The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1506671
4 ■ THE WOLFPACKER PHOTO BY SIMON GRIFFITHS I was 29 years old when I started pub- lishing The Wolfpacker in 1980, and I will be 73 years old this October. I have decided to step down from the manage- ment role at my company, which I sold to On3 in November 2021, while I still have some sense (many say I waited too long). I will stay on in a limited role, help- ing with editing and proofreading (if you find a mistake in the magazine, just know I didn't see that page). Looking back at the start of The Wolf- packer and all that has happened since has been much more emotional than I anticipated. I had never truly stopped to think about the overwhelmingly positive impact the people at NC State have had on my company and my life. The Start Of The Wolfpacker In the early summer of 1980, I read that a company, which published glossy magazines covering sports at individual colleges, was going out of business. The idea of combining two of my pas- sions in life — publishing and sports — was extremely exciting, and I immediately started investigating the possibilities. NC State was my focus. I had idolized Wolfpack quarterback Roman Gabriel as a kid; had cried when the 1967 White Shoes football team lost its first game of the season to Penn State after an 8-0 start; had gotten up in the early morn- ing hours to watch the Pack win the 1978 Great Alaskan Shootout, a preseason bas- ketball tournament in Anchorage; loved the hoops squads of the David Thomp- son era; and liked the Wolfpack people I dealt with during my bumper sticker venture. (Six years earlier — almost 50 years ago — I produced and sold the only national championship bumper sticker for the Pack's 1974 men's basketball title — a story for another time.) NC State was the only college I initially applied to attend. I got accepted and planned to major in a new program the school was starting called computer sci- ence. I was struggling with high school physics, and a review of the syllabus for the program gave me chills. I quickly sent off requests for applications from other schools and ended up going elsewhere for college, but my appreciation for the Wolf- pack never wavered during those years. When this opportunity came up, I was living in Winston-Salem and working for a regional magazine that covered the Triad area of Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem. I wanted to see if NC State fans had an interest in a newspaper covering Wolfpack sports like I did and arranged a meeting with diehard Pack fans Erv Thompson and Grady Sykes, who both lived in Winston-Salem (I got their names from the Wolfpack Club). Grady and Erv were very supportive and encouraging, and wrote letters to the Wolfpack Club, urging the organization to support the publication. Fired up by their response and the in- put from others I sought out, I arranged meetings at NC State with its two new head coaches, Jim Valvano in basketball and Monte Kiffin in football, and sports information director Ed Seaman. Valvano was gung-ho about the ven- ture, saying he would write a column for the publication and promising 300 sub- scriptions from his family members and friends (only his Uncle Vito subscribed, and he didn't renew). Monte wasn't that interested in the idea — but was very supportive after we started publishing The Wolfpacker. The next day, I met with Ed, who had invited athletics director Willis Casey, a tough, no-nonsense administrator, assis- tant athletics director Frank Weedon and executive director of the Wolfpack Club Charlie Bryant to join us. I went over my vision for the publica- tion and answered a few questions. Then Mr. Casey gruffly said, "I don't give a damn what you do, just don't come asking us for help." "Yes, sir," I replied, trying to keep my voice from squeaking and making a men- tal note to myself to be sure I honored Mr. Casey's demand. I returned to Winston-Salem, excited and uncertain. Going into business for myself had always been a goal. I was a sports fanatic, and I wanted to have a ca- reer in publishing. The decision to start my own business was difficult — the minuses (limited capi- tal, no experience, no product knowledge) far outweighed the pluses. (I was pas- sionate about the idea, had unfounded LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER ❱ STU COMAN Goodbye (Sort Of), And Go Pack! The first world headquarters for The Wolfpacker was in the kitchen of a second-floor apartment in an old house, located at 125 Woodburn Road in the Cameron Park neighborhood off Hillsborough Street in Raleigh. The rent, which included all utilities but the phone, was $140 a month. The apartment served as the company office for five years.