The 8th Greatest Basketball Program In The South: North Carolina State Wolfpack

North Carolina State Wolfpack

Location: Raleigh, North Carolina

Nickname: Wolfpack

Reason For Nickname: In 1922, a disgruntled fan said that the student section behaved like a “wolfpack”, therefore giving the nickname to the NC State program.

Colors: Red and White

Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference

Arena: RBC Center (built 1999, capacity 19, 722)

Postseason Appearances:

NCAA Tournament Appearances: 22 Appearances, three Final Fours, two National Championships

NIT Appearances: 11 Appearances

Conference Championships: 7 Southern Conference Championships (1929, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952), 10 ACC Championships (1954, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1965, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1983, 1987), 7 ACC Regular-Season Championships (1955, 1956, 1959, 1973, 1974, 1985, 1989)

Coaching Legacy: Everett Case and Jim Valvano are two coaches that come to mind when you think of NC State basketball. Case led the program to prominence in the 1950’s and Valvano led the Wolfpack to its last national championship in 1983. Other coaches to grace the sidelines would be Norm Sloan, Herb Sendek, and Press Maravich (Pete’s father).

Big Man On Campus: Throughout NC State’s history, many great players have come through but the school’s greatest player would be none other than David Thompson, who led the Wolfpack to the 1974 NCAA Championship. In 2003, Thompson returned to school and received his degree in Sociology.

Rivalries: The Wolfpack are known best for their rivalry with the North Carolina Tar Heels. Currently the Tar Heels hold a 138-75 lead in the series but the Wolfpack for the most part has beaten the Heels at their highest point over the last few years, although not in consecutive years.

Did You Know?: The practice of cutting down the nets began at NC State. Case brought the tradition from his days as a legendary high school basketball coach in Indiana.