Heath Davis
November 23, 2004

We have entered a new era in ECU athletics. An era when a hard working man with unquestioned class and integrity was removed at the whim of an athletics director who has been on the job for only two months. An era when ECU administrators are demonstrating a complete disregard for fiscal responsibility.

John Thompson was not fired for his won-loss record. His only crime was that he was not hired by Holland. The program was in a rebuilding mode from the previous staff. Chancellor Ballard was on record before the football season saying that the program needed "total renovation." No coach could have fixed all the problems Thompson inherited in 20 months. Holland was not qualified to make such a move so early in the tenure of his or Thompson's employment. The Rocky Mount Telegram put it best.

According to a Bonesville.net report, Holland's compensation for the new coach will approach $800,000 per year. Thompson will be compensated up to $450,000 over the next three years. That will be a 2.4 million dollar deficit for the athletics program. How will ECU pay for that expenditure? That burden will most likely be placed on the backs of ECU students with increased tuition for athletics. This will saddle our students with increased debts before and after graduation. It is completely irresponsible to force students and alumni to pay for the mismanagement of ECU's athletics program.

Holland, like all ego-driven ADs, wants to have "his" man at the helm. He hired Al Groh at Virginia. At the same time, Virginia relaxed the character standards of their student athletes. When faced
with similar character issues, John Thompson removed the player from the program. Does ECU want to keep student athletes with questionable backgrounds as Virginia did? Maybe so.

Holland had an impromptu contest for ECU students attending an ECU basketball game. The winner received two tickets to an ACC football game at Virginia. I guess Holland thinks that ECU events have little value if he's promoting the ACC. Tickets to the exciting BCA games in Raleigh would have been much more appropriate, especially if you are the AD at ECU.

Heath Davis (ECU '91)
Henderson, NC

Tyler Rouse
October 7, 2004

Hi, my name is Tyler Rouse and I'm a 16 year old from Greenville.
I don't know about the rest of the EC fans but I'd like to see at least one win this season. This message goes out to all of the ECU football players. Guys, listen, it's a game you go out there and play what you've been taught almost all your lives. It's time that you start sticking together as a team. Everybody needs to make a bond as a family and go out there and play. It's that simple. I'm honestly not trying to criticize.

I'm a student at South Central High in Winterville but guys, listen, go have fun. We the fans are behind you guys all the way. We give you support, we come to your games, and most of all we give all of our sympathy to you the team because we know that you can do it.
If you go out there and play as a team then you'll win as a team. Forget about all those critics, forget about the people that say EC can't because, for one, I know that we can. Like last weekend at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium against Louisville, you guys simply gave up because you were intimidated by their rank.

For one you don't just give up, you play until the end. It's like that old saying, it's not over until it's over. Just because Louisville is ranked 22nd doesn't mean that you can't go out there and beat them and it certainly doesn't mean that you can't go out there and make an effort.

I grew up loving the Pirates. As a matter of fact, my grandmother used to take pictures of what we call the Jeff Blake era. I was always all about going to an ECU Football game. That was my hobby and now it seems like that just keeps fading away. So guys, please buckle down because this is the championship town of 2004 for the No. 1 team in America, the East Carolina Pirates!

Tyler Rouse
Greenville, NC

Mark Pickard
October 5, 2004

I have been a Pirate fan for 25 years, and I have never been embarrassed to let everyone know how much I love the Pirates. Now I am! I cannot even listen to a game on the radio we are so bad, and this is the first year I won't be attending any home games.

My dad tells me he's sorry I'm a Pirate fan every week and laughs. The Pirates have no offense, no defense, no skill people, and no coaching. I am certain we would struggle with a division two team because we have division two talent. Does anyone out there think we could beat Georgia Southern? I doubt it.

Believe me, there is a coach out there that could take this program to higher levels, and John Thompson is not that man. Not all assistant coaches make good head coaches, and we have the classic case. We have not improved in the 16 games the man has coached, and in fact it looks like we're losing any hope of winning again this year. East Carolina doesn't have a clue what it takes to win a football game. All we hear is that we didn't execute, but we played hard. How do you play hard and lose 59 to 7 to Louisville. We can't stop an off tackle run for less than five yards a pop.

