You get an idea of how much offensive tackle Josh Coffman and the East Carolina football team are looking forward to their Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl trip when he begins a telephone interview with a rousing, "aloha!"

These are, indeed, happy times for the Pirates, who turned what was supposed to be something of a rebuilding season into a 7-5 (6-2 conference) record, a second-place finish in Conference USA's Eastern Division and a trip to the Hawai'i Bowl on Dec. 23 to play Boise State.

The longest trip in school history — 4,862 miles from Greenville, N.C. to Honolulu — symbolizes the journey Coffman and the seniors have made from a 1-11 thumping their freshman season. That miserable finish, followed by a coaching change and a 2-9 record in head coach Skip Holtz's first year, has been wiped away by back-to-back 7-5 regular seasons and bowl games.

"Those (2004 and 2005 seasons) were some of the most frustrating times of my life," Coffman said. "I mean, the game of football wasn't fun anymore. Everyone was just going through the motions trying to get through those terrible seasons. But now, with Coach Holtz bringing a new attitude, and everything back to this team, we truly believe we can be champions. It was a tough time, but we're definitely (moving) in the right direction."

The Pirates played six bowl-bound teams on the way to the Hawai'i Bowl — Virginia Tech, Southern Mississippi, West Virginia, Houston, Central Florida and Memphis — beating the last three.

While the goal had been to win the C-USA championship and the berth in the Liberty Bowl that goes with it, the 6-foot-7, 292-pound Coffman said, the Hawai'i Bowl was the preferred backup. "We didn't vote like Boise did, but speaking for the majority, I would say the majority of the guys want to go out there and, obviously, we are excited about the opportunity."

Coffman, who received a degree in business last year and needs one more semester to wrap up his master's degree in business, said, "the thought of Hawai'i during Christmas time is something not many people get a chance to do. So, we're definitely looking forward to that."

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.