bgorman@heraldsun.com; 419-6668
CHAPEL HILL -- After 10 seasons at North Carolina, strength and conditioning coach and assistant athletic director Jeff Connors is headed back east.
Connors was announced as East Carolina's new assistant athletic director for strength and conditioning Friday, which will be his second stint with the Pirates after serving as the strength and conditioning coach in Greenville from 1991-2000.
Connors will replace Mike Golden, who accepted a strength and conditioning position with South Florida on Jan. 11.
"I'm elated and proud to return to a school and town where our family experienced the best times of our lives," Connors said in a statement. "Coach (Ruffin) McNeill and I share a similar passion for the program. My experience at North Carolina forced me to become a better coach and I learned a great deal from Coach (Butch) Davis. I'm excited to meet the team as soon as possible and get started."
ECU coach Ruffin McNeil, who led the Pirates to an appearance in the Military Bowl during his first season, and Connors have a history, as both served on the ECU staff in 1992.
"We're thrilled to have Jeff back in the Pirate family," McNeill said in a statement. "He and I have the same team concept philosophy without tolerance for entitlement and egos. I've seen, by first-hand accounts as a teammate and opponent, what he will bring to our program. I can't wait for our players to get around Jeff and seeing them embrace and embody his spirit and passion."
Connors will not only be in charge of the football program's strength and conditioning, but he will also provide oversight and coordinate off-season and in-season programs for the remaining 18 ECU teams.
Connors has been honored as a Master Strength & Conditioning Coach by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association, and 73 of 77 football strength and conditioning records were broken while he was in Chapel Hill.
UNC coach Butch Davis said in a statement the assistant strength and conditioning coaches would continue to work with the players until a new head strength and conditioning coach is found.
"We appreciate all the hard work and service Jeff has devoted to our football program over the last 10 years," Davis said in a statement. "This was a difficult decision for Jeff, but this is an opportunity for him to be reunited with his wife and daughter in eastern North Carolina. He also will have an administrative role at ECU in addition to his work with the football team. We wish Jeff nothing but the best in the future."