Terry Holland should pull the plug sooner rather than suffer through a couple more years of this morass. Even with the number one recruiting class in America next year, the Pirates would be lucky to win 4 or 5 games with the talent we have now. The rats are jumping ship. We need a new captain for this Pirate ship. 117th in the nation is not where we should be, as I heard sportscasters joking about the worst teams in the country this week. ECU was one of these teams.

Pirate fans shouldn't settle for this pitiful display of football we have seen these last two years! We need a quicker fix to bring fans back into the Pirate fold.

Mark Pickard
Raleigh, NC

Mitch 'Bones' Butler
October 5, 2004

I have always been one who believes in allowing a coach to establish his plays, players, ideology, and so forth. However, it has become apparent that the problems with ECU are all rooted in the fundamentals.

Poor tackling (diving for feet, not wrapping up, poor angles), being unprepared, and physical domination have reared their ugly heads in the last two years... and, yes, some of these things were evident under Logan. But Logan showed that he was able to turn those things around in a year — 2-9 in '93; 7-4 and a bowl in '94; and 8-3 with a bowl win in '95.

It may be that firing Logan was a colossal mistake tied more to personal things rather than what was best for ECU.

I have been one that wanted to give Thompson a chance. However, the fact that ECU looks like a division 1-AA tune-up game opponent makes me question the capability of Coach Thompson to turn this program into a serious contender again.

It is a sad day in pirate country!

Mitch 'Bones' Butler (ECU '99 and '01)
Raleigh, NC

Dan Antonelli
October 4, 2004

Ten reasons why we may need to start thinking about getting a new coach:

1. John Thompson has no record as a head coach for us to say, "Well, he did this at _____ and started out slow there."

2. Sometimes great assistants are just great assistants.

3. If his defenses were so good in the past, several at programs with similar recruiting challenges, including Southern Miss, why can't ours intimidate anyone?

4. We have been on ESPN.com's bottom ten list for the last 12 weeks going back to last year.

5. Every one of his post game interviews sounds exactly the same: "We need to get better!"

6. How bad was the program he inherited really? The program was clean and we graduated players... We were not on probation... We had arguably our greatest high school commitments ever (Troth)... We were coming off our first losing season in several years... We had recently funded a strength and conditioning facility second to none... We had a strong fan base.

7. Thompson is 1-15 with his only victory coming from Army, which has lost it's last 20-something games.

8. Teams like Virginia Tech are opting out of playing ECU (first game of this year), not because they are afraid of us but because we are unable to compete.

9. This year we averaging a 26 point loss margin.

10. He has turned me, one of the most die hard and loyal ECU fans ever, into a "hater" who is writing this email.

Dan Antonelli (ECU '96)
Atlanta, GA

Dave McKenzie
October 3, 2004

Does anyone still truly believe that John Thompson is the right coach for ECU? This so-called defensive genius has made every offense we've faced look like a BCS team. In fact, he's so good, our defense is ranked 116th in the nation. There are only 117 Division I schools. At Florida, where Thompson was the defensive coordinator, the Gators scored so many points that a defense only had to be mediocre. Many of us would settle for mediocre right about now.

For years, the Pirate Club members have been told that if we just gave more money, we could have the facilities needed for long term success. Those facilities are here. Unfortunately, the head coach doesn't know what to do with them. Thompson may one day become a good head coach. I just don't want it to be at the expense of our University.

Let's take advantage of the horsepower Terry Holland brings to the table. Let's get a real head coach.

Dave McKenzie ('74)
Mooresville, NC

Greg Zittel
October 2, 2004

Watching the Louisville game at a local watering hole with a friend from East Carolina, it occurred to me, one who has never thought that a coach at EC should be fired, that John Thompson should resign.

Greg Zittel (ECU alum)
New York, NY

John D. Raithel
September 29, 2004

I want to complement your recent article about ECU having a "curse" just like the Boston Rex Sox have had. It certainly seems that way, and, who knows, maybe there is one!! My son is an ECU alumnus and he lives and breathes ECU football.

But, I would like to call something to your attention. The Red Sox won their last World Series in 1918, not 1917. Babe Ruth pitched two complete game victories in that series against the Chicago Cubs.

Also, your article implies Ruth was traded immediately after the World Series victory by Boston. The fact is that he was not traded until December 1919, more than a year after the Red Sox won the 1918 series.

Here is a bit of trivia — do you know one of the major reasons he was traded? It seems the Red Sox owner needed money to fund a new Broadway musical entitled "No, No, Nanette." That is the musical where the songs "Tea For Two" and "Happy Days Are Here Again" originated.

