"We were at one of the lower points in the history of East Carolina University. The worst in school history," former ECU Board of Trustees chairman Jim Talton said of the sad times before Holland's arrival last September. "There was a feeling of disappointment and dismay. We couldn't seem to win."

Before Holland's arrival, ECU had slipped from being competitive in football to one of the worst Division I-A programs in the country, winning just three games over two seasons. Meanwhile, the basketball program was in shambles. The baseball program, which finished 35-26 last spring, had emerged as one of ECU's strongest programs.

ECU gained some emergency inspiration in September when Holland agreed to a five-year contract that started at $276,000 a year, with annual raises of $6,000.

"[ECU supporters] couldn't believe it," Talton said. "There was a really strong sense of hope."

But to keep the new air flowing, Holland, 63, said he felt he had to fire football coach John Thompson during the season. He did the same with struggling basketball coach Bill Herrion. The moves left some Pirates fans wondering why it was necessary to fire the coaches during the season.

Time for change

"[Thompson's 2-9 record in 2004] looked like it was going to be awfully hard to overcome," Holland said somberly last week as he leaned back in his chair."I felt like in the football situation, everything was going game to game. I didn't want us to be misled by what happened at the end of the year -- positive or negative. The decision had been reached. It's difficult to deal with people when you can't be honest with them."

Still, both Thompson and Herrion took the news angrily.

As for Thompson's replacement, Pirates fans speculated on everyone from former ECU star and Washington Redskins assistant Earnest Byner to former Georgia coach Jim Donnan. But Holland instead hired a relative unknown in South Carolina assistant Skip Holtz, the former head coach at Connecticut. To replace Herrion, Holland hired Ricky Stokes, whom the athletics director coached during the glory days of Virginia basketball.

"The people who know me would say I'm not going to look for a splash hire as much as I am the long-term hire. Everything we've tried to do is based on the long term -- how do we build a program, not just try to win games," Holland said. "People would not think of me as a splashy guy, anyway."

If Holland isn't splashy, he's at least flashy and highly visible. Standing 6 feet 7 and always decked out in fashionable clothes, Holland walks around ECU and Greenville like he owns the place. He just about does.

Holland became an instant celebrity when he arrived. With his picture decorating restaurant walls all over town, Holland disarms people with his Down East ways and hearty laugh.

All business

But don't be fooled -- he's all business. Holland accomplished the nearly impossible by signing a series of deals to play home-and-away football series with schools such as N.C. State, North Carolina and Virginia Tech.

Now, Holland said he's working to bring ACC basketball teams to Greenville -- a mission that he has chosen to accept but many think of as impossible.

"It's a much tougher nut," Holland said. "Teams don't like to play many non-conference away games in football. They don't play any in basketball."

But Stokes, a former head coach at Virginia Tech, said Holland can pull it off if anybody can.

"He's a competitor, he wants to win. Everybody wants a winner. He understands what's needed," Stokes said. "There's no question we have work to do, but [rebuilding the ECU athletics program] can be done. We have the facilities and fans."

But whether Holland can bring the likes of Duke and Carolina to Greenville, or if Holtz and Stokes can improve their respective programs, Holland's legacy at East Carolina already may be set.

In the wake of Pirates quarterback James Pinkney getting kicked out of school for academic reasons, Holland installed new rules requiring student-athletes to go to class. No class, no play.

"The least we should expect from our athletes is what we expect of them when they practice and in competition. We don't allow them to miss practice without severe penalties," Holland said. "Guys may say, 'Why should I be required by you guys to go to class when our professors don't require us to go?' If you don't like it, then transfer. At least in that one area, class attendance, we should enforce that value."

Holland said he hopes to influence the NCAA to address the issue of class attendance.

Holland also wants to expand Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, which currently seats 43,000. Holland wants to expand the south end of the stadium and is just starting to think about how to do it and how to raise money for that project.

As for the team this season, ECU will be better, many involved with the program said, but fans shouldn't be discouraged with Holland's plan if the team struggles for a bit longer.

"As far as football and basketball, there's only one way to go," Talton said. "But people shouldn't expect miracles, we should expect incremental improvement. He has this job as long as he wants to."

Viva la revoluci-n.

Staff writer Jaymes Powell Jr. can be reached at 829-4556 or jaymesp@newsobserver.com