1981 East Carolina Pirates football team

1981 East Carolina Pirates football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–6
Head coach	Ed Emory (2nd season)
Home stadium	Ficklen Memorial Stadium

1981 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 3 Penn State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Miami (FL)		–		–				9	–	2	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
No. 17 West Virginia		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Colgate		–		–				7	–	3	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Navy		–		–				7	–	4	–	1
Cincinnati		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Florida State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Holy Cross		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Tulane		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
UNLV		–		–				6	–	6	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				6	–	6	–	0
Temple		–		–				5	–	5	–	0
Boston College		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Louisville		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
William & Mary		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
Richmond		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Army		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
North Texas State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–				1	–	10	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 East Carolina Pirates football team was an American football team that represented East Carolina University as an independent during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second season under head coach Ed Emory, the team compiled a 5–6 record.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	Western Carolina	Ficklen Memorial Stadium Greenville, NC		W 42–6	24,873	[2]
September 12	at No. 13 North Carolina	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC		L 0–56	51,300	[3]
September 19	at NC State	Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC (rivalry)		L 10–31	52,200	[4]
September 26	Toledo	Ficklen Memorial Stadium Greenville, NC		W 28–24	21,137	[5]
October 3	at Duke	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC		L 14–24	18,250	[6]
October 10	at Richmond	City Stadium Richmond, VA (Tobacco Bowl)		W 17–13	12,621	[7]
October 17	at Southwestern Louisiana	Cajun Field Lafayette, LA		W 35–31	13,378	[8]
October 24	Miami (FL)	Ficklen Memorial Stadium Greenville, NC	WITN	L 6–35	20,282	[9]
October 31	at West Virginia	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV		L 3–20	41,364	[10]
November 7	East Tennessee State	Ficklen Memorial Stadium Greenville, NC		W 66–23	21,342	[11]
November 14	William & Mary	Ficklen Memorial Stadium Greenville, NC		L 21–31	15,842	[12]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "1981 East Carolina Pirates Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
2. "East Carolina rips Catamounts 42–6". The Charlotte Observer. September 6, 1981. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Bryant's 6 TDs paste Pirates". The News and Observer. September 13, 1981. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Late Pack spurt zaps pesky Bucs". The News and Observer. September 20, 1981. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Bucs hold on, 28–24". Rocky Mount Telegram. September 27, 1981. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Duke uses 'wheels' to roll past ECU". The Charlotte Observer. October 4, 1981. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Fourth quarter key as Pirates rally past Spiders". Daily Press. October 11, 1981. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "East Carolina Pirates nip USL Ragin' Cajuns 35–31". The Crowley Post-Signal. October 18, 1981. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Richt sparks Miami to 31–6 victory". The Palm Beach Post. October 25, 1981. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "W. Virginia gets by East Carolina, 20–3". The Pittsburgh Press. November 1, 1981. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Bucs fall again". Kingsport Times-News. November 8, 1981. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "W&M shocks East Carolina". Daily Press. November 15, 1981. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.