North Carolina State University Athletics
Athletics Director Lee Fowler
8/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics
Early August is a unique time of year for those of us in college athletics.
There is a buzz around our offices as everyone is hustling to prepare for all that will come over the next nine months. It's not just the coaches of the fall sports, even though they are a little more in the spotlight than everyone else. It's every member of the department, from administrators to student trainers.
They are all rested -- I hope -- after a short summer break, when everyone in the department tries to squeeze in a few moments of R&R.
We don't yet have the masses of student-athletes filling practice fields and meeting rooms. But the coaches and their staffs are scurrying around to finalize last-minute preparations for the start of their seasons. And our staff is meeting to discuss game-day operations, to make sure we have covered every possible contingency.
Though its still relatively quiet in the hallways of the Weisiger-Brown Building, it's like the calm before the storm.
In another week, we will start being rewarded for all the off-season planning. Students start returning to campus. Parking spaces are harder to find. For me, having spent my entire career on a college campus, that time is so special.
Seeing our upperclassmen and how much they have grown and matured is satisfying. You can always see a different hunger for the seniors who know they only have one more chance to fulfill their collegiate dreams. And meeting the newly arriving freshmen and transfers, their eyes full of hope and potential, means just as much.
Developing these talented young people and seeing them compete is the great reward of our profession. This time of year, you can see that on the faces of every member of our staff.
