NC State Wolfpack | |
---|---|
University | North Carolina State University |
Conference | ACC |
NCAA | Division I (FBS) |
Athletic director | Boo Corrigan |
Location | Raleigh, North Carolina |
Varsity teams | 22 |
Football stadium | Carter–Finley Stadium |
Basketball arena | Lenovo Center (men) Reynolds Coliseum (women) |
Baseball stadium | Doak Field |
Softball stadium | Curtis & Jacqueline Dail Softball Stadium |
Soccer stadium | Dail Soccer Field |
Aquatics center | Willis R. Casey Aquatics Center |
Other venues | Reynolds Coliseum Paul Derr Track & Field Facility J. W. Isenhour Tennis Center Lonnie Poole Golf Course |
Mascot | Mr. Wuf & Ms. Wuf |
Nickname | Wolfpack |
Colors | Red and white [1] |
Website | gopack |
The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for college football) as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for all sports since the 1953–54 season. The athletic teams of the Wolfpack compete in 22 intercollegiate varsity sports. NC State is a founding member of the ACC and has won eleven national championships: five NCAA championships, two AIAW championships, and four titles under other sanctioning bodies. Most NC State fans and athletes recognize the rivalry with the North Carolina Tar Heels as their biggest.
The logo for NC State athletics is a wolf head wearing a sailor cap. The wolf depicted is known by NC State fans as "Tuffy" (not to be confused with the on-site mascots, Mr. and Ms. Wuf), and has been the primary athletic logo since 2021. The wolf head logo was preceded by the block S logo, which consisted of an 'N' and a 'C' inscribed in a larger 'S'.
NC State athletic teams are nicknamed the 'Wolfpack'. The name was unofficially adopted by the football program in 1921 following an unsigned letter to the NC State Alumni News suggesting the moniker "Wolf Pack". [2] [3] Other varsity teams of that era were called the "Red Terrors" until 1948, when a campus-wide vote chose "Wolfpack" as the nickname for all varsity teams. Prior to the adoption of the current nickname, North Carolina State athletic teams went by such names as the Aggies, the Techs, the Red Terrors, and Farmers. [4]
Men's Sports | Women's Sports |
---|---|
Baseball | Basketball |
Basketball | Cross Country |
Cross Country | Golf |
Football | Gymnastics |
Golf | Soccer |
Soccer | Softball |
Swimming & Diving | Swimming & Diving |
Tennis | Tennis |
Track and Field † | Track and Field † |
Wrestling | Volleyball |
† – Track and Field includes both indoor and outdoor. |
The above record of conference titles does not include regular season 1st place finishes as championships – the ACC recognizes only the winner of the ACC Tournament as its champion.
The women's cross country team has competed in more NCAA championships than any other school in the nation (25). Additionally the Wolfpack women's cross country team has won more ACC cross country championships (29) than all other schools combined [5] and are the most by an ACC women’s program in any sport. [6]
North Carolina State University's wrestling team was established in 1925 and goes by the team nickname of the "Wolfpack". Pat Popolizio was named head wrestling coach for the Wolfpack on April 10, 2012. Popolizio was a three-time NCAA qualifier at Oklahoma State University. The wrestling team competes at home on campus in the Reynolds Coliseum. [12]
In 2012, Popolizio left his previous program, Binghamton University, with All-American heavyweight Nick Gwiazdowski leaving with him. After redshirting for a year (to avoid losing a year of eligibility per NCAA transfer rules), Gwiazdowski won national titles in 2014 and 2015, becoming the first Wolfpack wrestler to win consecutive titles.
During the 2015–16 season, North Carolina State went as high as number two in the national rankings and had the school record for most wins in a single season. The Wolfpack finished tied for fourth at the 2018 NCAA Tournament, sharing a distinction with Virginia Tech's wrestling team in 2016, as the highest tournament finish for an ACC team.
NC State also competes in one coed varsity sport.
Cheerleading: NC State fields a full varsity cheerleading team, which is currently coached by interim head coach Jennifer Marks. The team has achieved impressive success, winning 3 national championships from the Universal Cheerleading Association, 4 national championships from the National Cheerleading Association, and 3 national championships in the Group Stunt competition from the Universal Cheerleading Association.
