ECU mourns passing of Hall of Fame athlete Debbie Freeman

by | Oct 17, 2024

Debbie Freeman, an East Carolina athletics Hall of Famer and the department’s first African American female student-athlete who competed in three sports for the Pirates, passed away on October 9, she was 68.

Freeman came to ECU by way of Jacksonville, N.C. in 1974 and went on to compete in volleyball, basketball and track & field, earning 11 varsity letters, the most ever by a female student-athlete at the time of her graduation. Freeman was a two-time ECU Fountain Co-Student Athlete of the Year in 1976 and 1978.

As a member of the basketball team, Freeman was named the program’s Most Valuable Player in 1976 and 1977 and earned three NCAIAW Division I All-State selections. She went on to be the second 1,000-point scorer in ECU history and her 1,570 points and 955 rebounds still rank seventh and third in program history. Both were program records at the time of her graduation.

Freeman still stands in the top 10 in multiple other statistical categories on the hardwood and her 26-rebound outing against UNC Greensboro on Jan. 18, 1977 remains a program record.

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