(06-03-2013 03:59 PM)Indiana Bones Wrote:  Here's some more ECU propaganda:

People outside the program just don't realize how good of a coach Ruffin McNeill is but they will figure it out soon enough. Despite Holtz's success, he left ECU in bad shape & coach Ruff has kept the ship going in the right direction. 2013 should be a good season w/ at least 10 wins & virtually everyone will return for 2014 which has the making of a very special season. ECU is a favorite to win CUSA this year and will compete for the AAC championship in 2014. Recruiting has continued to get better & better & that trend will continue with coach Ruff recently receiving a 3yr extension.

I don't know if ECU will ever get into the SEC but if the Pirates can win CUSA this year & then win the AAC next year it would be a major step in the right directions. One thing about ECU that true college football fans have to respect is that the Pirate's OOC schedule is always tough & the program has a history of not only being competitive but also rising up and defeating the nations elite every few years. These next 2 seasons could be a couple of the best in school history & if ECU can sprinkle in some big time wins over VT, UNC, NCSU, WVU, and USC like they have in the past, it could be the catalyst to bigger & better things! Momentum is a powerful force!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pla...R_hXFmPxkA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pla...igaldthg7o

Recent call-ups:

Utah to the PAC - In addition to their recent big time football success, they are a flagship institution with passable academics (120's), filled out a footprint need for the PAC with the Colorado, but were obviously not a first choice. If Texhoma had joined, Utah is probably not in the PAC today. ECU does not have the big time football success (BCS bowl wins, completely undefeated seasons, etc.), the academics (190's), or flagship status.

TCU to the Big 12 - recent big time football success, top 100 university, were easily available when the Big 12 needed a quick add but were not a first choice, and they are in a super-sized market that was easy travel for most Big 12 members. They fell into a perfect storm. Again, ECU does not have the football success, academics, or market.

Boise State to ...??? - ECU does have one thing on Boise; ECU is a national university (although not highly rated), and Boise is a weak regional university. Anybody that wonders why the PAC will never sniff at Boise needs only look there. I don't think Boise will ever get into a P5 conference as long as they are a regional university.

As I have said in past posts, ECU needs to do a few things before even throwing out P5 pleas:

1. Up their academics to be in the top 150 range so they are comparable to Louisville, Mississippi State, and Texas Tech. That will take some work.

2. Re-brand. Change the name to get rid of the directional school vibe. Buy the rights to Atlantic University (currently an online school) or just go with Carolina University. If you have some cool name in your history you can use similar to Rutgers or whatever, try that.

3. Win BIG in football for at least a decade. Winning big would mean a BCS bowl win or at least play close in a couple of BCS bowls, walk through C-USA so people are actually surprised when you lose, pack your stadium as well as the stadiums of your opponents, especially the P5 schools.

4. Consistently beat UNC and NC State for in-state recruits. Don't count on a P5 conference to invite you to get a bump in recruiting. You are not a top 100 flagship school in a huge market that is uncontested (see Maryland and Rutgers). No P5 conference is going to roll the dice on you in your situation.