North Carolina State University Athletics
From the Director's Desk
12/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics
Dec. 18, 2014 
Season’s greetings from the Wolfpack.
As we prepare for the holidays and the end of the calendar year, it is both a time for reflection on and optimism about what’s ahead for NC State Athletics.
This year we’ve had much to be grateful for, and we have much to look forward to in 2015. We currently have five programs ranked in the Top 20 of their respective sports with numerous teams yet to begin their seasons, and we have two significant facilities projects underway, or about to begin.
Our student-athletes are showing great progress in the classroom, having just posted our highest Federal Graduation Rate in school history, and our second highest Graduation Success Rate.
Under second-year head coach Dave Doeren, our football team is making a return to postseason play, having won three of four down the stretch to earn an invitation to the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl. With one of the youngest squads in the nation, Coach Doeren continues to build his program the right way, indicating so much promise for the future. He, his staff and players are to be commended for being one of the nation’s most improved teams in 2014 and ending the season with a dominating win over UNC-CH.
On the horizon for our programs is the Close-King Indoor Practice Facility. For anyone who has been over towards Carter-Finley Stadium of late, it is becoming evident that the structure will be impressive and such a benefit to multiple teams here at NC State. Such facility enhancements are helping us stay ahead of the curve and offering our programs a needed practice and workout facility.
Our men’s basketball team is off to a terrific start at 9-2, with an incredibly challenging non-conference schedule and several quality RPI wins already. Mark Gottfried and his staff continue to mold a strong young nucleus after losing an NBA lottery pick and the ACC Player of the Year in T.J. Warren. We have an exciting home schedule that includes upcoming home games with Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Duke, UNC-CH, Virginia, Notre Dame, and Syracuse, and we hope you’ll come out and support this squad through this difficult stretch of games.
As for women’s hoops, Wes Moore continues to bring along a young squad and just had a Top 20 national signing class for next year, solidifying his rising program. He has turned Reynolds Coliseum into one of the tougher places to play in the powerful ACC, with a 20-3 home mark over the last two years.
Speaking of Reynolds, in March we begin a $35 million renovation to the iconic facility with a target completion of August 2016. The renovation will benefit our women’s basketball, wrestling, gymnastics and volleyball programs, as well as our entire university community for special events and improved offices for our ROTC programs.
As I mentioned earlier, we have five teams currently ranked in the Top 20 in their respective programs, coming off a Fall season that had our women’s cross country team finish No. 16.
Braden Holloway continues to build something very special with our swimming and diving programs, with his men’s squad ranked No. 10 and his women’s team No. 20.
Rifle is currently ranked No. 13 in the country while women’s golf is ranked No. 19. Another program that continues to emerge under the guidance of Pat Popolizio is our wrestling program, now ranked No. 18 in the country with defending NCAA champion Nick Gwiazdowski ranked No. 2 among all heavyweights.
This is a time of considerable energy on our campus and in our department. Our focus for NC State Athletics remains on the pursuit of Top 25 excellence across all sports and programs.
Thank you for joining us on this journey. We wish you all the best during the holiday season.
In the spirit of the Pack,
Deborah A. Yow
Director of Athletics
Season’s greetings from the Wolfpack.
As we prepare for the holidays and the end of the calendar year, it is both a time for reflection on and optimism about what’s ahead for NC State Athletics.
This year we’ve had much to be grateful for, and we have much to look forward to in 2015. We currently have five programs ranked in the Top 20 of their respective sports with numerous teams yet to begin their seasons, and we have two significant facilities projects underway, or about to begin.
Our student-athletes are showing great progress in the classroom, having just posted our highest Federal Graduation Rate in school history, and our second highest Graduation Success Rate.
Under second-year head coach Dave Doeren, our football team is making a return to postseason play, having won three of four down the stretch to earn an invitation to the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl. With one of the youngest squads in the nation, Coach Doeren continues to build his program the right way, indicating so much promise for the future. He, his staff and players are to be commended for being one of the nation’s most improved teams in 2014 and ending the season with a dominating win over UNC-CH.
On the horizon for our programs is the Close-King Indoor Practice Facility. For anyone who has been over towards Carter-Finley Stadium of late, it is becoming evident that the structure will be impressive and such a benefit to multiple teams here at NC State. Such facility enhancements are helping us stay ahead of the curve and offering our programs a needed practice and workout facility.
Our men’s basketball team is off to a terrific start at 9-2, with an incredibly challenging non-conference schedule and several quality RPI wins already. Mark Gottfried and his staff continue to mold a strong young nucleus after losing an NBA lottery pick and the ACC Player of the Year in T.J. Warren. We have an exciting home schedule that includes upcoming home games with Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Duke, UNC-CH, Virginia, Notre Dame, and Syracuse, and we hope you’ll come out and support this squad through this difficult stretch of games.
As for women’s hoops, Wes Moore continues to bring along a young squad and just had a Top 20 national signing class for next year, solidifying his rising program. He has turned Reynolds Coliseum into one of the tougher places to play in the powerful ACC, with a 20-3 home mark over the last two years.
Speaking of Reynolds, in March we begin a $35 million renovation to the iconic facility with a target completion of August 2016. The renovation will benefit our women’s basketball, wrestling, gymnastics and volleyball programs, as well as our entire university community for special events and improved offices for our ROTC programs.
As I mentioned earlier, we have five teams currently ranked in the Top 20 in their respective programs, coming off a Fall season that had our women’s cross country team finish No. 16.
Braden Holloway continues to build something very special with our swimming and diving programs, with his men’s squad ranked No. 10 and his women’s team No. 20.
Rifle is currently ranked No. 13 in the country while women’s golf is ranked No. 19. Another program that continues to emerge under the guidance of Pat Popolizio is our wrestling program, now ranked No. 18 in the country with defending NCAA champion Nick Gwiazdowski ranked No. 2 among all heavyweights.
This is a time of considerable energy on our campus and in our department. Our focus for NC State Athletics remains on the pursuit of Top 25 excellence across all sports and programs.
Thank you for joining us on this journey. We wish you all the best during the holiday season.
In the spirit of the Pack,
Deborah A. Yow
Director of Athletics
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