John D. Raithel
Cornelius, NC

Derk Walker
September 21, 2004

This letter is in response to Al Myatt's column about a watered down schedule. I respect Al as the best columnist on this site and read this site every day but I must disagree with his assessment that ECU should play a watered down schedule. I think we should be more like Southern Miss and play anybody, anywhere. ECU will never gain respect by beating C-USA opponents. We will only gain the national exposure we crave by playing and beating the big boys like Southern Miss does.

In the Logan years, ECU beat up on BCS schools on a regular basis. The teams Al mentioned such as N.C. State and WVU, we beat when Logan was the coach. Maybe Terry Holland can get us into a BCS conference and hire a big time coach. Until than we will probably lose those games that Logan used to win.

Derk Walker (ECU '00)
Mount Olive, NC

Gene Stallings
September 17, 2004

If we take Al Myatt's approach to the schedule and water it down, then we should go back to the Colonial Athletic Conference.

We are the top Division I football program in the State of N.C. and the wins will come.

The coaching staff and players will make the necessary changes to bring the program back to where it was and then continue to improve it. We have proven in the past, that to be the best, you must play the best.

Gene Stallings
Raleigh, NC

Greg Zittel
September 8, 2004

While the catastrophe of the blood feud between Logan and Hamrick still haunts us in the ashes of a once proud program, the hire of Holland is certainly good news. We all hope for the program to be restrengthened and its dignity restored.

The feud that killed a program was never highlighted then by a Greenville media that knew but didn't tell. Now we have Bonesville watching and as a result such a disaster cannot happen behind closed doors. No longer can friends protect friends. Now we have reporters willing to report and discuss as reality dictates.

Bonesville, a new Chancellor, a new coach and now a new AD all combine to bring a new hope for a new day to Greenville and ECU football.

Greg Zittel (ECU Alum)
New York, NY

Bob Jones
September 5, 2004

Last night I listened online, thanks to bonesville.net, to the Morgantown rout from my home in Tampa, FL. During the broadcast, I could not help but think how far ago that sunny Saturday afternoon in Charlotte seemed. On that day I had cheered the Pirates along with my wife and daughter to a tremendous victory over WVU.

I for one am shocked at how the Pirate program went from competitive to pathetic in the one off season between Logan's departure and Thompson's hiring. One only hopes that the current administration will pull the plug on the Thompson experiment. I am one alum that would be willing to write a check right now to help bring Coach Steve Logan back to Greenville.

Bob Jones (ECU '89)
Tampa, FL

Chris Vlahos
August 27, 2004

WOW! I really cannot believe the negative remarks from some Pirate fans. Living in south Florida for the last 9 years, I always open the sports page of the local paper looking to see if some of the local Florida recruits will be playing ball at ECU. Well, every year ended in my disappointment, till this last.

Every year these same high school students accept scholarships to local state colleges (Florida, Miami, Florida State) and programs like Ohio State and Oklahoma, and we all know what these schools have done in the past decade. Pirate fans, be grateful that we have a coach that wants to and sees the benefit of recruiting these students.

The goal of our program is to win and provide ECU with a more nationally know audience. I believe we will experience it with Coach Thompson. The program was heading south under Coach Logan prior to Thompson's arrival. Now Coach Thompson is heading south to bring this program back to being a formidable opponent to teams in Conference USA and others around the country. He has also gone out and hired coaches that can help us achieve that same goal.

As far as the Robert W. McDowell letter stating that quarterbacks of the Washington Redskins were the Achilles' heel during Noah Brindise's tenure, I believe it should have been written the Redskins’ problems were having an offensive line that allowed 43 sacks in 2003, 9th overall, and couldn't keep their quarterbacks from breaking there Achilles heel.

Of course we all know that there are times you must hit rock bottom (1-11) before you can climb to glory! Until we see what Coach can do with HIS recruits, we should all stay positive about where our program is heading!

Chris Vlahos (ECU '95)
West Palm Beach, FL

Mike Yorke
August 22, 2004

Just read Robert McDowell's letter of August 19,'04. While I share many of his questions and frustrations I can't agree that John Thompson has blown off the misery of last season and accepted no responsibility for the dismal record. At a Pirate Club function I attended this spring Coach Thompson acknowledged making tons of mistakes last season. He further said he felt he had left several wins on the field and would like to play several games over. He made particular reference to our two in-state losses as games he'd handle differently.

