The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1538921
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2025 ■ 35 ebration on campus. Many attribute its popularity to Hall of Fame women's bas- ketball coach Kay Yow, who was hired the same year and was an early proponent of using it when she addressed Wolfpack fans during her pioneering 35-year ca- reer at the school. At that same game, the cheerleading squad introduced another tradition on the Wolfpack sidelines: Miss Wolf, one of college athletics first female mascots. (Her story is detailed in the July/August 2025 edition of The Wolfpacker maga- zine.) There have been some significant adjustments to her story through the years — notably she changed her name to Ms. Wuf when she married NC State's male mascot, Mr. Wuf, in 1981 — but she remains the most feminine part of the Pack, a comfort to fans of all ages and a foil to her somewhat more fierce husband. Likely, every fan has a favorite tradi- tion when they visit Carter-Finley Sta- dium, from the Walk of Champions to the halftime show and songs played by the school's marching band, known since the 1990s as the Power Sound of the South. Here are just a few of the modern foot- ball traditions, and a few that have faded away through the years. Pregame Tailgating: From the day it first opened in October 1966, Carter (now Carter-Finley) Stadium was different from most of the other facilities in the state and around the Southeast in that it had ample room for parking. For more than a decade, those spaces were unre- served general admission, color coded for convenience and free to season-ticket holders and other guests at the games. "Parking has always been the crown jewel for college sports, and NC State football had lots of it," said former Wolfpack Club executive director K.M. "Charlie" Bryant, who took over leader- ship in the club in 1977. Bryant believed the athletics depart- ment could benefit from charging money for the convenience parking near the sta- dium. In 1978, he proposed an annual $5 parking fee to athletics director Wil- lis Casey. Chancellor Joab Thomas ap- proved the move. "Tailgating has been a real tradition," Bryant said. "It's been almost as big a part of the game as the game itself. It has helped fundraising, and it helped create more interest in tailgating. "People wanted to park near their friends and were willing to pay for the privilege. It created more interest in buy- ing tickets and giving money. People be- came enthralled with their parking space because it helped them create friend- ships that lasted a lifetime." Originally, parking fees were used for the upkeep and improvement of the parking lots, but they eventually went to the Wolfpack Club's general fund that paid for scholarships and facilities, Bry- ant said. In the late 1990s, legislators encour- aged schools like NC State, UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke to crack down on alcohol use on city streets and public parking lots, putting a cramp in some tailgating traditions. In 2005, after a shooting at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds parking lots adjacent to Carter-Finley Stadium, the school began to tinker with the amount of time before kickoff fans could arrive at the stadium complex. Currently, there is a five-hour window for tailgating for most Wolfpack home games. Pass-outs: Fans enjoyed the ability to tailgate so much they went back to finish what they had started, creating the unique NC State football tradition of halftime pass-outs. Early on, all a ticket holder needed to do was show a ticket stub to return to the stadium after half- time. When tailgates became more ex- pansive, with fans bringing televisions or watching the stadium video boards, return tickets were given out as fans left at halftime and needed to be shown to get back inside. Of course, some chose never to come back in or to stay out long after the sec- ond-half kickoff, something that has bothered coaches from Monte Kiffin to Dave Doeren because they sense a lack of support at a critical point in the game. There has long been talk of eliminat- ing the practice, but so far no chancel- lor, athletics director or coach has been able to convince fans that it's a negative tradition. "I'm from the old school, I guess," Bry- ant said. "If you have something that's working for the people who are paying the bills, it's best to keep it in place." Walk of Champions: Among the many things former Wolfpack player, assistant coach and defensive coordina- tor Chuck Amato introduced when he was named head coach at his alma mater was the so-called "Walk of Champions," a pregame ritual in which the players and coaches are delivered to a bus stop on Trinity Road to parade among fans lined up on either side of a walkway that leads to the Murphy Center. The march- ing band, with great pomp, cheerleaders and the dance team, plus a vocal spirit, lead the team into the stadium. When Tom O'Brien succeeded Amato, NC State's marching band, the Power Sound of the South, has more than 300 members, including musicians, twirlers, dancers and color guard members. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS