GREENVILLE, N.C. — East Carolina has hired Mike Houston as its next football coach and Jon Gilbert as its athletic director.
Gilbert announced Houston’s hiring Monday, moments after Chancellor Cecil Staton said the school’s board of trustees approved the new AD’s hiring.
Houston led James Madison to a 37-6 record, the 2016 national title in the Championship Subdivision and an appearance in the championship game in 2017. The Dukes lost to Colgate on Saturday in the second round of the FCS playoffs.
He also led James Madison to a 34-14 rout at East Carolina in the 2017 season opener.
JMU announced Sunday that Houston was leaving for an FBS program.
“We are grateful to Mike Houston, his family and his staff for their commitment to JMU over the last three years,” director of athletics Jeff Bourne said Sunday in a statement. “When we hired Mike, he was the right coach at the right time for our program. He injected energy, he went about his job the right way, he cared about our student-athletes and he won.
“I am confident that we will have a new coach in place shortly who will build upon that foundation and carry us to even greater success.”
“I could not be more grateful for the opportunity to be part of what I believe is a perfect college environment found at JMU,” Houston said Sunday in a statement. “There’s only one JMU. This is a special place and a place that will be hard to ever replicate in future coaching opportunities. I will always have incredible memories of my time here.”
Gilbert’s hiring from Southern Mississippi caps a nine-month AD search after Jeff Compher’s March resignation under pressure. Former Tennessee AD Dave Hart had been the school’s temporary special adviser for athletics.
Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.