An Update From AD Jon Gilbert

Pirate Nation:

After discussions this week concerning the Director of Broadcasting and Voice of the Pirates position, we have decided to move forward on an interim basis with plans to reopen the search in 2024.

PlayFly has reached an agreement with veteran broadcaster Jim Szoke (Zoe-Kee) to handle play-by-play duties for ECU Football games this fall. Jim is in his 29th season with the Carolina Panthers Network where he serves as color commentator, pregame and postgame host along with handling preseason play-by-play duties in past years.

Jim is currently the sports director and a Hall of Fame broadcaster at WBT Radio in Charlotte for 29 years. In addition, Jim performs play-by-play duties for select Winthrop University basketball games on ESPN+. Other past play-by-play work includes Touchdown Radio Network, Raycom Sports, Charlotte Hornets, Charlotte Knights, Charlotte 49ers and Davidson Wildcats.

We are thankful for Jim and his ability to manage both Pirate football and his obligations with the Carolina Panthers in the fall. From my conversations with Jim, I know he is excited to dive into Pirate football over the next month. We are looking forward to having him around this fall.

Football Season Tickets Update
Football season is right around the corner, and I want to update you on where we stand with season tickets heading into the home stretch.

At 14,200 tickets sold, we are approximately 1,500 tickets shy of our final total a year ago. We are continuing to have communication with Pirate Club members about renewing tickets and are optimistic that number will continue to trend upward this month. We increased our season tickets nearly 15 percent from 2021 to 2022 and are hopeful for similar numbers this year. Any account that has not renewed their season tickets will need to call the Pirate Club or Athletics Ticket Office to ensure their seats. You can reach the ticket office at (252) 737-4500 or the Pirate Club at (252) 737-4540.

Premium seats continue to sell well with suites, loge boxes and Trade Club seats sold out for the second consecutive season in TowneBank Tower. On the North side of the stadium, we are ahead of our total from last year in Williams Clark Club and will have the most seats sold since TowneBank Tower opened in 2019.

It is imperative for our entire athletics department that we have a healthy football season ticket number. The success of our athletics department from a financial standpoint centers around football season ticket sales, Pirate Club membership and investment in our sport programs. We are well positioned heading into a revamped American Athletic Conference with six new schools entering in 2023, and we must be a leader in an extremely competitive environment.

We all want a loud, energetic, packed Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on September 9 when Marshall visits Greenville. We need your help. We have season tickets for as low as $115. Please consider purchasing tickets if you are able. If you are a local business, consider showing your support by buying a pair of tickets. Nothing makes a Pirate fan happier than an early holiday present of football season tickets.

With recent success on the field under head coach Mike Houston, we have been fortunate to increase our season ticket numbers each of the last three years. We have a football program coming off back-to-back bowl invites and a group of student-athletes that are determined to continue that success in 2023. I had the opportunity to speak with our young men last night and came away really impressed with the character of this group. Our football program under Coach Houston has come so far in four years and our fans will see new faces who are prepared and ready to play key roles this fall.

Single-game football tickets will go on sale beginning Tuesday, August 8 at 10 a.m. for Pirate Club members. Pirate Club members will have a two-week window to purchase seats before sales are opened to the general public.

Mark Your Calendars For August 19 And August 21
We are looking forward to Pirate Nation getting back together on Saturday, August 19 for Meet the Pirates, sponsored by Optimum, and Monday, August 21 for the third-annual Kickoff Luncheon.

Meet the Pirates will kick off at 11:30 a.m. with autographs from all Pirate football student-athletes along with members of our volleyball and cross-country programs, as well as the cheerleaders, dance team and PeeDee. You can find all the information here.

The Kickoff Luncheon is an opportunity to have a terrific meal from Sam Jones BBQ and hear from head coach Mike Houston, offensive coordinator Donnie Kirkpatrick and defensive coordinator Blake Harrell about the upcoming season. This event sold out in each of the first two years so click here to reserve a table or ticket.

