Contests against five bowl qualifiers, games versus a trio of programs that finished in the Top 25 and home matchups with Navy and Conference USA West Division champion Houston highlight East Carolina’s 2012 football schedule released Thursday by C-USA officials.

After the Pirates kick off the campaign Sept. 1 by renewing an in-state football rivalry with Appalachian State that covers 30 games and spans 80 years, ECU will open a three-game road swing that begins with a Sept. 8 trip to Columbia to face South Carolina.

It will be the Pirates’ first visit to a Southeastern Conference program since a 21-3 victory over the Gamecocks on Sept. 18, 1999. Head coach Steve Spurrier’s club ended the 2011 season ranked No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll after posting an 11-2 record and 30-13 victory over Nebraska in the Capital One Bowl.

For the complete article, please pick up a copy of The Daily Reflector or purchase today’s electronic edition at http://www.reflector.com/circ-store. Current home delivery and electronic edition subscribers may log in to access this article at no charge. To become a subscriber, please click here or contact Customer Service at (252) 329-9505.