GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – A new track & field director has been appointed at East Carolina University and he is ready to bring his expertise to the track.

Virgil Givens joins ECU as the third person to lead East Carolina track and field/cross country program since 1967. During his tenure at Campbell, givens led the team to success, including the 2022 Big South men’s indoor track & field championship in his first season. He was named Big South coach of the year five times and guided the camels to strong national performances, including a 31st-place finish at the NCAA outdoor championships in 2023. Givens showed a lot of confidence in his ability to bring success to EC U’s program.

“We are going to be fast, we are gonna be strong, and we are going to dominate in the events that we are gonna focus on. We are going to have good students in the classroom and they will be extremely respectful but we will bring home champions from the conference from all Americans at nationals and we will do it on a consistent basis,” Givens said.

Givens, a North Carolina A&T graduate, previously served as an assistant coach at Campbell before taking the helm as interim head coach in 2021. His coaching career began at Millbrook High School and included a stint as a volunteer assistant at North Carolina.