Pittsburgh from the Atlantic Coast Conference will play East Carolina of the American Conference in the 2025 Go Bowling Military Bowl on Dec. 27 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.
Kickoff for the Military Bowl is 11 a.m. and the Saturday game will be televised on ESPN.
“We are so excited for this matchup,” Military Bowl president and executive director Steve Beck said. “Both teams have had excellent seasons and will bring plenty of support to Annapolis.”
This will be the second straight appearance in the Military Bowl for East Carolina, which beat N.C. State, 26-21, in a thriller last season. Pittsburgh played in the Military Bowl in 2015, losing to Navy, 44-28, in front of 36,352 fans — the second-largest crowd in event history.
This will be just the fourth meeting between the schools. They last played on Oct. 24, 1992 with East Carolina posting a 37-31 victory. 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,” Pittsburgh coach Pat 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 to the American Conference first team: 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 athletic director 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 Back and everybody involved with the Military Bowl Foundation for the invitation.”
Patriot Point is the beneficiary of all proceeds from the Military Bowl. Patriot Point is 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.
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