'03 is over. Coach Thompson will be judged on what he puts on the field this year. A big improvement is expected by me. And I'm starting off thinking last year could have — conservatively — been a 3-4 win year. I expect improvement from that point.

Mike Yorke (ECU '67)
Chatham County, NC

Robert W. McDowell
August 19, 2004

Simply regurgitating John Thompson's latest litany of excuses for his abysmal performance to date is a disservice to your readers. It was Thompson — not Steve Logan or the players — who promoted Desmond Robinson to starting quarterback and sent the 2003 Pirates into a death spiral. Robinson started nine games, and threw three touchdown passes and 11 interceptions. He took SIX GAMES to throw his FIRST TD. (By contrast, James Pinkney and Paul Troth combined started three games, and threw three TD passes and six interceptions.)

When your head coach cannot admit that he made a HUGE mistake, and stubbornly refuses to do anything about it, your team is in trouble. But J.T. preferred to blow off last season rather than take responsibility for the mess that he made of the team.

Had Thompson deliberately set out to wreck the 2003 Pirates and ruin ECU's football reputation, he could have done no worse. But, that's right, our resident "defensive genius" did deliberately wreck the offense, which returned virtually intact. Only six points prevented ECU from going 0-12.

Now ECU has an "offensive genius," too. Quarterbacks were the Washington Redskins' Achilles' heel during Noah Brindise's tenure as the Skins' quarterback coach, just like defense was the Florida Gators' Achilles' heel during J.T.'s tenure as that team's defensive coordinator. Anybody see a pattern here?

When THE SPORTING NEWS 2004 College Football Guide ranks your team 99th out of 117 Division I-A teams and your coaching 11th out of 11 teams in lowly Conference USA, you are in deep trouble. Thank God for Army. Otherwise, ECU would rank LAST in C-USA in overall offense and defense, wide Receivers, linebackers, and defensive backs, and next-to-last in offensive backfield and defensive line. (ECU's special teams ranked sixth, and its offensive line ranked eighth.)

J.T.'s steadfast refusal to take responsibility for his egregious mistakes should not go unchallenged. I consider Bonesville.net this state's leading fan site, and look forward to incisive critical commentary on this subject, e.g., Who has Thompson run off besides Paul Troth? That's a good place to start.

Robert W. McDowell (ECU '70)
Raleigh, NC

Don "Molly" Mollenhauer
July 18, 2004

Look out Track World, here comes Carson's newest discovery. East Carolina's recent signee, LaShawn Merritt, who happens to be the Virginia State Champ in the 100, 200, & 400, can also add the title of World Champ to his resume. Mr. Merritt won the 400 dash at the World Junior Olympic Championship in Italy and was a member of both gold winning relay teams (400 &1600.)

I can't wait for the track season to begin. Roll Pirates.

Don "Molly" Mollenhauer (ECU '72)
Barhamsville, VA

[Note: The recruiter referred to in Mollenhauer's letter, veteran ECU track coach Bill Carson, was the Team USA sprint coach at the World Junior Championships in Italy, where Merritt won his recent gold medals. — Editor]

Mitch 'Bones' Butler
May 27, 2004

It is a small wonder that anyone would WANT to come and work at East Carolina University, much less be a leader.

I am of course referring to this uproar about the choices for AD and the 'controversy' started by (incoming Chancellor Steve) Ballard's leanings toward (Rick) Hart. Every time a tough decision has to be made, whomever or whatever group of people doesn't like it does their best to derail or disrupt the process.

No wonder ECU is getting left out of so many of the happenings within the sports realm in North Carolina and nationally. Let the new head man make a decision that HE will feel comfortable with. If I could talk to Ballard, I would tell him to reopen the process — which should not have come down to final or semifinal lists until he was hired anyway — so that HE can help direct the path of ECU athletics... not let it be guided by a bunch of divisive people who have driven out many a leader at this school!!!!

Mitch 'Bones' Butler (ECU '98 and '01)
Raleigh, NC

Greg Zittel
May 13, 2004

The responses by Dennis (Wiggins) and Dave (Englert) to my letter about the baseball stadium shouldn't dismiss my pride in Pirate baseball. Listening to the games over the Internet "stream" has been a great joy. Watch the Yankees? Forget it. The only baseball in the entire country is ECU baseball. Like JT said, Coach is like a rock star at this point. Go EC. Go baseball. On to the league champeenship, and on to Omaha. My heart is bursting.

