East Carolina yesterday named Southern Miss AD Jon Gilbert to the same position, and he is "taking over during a time when the university is projecting the athletics department to be at a running budget deficit" of more than $4M by the end of this fiscal year, according to a front-page piece Ronnie Woodward of the Greenville DAILY REFLECTOR. The AD position "had been vacant" since Jeff Compher accepted a $1.26M buyout from ECU in March. Gilbert, who had been at Southern Miss since January '17, "held an initial meeting" with the ECU athletics staff yesterday morning. ECU "owes a $175,000 buyout to Southern Miss." Along with Gilbert, ECU hired James Madison football coach Mike Houston to the same position, both on "five-year contracts." Dave Hart had been advising ECU Chancellor Cecil Staton, and is "expected to remain at East Carolina, in some capacity, past his contract" that expires Dec. 15 ( Greenville DAILY REFLECTOR, 12/4 ).
New ECU AD Jon Gilbert Facing Athletics Deficit Of More Than $4M
