North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack Welcomes Notre Dame to ACC
9/12/2012 12:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics
Sept. 12, 2012
RALEIGH, N.C. - News came from Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford on Wednesday that Notre Dame would join the league in all sports with the exception of football and men's ice hockey. The move is expected to have an impact on athletic schedules beginning in the 2015-16 season.
Notre Dame becomes the third Big East member in the last two years, along with Pittsburgh and Syracuse, to accept an invitation to join the ACC. Pittsburgh and Syracuse are scheduled to begin play in the ACC for the 2013-14 season.
NC State has a brief history against Notre Dame, but the stories behind some of the athletic contests make for great reminiscing, as well as what could come in the future.
The Wolfpack and Fighting Irish have met just once on the gridiron, when they squared off in the Gator Bowl in 2003. Notre Dame entered the game ranked ninth in the BCS standings, while NC State was the nation's 17th-ranked team in both the Associated Press and coaches' polls.
Behind the arm of current San Diego Chargers quarterback and future-NFL first round draft pick Philip Rivers, the Pack used a 21-point second quarter and an outstanding defensive performance to down the Irish 28-6. The win capped the program's first season with double-digit victories, on its way to an 11-3 record.
Ty Willingham, Notre Dame's head coach at the time, was a former assistant at NC State from 1983-85. It was his first season on the job in South Bend. After a short stay at Notre Dame, Willingham went on to coach the University of Washington from 2005-08.
While a only a limited history exists between the two men's basketball programs, there is no shortage on memories. Notre Dame leads the all-time series 4-3 over NC State, with the most recent meeting coming in 2005 at the John Wooden Classic in Indianapolis, Ind., where the Pack defeated the Irish 61-48. Within the all-time series, two other meetings between the two programs are of special significance in NC State history.
On Feb. 19, 1979, Notre Dame became the first non-conference team with the No. 1 national ranking to play against the Wolfpack in Reynolds Coliseum. The Irish escaped with a 53-52 win. Last season, Syracuse became the second top-ranked team from another conference to face NC State in Raleigh.
On Feb. 12, 1983, the Irish visited Reynolds Coliseum behind then-head coach Digger Phelps, and outlasted the Wolfpack, 43-42, after the Pack missed a 19-foot jumper that hit the front of the rim as time expired. It was the same season in which NC State won its second national championship in program history.The Pack upset heavily-favored Houston, 54-52, in the title game.
In women's basketball, the two programs have met just once, as the Irish defeated the Wolfpack, 64-53, in the preseason NIT consolation final back in 1996. The game was played at a neutral site in Ruston, La.