NC State sponsored a rifle team from 1958 to 2023. In recent decades, this was a coed team, as were most NCAA rifle programs; rifle is the only NCAA sport in which men and women compete alongside and against one another as equals. The Wolfpack won 10 team titles in the South East Air Rifle Conference, a conference specifically for the air rifle discipline, and had also been a member of the Great America Rifle Conference. Rifle was dropped at the end of the 2022–23 season. [13]
North Carolina State University offers numerous non-varsity and club level sports throughout the year. This includes, but is not limited to; baseball, basketball, cheerleading, crew, hockey, lacrosse, rugby, sailing, soccer, swimming, ultimate frisbee and many others.
The North Carolina State University Men's Rugby Football Club was founded in 1965. [14] NC State plays college rugby in the Atlantic Coast Rugby League against its traditional ACC rivals. The NC State rugby team is led by head coach Jim Latham. [15] The Wolfpack plays their home games at the Upper Method Road Field. NC State won the Atlantic Coast Invitational 7s tournament in 2010 and 2011. [16] The Wolfpack finished 13th at the 2011 USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships. NC State finished 12th at the 2012 Collegiate Rugby Championship, a tournament broadcast live on NBC from PPL Park in Philadelphia. NC State scored a notable upset against #7 ranked Davenport to reach the finals of the 2012 ACI 7s tournament in Blacksburg, only to lose in the final to host Virginia Tech. [17] In 2018, the Wolfpack won the USA Rugby Division II National Championship over Wisconsin-Whitewater and would add the USA Rugby College Sevens National Championship in 2019.
As the university's oldest active sports club, the NC State Sailing Club was founded in 1954, and since 1973 has fielded a competitive intercollegiate co-ed fleet racing team. The program added a women's sailing team in 2013, and an offshore yacht-racing program in 2016. [18] With their home facility at Lake Crabtree County Park, the "SailPack," [19] as the club is known, competes in the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association, [20] a division of the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA). NC State is a Division 1/Cross-Regional classified team within the ICSA competing on par with varsity programs. The SailPack has qualified for SAISA conference championship regattas in coed fleet racing consecutively since the fall of 2012. NC State won the SAISA Conference Coed Fleet Racing title in 2021-2022, and 2022-2023 seasons. As of spring 2024, NC State Sailing is ranked 32nd nationally in coed fleet racing, while the program is ranked 16th nationally in women's fleet racing. NC State has qualified for ICSA College Sailing National Coed Fleet Racing Championships each year from 2021 through 2024, four years consecutively; while the women's program has qualified for the ICSA College Sailing Women's Fleet Racing National Championships for three years consecutively beginning in 2022. As of 2024 NC State is the highest ranking active program in North Carolina ahead of Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Wilmington, Wake Forest, UNC-Charlotte, ECU, and Davidson. [19] Lake Crabtree is also the home venue for NC State's annual Triangle Tango Regatta [21] which features college sailing teams from each active program in North Carolina and other regional states. Additional dinghy and offshore coastal training activities for the SailPack are located in Oriental, North Carolina where NC State Sailing hosts a major intercollegiate regatta each spring known as the SailPack Oriental Intercollegiate Regatta. [22] The 2018 edition of this event was the largest-ever one-design, collegiate regatta ever held in North Carolina. [23] NC State Sailing, together with the SailPack Foundation, host community sailing during the summer and teach sailing and racing skills to the public free of charge.
NC State's ski team is a member of the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) and competes in races regularly during the winter season.
NC State ultimate frisbee was established in 1978 and currently participates in the USA Ultimate D-1 men's league. The men's team has had 8 national tournament appearances and won the national championships in 1999. [24]
The NC State men's and women's club hockey team participates in the ACCHL. The Wolfpack has been coached by Timothy Healy since 2019, and he has been assisted by Alex Rossetto, Nagib Ward, and Alex Fong. The team calls the Invisalign Arena home. Each year, the Wolfpack hosts the Stephen Russell Memorial Tournament to kick off the season in memory of a goaltender for the team from 2006 to 2009. In 2018–19, NC State finished with an undefeated regular season capped off with an ACCHL title, regional championship and a Nationals appearance. The men's team won the ACCHL tournament 4 times (2001, 2019, 2020, 2021). The women's team has won the ACCHL tournament 1 time (2021).
NC State also boasts a growing men's lacrosse team, formerly an NCAA Division I program from 1973 to 1982. Under head coach Chris Demarest, the Wolfpack went 11–3 in 2017 and advanced to the SELC Tournament in Johns Creek, Georgia before falling to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who advanced to the semi-final round of the MCLA D1 national championship.
