The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1487679
22 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER urn the red light on, Chancellor [Randy] Woodson!" Dave Do- eren proclaimed, end- ing a postgame, on- field interview with ESPN's Tom Luginbill moments after a thrill- ing 30-27, double-overtime win against archrival North Carolina. The resilient Wolfpack started a fourth different quarterback in an injury-plagued year. Each of those four won a game, the first time that many signal-callers have started victories for the same school in the same season in the ACC during the past 15 years. Those are the type of memo- ries that carry forward for Wolf- pack Nation. Watching a group of student-athletes give great effort to win a competition, sometimes playing shorthanded and banged up, provides the fanbase moments they won't forget for a long time. A week before that NC State- UNC game, the Wolfpack women's cross country team celebrated a repeat national title, while also crowning Katelyn Tuohy as an indi- vidual winner. The year began with women's basketball taking home a third consecutive ACC Tournament championship. Every time, the Memorial Belltower on NC State's cam- pus was lit red. T h e Wo l f p a c k Club is giving do- nors and supporters an opportunity to have their own lighting of the Belltower with a year-end, philanthropic campaign called, appropriately, Light It Red. Emily Wayland, the Wolfpack Club's director of annual giving, was seeking a call to action to end the year when she helped craft the initiative. "The only way to be successful is to put that money behind it," Wayland noted. "We have some of the most loyal fans in the nation, and they are the most pas- sionate fans that I have ever seen. "I wanted to be able to highlight that and say, 'This is your chance to light it red, and your chance to let it shine.' It's always all about the student-athlete. Let's make it about the donors and the fans. This is your chance to step up and do something good. So far, people have been really ex- cited about it." The Wolfpack Club's ambitious goal is to have a donation originating from all 100 counties in the state and 50 states in the country. As the calendar flipped from November to December, more than half the counties in North Carolina had already been represented. Wayland also noted that their financial goals for the drive have already been ex- ceeded, raising their expectations further. "Emily did a really nice job of working with our athletic depart- ment to create a campaign that really hit home with our donors," Wolfpack Club executive director Ben Broussard said. "I think our donors are as gener- ous, if not more, than anybody in the country. They understand what it takes for our student-athletes to have a successful experience in Ra- leigh, and if given the opportunity to step up and give a couple of extra dollars at the end of the year to sup- port our mission, they are doing it." To help motivate givers, gifts made toward the campaign will re- ceive six times the bonus priority points. However, the donations are philanthropic and do not count to- ward the annual gift for seating and parking benefits. Nevertheless, adding to the yearly contributions through the Light It Red Campaign has the potential to boost, for instance, a donor's parking position ahead of a foot- ball schedule that will feature home games against North Carolina, Clemson and Notre Dame in 2023. "We know our fans are paying attention to their rankings," ex- plained Broussard. "They want the best parking spot for what's really a great home football sea- son next year. Find- ing an opportunity to capitalize on the end-of-year spirit and reward our donors for giving is really good." Regardless of the primary motivator, the end result is beneficial to the student- athletes who continue to excel competi- tively wearing the red and white. "The point of it was to say our stu- dent-athletes are lighting it red all year long," Wayland noted. "They are winning championships. "In turn, we want to light it red for them. We want to continue giving support that they need to be successful on and off the field. We are challenging our donors and fans to light it red for them." ■ T LIGHT IT RED The Wolfpack Club Offers Its Donors A Special Opportunity " NC State's year-end fundraising campaign is giving donors an opportunity to have their own lighting of the Belltower. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE