January 26th, 2012 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
It appears that BYU’s path as a football independent will be dotted with teams from Conference USA well into the future, according to Jay Drew of the Salt Lake Tribune.
BYU announced on Wednesday it has agreed to a home-and-home football series with East Carolina of Conference USA, with the first game to be played in 2017 at ECU’s Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, N.C., and the second game to be played in Provo in 2018.
The Cougars and Pirates have never met on the football field, and BYU’s football team has never played in the state of North Carolina.
“We are excited about this series with East Carolina,” said BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe. “It allows both schools to have a unique travel experience and play very good competition.”
East Carolina was once an independent in football, but joined C-USA in 1997. The Pirates went 5-7 this past season, after a 1-4 start, and did not go to a bowl game for the first time in six years.
“This series will provide first-class football and terrific sportsmanship for all Pirate and Cougar fans,” said ECU athletic director Terry Holland. “This is a relationship that we would like to continue in the future, possibly with competitions in other sports.”
The Cougars are scheduled to play C-USA’s Southern Miss in 2014 (Provo) and 2015 (Hattiesburg).
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