NC State college bass fishing team won the 2006 and 2012 Collegiate bass fishing series. [25]
NC State club sports and intramural championships are covered by PackTV, a division of the Office of Information Technology at the university. PackTV is a student-driven sport channel that is on channel 32.2 on campus as well as streamed online through Apple TV and Roku. Along with intramural championships, club soccer, hockey, lacrosse, and basketball among others, PackTV has also covered varsity-level men's and women's soccer, softball and swimming.
North Carolina State has won 5 NCAA team national championships. [26] [27]
NC State athletes have won 45 NCAA and 7 AIAW individual championships as of November 18, 2022 [26]
Fourteen NC State athletes have won a total of 21 Olympic medals: Tommy Burleson and Kenny Carr in men's basketball; Joan Benoit in the women's marathon; Lucas Kozeniesky in rifle; Diana Shnaider in women's tennis; and Stephen Rerych, Steve Gregg, Dan Harrigan, Duncan Goodhew, David Fox, Cullen Jones, Ryan Held, David Bethlehem, and Katharine Berkoff in swimming. Additionally, Kay Yow coached the women's basketball team to a gold medal in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul South Korea
The words to the Fight Song were written by Hardy Ray, Class of 1926, and the music was written by Edmund L. Gruber in 1908. [29] It is essentially a sped-up version of "The Caisson Song", or more recently, "The Army Goes Rolling Along." [30]
The Red and White Song is a popular song sung by fans and played by the band at many NC State athletic events, especially at football and basketball games. It was written by J. Perry Watson, a former director of music at NC State, and was introduced in 1961; students first sang the "Red and White" song at the NC State – Maryland game on February 13, 1961. [31] The song, although very popular, is in fact not the official Fight Song of NC State. [32] The colors mentioned in the song refer to NC State's main athletic colors, while "Caroline", "Devils", and "Deacs" refer to NC State's rivals: North Carolina, Duke, and Wake Forest.
NC State's Alma Mater was written by two students in the early 1920s. Dr. Alvin M. Fountain, a class of 1922 alumnus and editor of The Technician, wrote the words, while Bonnie Norris, from the class of 1923, composed the music. [33]
In 2022, N.C. State changed the lyrics from "Where the winds of Dixie softly blow" to "Where the Southern winds so softly blow". [34]
Since 1975, the NC State Wolfpack athletic teams have been represented at athletic events by its mascots, Mr. and Ms. Wuf, who were married on February 28, 1981, by the Demon Deacon at Reynolds Coliseum at halftime of a college basketball game between NC State and Wake Forest. The Demon Deacon presided over the wedding. [35] In print, the "Strutting Wolf" is used and is known by the name "Tuffy." In September 2010, a purebred Tamaskan dog became the new live mascot, "Tuffy". [36] [37] [38] [39] [40]
Tobacco Road is a term used in college sports, mainly basketball, for the four rival universities of North Carolina that play in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The term refers to the area's history as a major tobacco producer. The Tobacco Road teams represent the following universities:
The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level, in the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1953. Known simply as Virginia or UVA in sports media, the athletics program has twice won the Capital One Cup for men's sports after leading the nation in overall athletic excellence in those years. The Cavaliers have regularly placed among the nation's Top 5 athletics programs.
The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. Stanford's program has won 136 NCAA team championships, the most of any university. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 48 consecutive years, starting in 1976–77 and continuing through 2023–24. Through June 2024, Stanford athletes have won 554 individual NCAA titles.
The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing Virginia Tech in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are football, basketball, baseball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, and wrestling. Virginia Tech's women's sports are basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, golf, and volleyball.
Doak Field is a baseball venue in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. It opened in 1966 and is home to the NC State Wolfpack college baseball team of the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). It is named for Charles Doak, who was the head coach of the NC State baseball team from 1924 to 1939. The stadium is located on NC State's West Campus, behind Lee and Sullivan residence halls. The diamond is in the north/northwest corner of its block, which is bounded by Thurman Drive ; Dail Park and the residence halls ; Sullivan Drive ; and Varsity Drive. Its seating capacity is 2,500 spectators, with an overflow capacity of 3,000. The largest crowd at Doak Field since its 2004 renovation was 3,109 on April 28, 2007, in a series finale between NC State and its rival UNC. Doak Field hosted the Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament in both 1974 and in 1980. NC State won the championship in 1974, while Clemson won in 1980.
