Elizabeth City, N.C. — Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) is once again making its mark in cybersecurity awareness. Successfully defending its Cyber Bowl championship, ECSU finished the 2026 competition in first place for the highest percentage of participation by institutional population—once again earning bragging rights as North Carolina’s “most cyber-savvy university.”
The victory is ECSU’s second consecutive Cyber Bowl championship, supporting the university’s commitment to cybersecurity awareness and demonstrating the power of campuswide participation.
Last year, ECSU topped seven other North Carolina universities to take the 2025 Cyber Bowl championship. The competition brought together ECSU, NC State, UNC Wilmington, Winston-Salem State University, East Carolina University, Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill and North Carolina A&T State University.
University-wide participation powered the victory. Twenty-six percent of ECSU’s entire campus population, including students, faculty and staff, participated in the 2025 Cyber Bowl.
This year, the Vikings returned determined to keep the title at home. With an institutional population of 3,071, ECSU recorded 516 participants, securing the top spot on the Cyber Bowl leaderboard with a 16.80% participation rate. Appalachian State University followed in second place with 14.32%, while Winston Salem State finished third with a 9.60%.
Appalachian State claimed the championship in the category of highest total participants with 3,438 participants.
Cyber Bowl uses a short online cybersecurity quiz to engage university communities in topics such as phishing, password protection and safe online practices. Each completed quiz contributes to an institution’s standing and encourages cybersecurity awareness through friendly intercollegiate rivalry.
This year’s campaign continued to emphasize campuswide participation. ECSU faculty were encouraged to dedicate class time for students to complete the Cyber Bowl quiz and help the university defend its championship. The collective effort paid off.
Cyber Bowl also complements ECSU’s institution-wide cybersecurity awareness efforts, including Cyber Fest 2026, which connected students with industry and government partners while highlighting cybersecurity careers, internships, certifications, emerging technologies and professional networking opportunities.
Beyond the leaderboard, ECSU’s consecutive victories reflect a university community that recognizes cybersecurity’s importance in an increasingly digital world. Every participant contributed to a culture of awareness and safer online practices.
Last year, the Vikings set the standard. This year, they proved it was no one-time victory.
