East Carolina will always be David Blackwell’s university. He’s never rooted against the Pirates and as ECU head coach Mike Houston said this week, “coach Blackwell bleeds purple.”
But Saturday night, for the first time since he began his college career two decades ago as a player and a coach at ECU, Blackwell will be rooting against his alma mater.
Blackwell is the defensive coordinator for Old Dominion University, which hosts the Pirates Saturday night.
“It’s my first time coaching against my alma mater,” he said. “You want to say it’s just another game, but at the end of the day, you do care.