Introducing the ACC: North Carolina State Wolfpack

NC State pulled off two of the most stunning Final Four upsets of all-time

Jim Valvano celebrates NC State's 1983 championship / Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

After more than a century as a member of the Pac-12 Conference, Cal has moved into the Atlantic Coast Conference. To introduce Cal fans to the Bears’ new conference rivals, we will profile each of the other ACC schools.  Today: North Carolina State:

NORTH CAROLINA STATE

NICKNAME: Wolfpack

MASCOT:  Mr. and Mrs. Wuf

LOCATION: Raleigh, NC (pop. 476,587)

MILES FROM BERKELEY: 2,834 miles

MAJOR AIRPORT: Raleigh-Durham International Airport

YEAR FOUNDED: 1887, originally named North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. Renamed North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering in 1917 and North Carolina State University in 1963.

ENROLLMENT: 36,700

TUITION: $9,128 in-state; $30,869 out-of-state

CAMPUS LANDMARK: The 115-foot tall Memorial Belltower, completed in 1921 in honor of university alums who died in World War I.

MOST POPULAR SPORTS BARS/RESTAURANTS: Players’ Retreat; Tobacco Road Sports Cafe & Brewery; Carolina Steel Sports Bar;

FAMOUS NON-ATHLETE ALUMNI: Comedian and actor Zach Galifianakis 1991; pianist and composer John Tesh (also a walk-on to the lacrosse and soccer teams) '74; motor sports and college football TV commentator Jerry Punch (also a walk-on to the football team) '75; former Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Qandil (PhD in biological and agricultural engineering) '93

ATHLETIC WEBSITE: gopack.com

Philip Rivers / Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

FOOTBALL

COACH: Dave Doeren (81-58 in 11 seasons)

STADIUM: Carter-Finley Stadium (56,919)

CAL ON THE SCHEDULE: The Wolfpack visits Cal on Saturday, Oct. 19

2023 RECORD: 9-4, 6-2/3rd place in ACC

BEST PLAYER ON THE 2024 TEAM: Quarterback Grayson McCall (The sixth-year transfer passed for 10,005 yards and 88 touchdowns with just 14 interceptions at Coastal Carolina and has been named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list)

MOST RECENT BOWL APPEARANCE: 2023 (Lost to Kansas State 28-19 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl) 

BOWL HISTORY: 35 appearances (17-17-1)

MOST RECENT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP: 1979 ACC champion

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: None

BEST ALL-TIME PLAYER: Quarterback Philip Rivers (Passed for 13,484 yards and 95 touchdowns from 2000-03 and was ACC Player of the Year as a senior; No. 4 NFL draft pick was an 8-time Pro Bowl selection in the NFL, passing for 63,440 yards and 420 TDs in his career) 

ALSO: Roman Gabriel, Torry Holt, Russell Wilson, Bradley Chubb, Erik Kramer, Mario Williams

BEST ALL-TIME COACH: Dave Doeren (School-record 81 victories, has guided NC State to eight bowl games in 11 seasons)

ALSO: Lou Holtz, Dick Sheridan, Earle Edwards

ALL-TIME RECORD vs. CAL: Schools have never met in football

David Thompson / Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

MEN’S BASKETBALL

COACH: Kevin Keatts (139-94 in 7 seasons)

ARENA: PNC Arena (19,700)

2023-24 RECORD: 26-15, 9-11/10th in ACC (won ACC tournament and advanced to the NCAA Final Four)

BEST PLAYER ON 2024-25 TEAM: Senior guard Marcus Hill arrives as a transfer who averaged 20.5 points last season at Bowling Green and had 19 games of 20 points or more.

MOST RECENT NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE: 2024 (lost to Purdue 63-50 in the national semifinals)

MOST RECENT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP: NC State won the ACC tournament title last season but hasn’t won the regular-season crown since 1989

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: Led by All-American David Thompson, the Wolfpack won the NCAA title in 1974, when they upset powerhouse UCLA in the national semifinals, and again in 1983, under the guidance of coach Jim Valvano, stunning favored Houston and its high-flying Phi Slama Jama squad.

BEST ALL-TIME PLAYER: David Thompson (One of the game’s great leapers, was a three-time ACC Player of the Year, three-time first-team All-American and the 1974 national player of the year. He averaged 22.7 points in his ABA/NBA career and is a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame)

ALSO: Tom Burleson, Monty Towe, Lorenzo Charles, Vinny Del Negro, Kenny Carr, Nate McMillan, Chris Washburn, Julius Hodge

BEST ALL-TIME COACH: Everett Case (School-record 377 victories from 1947-64 with a .738 winning percentage; reached 1950 Final Four; won at least 24 games each of his first 10 seasons)

ALSO: Jim Valvano, Norm Sloan, Herb Sendek

ALL-TIME RECORD vs. CAL (most recent meeting): 1-1 (NC State won 58-52 at 2006 NCAA tournament)

Andrea Stinson / Photo courtesy of NC State Athletics

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 

COACH: Wes Moore (273-88 with 10 20-win seasons and 8 NCAA tournament bids in 11 seasons)

ARENA: PNC Arena (19,700)

2023-24 RECORD: 31-7, 13-5/tied 2nd in ACC

BEST PLAYER ON 2024-25 TEAM: Senior guard Aziaha James (Returning first-team All-ACC selection averaged 16.8 points, including 23.4 during NC State’s run to the Final Four)

MOST RECENT NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE: 2024 (lost to eventual champion South Carolina 78-59 in the national semifinals)

MOST RECENT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP: 2021-22 (ACC regular-season and tournament champion) 

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: Final Four in 1998 and 2024

BEST ALL-TIME PLAYER: Andrea Stinson (Scored 2,136 points in 3 seasons from 1989-91, averaging a school-record 22.7, including a program-record 50 points in a game. She was the ACC Player of the Year in 1990 and a two-time Kodak All-American before beginning a nine-year WNBA career) 

ALSO: Genia Beasley, Chasity Melvin, Elissa Cunane

BEST ALL-TIME COACH Kay Yow (550-301 with 3 ACC titles, 20 NCAA tournament berths and a 1998 Final Four appearance from 1981-82 through 2008-09)

Others: Wes Moore 

All-time record vs. Cal (most recent meeting): 1-1 (NC State won 100-68 in 1989-90)

Joan Benoit Samuelson / Darr Beiser-USA TODAY Sports

MISCELLANEOUS

VARSITY SPORTS (22): Baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, football, men’s and women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, women’s volleyball, men’s wrestling

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (7): Men’s basketball (1974, 1983); women’s cross country (1979, 1980, 2021, 2022, 2023)

BEST ALL-TIME NON FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL ATHLETE: Left-handed pitcher Carlos Rodón, now in his 10th season in the majors, is a two-time All-Star who has won at least 13 games in three of the past four seasons.

MOST FAMOUS OLYMPIAN: Distance runner Joan Benoit Samuelson, winner of the first women’s Olympic marathon at Los Angeles in 1984 and formerly the owner of fastest Boston Marathon time for 28 years.