Pitt and East Carolina Set to Meet in Go Bowling Military Bowl
Tickets now sale for National Capital Region’s college football bowl game, which takes place on Saturday, Dec. 27 at 11 a.m. at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.
The Military Bowl Foundation announced that the Pitt Panthers will play the East Carolina Pirates in the 2025 Go Bowling Military Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 27 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md. Kickoff is at 11 a.m. ET and the game will be televised on ESPN.
“We are so excited with this matchup!” Military Bowl President & Executive Director Steve Beck said. “Both teams have had excellent seasons and will bring plenty of support to Annapolis. East Carolina won a thrilling 2024 Go Bowling Military Bowl and the Pirates’ definitely painted the town purple and gold. And we certainly remember the last time Pitt played in our game – the 2015 game drew the second-largest crowd in Military Bowl history and our largest in Annapolis.”
Pitt’s 44-28 loss to Navy in the 2015 Military Bowl, before an overflow crowd of 36,352 was the Panthers’ only previous appearance in the Bowl. That game also was Coach Pat Narduzzi’s first bowl game as a head coach. East Carolina first played in the Military Bowl in 2010 and was scheduled to play Boston College in the 2021 game before that was canceled.
This will be just the fourth meeting all-time between the schools. They last played on Oct. 24, 1992, a 37-31 East Carolina victory in Pittsburgh. It will be their first meeting in a bowl game.
Pitt (8-4) closed the regular season with six wins in its final eight games, including a 42-28 win over then-No. 16 Georgia Tech, as freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel emerged as a standout and led the Panthers to a 6-2 conference record.
“On behalf of our football program, I would like to thank the Go Bowling Military Bowl for the opportunity to compete in this year’s game,” Narduzzi said. “We’re looking forward to the chance to honor our country’s service members, as well as the opportunity to compete against East Carolina. We have a tremendous amount of respect for the Pirates, and we’re excited for the challenge.”
East Carolina (8-4) won five of its final six regular season games and had four players named first-team all-conference: wide receiver Anthony Smith, offensive tackle Jimarion McCrimmon, defensive lineman Zion Wilson and safety Ja’Marley Riddle. Quarterback Katin Houser passed for 3,300 yards and 19 touchdowns.
“We are looking forward to returning to the Go Bowling Military Bowl and continuing our momentum from the regular season,” East Carolina Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert said. “Last year’s Military Bowl was a special experience for Pirate Nation and there’s no doubt they will return to Annapolis to support the Pirates. This is a great opportunity for coaches, staff, and student-athletes to play a formidable opponent. Thank you to Steve Beck and everybody involved with the Military Bowl Foundation for the invitation.”
The Bowl benefits Patriot Point, the Military Bowl Foundation’s 294-acre retreat for wounded, ill and injured active-duty and veteran service members, their families and caregivers.
For the latest updates, including information on purchasing tickets, visit militarybowl.org, follow @MilitaryBowl on Twitter and Instagram or like the Go Bowling Military Bowl on Facebook. For sponsorship information, please contact Military Bowl Foundation Senior Director of Partnerships Marc Goldman at mgoldman@militarybowl.org.