The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1506671
I have been very blessed to have made a living doing something I loved for a school I loved, and in some cases for schools I came to love. It all started, though, with the school I love the most — NC State. These are some of my many Wolfpack memories that I will treasure the rest of my life: • Taking my oldest son Jay (he ended up wrestling for the Wolfpack) and my nephew Creed Wood to games at Carter-Finley and Reynolds, and eating afterwards or before at Brothers or Two Guys on Hillsborough Street. • Riding to games with Larry Parrish and his son Andy when I could no longer drive (I reached legally blind status at 51 and could no longer pass the driver's license vision test). We solved all the Wolfpack's prob - lems on the trips from Durham. • Being saved by Coach V at a Wolfpack Club meet- ing in Winston-Salem about a month after the national championship win. I was allowed to speak to the over 300-person crowd to promote the book we were publishing on the season. As I walked back to my seat the event moderator said, "Stu does a great job on The Wolfpacker. The only problem is he went to Carolina." There were a smattering of boos, before Valvano stood up and said, "It just shows what a person can do with- out a formal education." Everybody started laughing. V had rescued me. • Going to the circus with sports information direc- tor Ed Seaman, who was so supportive of what I was trying to do. • Traveling with executive director Charlie Bryant, Club assistant director Mark Moeller, Coach V and foot- ball head coach Monte Kiffin and others to Wolfpack Club meetings all over the state. The best part was the storytelling in the van we traveled in. No matter how many times I heard the same story, I would laugh until it hurt. • Meeting Carter Cheves for the first time. Carter, an NC State grad in turf grass management, wanted to work for The Wolfpacker. We met at my second-floor apartment on Woodburn Road in Raleigh. While he wasn't impressed with my kitchen office, Carter was enthusiastic and passionate. He started helping me, with the blessing of his wife, Jan. We had a great time working hard to get the company in decent shape. I'm not sure I could have survived without Carter. • Eating lunch with Carter and late golf coach Rich - ard Sykes at Amedeo's restaurant in Raleigh. Richard was so funny, and we always had answers for the Wolf- pack's issues in any sport (a recurring theme in my life). • Getting thrown under the bus by football recruit- ing coordinators Bobby Purcell and Jeff Long. Jeff and Bobby called me and said I had to come and talk head coach Tom Reed out of putting the wolf logo in four spots on a campus photo on one side of a postcard they wanted to use to send messages to recruits. It will look terrible, they insisted. I showed up for the meeting and made my case for a clean, uncluttered look to Coach Reed. "I like the four wolves. Bobby and Jeff, what do you think?" asked Reed. "We love them, Coach," they both said. "Then that is what we are going to do" said Reed, who then left the room. "What the hell, you guys turned on me," I yelled. "We aren't going against Coach. You didn't get it done," they told me. • Spending time, mostly on the phone, with Mac Daughety, Tom Speight and Gary Brewbaker. These three diehard Wolfpack fans brought sunshine to some dark days in my early years. And like with others, we knew what the coaches needed to do. • Attending NC State basketball practices with as - sistant sports information director Mike Finn. Valvano's first top recruit was Dinky Proctor, who did not live up to his high school hype. During one practice, Dinky took a shot from the corner, and the ball hit the side of the backboard. V turned us and quipped, "Another Proctile." That became our term for a bad shot. (I want to mention that in our pickup basketball games at Carmi- chael Gym, Mike had many more Proctiles than I did.) • Hearing head women's basketball coach Kay Yow and her assistant Nora Lynn Finch discuss their vision for the future of their sport in the early 1980s next to the track at State. I was very skeptical of their dreams for their sport, and, thankfully, I was wrong. Everything they discussed happened — sellout games, contests on television. • Appreciating how Wolfpack Club secretary Ruth Curlee (now Ruth Aldridge) would continuously urge their members to subscribe to The Wolfpacker. • Enjoying my time with Wolfpack Club assistant directors Joe Hull, Buzzy Correll, Brandon Cunning - ham, Pat Joyce, Donnell Priest, Will Chriscoe and Phil Pilewski while they served as the Wolfpack Club's liai- son to The Wolfpacker. I had plenty of fun with these sharp young men. • Appreciating all the help we received from associ- ate athletics director for communications Annabelle Myers and her former assistant Brian Reinhardt. • Reading the excellent articles by the writers, staff and freelancers, who have contributed to The Wolf- packer — Matt Carter (he has covered the Wolfpack for 19 years, the most of any of our employees), Ryan Tice (his 14 years only trail Matt), Tim Peeler (his 20- year tenure is the longest of any freelance writer), George Benedict, Todd McGee, Bruce Winkworth, Scott Vogelsberg, Scott Keepfer, Josh Orenstein, Devin Steele, Jason Simon, Terry Kelley and Doug Herakovich — and marveling at the outstanding photography by Simon Griffiths, Ken Martin and Larry Blankenship. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2023 ■ 5 Some Of My Favorite Wolfpack Memories confidence and could work long hours.) Then, I received a handwritten letter from Coach Valvano that gave me the final push I needed. Game on! The First Issue Of The Wolfpacker Benson Newspaper Printing printed 10,000 copies of the inaugural issue, a 16-page tabloid-size, black-and- white newspaper with four pages that included the color red. My brother Kim, his then-wife Harriet, and several friends helped me hand out the issues at NC State's football game with Wake Forest on Sept. 27, 1980. I walked through the stands several times during the game and was pumped to see fans reading the publication. NC State was win- ning, and I was anticipating 500 subscriptions from the promotional giveaway. However, Wake Forest scored on a big play very late in the game to take the lead. All over the stadium, State fans were throwing down their cop- ies of The Wolfpacker in disgust over the score. The Wolfpack lost the game, and we only received 50 orders the next week. The start of Coman Publishing did not go as I planned, and it would get worse before it got better. Meeting With Willis Casey After publishing about 10 issues of The The first issue of The Wolfpacker, dated September 30, 1980, featured defensive lineman Ricky Etheridge on the cover. This issue is the 675th edition of the magazine.