The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1153250
60 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY JACEY ZEMBAL T he ACC Network, three years in the making, will officially launch Aug. 22. The process of creating a network for league members goes back years ago when schools watched in envy during the launch of the Big Ten Network on Aug. 30, 2007. The new venture provided each school with millions of additional dollars to run their athletic programs. Former NC State director of athletics Deb- bie Yow had pushed for an ACC Network, going back to her days at Maryland. The ACC Network go-ahead was announced on July 21, 2016, at the ACC Kickoff, and the Wolfpack has been preparing for it ever since. "War Rooms" were created at the Murphy Center, the football operations building at Carter-Finley Stadium, and Reynolds Coli- seum, each costing at least $6 million. The broadcast and production studios were finished in plenty of time for the East Carolina at NC State football season opener, set for a 12 p.m. kickoff Aug. 31 on the ACC Network. Fred Demarest, NC State's senior asso- ciate athletic director/communications and brand management, was at Florida when the Gators prepared for the SEC Network, which will likely serve as a blueprint for the ACC Network, thanks to the role ESPN has in both. Demarest knew that converting space at the Murphy Center would help lesson the building budget and help NC State concen- trate on the functionality of the space and control room. "We had conversations about where to convert studio space if it should ever become reality, which it did in the summer of 2016," Demarest said. "I knew a lot of the things In preparation for the ACC Network, NC State installed broadcast and production studios at the Murphy Center and Reynolds Coliseum. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS LIGHTS , CAMERA , ACTION The ACC Network Will Aid NC State's Athletic Budget