Brian Hartline did not speak to the media after USF lost to East Carolina on Friday night. The university said that the first-year head coach said that was unable to do so because of the field storm.
He wants to be very clear that he did not duck out on his postgame press conference!
However, college football history shows that Hartline absolutely could’ve talked with reporters after the game. He chose not to.
East Carolina stormed the field after its win over USF.
South Florida actually rolled into Greenville as 1.5-point underdogs. East Carolina opened as 2.5-point favorites but the line eventually moved closer to the visitors as the week rolled on.
No matter which line you were able to get, the Pirates covered!
A high-stakes matchup in the American went to the locker room at halftime tied at 10-10. East Carolina added a touchdown during the third quarter. USF answered with a touchdown during the fourth quarter. The game was tied at 17 with 94 seconds remaining.
It was not over!
The Pirates drove 49 yards on 10 plays to set up a 55-yard field goal with two seconds left on the clock. Fifth-year place kicker Andrew Conrad knocked it between the uprights to win the game in walk-off fashion.
FROM 55 YARDS OUT FOR GAME 🤯
— ESPN (@espn) November 7, 2026
East Carolina for the game-winner against South Florida 😯 pic.twitter.com/F7sMKuCc5O
He was ready for the moment.
WATCH: ECU Football kicker Andrew Conrad on booting the winner “Oh, it's a great feeling. You know, go out there, knew they were probably gonna call a timeout with the timeouts that they had left. Just wanted to hit the first one through, just to get some confidence, and yeah,… pic.twitter.com/g0uAReOaCA
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) November 7, 2026
USF dropped to 6-3 with the loss. The Bulls are now unlikely to make the AAC championship game. They are definitely out of College Football Playoff contention. It was the nail in the coffin.
East Carolina fans were thrilled with the victory and students stormed onto the field to celebrate.
Fairytale ending ✨ pic.twitter.com/C9nf1CJvos
— ECU Football (@ECUPiratesFB) November 7, 2026
Meanwhile, Hartline and his players walked back to the locker room in silence. Morale was low.
Brian Hartline did not speak to the media because college football fans stormed the field.
College football coaches are typically required to speak with the media after a game, win or lose. The postgame press conference in sports has been a thing since the early 20th century.
Brian Hartline chose not to participate on Friday night. USF released the following statement:
“Field storming makes media untenable here. We have to be on the field. No set up provided by ECU. Coach will be available via zoom tomorrow. Please make this known on social. Don’t want people think he is ducking media. He is not.”
Here is a look at the setup that was in place for the visitor’s postgame media availability before the visitors bailed:
Hartline will now speak to the media on Sunday. He chose not to hold his postgame press conference as planned on Friday because of the chaos caused by the field storm.
However, history shows that it can be done!
East Carolina stormed the field after a win over Memphis in 2025. A lot more fans were on the field then compared to Friday.
FINAL: East Carolina 31, Memphis 27. The Pirates are 7-3 in dramatic fashion as the fans storm the field. Payton Mangrum hauls in the game-winning 31 yard TD from Katin Houser as ECU gets a signature win on Senior Day. https://t.co/L8ekhyzXbC pic.twitter.com/VHoSxAA15h
— Zach Kaplan (@Zach_Kaplan5) November 16, 2025
Unlike Hartline, Tigers head coach Ryan Silverfield still spoke to the media after the game. You can read what he said HERE.
Now, to be fair, Hartline is not wrong that ECU does not have a designated area for the away team to do postgame pressers. Tommy Christopher, a member of the FWAA, shared the following anecdote:
“Two years ago, I experienced this first-hand when FAU played ECU. We had to wait 45 minutes in the rain on the field before we could start. And their PA guy wouldn’t stop blasting music 🤷♂️”
Here is the video of Tom Herman:
Head coach Tom Herman spoke to the media after the FAU Owls suffered a brutal loss to the ECU Pirates, ending their hope for a bowl game. (We apologize for the background noise, something we could not control).@FAUFootball | #WinningInParadise pic.twitter.com/UH2duit0Rk
— The League Winners (@LeagueWinnersFB) November 8, 2024
Although Hartline is not wrong with his assessment of the postgame press conference setup, there is a common denominator with Herman and Silverfield. They both spoke to the media after they lost to the Pirates. Hartline did not. But… he didn’t duck out!