The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025 ■ 27 of players to keep in Raleigh. The col- lective did have to up its offer to two players who flirted with the idea of go- ing into the portal, but ultimately, they remained at NC State. For Vurnakes, being able to keep high-priority players with the Wolf- pack was a big victory in planning for the 2025 season. "I think every player from the 2024 roster that we wanted to retain, that had maintained eligibility, will be on the roster in 2025," Vurnakes said. "That's something our supporters can put a flag on the ground to say that they were a part of that." 'They Wanted To Come Back' While the collective played a big role in the retention of the Wolfpack's young impact players, it wasn't the only part of the decision-making process for those at the table. NC State's program, which has sold itself as a developmental team that allows homegrown talent to flour- ish, also played an integral role over the past few weeks. When Bailey was asked about his de- cision to return, he said, "I'm not in it for the money. I'm trying to play, win games and go to the next level. That's my goal and why I'm here." Bailey's line of thinking was one the collective heard from nearly ev- ery player it met with after the regular season. Each player wanted to stay in Raleigh because of who they were sur- rounded with, and most entered the conversations with the goal of sticking with the Pack. "They wanted to come back to NC State," Vurnakes said. "They loved play- ing at NC State. They loved the culture, the coaching staff and their teammates." That culture — " hard, tough, to- gether" — is what Doeren helped in- still in the Wolfpack program when he arrived in 2013. It has been pounded into the heads of every player to walk through the Murphy Center doors with the slogan plastered around the facility, all the way down to the front of the hel- mets on game day. Doeren and his staff have been able to mold those three words into the en- tire team, which helped when it came to keeping its roster together during exit meetings. The Pack only had 10 scholarship players enter the transfer portal in the first 10 days of it being open, high- lighted by sophomore wide receiver Kevin "KC" Concepcion. The rest of the entries were players in search of more playing time, which Doeren thought was a positive in the current era of col- lege football. But that total number was down from last season's total of 25 players who de- parted through the portal. Why were there fewer this time around? Doeren pointed to his team's culture as a key sticking point in the exceedingly high retention the Pack experienced this off- season. "I think it speaks to our team, our culture, our family," Doeren said. "The level of treatment that they get here, how we develop people, they know they're getting better. I think they en- joy the daily interactions, and they can see the progress. They're excited about what's happening within the walls. And there's trust." NIL And The Future Ultimately, the discussions did come back around to money on the table. NC State's collective, which also houses Savage Wolves — the football arm of the organization — proved its strength throughout the entire process. It was able to validate the collective's goals going into the transfer portal cycle by using its funding to retain players instead of building a team through col- lege football's Wild West this offseason. "I think it is a statement to the fans," Vurnakes said. "Their support of the collective has a tangible impact on what we're able to do. Every contribution matters, and that allows us to directly go out and provide opportunities to our current student-athletes to keep them in Raleigh." The 1Pack NIL collective has 1,500 members who make monthly donations. The collective's parent company, Blue- print Sports, operates 26 such groups nationally, and 1Pack NIL is its top or- ganization based on membership. It is larger than similar groups at Arkansas, Boston College, Colorado, Penn State, UCLA and Washington. That was crucial in the Pack's abil- ity to retain its current players, which Vurnakes credited to the collective's members. While the collective was able to nego- tiate deals for its players, 1Pack NIL also wrote revenue sharing into each deal for the day that it becomes legal. Colleges and universities will be able to pay their student-athletes via revenue sharing as early as July 1 as long as the House settlement is approved in the spring. Vurnakes said the impending settle- ment allowed the collective to "set the floor" for each player in their contracts. Once the schools are allowed to pay players, the collective will be viewed as "additive" and "supplemental" income, he said. For now, the collective is the one do- ing the heavy lifting. And it was able to be successful this offseason, making sure the Wolfpack kept the players it needed in order to continue its growth on the field. "We know we have some holes to fill, but I don't think it's like it was last year where we were trying to replace 20 or 30 roster positions with 45 new players in January," Vurnakes said. "That number will be significantly less. The increased continuity through retention will have an impact on the field next year, and I can't wait to see that." ■ " I think it speaks to our team, our culture, our family. The level of treatment that they get here, how we develop people, they know they're getting better. I think they enjoy the daily interactions, and they can see the prog- ress. They're excited about what's happening within the walls." Dave Doeren