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ECU-NC State rivalry
East Carolina Pirates	NC State Wolfpack

The ECU-NC State rivalry, also known as the East Carolina-NC State rivalry, the State-ECU rivalry, the ECU-NCSU rivalry, and other similar variations is an ongoing series of athletic competitions between East Carolina University and North Carolina State University, both of which are located in North Carolina. The intensity of the rivalry is driven by the proximity of the two schools, as both are only 77 miles apart via U.S. Highway 264, the size of the two schools, as NC State is the largest university in the state and East Carolina is the third largest, and the fact that both schools are competing for many of the same students and athletes.

Football

Football
Originated	1970
Series	NC State leads 16-10-0
Highest Margin of Victory	NC State 57, ECU 8 September 8, 1973
Highest Scoring Game	ECU 50, NC State 29 November 20, 1996
Most Recent Game	NC State 30, ECU 24OT September 20, 2008
East Carolina (10)	NC State (16)
1971 1976 1977 1983 1985 1987 1992* 1996# 1999 2006	1970 1972 1973 1974 1975 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1984 1986 1997 2004# 2007 2008
Did Not Play: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005
* Bowl Games # Neutral Site

The most prominent sport in the rivalry is football. The two teams have been competing against each other since 1970. The football series between the two teams was briefly suspended for a year in 1987 and the two schools did not meet until 1992 in the Peach Bowl due to disagreements about home scheduling.^[1] In 1996, the two schools met in Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium rather than on either school's home field. In 1997, the North Carolina Legislature briefly proposed a bill demanding that the University of North Carolina and NC State must play East Carolina at their respective home fields in football, but it never came to fruition as the two schools agreed to schedule games in Greenville, and the bill was removed from consideration. This would officially revive the series between East Carolina and NC State.^[2][3]

East Carolina and NC State have met on the football field 26 times, with 11 of those games played in Carter-Finley Stadium, 2 in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, and 3 in neutral venues. The highest profile game was played in the 1992 Peach Bowl, where a fourth quarter comeback saw Bill Lewis' Pirates defeat Dick Sheridan's Wolfpack 37-34.^[4] With a combined 59,322 fans in attendance, this game would officially go on record as the largest attendance at the time for a game between two North Carolina college football teams.^[1]

NC State leads the all-time series, but the two schools each have five wins between each other in the past ten years. The next game to be played between the two teams will be in 2010 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina and will be the first game after the addition of seats in the east endzone, and the home opener for the Pirates.^[5]

Traditions

ECU fans tear down the goal posts of Carter-Finley Stadium in 1985 after defeating NC State 33-14.

East Carolina prepares to hike the ball against NC State in Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on September 20, 2008. The Wolfpack won this game 30-24 in Overtime.

One of the most well-known traditions of the rivalry is the tearing down of the goal posts after the end of the game by fans of the winning team, a practice which has been discontinued in the series since 1999, however, there was one time not related to the actual series where the goalposts were torn down.

After the devastation of Eastern North Carolina by Hurricane Floyd, the Pirates were stranded in Columbia, South Carolina after having beaten the South Carolina Gamecocks. With Greenville still reeling from the mass flooding, the Pirates were unable to play the Miami Hurricanes in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, and instead the game was relocated to NC State's Carter-Finley Stadium.

After going into halftime with only a field goal on the board, the Pirates rallied back in the fourth quarter under the leadership of Quarterback David Garrard and defeated the #9 Hurricanes 27-23 and triumphantly tore down the goal posts. Neither ECU or NC State's goal posts have been torn down since this game, as each team has a crew manually drop the goal posts after big victories and protect them.^[6]

Football game results

ECU victories are shaded in  purple and gold.  NC State victories are shaded  red and white . ^[7]

Baseball

Baseball
East Carolina	NC State
Originated	1966
Series	NC State leads 62-36-0
Highest Margin of Victory	NC State 17, ECU 1 (16) March 15, 1987
Highest Scoring Game	ECU 16, NC State 9 (25) April 18, 1967 NC State 17, ECU 8 (25) May 6, 1987
Most Recent Game	ECU 7, NC State 0 April 15, 2009

Since 1966, the two teams have met a total of 98 times. N.C. State leads the record 62-36-0. The two teams regularly qualify for the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship and games often have implications on the national rankings, as both teams are consistently in the top 30.

Notable Games

1968: NCAA District 3 Playoffs
East Carolina entered the NCAA Playoff with an opening win against Florida State and advanced to the next round to face N.C. State where they lost 7-5, giving N.C. State a sweep of the Pirates. This would be the first time that the two schools would meet in the tournament, and the two schools would not meet again in the tournament until 1990.^[8] East Carolina was eventually knocked out of the tournament by Florida State. N.C. State would advance to the semi-final round of the 1968 College World Series, only to be eliminated by the eventual national champion USC Trojans.^[9]

References