ECU officially joins the AAC

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on July 2, 2014 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

GREENVILLE -- The American Athletic Conference enjoyed a storybook inaugural season.

UConn emerged as the men's and women's national champions in basketball. UCF won the Fiesta Bowl. Louisville advanced to the College World Series and Rutgers claimed the Women's NIT crown.

AAC commissioner Mike Aresco jokingly told a reporter he hoped the conference didn't reach the watermark during its first year. He expects the schools in the league to raise their level and profile, and compete in every sport.

That remark included newcomer East Carolina, which hoisted the colors and set sail into new waters when it officially joined the league Tuesday.

Tulane and Tulsa also entered the conference.

"I don't want to get metaphysical, but this conference is born of an idea of teams challenging and competing, and there is no question that these teams have that ethic and this conference has that ethic," said Aresco after he toured the ECU campus last week.

"To this day, Frank Beamer says Virginia Tech never could have done what it did without having membership in the Big East. A program like this is already in place, it just needs to be discovered."

Aresco's vision has become reality 23 years later.

In 1991, he visited ECU when Dave Hart served as athletics director. The enthusiasm surrounding the football program became so infectious that Aresco recommended to ESPN to devise a TV package with ECU, which was an independent at the time.

A six-year deal was put in place and the Pirates joined Conference USA during that stretch. The exposure proved beneficial for the unversity.

Fast-forward two-plus decades later, and Aresco sees ECU's athletics program -- especially football -- making an immediate impact during its first season in the AAC.

"They bring a great football program and a university that is widely respected ... a sports department that is extremely well run," Aresco said. "They will bring energy, enthusiasm and the kind of fan interest that you want in your conference. I think they're going to bring a great deal to the conference ... no question about it.

"The country is going to discover ECU in a way that it hasn't."

The Pirates will gain a national reputation by virtue of their membership in the AAC and the TV exposure expected, especially on Saturday afternoons. League teams will appear on ESPN, CBS Sports and ABC throughout the 2014 season.

East Carolina finished 10-3 a year ago and recorded its second-highest single-season win total since going 11-1 in 1991. The Pirates defeated Ohio University, 37-20, in the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl -- the program's seventh postseason appearance in the past eight years.