July 4, 2012

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina head coach Curtis Frye will speak at the memorial service of former East Carolina track and field coach Bill Carson Sunday afternoon in Greenville, N.C.

Carson, who directed the ECU track and field program for 40 years before his retirement in 2007, passed away in his sleep Monday morning in his home in Winterville, N.C., at the age of 75. Carson was Frye’s head coach at ECU and also gave Frye his first coaching job from 1974-79 as an assistant at his alma mater.

“Coach Carson taught me about doing more with less and the expectations that come with it,” Frye said. “He did more with less at ECU. He created Olympians for 40 years. I started learning as much as I could from him, and I hope I’ve done the same things. It’s a blessing that he taught me. When you get more, you can do a whole lot more. That’s a good thing. That’s what we have to tell our kids. You can’t be entitled. You have to relay on yourself – `If it’s to be, it’s up to me.’ That’s what we try to teach and build. I hope I can continue to live out his dream of using a little and doing a lot.”

The memorial service will be conducted Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Murphy Center on the campus of East Carolina University. A funeral service will be held later in Sylva, NC.