Skip to main content

ECU 10/12

Page 1

ECU SENIOR DESIGNS NEW HOMECOMING JERSEYS A6

East

Carolinian The

YOUR CAMPUS NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1925

VOLUME 97, ISSUE 8

Wednesday, 10.12.22

HOMECOMING 2022

Pirate history celebrated each year since 1936 Kim Kassner

FO R TH E EAST CAR O LIN IAN

JAYLYN GORE | THE EAST CAROLINIAN

East Carolina University students dress to support ECU's football team in the Boneyard at Dowdy Ficklen Stadium.

Homecoming returns to campus

Kristin Outland TEC STAF F

Eli Baine

&

FO R THE E A S T C A R O L I N I AN

East Carolina University officials and staff discuss Student Government Association’s presentation of Homecoming Week 2022 and events students can look forward to this year. Hank Bowen, senior associate director of Student Engagement, said homecoming is a traditional event in which students can connect with alumni from the university. “Homecoming is one of those things that truly gets students and alumni and the community together,” Bowen said. The time frame during which homecoming is held, Bowen said, is an important aspect of its celebration. Bowen said it gives students a series

of events to look forward to during the early fall season other than weekly football games. Bowen said it’s also important to allow an opportunity for connection across students from all generations. There are always events for students only, Bowen said, but the ECU Alumni Association expands opportunities each year. Philip Rogers, chancellor of the university, said homecoming is an important event because it is one of the best and “most fulfilling” celebrations on campus each year. “I think it (homecoming) reminds us of the shared values and the shared experiences that we all were involved in during our time on campus, whether we’re currently on campus or whether we’re bringing friends and family back to celebrate the many great things that

Cannonball Kickoff to start week of events

Ray Waddell

FO R THE E A S T C A R O L I N I AN

East Carolina University will hold the annual Cannonball Kickoff today, from 5 to 8 p.m., on the Main Campus Student Center Lawn to kickoff 2022 Homecoming celebrations. According to the ECU Homecoming website, the event will start with a special performance from both the ECU Marching Pirates and ECU Dance Team at 5 pm. Following the performance, there will be a Homecoming T-shirt giveaway at 5:30 p.m. After this, ECU will hold a short trivia game at 5:45pm, before a movie will be shown. ECU’s Director of Bands, Dr. Joe Busuito, said he finds the experience of watching three generations of ECU pirates’ celebrate homecoming and support the school immensely fulfilling. He said the opportunity to bring people together to demonstrate the talent and prowess of the current student body is a true honor. >

KICKOFF page A5

ECU contributed to each of our lives,” Rogers said. As chancellor, Rogers said one of his favorite parts about homecoming was seeing people he had not seen for a long time. Rogers said it was also always nice to see alumni come back to the university to join in on the celebration. Samari Liggins, senior exercise physiology major, works as a resident advisor at Jones Residence Hall on College Hill. Liggins said he has not been to any ECU homecoming events before, but that he may consider going this year with a bunch of his friends. "We bring a lot of energy and support to everything we do," Liggins said. "I don't think there's a lot of Pirate events that we don't bring the energy to."

The history of homecoming at East Carolina University dates back to 1936 as alumni, faculty, staff and students are all welcomed to campus to celebrate. ECU’s University Archivist Alston Cobourn, said it all started back in 1936 when the school’s Alumni Association wanted to create an event to invite former students back to the university. “In the fall of 1936, the Alumni Association at ECU organized the first homecoming,” Cobourn said. “The whole intention was to welcome the alumni back to campus. The association sponsored the whole thing and planned it.” Cobourn said during the first homecoming event, Leon Meadows, who was the university’s president at that time, welcomed the alumni in an official ceremony on the campus. A barbecue luncheon and football game against Louisburg college was held afterward, with a homecoming dance to round up the celebration in the evening, he said. For the next three years, Cobourn said, the homecoming program did not differ too much except for when it was held. The Alumni Association moved the event from fall to late winter in 1939 Alston Cobourn to combine it with the dedication of a new building that is now known as the Flanagan Building, Cobourn said. In 1941, Cobourn said, the first homecoming parade was included in the festivities. The idea of the parade was introduced by football Head Coach John V. Christenbury, who led his team through an undefeated football season during that year, Cobourn said.

This writer can be contacted at news@theeastcarolinian.com.

>

HISTORY page A2

ECU football prepares to face Memphis Tigers Chris Long TEC STAFF

East Carolina University football (3-3, 1-2 American Athletic Conference) is looking forward to facing off against the University of Memphis (4-2, 2-1 AAC) at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina, on Saturday for the school’s homecoming game. The 7:30 p.m. kickoff will be televised on ESPNU, with Hall of Fame and Letterwinner presentations due to be honored during the event. For the Pirates, this game follows a decisive loss against Tulane University (5-1, 2-0 AAC) in which the two sides went head to head for four full quarters. Unfortunately for the Pirates, costly turnovers, untimely penalties and missed kicks created a 24-9 loss for ECU. In the match, ECU’s senior quarterback Holton Ahlers completed 32/51 JAYLYN GORE I THE EAST CAROLINIAN passes for 288 yards, one touchdown Pirate players prepare to face opponents at home. and two interceptions. The fifth year

ONLINE » Visit our website for full previews and more coverage of ECU's Homecoming events.

player also carried six balls on the ground for 22 yards. From the ground, freshman running back Marlon Gunn Jr. electrified the game with seven carries for 67 yards for an average of 9.6 yards per carry to pair with 25 yards on three catches through the air. The partner in his tandem, sophomore running back Keaton Mitchell, rushed 10 times for 48 yards and caught eight catches for 54 yards. The duo carried much of the offensive workload for ECU, who was able to display the bounty of weapons available in the match. Graduate student Isaiah Winstead created nine catches for 90 yards, while junior wide receiver C.J. Johnson created three receptions for a total of 51 yards and the only touchdown of the day for the Pirates. Memphis enters the game following a one point loss at home to the conference >

FOOTBALL page A6

SOCIAL MEDIA @theeastcarolinian

Facebook.com/ theeastcarolinian

@TEC_Newspaper


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
ECU 10/12 by Pirate Media 1 - Issuu