The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1137844
JULY 2019 ■ 153 ■ PACK PAST win over the Wolfpack for its snub. Atlanta's Peach Bowl invited Clemson and Baylor, citing the Tigers' better record against non- conference opponents. And Orlando's Tan- gerine Bowl invited Wake Forest and LSU, citing the Wolfpack's trip to the same bowl the year before. Athletics director Willis Casey glared in anger. A trashcan just outside the Duke visitor's locker room didn't survive a kick by senior associate athletics director Frank Weedon. The team was devastated. Despite popular myth, the Wolfpack was invited to a postseason game. The second- annual Garden State Bowl, played on Dec. 15 in East Rutherford, N.J., was the only bowl that scouted the State-Duke game and was eager to have a southern team in its northern venue. State's athletics administration was hold- ing out hope for a bid to either the Fiesta or Sun bowls, but had never played a postsea- son game west of the Mississippi. The Garden State game fell at the same time as NC State's exams, and new chancel- lor Joab Thomas and provost Nash Winstead refused to work with the team on handling those academic responsibilities, which their predecessors had done in 1973 for head coach Lou Holtz' team when it played Kan- sas in the Liberty Bowl. In the end, the Pack turned down the bid, using the same justification that Notre Dame cited for its disinterest in going to the Mead- owlands in December. Instead, the Garden State Bowl took California and Temple and went bankrupt two years later. As a result, NC State became the last win- ner of what are now called the Power Five conferences not to advance to postseason play. That's not all that surprising, since the Pack also wasn't invited to postseason play after its titles in 1957, 1964, 1965 or 1968. The irony is, since 1979, when it was easier to win a conference title and more difficult to go to a bowl game, the Wolfpack has been to 23 postseason games, with no conference titles. "It was bittersweet for us," Ritcher noted. "We won it, even though it could have been a better season. We didn't play well at Au- burn. There were some games we shouldn't have lost. Not going to a bowl was hard, because we were the champions. That's why you play team sports. "There were some unfortunate things that happened. That's part of life. You work hard and sometimes it doesn't work out the way you planned." The 1979 team will have a reunion and be honored the weekend of the NC State- Clemson game Nov. 9. ■ Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. • Lush, verdant landscaping • Nationally accredited, locally owned, not-for-profit • Dedicated to independence, security and peace of mind y p LIFESTYLES CREATED ONE PERSON AT A TIME. • A 42-acre urban oasis LIFESTYLES CREATED ONE PERSON AT A TIME. S pringmoor is 1500 Sawmill Road 1500 • Raleigh, NC 27615 C 27615 CALL 919-848-7252 FOR YOUR FREE INFORMATION KIT WP