By Denny O'Brien
©2008 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.

East Carolina’s football image received a boost when head coach Skip Holtz rejected multiple offers from Syracuse to remain in purple and gold.

But will the Pirates’ reputation take a hit at the 2009 AutoZone Liberty Bowl?

Strong support has traditionally been East Carolina’s strongest suit, with fans flocking in impressive numbers to postseason bowl destinations. That was true when the Pirates headed to Atlanta for the 1992 Peach Bowl, and for both the ’94 and ’95 Liberty Bowls in Memphis.

The same also can be said for ECU’s visits to Mobile, Alabama, in ’99 and 2001. Ditto for the Pizza Bowl in Birmingham two years ago.

Now the challenge is for the ECU faithful to answer the call during what would appear to be the most critical time in its football history.

With a leadership change in the Big East office, along with a growing desire for expansion among league coaches, the timing couldn’t be more perfect for ECU to make a statement. The Pirates would love nothing more than a Big East invitation should the league add a new member, and fan support no doubt is one of the assets the ECU administration will try to sell.

But it’s up to the fans to provide a marketable product.

Should East Carolina not sell all 10,000 of its allotted tickets, it’s safe to say that the Pirates’ stock could dip. Though the economy could be used as a crutch for a poor showing, that doesn’t wash when you consider Cincinnati – a program with modest tradition and fan support – is already reporting ticket sales approaching 10K for its bowl game.

Aside from the ’92 Peach Bowl, the Pirates have never enjoyed a more fan-friendly postseason scenario. The game is played on an attractive date in a desirable location against an opponent from the mighty Southeastern Conference.

That’s as good a scenario as ECU could possibly hope outside of a berth in a Bowl Championship Series game.

On the field, East Carolina has built a solid case should the Big East decide to grow. Hopefully, ECU’s fans won’t let it crumble.

December dance

The East Carolina faithful best grow accustomed to the annual December dance. That’s when athletics directors from BCS schools ditch the waltz and try the Holtz.

By now it should be a familiar step. In 2006 Cincinnati did the flirting, and West Virginia joined in ’07. Syracuse cut in a week ago, but the Orange, like the previous Big East suitors, got shot down by the ECU coach.

As long as Holtz remains at ECU, this could be an annual number in the Pirates’ postseason dance.

“Greenville is a great place for my family, for myself professionally,” Holtz said after ECU knocked off Tulsa in the Conference USA championship game. “You never say never. But at the same time, it would really have to be a special situation to get me out of here. I am not looking leave. I will make that promise to you.

“I don’t know what the future holds. But I certainly know who holds the future and I’m going to put my faith in Him and keep working extremely hard. We’ll see where it takes us.”

You have to believe Holtz is happy in Greenville and isn’t just looking for the next job. If that weren’t the case, you have to figure he would have bolted for Cincy two years ago where he would have landed in a really nice situation.

But it’s also difficult to ignore that one day the right school will call, offering an opportunity that Holtz simply can’t refuse. His career ambitions and competitive streak would dictate a move should the 'special situation' arise, and you can hardly blame him if and when he does make a jump.

Wilson gets snubbed

Conference USA coaches voted Houston defensive end Phillip Hunt as the league’s defensive player of the year. They should have tabbed East Carolina defensive end C.J. Wilson instead.

There wasn’t a more dominant defensive player in C-USA than Wilson, especially over the last half of the season. With many of East Carolina’s top defensive producers sidelined with injury, Wilson took his game to another level and league quarterbacks paid the price.

But it wasn’t only QB's who suffered the consequences of Wilson’s relentless pursuit. He showed opposing running backs that he was hardly a liability against the run, to which his 64 total tackles will attest.

That was 24 more stops than Hunt registered on the year. Wilson also bested Hunt in tackles for loss (18.5-16.5) and was only a sack and a half off the C-USA leading pace.

All things considered, C-USA’s coaches should have gone with the most dominant player on the league’s best defense. And that clearly was Wilson, not Hunt.