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 1953â€"54 season. The athletic teams of the Wolfpack compete in 23 intercollegiate varsity sports. NC State is a founding member of the ACC and has won eight national championships: two 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 primary logo for NC State athletics is a red block 'S' with an inscribed 'N' and 'C'. The block S has been in use since 1890 but has seen many alterations through the years. The color red was adopted from the state bird, the cardinal. It became the sole logo for all NC State athletic teams in 2000 and was modernized to its current design in 2006.
NC State athletic teams are nicknamed the 'Wolfpack'. The name was adopted in 1921 when a disgruntled fan described the behavior of some of the school's football players as being "as unruly as a pack of wolves". 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.
Sports sponsored
Baseball
- Head Coach: Elliott Avent
- Stadium: Doak Field
- ACC Championships: 5 (1968, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1992)
- CWS appearances: 2 (1968, 2013)
Men's basketball
- Head Coach: Kevin Keatts
- Arena: PNC Arena
- National Championships: 2 (1974, 1983)
- Southern Conference Championships: 7 (1929,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952)
- ACC Championships: 10 (1954, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1965, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1983, 1987)
The above record of conference titles does not include regular season 1st place finishes as championships â€" the ACC recognizes only the winner of the ACC Tournament as its champion.
Women's basketball
- Head Coach: Wes Moore
- Arena: Reynolds Coliseum
- ACC Championships: 1978, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1990 (regular season); 1980, 1985, 1987, 1991 (ACC Tournament)
Football
- Head Coach: Dave Doeren
- Stadium: Carterâ€"Finley Stadium
- ACC Championships: 7 (1957, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1973, 1979)
- Southern Conference Championships: 1 (1927)
- South Atlantic Intercollegiate Championships: 3 (1907, 1910, 1913)
- Bowl games: 26 (14-11-1)
Wrestling
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. Currently in his second season with the team, Popolizio is a three-time NCAA qualifier. The wrestling team competes at home on campus in the Reynolds Coliseum. NC State Wrestling also has a blog online mainly to keep up to date with the team and focus on the NCAA Championships.
In 2012, Popolizio left his previous program, Binghamton University, and took all-American heavyweight Nick Gwiazdowski with him. After redshirting for a year (to avoid sitting out a season per NCAA transfer rules), Gwiazdowski won national titles in 2014 and 2015, becoming the first Wolfpack wrestler to win consecutive titles.
During the 2015â€"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.
NC State Wolfpack Wrestling achievements:
- 11 Academic All-Americans
- 15 ACC Championships
- 28 NCAA All-Americans
- 6 individual NCAA Champions: (1980) Matt Reiss 167, (1984) Tab Thacker Hwt., (1988) Scott Turner 150, (1993) Sylvester Terkay Hwt., (2009) Darrion Caldwell 149, (2014, 2015) Nick Gwiazdowski Hwt
Other sports
In addition to baseball, basketball, football, and wrestling, NC State competes in 11 other varsity sports. Unless noted, both a men's and a women's team are fielded.
- Cross country: 2 AIAW Women's National Championships (1979, 1980); 20 Women's ACC Championships
- Golf: 1990 Men's ACC co-champions, Matt Hill â€" 2009 NCAA Champion
- Gymnastics (women's only)
- Rifle
- Soccer (Men's): 13 NCAA appearances (1 Semifinal appearance: 1990); 1990 ACC Tournament Champions
- Women's soccer: 1988 NCAA Finalist; 1988 ACC Regular Season and Tournament Champions; 11 NCAA appearances (9-10-3 NCAA Tournament Record); 7 All-Americans; three former U.S. National Team players
- Softball (women's only): 2 Women's ACC Championship (2006, 2013)
- Swimming & diving: 26 Men's ACC Champions; 72 Men's All-Americans; 5 Men's Individual National Champions; Kristen Davies â€" 2009 NCAA Women's Platform Diving Champion
- Tennis: notable former players: Christian Welte
- Track & field: 6 Men's ACC Championships
- Volleyball (women's only)
Non-varsity sports
North Carolina State University offers numerous non-varsity and club level sports throughout the year. This includes, but is not limited to, hockey, lacrosse, basketball, baseball, soccer, rugby, swimming, cheerleading, sailing, ultimate frisbee and much more. The North Carolina State University Men's Rugby Football Club was founded in 1965. 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. 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. 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.
As the university's oldest active club, the NC State Sailing Club was founded in 1954 and also fields a competitive intercollegiate co-ed and a women's sailing team. With their home facility at Lake Wheeler in Raleigh, the "SailPack," as the club is known, competes in the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association division of the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA). The ICSA is the governing body of college sailing. The SailPack has reached the SAISA regional championship consecutively for the past four seasons, and as of 2013 is the highest ranking active program in North Carolina ahead of Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Wilmington, and Davidson.
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 fields a full varsity team in cheerleading coached by Harold Trammel, named head cheerleading coach for the Wolfpack in May 2002. The team has won 3 Universal Cheerleading Association National Collegiate Championships, 2 National Cheerleading Collegiate Championships & 1 Universal Cheerleading Association National Collegiate Championship in the Group Stunt competition.
NC State has a proud intercollegiate tradition in ultimate frisbee. The men's team won the national championships in 1999.
The NC State club hockey team participates in the ACCHL. The Wolfpack has been coached by Mike Gazzillo since 2010, and he has been assisted by Geoff Wing since 2015. The team calls the Raleigh Ice Plex 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. NC State has made it to the ACCHL Championship game in Charlottesville, Virginia, each of the last two seasons before falling in the final game each season.
NC State also boasts a growing men’s lacrosse team. 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.
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.
Championships
NCAA team championships
North Carolina State has won 2 NCAA team national championships.
- Men's (2)
- Basketball (2): 1974, 1983
- see also:
- ACC NCAA team championships
- List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships
Notable former athletes
NC State Fight Song
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. It is essentially a sped-up version of "The Caisson Song", or more recently, "The Army Goes Rolling Along."
Red and White Song
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 â€" Maryland game on February 13, 1961. The song, although very popular, is in fact not the official Fight Song of NC State. The colors mentioned in the song refer to NC State's main athletic colors, while "Caroline", "Devils", and "Deacs" refer to other Tobacco Road team names: North Carolina Tar Heels, Duke Blue Devils, and Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
The NC State Alma Mater
NC State's Alma Mater was written by two students in the early 1920s. Dr. Alvin M. Fountain, a class of '22 alumnus and editor of The Technician, wrote the words, while Bonnie Norris, from the class of 1923, composed the music.
Mascot
Since 1975, the NC State Wolfpack athletic teams have been represented at athletic events by its mascots, Mr. and Mrs. Wuf, who were married on February 28, 1981 by the Demon Deacon at Reynolds Coliseum at halftime of an college basketball game between NC State and Wake Forest. The Demon Deacon presided over the wedding. 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".
See also
- List of college athletic programs in North Carolina
- NC Stateâ€"Carolina rivalry
- Textile Bowl
- East Carolinaâ€"NC State rivalry
References
External links
- Official website