North Carolina State University Athletics
A Wolfpack bivouac
1/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2005
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH -- By Dr. Thomas Stafford's count, camping out for N.C. State basketball tickets is a tradition that dates back to the David Thompson era. He figures there have been student camp-outs for 34 years, and he's been to every one of them.
The long-time Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs remembers back when hardy (and somewhat foolish) students used to throw their sleeping bags on the concrete sidewalks, just in front of the coliseum ticket office, sleeping uncovered for several nights in a row.
He remembers perhaps his favorite moment in those four decades,which happened just last year. The camp-out was scheduled for a night when snow and ice fell in Raleigh, and there was some debate over whether or not it should go on. The student in charge of the event was pondering what to do: show the world that Wolfpack fans were diligent enough to brave the elements or to stay warm, dry and safe. At that moment, a large branch from a large oak trees across the street came crashing down in a flurry of icicles and broken branches.
"Hey," the student said. "That's where my tent would have been."
So, last year, tickets were distributed without a customary overnight wait.
But, Friday night, 36 campsites were lined up right across the street from Reynolds, even as the thermometer dipped down into the 20s. There were no freezing stuff, but 24 hours earlier a tornado swept through not far away.
Campouts are a great tradition for college basketball, one that has gone through a tremendous evolution since the days I remember camping out for football and basketball tickets. That's when the makeshift shanty town was a little more spontaneous and much more loose. It was not long after the 1983 NCAA championship, which established new standards for on-campus partying and celebrations and created an even bigger demand for student tickets for the biggest games. Back then, camping out was as much about the partying and the bonfires, things that eventually became too dangerous, because people got needlessly hurt.
Now, camp-outs are alcohol-free, fireproof and more organized than Herb Sendek's sock drawer. Friday night, a freshman student senate representative carried a three-ring binder of information about the 36 groups who had signed up in advance to camp out. There could be no more than 15 people per group and at least half of the party had to be on site at all times. Every couple of hours, someone went around to check.
But it is still an investment that students love to make, and one the university supports.
There was a first-time visitor to the campsite Friday night. He had heard about the tradition from his three oldest sons for years, and now that his youngest son is a junior, he thought it was about time to see what it is all about.
So Dr. James L. Oblinger, who became NC State's 13th chancellor on Jan. 1, went out to meet with his new charges. Sendek joined him, giving a word of thanks and a plea for support, as the Wolfpack tries to break a four-game losing streak on Sunday against Georgia Tech at the RBC Center.
Chancellor Oblinger, a familiar figure on campus for the last 18 years, wants the students to feel comfortable around him. And he wants them to know who he is.
"I was reading a story in the Technician about what students thought about Dr. Oblinger,'' he said. "The answer that stuck out the most to me was the student that said `Who?'
"This is a good way for me to find out what the student campout was all about and a good way for the students to get to know me."
Sendek rallied the students for the chancellor. He also helped build some enthusiasm for the State-Carolina women's game that was about to be played inside Reynolds and for the men's game on Sunday against the Yellow Jackets.
"Don't for a second underestimate the awesome passion that you give us when we play in the RBC Center," Sendek said.
Sendek acknowledged that he and his team, once ranked in the top 25, are going through a difficult time stretch right now, with another top 10 opponent coming to town. But he wanted students and all fans to know they weren't isolated in "a foxhole of misery." He assured the crowd that he and his team have been working to fix some of the flaws that have led to the recent losses.
Seeing the bundled students seemed to help.
"The fact that you are out here tonight encourages me,'' said Sendek, who shared handshakes, hugs and pizza with the campers. "It lifts me."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
