2016 East Carolina Pirates football
Conference	American Athletic Conference
Division	East Division
Record	3–9 (1–7 The American)
Head coach	Scottie Montgomery (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Tony Petersen (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Kenwick Thompson (1st season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium
Seasons ← 2015 2017 →

The 2016 East Carolina Pirates football team represented East Carolina University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Scottie Montgomery and played their home games at Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium. This was East Carolina's third season as members of the East Division of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 3–9, 1–7 in American Athletic play to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place in the East Division.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	6:00 p.m.	Western Carolina*	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	ESPN3 Matt Stewart, Watson Brown	W 52–7	44,161
September 10	Noon	NC State*	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC (Victory Barrel)	ESPNU Dave LaMont, Tom Ramsey	W 33–30	50,719
September 17	4:00 p.m.	at South Carolina*	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	SECN Dave Neal, Matt Stinchcomb, Olivia Harlan	L 15–20	80,384
September 24	12:30 p.m.	at Virginia Tech*	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACCN Tom Werme, Dave Archer, Roddy Jones	L 17–54	63,712
October 1	12:00 p.m.	UCF	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	CBSSN Dave Ryan, Corey Chavous, Melanie Collins	L 29–47	46,042
October 8	12:00 p.m.	at South Florida	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	ESPNews Mike Couzens, Dan Hawkins	L 22–38	30,397
October 22	7:00 p.m.	at Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	CBSSN Dave Ryan, Corey Chavous, Melanie Collins	L 19–31	32,022
October 29	12:00 p.m.	UConn	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	ESPNews Mike Couzens, Dan Hawkins	W 41–3	41,370
November 5	8:00 p.m.	at Tulsa	Chapman Stadium Tulsa, OK	ESPNews Shawn Kenney, Watson Brown	L 24–45	17,557
November 12	12:00 p.m.	SMU	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	ESPNews Mike Couzens, Dan Hawkins	L 31–55	42,908
November 19‡	4:00 p.m.	Navy	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	ESPNews Kevin Brown, Al Groh	L 31–66	39,480
November 26	7:30 p.m.	at Temple	Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, PA	ESPNews Alex Faust, Kevin Weidl	L 10–37	28,373
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Eastern time

Schedule source:^[1]

Note: ‡ The game vs. Navy was originally scheduled for October 13 (Thursday) but was postponed due to flooding from Hurricane Matthew; it was rescheduled to Saturday, November 19.

This game was notable for about a score of the band members taking a knee during the national anthem. It received widespread coverage, including on CNN, Fox News, and NBC.