Greg Zittel (ECU Alumnus)
New York, NY

Dave Englert
May 11, 2004

Greg Zittel’s 11th hour attack on the Pirate family for building a new baseball stadium is bizarre in tone and about three years too late.

This is very simple, Greg. We are building a new stadium because our successful baseball program deserves it, and because our fans have decided to make it happen. It's called Pirate Pride and Pirate Passion.

Eight million dollars is a lot of money, but that is what a stadium worthy of our program and fans costs. That program has had 51 winning seasons in 53 years, and is about to make its 20th appearance in the NCAA playoffs. The fans are largely footing the bill, and some will soon pay more due to unexpected steel and concrete cost increases.

Greg, have you been to an ECU baseball game recently? If you have, you know that Harrington is really not a stadium, just a 35 year old collection of aluminum bleachers with a tiny concession stand, no locker rooms and no bathrooms. Despite these conditions, most games find these bleachers full. Hundreds more line the outfield fences.

The new stadium will double our seating capacity, offer chairback seating, and include a modern concession stand and ample rest rooms. There will be coaches' offices, locker rooms, an indoor batting tunnel, and a new scoreboard. The media will have a state of the art press box. There will be a Pirate Club deck, a picnic area, and of course "The Jungle" will remain as a key tradition and connection to the past. You can call all that "throwing away money," but I call it investing wisely in the future of ECU baseball.

Don't worry about the kids with cancer or others who are sick. Thirty or so years ago Pirate Pride and Pirate Passion, led by Dr. Leo Jenkins, created a new medical school. If you aren't impressed by our baseball program, perhaps you should be by the Brody School of Medicine and the hospital and medical complex which has developed around it. It costs hundreds of millions of dollars each year, but it is well worth it.

Dave Englert
Norfolk, VA

Dennis G. Wiggins
May 9, 2004

In response to Greg Zittel and his letter dated May 6, 2004, anyone that that has been to a baseball game at Harrington Field in the last 10 years or more will agree that a new stadium is a must!

Greg, have you attended a baseball game at Harrington in the last decade? If you have, you would notice that there are high schools with better baseball facilities than at ECU. We have fairly new lights, a new scoreboard and the grounds crew is awesome, but what about seating? And concessions? Oh, yeah, who doesn't mind a five-minute walk to the bathroom, only to have to wait in line for one of the three urinals?

Did you attend the CAA tournament when it was in Kinston, or in Manteo? How about when we played State in Wilson? Did you forget the regionals in Wilson and Kinston? Crowds that large would make it necessary for people to bring their deer stands and sit in the 'Jungle' just to get a glimpse of a game at the old Harrington. You probably don't even know what jungle I'm referring to.

I think that the real question should be, "Why aren't there going to be more seats?"

Field: a piece of open land, sometimes used for growing crops or playing sports.

Stadium: a large structure in which sports events and concerts are held. It usually has an open field surrounded by rows of rising seats.

Dennis G. Wiggins
Chocowinity, NC

Greg Zittel
May 6, 2004

Number five in the Nation and done on Harrington Field? Why 8 million on a new stadium? There are kids with cancer. Couldn't we fix the old place up for 2 million? What is a new stadium going to do that the old field didn't do? Eight million seems an unneeded expense and a completely new stadium seems stupid. Are we so filthy rich that we can just throw money away?

Greg Zittel (ECU Alumnus)
New York, NY

Mark Pickard
January 30, 2004

In regards to Denny O'Brien's column, "ECU not short on options," I couldn't agree more. Conference USA is now the joke of the nation! ECU vs. Tulsa is not exactly going to draw a national TV audience. Rice vs. Central Florida, give me a break! How about ECU vs. Rice, boy I can't wait for that tilt.

ECU, Southern Miss, and Marshall are now the only respectable football programs left in the conference. TCU saw the light — or lack of any lights or fans, take your pick — and bolted to the Mountain West Conference! They view the Mountain West as an improvement to Conference USA.

I can't see ESPN picking up any Conference USA games anymore, because no one cares. We have come too far with our program to settle for the mediocrity of Conference USA. Why not join ECU, Southern Miss, and Marshall with the MAC powers, and lets start over with some schools who are serious about football.

