East Carolina athletic director Terry Holland was likely never under more pressure than in late 2004, not long after his hire, when he faced the challenge of finding someone to rewrite the history of the ECU football team.

For five years after that, his choice paid off over and over again, as Skip Holtz constructed not only a Conference USA champion team but a revered power in the backyard of the Atlantic Coast and Big East conferences in accordance with the vision of Holland.

Perhaps the most enduring tenet of the Holtz era, which ended after last season and included four straight winning seasons and four subsequent bowl trips, was to build one significant step each year, no matter what.

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