The East Carolina Pirates have added the Western Carolina Catamounts to their 2027 football schedule, FBSchedules.com has learned.
A copy of the football game contract with East Carolina University was obtained from Western Carolina University via a state public records request. The contract was executed on April 12, 2024.
East Carolina will host Western Carolina at Dowdy-Ficklin Stadium in Greenville, N.C., on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2027. The Pirates will pay the Catamounts a $425,000 guarantee for the game, according to the copy of the contract.
The 2027 East Carolina-Western Carolina contest will mark the 21st meeting between the two schools on the gridiron. The two schools first met in 1936 in Cullowhee, N.C., and played most recently in 2016. ECU won that contest, 52-7, and currently leads the overall series, 18-12.
Western Carolina University competes in the Southern Conference (SoCon) in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The Catamounts finished the 2023 season 7-4 overall and 5-3 in SoCon play.
With the addition of Western Carolina, East Carolina now has three opponents set for its 2027 non-conference schedule. The Pirates are scheduled to host the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Sept. 11 and the Georgia State Panthers on Sept. 25 that season.
Western Carolina now has five future games scheduled against members of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The Catamounts will visit NC State in 2024, Wake Forest in 2025, Cincinnati in 2026, East Carolina in 2027, and Georgia in 2031.
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