One game that almost every East Carolina football fan will have circled on their collective 2016 calendars will be the return of rival North Carolina State on Sept. 20.

Rightfully so, too.

But the team and fans alike should be quick to put down the pens and look at the treacherous non-conference schedule as the biggest challenge and biggest asset facing the team this season and beyond.

It’s perhaps surprising to see past the Wolfpack finally making their way back to Greenville for the first time in six seasons, but ultimately they represent just another obstacle in the Pirates’ annually tough non-conference schedule.

In addition to the arrival N.C. State, the Pirates will travel to play Power-5 opponents South Carolina and Virginia Tech. Outside of FCS opponent Western Carolina in Week 1, the Pirates won’t play a non-Power-5 opponent until conference play. At that point, they will likely be battle tested from playing four consecutive weeks to start the season.

The trend of playing a tough out of conference schedule is nothing new for ECU, either. Since 2010, ECU has matched up against 16 Power-5 opponents, yet the Pirates have won just six matchups. For a team that annually considers itself a bowl contender, there doesn’t appear to be much to gain from playing as the underdog for two or three games to start the season. That misconception, however, only goes as deep as the results on the field.

What’s sometimes hard to understand is that playing some of the best in the southeast region of the country year after year provides invaluable exposure to ECU that goes a long way in terms of television coverage. The oft-forgotten Pirates have tried desperately for years to create a footprint that goes beyond eastern North Carolina.

The American Athletic Conference’s television deal with ESPN represented a significant step towards that goal but the fact remains that viewership is usually higher for games that intrigue the viewers. N.C. State will attract viewers in not only the Carolinas, but states around it because of the history between the two schools and the fan bases.

Week 3 and 4’s matchups with South Carolina and Virginia Tech, respectively, can claim much of the same. The Pirates represent a team willing to play wherever, whenever, and their Power-5 opponents have reciprocated their traveling ways by agreeing to home-and-homes.

ECU and Virginia Tech will play games until 2020, but ECU will host just once more before their contract expires. It represents the necessary hoops that a school like ECU has to jump through season after season to ensure contests against premier opponents.

Essentially, the Pirates face an uphill battle in that they have to travel likely two or three times against credible Power-5 opponents before being afforded the opportunity to host games.

But the end justifies the means in this situation. Hosting games against teams like Virginia Tech, N.C. State, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia and more brings more credibility to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. From there, it’s up to the team to further expand on the opportunity by playing competitively.

And, to ECU’s credit, it has played competitively, especially recently, against the top-tier competition. The romping of North Carolina two seasons ago set in motion the notion that the Pirates play up to their competition. In that same season, they topped Virginia Tech and in the following campaign they gave Florida all it could handle in a close loss and once again topped the Hokies.

The culmination of these competitive games, though they have ended in losses more often than not, has proven to be invaluable for the Pirates from a national recognition standpoint.

And thankfully for the program, the slate is full of tough teams and no end is in sight.