The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I competition. Maryland was a founding member of the Southern Conference in 1921, a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1952, and a member of the Big Ten Conference since 2014.
The Clemson Tigers are the athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level. Clemson competes for and has won multiple NCAA Division I national championships in football, men's soccer, and men's golf. The Clemson Tigers field twenty-one athletic teams, nine men's and twelve women's, across thirteen sports.
The North Carolina–NC State rivalry, also known as the State-Carolina game, Carolina–State Game, North Carolina–NC State game, NCSU–UNC game, and other similar permutations, is an ongoing series of athletic competitions between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels and North Carolina State University Wolfpack. The intensity of the game is driven by the universities' similar sizes, the fact the schools are separated by only 25 miles, and the large number of alumni that live within the state's borders. Both are charter members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and are part of the Tobacco Road schools. The most popular games between the two are in football, basketball, and baseball.
The NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team represents North Carolina State University in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. NC State is one of the seven founding members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Prior to joining the ACC in 1954, the Wolfpack were members of the Southern Conference, where they won seven conference championships. As a member of the ACC, the Wolfpack has won eleven conference championships, as well as two national championships in 1974 and 1983.
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the Tar Heel State. The campus at Chapel Hill is referred to as the University of North Carolina for the purposes of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Since the school fostered the oldest collegiate team in the Carolinas, the school took on the nickname Carolina, especially in athletics. The Tar Heels are also referred to as UNC or The Heels.
Athletes and sports teams from North Carolina compete across an array of professional and amateur levels of competition, along with athletes who compete at the World and Olympic levels in their respective sport. Major league professional teams based in North Carolina include teams that compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Soccer (MLS), and National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The state is also home to NASCAR Cup Series races. At the collegiate and university level, there are several North Carolina schools in various conferences across an array of divisions. North Carolina also has many minor league baseball teams. There are also a number of indoor football, indoor soccer, minor league basketball, and minor league ice hockey teams based throughout the state.
The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U,UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the highest level of collegiate athletics. The University of Miami's football team has won five national championships and its baseball team has won four national championships. Across all sports, the Hurricanes have won 21 national championships and 83 individual national championships.
Monte Corwin Towe is an American basketball coach and retired basketball player. He was a starting point guard on the 1973–74 North Carolina State Wolfpack men's basketball team which won the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. At five feet seven inches, Towe is also one of the ten shortest players in NBA history.
The Brown Bears are the sports teams that represent Brown University, an American university located in Providence, Rhode Island. The Bears are part of the Ivy League conference. Brown's mascot is Bruno. Both the men's and women's teams share the name, competing in 34 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I sports. In football, the Bears, along with all other the Ivy League teams, compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
The NC State Wolfpack baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of North Carolina State University, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. The team has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since the conference's founding in the 1954 season. The program's home venue is Doak Field, which opened in 1966. Elliott Avent has been the head coach of the team since prior to the 1997 season. As of the end of the 2024 season, the Wolfpack have appeared in four College World Series and 34 NCAA tournaments. They have won four ACC tournament Championships and four ACC Regular season Championships. As of the 2021 Major League Baseball season, 47 former Wolfpack players have played in Major League Baseball.
The NC State Wolfpack women's basketball team represents North Carolina State University in NCAA Division I women's basketball.
The NC State Wolfpack men's soccer team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. The team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. NC State's first men's soccer team was fielded in 1950. The team plays its home games at Dail Soccer Stadium in Raleigh. The Pack is coached by Marc Hubbard.
Kevin Andre Keatts is an American college basketball coach. He is the current men's head coach at North Carolina State University.
The 2019–20 NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team represented North Carolina State University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wolfpack were led by third-year head coach Kevin Keatts and played its home games at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). After winning its second round match-up with Pittsburgh in the 2020 ACC men's basketball tournament and before its quarterfinal match-up with Duke, the tournament was canceled due to concerns with the COVID-19 pandemic. Later that afternoon, the NCAA announced that all Winter and Spring championships would be canceled, including the NCAA tournament. They finished the season 20–12, 10–10 in ACC play to finish in a tie for sixth place.
The 2022–23 NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team represented North Carolina State University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wolfpack were led by sixth-year head coach Kevin Keatts and played their home games at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). They finished the season 23–11, 12–8 in ACC play to finish in sixth place. They defeated Virginia Tech before losing to Clemson in the ACC tournament. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 11 seed in the South region. There they lost to Creighton in the first round.