East Carolina, Northwestern Agree To 2027 Football Game
July 29, 2025 | Football
GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina and Northwestern have agreed to play a non-conference football game on Sept. 18, 2027, at Ryan Field according to a joint announcement by both institutions Tuesday.
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The meeting will mark ECU's initial visit to Northwestern and the Pirates' 10th-ever contest against a current member of the Big Ten Conference with the last against Michigan in 2023. The announcement is the third non-conference game for ECU in 2027 as the Pirates are schedule to host Wake Forest (Sept. 11) and Georgia State (Sept. 25) inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
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"We are excited to add a school of Northwestern's caliber to our 2027 schedule," East Carolina Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert said. "East Carolina has always been committed to facing high quality non-conference opponents as we continue to showcase our brand across the country."
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The contest against Northwestern will maintain the continuity of Power Conference opponents on East Carolina's future schedules that includes games against Wake Forest (2027/home, 2028/away), NC State (2028/home), Clemson (2029/away) and South Carolina (2030/away). This season, ECU will play a pair of P4 members in NC State (Aug. 28 away) and BYU (Sept. 20 home).
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The meeting will mark ECU's initial visit to Northwestern and the Pirates' 10th-ever contest against a current member of the Big Ten Conference with the last against Michigan in 2023. The announcement is the third non-conference game for ECU in 2027 as the Pirates are schedule to host Wake Forest (Sept. 11) and Georgia State (Sept. 25) inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
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"We are excited to add a school of Northwestern's caliber to our 2027 schedule," East Carolina Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert said. "East Carolina has always been committed to facing high quality non-conference opponents as we continue to showcase our brand across the country."
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The contest against Northwestern will maintain the continuity of Power Conference opponents on East Carolina's future schedules that includes games against Wake Forest (2027/home, 2028/away), NC State (2028/home), Clemson (2029/away) and South Carolina (2030/away). This season, ECU will play a pair of P4 members in NC State (Aug. 28 away) and BYU (Sept. 20 home).
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