Virgil Givens has been named the new East Carolina Director of Track & Field/Cross Country, Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert announced.

Givens comes to Greenville by way of Buies Creek as the head coach of the Campbell Camels.

His hiring makes Givens just the third program director for East Carolina since 1967 when Bill Carson took the reins, ultimately serving until his retirement in 2007 when Curt Kraft took over.

"We are excited to welcome Virgil Givens to East Carolina University and to the Pirate Family," Gilbert said. "Virgil has proven not only his ability to produce championship-caliber teams but to develop his student-athletes to reach their full potential. In just a short time leading Campbell he took that program to new heights including their first ever league championship and multiple All-Americans. This is an exciting opportunity for our track & field/cross country program, and I am thrilled that Virgil is now a Pirate."

Prior to his promotion to head coach in 2021, Campbell had never won a conference title in track & field. They went on to do so in just his first season at the helm, taking the 2022 Big South Men's Indoor Track & Field Championship. In doing so, the Camels became just the third school in the league's history to take the men's indoor crown.

"I want to formally thank Jon Gilbert and J.J. McLamb for this opportunity," said Givens. "Their leadership and support will be invaluable to me in this new chapter in my career. I am excited and looking forward to building a program that will reach new heights here in Greenville."

Givens went on to be named Big South Coach of the Year five times during his time in Buies Creek—twice on the men's side for both indoor and outdoor and once on the women's side for outdoor. In doing so, he was the first Campbell coach to win the Coach of the Year award for outdoor track & field and just the second to do so indoors.

The Camels didn't just find success at the conference level under Givens' leadership, in 2023 his women's squad finished 31st in the nation at the NCAA Outdoor Championships while the men took 54th in 2022.

In addition to their team success, Givens oversaw great individual success for his Camels athletes, helping 35 athletes to NCAA East Regional qualification. Eleven of those competitors advanced to NCAA Championships appearances with nine resulting in All-American performances—including four first-team efforts.

Prior to his time as Head Coach at Campbell, Givens served as an assistant for the Camels from October 2018 to August 2021 when he was chosen as the program's Interim Head Coach before the interim tag was dropped in November.

A graduate of North Carolina A&T in 2007, Givens earned his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Phoenix in 2011. Givens got his start in coaching as the head coach at Millbrook High School in Raleigh from 2010 to 2015, then again from 2016 until his hiring at Campbell.

During his time away from Millbrook, Givens served as a volunteer assistant at North Carolina where he worked with the sprints, hurdles, relays and horizontal jumps groups.

Givens is married to wife Dominique and together the couple have three children: Ryeleigh, Emersyn and Averie.