Source: East Carolina University AD may be out of job

GREENVILLE, Pitt County — Sources are saying East Carolina University Athletics Director Jeff Compher may be out of a job as early as Friday.

We do know the ECU Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting Friday at 11 a.m. to hear updates and take any needed action on personnel items.

Compher, 59, has been ECU's AD for five years. His tenure has been marked by ups and downs. He was criticized heavily when he fired then football coach Ruffin McNeill and replaced him with Scottie Montgomery. The Pirates have won six games in the past two seasons, three each year.

Fire Compher signs were seen around the football stadium and in the sky this past season. Public records show the athletics department missed their budget by millions of dollars and there was a 10 percent cut to programs last year. But Compher received a raise as part of a five-year contract extension.

Sources told Brian North Compher initiated the buyout of his contract and will get somewhere around $1 million. The Daily Reflector in Greenville reported last week Compher sold his home in Greenville.

North will be at Friday's board meeting and give you the latest when it becomes available.