The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1497827
TRACKING THE PACK 18 ■ THE WOLFPACKER NC State Men's Basketball To Play In Las Vegas-Based Tourney According to Jon Rothstein of College Hoops Today, NC State will join Arizona State, BYU and a team to be announced in Las Vegas next season for the Wooden Legacy, which had been previously held in Southern California. The news came coincidentally the same day that Arizona State grad DJ Horne announced he was transferring to NC State. Horne averaged 12.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game for a Sun Devils squad that went 23- 13 and was one of the last four teams to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Coached by former Duke legend Bobby Hurley, Arizona State routed Nevada in Dayton, Ohio, to open NCAA Tournament play and nearly upset TCU two days later. ASU, though, has lost at least three of the top four scorers from that team, Horne noted. In the final NET rankings before the NCAA Tournament was announced, Arizona State was No. 61, which on a neutral court would have counted as a Quad 2 contest for NC State. BYU had a NET of No. 84, which would also be a Quad 2 game for NC State on a neutral court. The Cougars finished the season 19-15 while compet- ing for the last time in the West Coast Conference. Next season, BYU will move to the Big 12. The Cougars have added Charlotte transfer Aly Khalifa, a skilled 6-foot-11 post player who averaged 11.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Khalifa joins a squad that is expected to return three players who averaged double digits in scoring. Pack Officially Adds SEC Power To 2024 Football Schedule The NC State football team needed a Power Five opponent for the 2024 schedule after BYU canceled a home- a n d - h o m e se r i e s. Te n n e sse e a l so needed such a game because a non- conference series with Oklahoma was taken away by SEC mandate. The Wolfpack and Volunteers par- tially solved their respective scheduling dilemmas by agreeing to play each other on Sept. 7, 2024, in Charlotte. "We are excited to participate in the 2024 Duke's Mayo Classic. This is an incredible opportunity for our football program to face a great SEC opponent in our home state. The Charlotte Sports Foundation does a fantastic job, and I'm looking forward to an electric atmo- sphere at Bank of America Stadium," NC State athletics director Boo Corri- gan said in a prepared statement. "We appreciate the Charlotte Sports Foundation and NC State on executing a game of this caliber on short notice," Tennessee athletics director Danny White said. "This is another terrific op- portunity for our football program and Vol Nation to showcase our brand in one of college football's perennial marquee contests." ACC teams are supposed to have at least one Power Five nonconference game on the slate every season. The NC State football schedule for 2024 also includes home games against Louisiana Tech and Western Carolina, with the latter expected to take place on opening day, Aug. 31. A previously scheduled road date at South Florida has been moved to 2029. In ACC play in 2024, the Pack will host Duke, Georgia Tech, Syracuse and Wake Forest. The road games will be Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and Pittsburgh. NC State Rifle Program Discontinued NC State athletics director Boo Cor- rigan announced March 21 that the rifle program will be discontinued. The coed sport had been sponsored since 1958. "After much consideration and a thoughtful evaluation of our program, we came to this difficult decision," Cor- rigan said in a prepared statement. "Being able to provide a top-level Division I experience for our student- athletes is our first priority, and it is no longer feasible to do this for our rifle program." Corrigan also revealed that NC State athletics will honor the scholarships of those impacted "through their under- graduate years at NC State at the level of financial aid they are presently re- ceiving." The rifle program had undergone sev- eral midyear coaching changes over the past few years. Emily Holsopple left the position in the fall of 2021 and was re- placed by Dr. Kelly Carter. Longtime NC State rifle assistant Edie Fleeman was hired by Carter in September as director of operations, and when Carter stepped down the fol- lowing month, Fleeman took over on an interim basis. Rifle is a small sport offered by only 21 other schools across the country and is not sponsored by the ACC. The sport did produce a recent Olym- pic medalist in Lucas Kozeniesky, who won a silver medal in the delayed 2020 Summer Games held in Tokyo in 2021. This past season, NC State rifle ju- nior Ben Salas qualified for the NCAA Championships and went 3-6 in duals. — Matt Carter ■ RED AND WHITE NOTEBOOK NC State and Tennessee will meet at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte in Week 2 of the 2024 season. PHOTO COURTESY ACTION SPORTS