GREENVILLE — The kickoff time for East Carolina’s season-opening nonconference contest against South Carolina, scheduled for Sept. 3 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, has been set for 7 p.m. (EDT) to accommodate a live FOX Sports Networks regional television broadcast according to an announcement from the Southeastern Conference Wednesday.
The Pirates will open Ruffin McNeill’s second season at the helm of the ECU program by playing the first contest of a five-game scheduling agreement with the Gamecocks that was announced in 2006 and extends through 2016.
The meeting against South Carolina, which wrapped up the 2010 season with a 9-5 record, a No. 22 national rank and appearances in both the SEC Championship Game and Chick-fil-A Bowl, will mark the renewal of a series that spans 15 games and dates back to 1977.
East Carolina posted a 6-7 overall mark and stood second in Conference USA’s East Division a year ago. The Pirates opened the campaign winning five of their first seven contests and advanced to a program-record fifth-straight bowl game, but fell to Maryland 51-20 in the Military Bowl.
The Pirates’ matchup against the Gamecocks represents ECU’s fifth trip to Charlotte for a neutral site contest, following wins against Virginia Tech (2008), West Virginia (1999) and N.C. State (1996), and a setback to the Wolfpack in 2004.
FOX Sports Networks, a new C-USA television partner, will also air the Pirates’ home opener against Virginia Tech a week later (Sept. 10) and a pivotal league intra-divisional matchup against UCF on Nov. 19.