In my opinion, the Pirates have absolutely nothing to gain, and all to lose, by staying in this conference for losers. I love the Pirates, and it sickens me to think we have to take the field against Rice, SMU, and Tulsa. What town are those schools in anyway? Are Pirate fans going to pay good money to see any of those teams?

Let's get out now, cut our loses, rebuild our program, go independent, and pray for a better deal for our school. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before things get better. With the new Conference USA, I believe we are there. Oh, well, when we take on SMU on a beautiful September afternoon in Dowdy-Ficklen, maybe I'll pass and go bottom fishin' instead!

Mark Pickard (ECU '83)
Raleigh, NC

David Beauchamp
January 6, 2004

I see from the previous letters that many continue to badmouth Logan's firing. But let's face it, you have to try something. It was absolutely clear that Logan was not going to get us a conference championship. He had 6-7 years to get this done and couldn't.

This is C-USA folks, not the Big 12. We don't have to beat Texas, just Texas Christian. These C-USA teams have the same recruiting disadvantages that we have. No one wanted to see Logan succeed more than me, but how many years should we have given him?

Perhaps Thompson is not the answer for ECU. The jury is still out on that one. But at least our administration and alumni aspired to something more than an occasional 6-5 record and a Mobile bowl berth.

David Beauchamp (ECU'92)
Aberdeen, NC

Jon Rogers
January 5, 2004

I think it's unfortunate that the split national championship has shifted the focus of many to concentrate solely on repairing the broken BCS system to avoid split titles in the future. While I agree this should be a priority, I am disappointed that the issue of non-BCS conferences' access to the lucrative bowls has been quietly swept under the carpet.

In fact, it looks as if the BCS representatives including the current coordinator, Mike Tranghese, are not even taking the access issue seriously.

In a recent statement, Tranghese stated that the six major conferences that control the BCS currently would retain their dominance. The statement that he made following this is what really concerns me:

"Do you really think there are teams out there that we left out that could have won the national championship?" he asked.

This is the perspective that the 55 schools under the Conference USA, Mountain West, MAC, WAC, and Sun Belt conference banners should be deeply concerned about. Tranghese and his colleagues are systematically eliminating 55 institutions from being nationally competitive.

His statement is certainly true at this point . . . there is no team from these five conferences that could win the national title at the moment. However, that is not to say that these schools do not have the potential to compete at that level.

Yet, due to the caste system implemented by the BCS, these schools can not participate in lucrative games which limits their visibility and brands them as "mid-majors." These factors contribute to the inability to recruit high caliber athletes in large numbers and thus the inability to compete consistently with the current national powers.

Unless the viewpoints of those currently holding power are changed, many great institutions across this country will have to exist as second-class programs through coercion. It is interesting that such practices are not allowed in society or in commerce, yet they are allowed to exist within the realm of college football.

Jon Rogers (ECU '01)
Alexandria, VA

P. Jeff Martin
January 2, 2004

In response to W. Steve Cochran's comments regarding 'We can't win with Florida leftovers,' well, I guess we DIDN'T win with the Florida-bred quarterback Jeff Blake, huh?

P. Jeff Martin, Esq. (ECU '90)
Akron, OH

Dick Denton
January 1, 2004

With reference to Mr. Steve Cochran's letter of Dec. 30, 2003, I must express some difference of opinion. He stated that since the days of Jack Boone, we have won with ninety percent of our players from NC, VA, and SC. While this may be true, go back and check what the winning percentages are — and more importantly, look at the schedules and who we competed against.

Our 1-11 team could have gone undefeated against the same teams today!

The fact is, we have never been able to recruit the best players in Tidewater Virginia, and have not fared any better in SC. We can't play our schedule today with the same caliber player.

(Mr. Cochran says) we can't win with the leftovers from Florida. Well, we certainly can't win with the leftovers from NC. The fact is that we are not satisfied with leftovers from anywhere. We want the best for ECU, and John Thompson and his staff are going after the best and are not intimidated by the other schools that are recruiting them.

We probably have more high school coaches in NC with ECU ties than any other school but I question how much that has helped us in recruiting the best players in the state.

I support Coach Thompson and his staff and commend them in their efforts to recruit the best players and field the kind of team that will make us all proud Pirates!

Dick Denton (ECU '57)
Manteo, NC