North Carolina vs. East Carolina

North Carolina vs. East Carolina
Football Program for North Carolina vs. East Carolina, October 27, 1979

The ECU-UNC football rivalry began in earnest in 1972, five years after East Carolina became a university and two years before it received UNC State University System President Bill Friday’s blessings for a four-year medical school. ECU’s desire to beat Chapel Hill on the gridiron flowed from its passion to show the world how fully deserving it was as an institution of higher education. UNC’s willingness to compete with the Pirates issued, in part, from its readiness to put the upstart university in its place.

ECU’s first opportunity came on November 25, 1972 in Kenan Stadium, the home of the Tar Heels. Coached by Sonny Randle and Southern Conference champions that year, the Pirates ended up losing badly, 42-19. Commenting on the outcome, Randle observed, optimistically, “We were outmanned, but never outplayed.”

The following year, the Pirates returned to Kenan Stadium for another try, on October 27, 1973, and again went down in defeat, but this time in a very close game, 28-27, in which UNC had to stage the largest fourth-quarter comeback in its history just to beat the Pirates by a single point. The Fountainhead called the loss “one of the most bitter defeats in East Carolina history.” Suddenly, the teams seemed like well-matched rivals. Reportedly, 10,000 ECU fans traveled to Chapel Hill to cheer the Pirates on, and at the end of the game, despite the loss, gave the team a standing ovation for their outstanding performance.

The third match, on October 25, 1975, was a purple and gold charm for the Pirates. Head coach Pat Dye led the team, playing again in Chapel Hill, to their first victory over the Tar Heels, 38-17. Pirate euphoria was unprecedented: the team had proven itself convincingly, even on the Tar Heel’s home turf. Fully understanding the significance of the moment, Dye noted, “This has to be the biggest win in East Carolina’s history.”

The following year, on October 23, 1976, the Pirates fell short, 12-10, losing to the Tar Heels but only on the strength of a late-game field goal that pushed the Heels from the prospect of 10-9 defeat to a 12-10 victory. While a loss, the fact that the Tar Heels had to come back to win by a mere two points left Pirate fans even more desirous of a rematch.

Two years later, on September 16, 1978, the Pirates played again in Chapel Hill but lost in a close game, 14-10. Head coach Pat Dye observed, “The big thing about the game this afternoon was that we arrived. We stayed in there and fought all afternoon. We played hard and never gave up.” According to the Fountainhead, even in defeat, ECU had “played by far its finest game of the season and totally dominated North Carolina in the second half.” In the words of Tommy Summer, ECU linebacker, “We didn’t lose, time just ran out on us.”

The sixth contest, played on October 27, 1979, was significant not because the Pirates won or lost – they did neither – but instead because in the outcome, a hard fought, 24-24 tie, they had achieved, if not the coveted victory, knowledge that against the nationally ranked Tar Heels, favored by two touchdowns, they had forced Carolina to comeback and catch up simply to break even with a tie game. The tie followed the Heel’s decision, with 18 seconds remaining, to go for a game-splitting field goal rather than take the risk of a push for a victory. The Heel’s cut-your-losses strategy, from 47 yards, worked, saving UNC from the utter ignominy of defeat at the hands of the Pirates in Kenan Stadium.

Though frustrating and hardly ideal, for the Pirates an equity of sorts had been recognized with the Heels’ choice to go for a tie rather than gamble, against the Pirates’ defensive strength, on a chance for clear-cut victory. With a stadium full of 50,000 fans on the edge of their seats hoping for a last-minute bold win, the Heel’s cautious, even concessive choice surprised everyone. No one said it, but the decision to go for a field goal rather than a touchdown signaled a lapse of confidence in Tar Heel offensive invincibility. Some even felt that for Chapel Hill, a mere tie was tantamount to a loss, a gridiron confession that victory was not possible, prompting a nolo contendere plea, copped simply to get out of a dire strait.

Hoping for an upset victory in Chapel Hill, Pirate fans were hardly happy. After all, they had been on the cusp of victory prior to the field goal. Nevertheless, the Tar Heel’s strategy was construed, by some, as a salute to the Pirate defense: had the latter been feeble, the Heels would have tested it. Instead, UNC chose the easiest, safest shot, not for a win, but a truce. In doing so, they confessed, “We can’t beat you, but we will not let you beat us either.”

Pat Dye expressed no pleasure about the tie. “You won’t see any celebrating in our locker room. Our players are heartbroken.” Safety Ruffin McNeil added another perspective, “All of us hustled so hard today. I know we tied, but we’re all winners inside.” With words of comfort, Dye added that while his team had not won, “I’m sure … [you] won a lot of hearts today.”

An editorial in the Fountainhead expressed another Pirate reaction: “This game changed a lot of opinions about our university. We are catching up to Carolina in many ways, and we suspect that UNC isn’t too happy about it … All facets of the university community are looking up, and we are becoming aware of a new identity here at ECU. UNC lost more than a football game. It was more like the beginning of a new era of respect. It’s high time we shed the EZU image and start respecting each other and our school. And it’s time that state legislators and others realize that ECU is a major educational and athletic institution.”

Once again, and hardly for the last time, gridiron competition channeled both the dreams and accomplishments of the Pirate nation. That UNC went quietly into the night, accepting a tie rather than confidently going for the victory, spoke volumes about just how far ECU had come.

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