The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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JULY/AUGUST 2025 ■ 49 lowed on the heels of the fight for civil rights. She was conceived in the aftermath of NC State's first team national cham- pionship, won by the 1974 men's bas- ketball squad in Greensboro. The Pack — led by David Thompson, Tom Bur- leson and Monte Towe — beat seven- time national champion UCLA in the semifinals, ending the Bruins' dynasty and ushering in a new set of fans and devotion to a sport that had grown stale by having the same champion year after year. Changes came swiftly after that title. The NCAA expanded its season-end- ing tournament, revised several rules such as the ban on dunking, and pur- sued a landmark television contract that brought the game into living rooms across the country. Women's college basketball was still in its infancy, introduced at NC State dur- ing that same season. The coed cheerleading squad, cap- tained by John Mandrano and Angela Crumpler, was intrigued by their peers at UCLA, who they first met at a made-for- television game in St. Louis in December 1973 and grew closer during their time together at the Final Four. The Bruins had both a male and female mascot, Joe and Josephine Bruin, and State's cheer- leaders liked the idea. State's male mascot was being por- trayed at the time by Jim Hefner of Hick- ory. Hefner invited his counterparts to Raleigh for the national championship parade down Hillsborough Street, and they talked about the idea of introducing a partner for Mr. Wolf (as he was then known). The male mascot was first introduced, in various ways, during the 1950s, origi- nally portrayed by drummers in the Red Coat Marching Band. They wore fiber- glass wolf heads that sent children — and their protective parents — scurrying in fright. In 1961, a male mascot was introduced wearing a loose-fitting felt costume with a floppy head. "He looked like a rat," said Hefner, who portrayed the male mascot from 1973-76. "It was pretty bad." The athletics department had a bit of a windfall after winning the basket- ball championship and had Foote de- sign a new Mr. Wolf head for the 1974- 75 school year. Hefner asked later if the squad could add a female mascot for the 1975-76 school year. Junior varsity cheerleader Elizabeth Jan Seymour of Goldsboro was chosen as the first female mascot, a year after the national championship. She made her debut at Carter Stadium on Sept. 6, 1975, in a football game against East Carolina, the same afternoon Mandrano and Crumpler debuted their hand ges- ture now known as "wolf hands" to the crowd of 47,500. State won the game, 26-3, with quar- terback Dave Buckey surpassing Roman Gabriel as NC State's all-time career passing leader. Neither NC State coach Lou Holtz nor East Carolina coach Pat Dye, both members of the College Foot- ball Hall of Fame, mentioned the new female mascot on the sidelines. Friendly Ambassadors Both the hand gesture and Ms. Wuf have endured, and the spirit-oriented traditions will celebrate the 50th anni- versary of their introductions at football games this fall. Through the years, the mascots, male and female, have fared well at national cheer competitions, where they spread NC State's unique brand in dance rou- tines and performances. In 2006, Mr. Wuf was named the nation's top mascot, and the following year Ms. Wuf repeated that accomplishment. More importantly, they remain NC State's friendliest ambassadors at games and campus events, selected through a rigorous competition. There are about a half-dozen stu- dents who portray Mr. and Ms. Wuf at any given time. About 30 students apply each year and more than a dozen are in- vited to try out for the two or three spots that are usually available, said cheer- leading coach Jenny Marks. The benefits are rewarding, for the mascots, the fans and the competing teams. "They contribute in so many ways to our game-day experience, starting with the Walk of Champions and tailgate par- ties," Marks said. "They lead the team onto the field, riding on the football hel- met cart, and they add a ton to the cheer- leaders on the sidelines by encouraging the crowd, especially with the 'Wolf' and 'Pack' chants." Ms. Wuf, a daughter of the Age of Aquarius and a fluffy but fierce femi- nist, certainly has aged well as she enters her second half-century, still leading the school in spirit activities and still de- voted to her Pack partner. ■ Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. Mr. and Ms. Wuf have served as ambassadors of the university when dignitaries arrive in Raleigh, including this visit from President Ronald Reagan. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS