Most remember the 2010 football game between East Carolina and Tulsa in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium for its ending.
Justin Jones caught a 33-yard Hail Mary for the Pirates to shock Tulsa in a wild, back-and-forth 51-49 contest, but it’s the beginning that still stands out to sixth-year ECU coach Ruffin McNeill.
After serving as an assistant at multiple schools — including Texas Tech from 2000-09 — McNeill was set for his first game as a non-interim head coach when Tulsa came to Greenville in ’10. When asked this week what he most remembers about that day, McNeill matched his player-oriented coaching style by saying that it was experiencing the Pirates’ signature “Purple Haze” entrance with his coaching staff and players.