Former Pirate Golf Earns Trip To U.S. Amateur
Former Pirate golfer Nicolas Brown will be representing the Purple and Gold on a national stage later this month with a little assist from a generous Pirate Club donor. Brown, a native of Wendell, qualified for the U.S. Amateur Championship outside Denver from August 14-20. The tournament will be played at Cherry Hills C.C. and Colorado Golf Club. Support from Pirate Club donors Cline Hall Agency and Triangle Risk Advisors are covering all expenses for Brown and his caddie for this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Brown, who attended D.H. Conley High School, earned the trip by taking medalist honors at the U.S. Amateur Qualifying site in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey on July 24. He won the Carolinas Amateur Championship in 2022 at Charlotte Country Club. He played the last two seasons for the Pirates men's golf team.

Michigan Tickets Sold Out; Limited Spots Remain For Gameday Tailgate
We all know Pirate fans will show up and support our student-athletes no matter where we play. It is no surprise that our allotment of tickets sold out for the season opener against Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Pirate Club also put together a charter plane for Sept. 2 and all seats quickly filled up.

As part of the gameday festivities for Pirate fans in Ann Arbor, the Pirate Club is hosting a tailgate outside the stadium. We have limited tickets remaining for the tailgate and I urge you to click the link today to reserve your spot. Due to space limitations, we are only able to reserve 500 spots.

Tickets Remain For Appalachian State Game
I was updated this morning that we still have tickets available to purchase for the Appalachian State game on September 16 in Boone. We would love to see a large contingent of Pirate fans in attendance for the 3:30 p.m. kickoff. The Pirate Club is finalizing details on a gameday tailgate. Information will be released on August 14.

Minges Coliseum Update
Thanks to our generous donors to the Pirates Unite Campaign, we can move forward with new chairback seats in the lower level of Williams Arena in Minges Coliseum. All the bleachers on one side have been removed in preparation for the installation of chairback seats.

Installation on the chairback seats will begin on Sept. 15 and we are expecting the process to take 10 days to complete. This is going to be a terrific addition to the fan experience and allow us to have additional premium seats. We are working to finalize the seat manifest and then the Pirate Club will send out information on the reseating process.

Fall Sports Returning To Campus
Our student-athletes are beginning to return to campus as they gear up for their respective seasons. You can check out the updated schedules for our fall sports below:

Click Here to view our ECU Football Schedule
Click Here to view our ECU Men's Golf Schedule
Click Here to view our ECU Women's Golf Schedule
Click Here to view our ECU Soccer Schedule
Click Here to view our ECU Women's Tennis Schedule
Click Here to view our ECU Volleyball Schedule
Click Here to view our ECU Cross Country Schedule

No Quarter: The History Of East Carolina Football & Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
The Joyner Library on ECU's main campus will have an exhibition running from Aug. 1 through Nov. 22 showing the history of Pirate football and passion of Pirate Nation. The project is titled "No Quarter: The History of East Carolina Football and Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium."

We are thankful for Patrick Cash, ECU Academic Library Services manuscripts curator, and Ronnie Woodward, ECU Public Communications Specialist, for spearheading the project. The 2023 Pirate football team will be touring the exhibition this weekend.

You can visit the library's second and third floors to see bowl trophies, including the 1963 Eastern Bowl trophy from the Pirates' first bowl win, championship rings, helmets, jerseys, game programs from the 1930s and 1940s, items from the 1992 Peach Bowl and more in a comprehensive display of ECU football memories and memorabilia. Materials have come from library collections and donations and loans from alumni, community members and ECU Athletics.

An exhibit reception is scheduled for Sept. 7 from 4-6 p.m. on the library second floor, two days before the first home game of the season against Marshall. You can email Ronnie Woodward at woodwardr21@ecu.edu or Patrick Cash at cashpa18@ecu.edu for additional information about the exhibit or a tour.

I am going to answer your questions next week that were submitted to our Pirate Club social media channels. We had a lot of questions submitted and will try to tackle them all. Enjoy your weekend and we will see you on campus soon.

Go Pirates!

Jon

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