East Carolina has shifted its future football series with Georgia State, allowing the Pirates and Panthers to meet in Atlanta next season to fill out both teams' 2020 slate.

The Pirates' game at Georgia State in 2020 is scheduled for Oct. 3, which will seemingly replace the scheduled non-conference game at Virginia Tech (set for Sept. 26, 2020). ECU also plays Marshall (Sept. 5) and South Carolina on the road (Sept. 12), while a game versus Norfolk State (Sept. 19) has also been reported for next season in non-conference action.

The two-game, home-and-home series between ECU and Georgia State was originally scheduled to be played in 2023 in Atlanta and 2028 in Greenville. Along with ECU traveling to Georgia State next season, the game between the two programs in Greenville has been moved to Sept. 25, 2027. The series between ECU and Georgia State was officially announced in March of 2018 and put into motion by former athletics director Jeff Compher. It was met with mixed reaction from Pirate fans.

With limited options available for the 2020 season as far as non-conference scheduling, shifting around a future series like this - especially with South Carolina already on the schedule as a marquee road game - makes a lot of sense.

The administrations from ECU and Virginia Tech are currently at odds and it appears none of the remaining scheduled games in the series will be played, barring a drastic change of hearts by both sides. The Hokies were set to travel to Greenville on Sept. 21, 2019 for a non-conference game, but have since cancelled their trip. The series is in major jeopardy of falling apart after last year's Hurricane Florence led to ECU cancelling its 2018 road game in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech retaliated this past December by announcing it would not travel to Greenville in 2019, or for its contracted games in 2023 and 2025.

With limited time to find a replacement for a 2019 foe, the Pirates had to turn to the FCS ranks for a second time and pick up William & Mary as its 12th game. The Virginia Tech series cancellation has also forced the Pirates to find replacements for that non-conference game in 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Even with Georgia State being moved from the 2028 non-conference slate, the Pirates still have three out-of-league games scheduled that season: vs. NC State, vs. Boise State and at Wake Forest.

The Pirates are expected to announce an FCS opponent soon for the 2021 season, sources tell Hoist The Colours. ECU already has a neutral game set with Appalachian State in Charlotte, a high-profile home game against South Carolina, and a road game at Marshall scheduled for that season.

ECU will host NC State in 2022, along with Campbell. The Pirates are scheduled to travel to BYU later that season.

East Carolina also has future home-and-homes scheduled with Marshall, Boise State and Wake Forest starting in 2023 and beyond.