East Carolina – NC State rivalry The East Carolina – NC State rivalry is a rivalry between East Carolina University and North Carolina State University , both of which are located in North Carolina . The intensity of the rivalry is driven by the proximity of the two schools , both are UNC system schools and are only 83 miles apart via U . S . Highway 264 . The size of the two schools , NC State is the largest university in the state and East Carolina is the second largest , and the fact that both schools are competing for many of the same student s and athlete s also add to the rivalry . East Carolina was founded in 1907 as a normal school . It became a four - year institution in 1920 and was renamed East Carolina Teachers College . It then became East Carolina College in 1951 and East Carolina University in 1967 . East Carolina joined the UNC System in 1972 . North Carolina State was founded in 1887 as a land - grant college . Its original name was North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts . In 1918 , it changed its name to North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering . In 1931 , the school moved to under the Consolidated University of North Carolina and was renamed North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering of the University of North Carolina . It once again was renamed North Carolina State of the University of North Carolina at Raleigh in 1963 and received its current name in 1965 . Football . The most prominent sport in the rivalry is football . The two teams began competing against each other in 1970 . The football series between the two teams was suspended in 1987 . Jim Valvano terminated NC State ’ s scheduling of East Carolina after Pirate fans tore down goal posts and the playing surface at Carter - Finley in 1987 . NC State ’ s athletics administration had publicly warned ECU and Pirate fans after two consecutive years of minor vandalisms to the stadium . The schools would not meet again until the 1992 Peach Bowl . In 1996 , the two schools met in Charlotte ' s Bank of America Stadium rather than on either school ' s home field . In 1997 , the North Carolina Legislature proposed a bill demanding that the park UNC - CH and N . C . State must play East Carolina on an annual basis . This would officially revive the series between East Carolina and N . C . State . East Carolina and NC State have met on the football field 27 times , with 21 of those games played in Carter - Finley Stadium , 3 in Dowdy - Ficklen Stadium , and 3 in neutral venues . The highest profile game was played in the 1992 Peach Bowl , with 59 , 322 fans in attendance , this game would officially go on record as the largest attendance at the time for a game between two North Carolina college football teams . NC State leads the all - time series , with 16 wins to East Carolina ' s 11 wins . The next games that occur in the rivalry will be in 2013 in Raleigh and 2016 in Greenville . Victory Barrel . In 2007 the Student Government Associations of both North Carolina State University and East Carolina University in a cooperative agreement began awarding the ‘ Victory Barrel ’ to the game winner . The outer face of the barrel is affixed with engraved colored plates denoting the year , final score , and winner of each contest dating back to 1970 . Football game results . " East Carolina victories are shaded in purple and gold . NC State victories are shaded red and white . " Baseball . Since 1966 , the two teams have met a total of 103 times . N . C . State leads the record 64 - 39 - 0 . The two teams regularly qualify for the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship and games often have implications on the national rankings , as both teams are consistently in the top 30 . Notable games . 1968 : NCAA District 3 Playoffs East Carolina entered the NCAA Playoff with an opening win against Florida State and advanced to the next round to face N . C . State where they lost 7 - 5 , giving N . C . State a sweep of the Pirates . This would be the first time that the two schools would meet in the tournament , and the two schools would not meet again in the tournament until 1990 . East Carolina was eventually knocked out of the tournament by Florida State . N . C . State would advance to the semi - final round of the 1968 College World Series , only to be eliminated by the eventual national champion USC Trojans .