Thanksgiving weekend would hurt attendance for both ECU and Charlotte. I’d rather see this game played the first weekend of November.
2 Likes
Indiana has fired their coach, Tom Allen. Someone else will be in charge next Fall.
Or the other way to look at it is this is a rivalry game which would encourage people to come to a game on a weekend they may normally skip the game on.
3 Likes
I would be good with Charlotte/ECU to close the season.
I’d also always play Charlotte/Davidson basketball on a Saturday, but what do I know?
5 Likes
It does seem logical that the ECU football game would be played during Rivalry Week.
And agree that Davidson MBB game should be on a Saturday and as a stand alone game, not a doubleheader as this week’s game is.
3 Likes
Conference sets the schedule and the conference set the annual rivals too…so.
They were willing to be flexible with Army / Navy, when it made sense to.
This makes sense. I hope they do it.
1 Like
I’d have thought they would have done it already if they wanted too.
If the league wants to make the most of the CLT/ECU conference mates potential rivalry then putting it at the end of the season makes sense. Since this is year one very well could have been some scheduling challenges to make it work.
Both ECU and Charlotte need to get a lot better or playing at the end of the season is going to be a big nothing burger. Neither fanbase is going to want to sit in the cold on a holiday weekend to watch two bad teams. If we play in October or early November all hope hasn’t been eroded yet.
That isn’t the nature of a rivalry though. The nature is you want to be there and beat them no matter the record. Obviously it’s better if both sides are good, but if you build a rivalry no game vs each other is a nothing burger because it is a rival.
ECU fans have been watching bad teams for years - we have been watching bad teams well since we started football. ECU still has big crowds and our crowds have been really solid this year.
4 Likes
Some pretty fair weather opinions here if people are saying a rivalry game shouldn’t be played during rivalry week due to the weather/holiday! If we want to ever be considered a legitimate program, then the Saturday after Thanksgiving cannot be a date we are scared of hosting a game, especially against ECU.
5 Likes
You can’t manufacture rivalries. Not all rivalry games are played on Thanksgiving weekend either. For most of my lifetime NC State / Chapel Hill hasn’t been played the last weekend of the season. I just don’t think either fan base cares enough right now to make it into a big event.
Both fan bases would be well served to worry about having decent teams before being concerned with rivalries. IMO.
2 Likes
You can’t manufacture but you can embrace it. This one has already started. We already had a good instate rivalry with them in basketball and beating them there this year in football I am positive has stoked some hatred.
The way I look at it, the thanksgiving weekend is going to be a tough crowd to draw for ANY game so might as well make it a game that 2 fanbases likely care about and are more likely to show up for. Throw in the fact that for the games here a good chunk of ECU people are likely already going to be in the CLT region for the holiday.
Personally I think it’s a no brainer from multiple perspectives, football, ticket sales and viewership. The only negative I see is student attendance.
4 Likes
We should play ECU as early in the season as possible. And I’m gonna leave it there.
I like this idea because if we beat them early in the season it hangs a gray cloud over their fan base for the whole season
1 Like
2024 HOME OPPONENTS
UAB
East Carolina
South Florida
Tulane
2024 AWAY OPPONENTS
Florida Atlantic
Memphis
Navy
Rice
3 Likes
Updated with 2024 AAC games.
2024
8/31 - JMU
9/7- at UNC-Chapel Hill
9/14 - Gardner-Webb
9/21 - at Indiana $$ ($1.3 mill)
TBD- East Carolina
TBD- Tulane
TBD- South Florida
TBD- UAB
TBD- at Florida Atlantic
TBD- at Memphis
TBD at Navy
TBD- at Rice
2025
8/28- App State (Duke’s Mayo Classic at BofA Stadium)
9/6- UNC-Chapel Hill
9/13- Monmouth
11/22- at Georgia $$ ($1.9 mill)
TBD- Temple?
TBD- Tulane?
TBD-Tulsa?
TBD- UTSA?
TBD- at East Carolina
TBD- at Navy?
TBD- at Rice?
TBD- at UAB?
2026
9/5 - The Citadel
9/12 - Ole Miss
9/19 - at App State
9/26 - at Louisville $$ ($1.1 mill)
TBD- East Carolina
TBD- Florida Atlantic?
TBD- Navy?
TBD- North Texas?
TBD- at South Florida?
TBD- at Tulane?
TBD- at Tulsa?
TBD- at UTSA?
2027
9/4 at Ole Miss
9/18 App State
2028
9/16 at App State
2029
9/8 at Ohio State $$ ($1.8 mill)
9/15 App State
9/22 at JMU
2030
9/7 at NC State
TBD - App State
2031
9/6 NC State
clt says that is a nice home conference schedule.
1 Like