During Greenville's early years, cotton was the leading agricultural crop, and Greenville became a major cotton export center. Before the turn of the century, however, tobacco surpassed cotton and became the leading money crop. Greenville became one of the state's leading tobacco marketing and warehouse centers. By the mid 1960's, a new era of educational opportunities had emerged. Greenville's small college, East Carolina Teachers College, had become the third largest state-supported college. In 1967, it became East Carolina University. The ECU Medical School admitted its first four-year class in 1977 and current enrollment is now around 26,000 students.