varner III compete this week at the 2022 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. The event began yesterday and continues throughout the weekend.
It has been exciting to watch Harold grow over the last three years, not only on the golf course but as a husband and father. He is not bashful about showing his love for the Pirates no matter where he tees it up. We are looking forward to having him at our football season-opener.
Pirate Club News
Thank you to all the teams that signed up for the annual Pirate Club Golf Tournament this morning at Brook Valley. We have a full field of 25 teams participating and we are already talking about doing a morning and afternoon flight next year with the amount of interest for the event. It was nice to see Coach Houston, his assistant coaches and staff out early this morning greeting the participants and talking football.
To say the Sixth Annual Pirate Nation Gives was a success would be an understatement. The Pirate Club raised more than $250,000 and had approximately 600 individuals make donations. The focus for Pirate Nation Gives from athletics was on our sport programs and increasing their restricted funds. Thank you to all the donors who supported the initiative. We must give props to our student-athletes and coaches, along with the Pirate Club staff who played a major role in getting the word out.
Sport Program Updates
•Check out the recap of the Bill Carson Invitational at the Bate Foundation Track and Field Facility last weekend. The women's won its fifth straight team title while the men finished second.
•The Pirates women's golf team hosted the Ironwood Invitational earlier this week where the squad finished fourth. Senior Julie Boysen Hillestad led the Pirates with a fourth-place individual finish.
•Our lacrosse team opened up conference play by defeating Old Dominion 14-11 last weekend. The Pirates, 8-5 overall, travel to Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Go Pirates –
Jon
Â
2026 ECU Spring Game Highlights and Post
Saturday, April 18
04/15/26 Inside Pirate Athletics
Wednesday, April 15
04/13/26 Cliffs Cab
Monday, April 13
ECU Football Coach Blake Harrell Post-Practice (April 10, 2026)
Friday, April 10
