The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/337646
28 ■ THE WOLFPACKER "We are at eight plus one and in divi- sions. That won't change very easily." There was some mention about Duke and NC State playing a non-conference game. Is that a possibility down the road? "It is for us, but they have to want to do it as well." Update us on the Reynolds Coliseum renovation and the indoor practice facility and the impact they can have? "The indoor practice facility should be up, hopefully, in February or March of next year, and it's going to be what it needs to be for our teams, primarily for our field teams. Football, though, will always have priority. They need it very badly. We had one of our wettest springs. It was very tough on our football team to try to practice under those conditions. It really is a need, not a want. "It will also be helpful for our track teams, and occasionally you will see soft- ball or soccer in there. "Reynolds is a spectacular project for a minimal amount of money. It will cost $35 million, and it's the only project ever in the history of our athletics program where the university has said, 'We'll pay a sizeable amount of this.' They are paying $15 mil- lion. Our part is 20. We couldn't do this by ourselves. "That iconic building, Reynolds Coli- seum, is over 60 years old. The time has come where we are either going to take care of the building or it's going to fall down around us. There is going to be a new roof. There will be air conditioning. All the structural issues that a building 60 years old can have will be fixed: new windows, new doors, new ticket booths. "What I am genuinely excited about is the new office areas for women's basketball and volleyball, and beyond that the Walk of Fame and History and what that's turned into. It is spectacular. "Literally there is nothing like it in the country because of the elongated shape of the building. It allowed us the space to do some things that other places don't have. We're still going to have about 5,500 seats. People think we have 11 or 12,000 right now. We don't, we have about 8,000-plus in there right now. "We'll still play a men's exhibition game in there, and if we have a regular-season contract game in a vacation time for the students, then we can go back into the build- ing. I think people, once they see it and understand what has happened, are going to love it. "There are nine hallowed spaces on cam- pus, and only two of them are actually build- ings. One is the Bell Tower and the other is Reynolds Coliseum, so we need to take care of it." Where would the teams that use Reyn- olds play their games while the building is being renovated? "Everybody will move out probably in March of 2015. Women's basketball is likely to end up at Broughton High School. They seat about 3,000, I think, and we like their locker rooms and the sports medicine area. "Volleyball and gymnastics could end up in Carmichael Gym on campus for their seasons. I'm not sure what's happening yet with wrestling. We have people working on that." Are any other major projects on the horizon? "There isn't anything on the horizon. At some point, we want to do something for baseball, and we've discussed it internally for months. We are just not there. I am not planning on asking the Wolfpack Club to do anything else until they tell me they are comfortable with where we are in these two projects. "We are going to be fine with these two because we have some magnificent naming opportunities, especially in Reynolds where there are so many. I really look forward to when we open Reynolds and have a special viewing for our most faithful members of the Wolfpack Club because there will have been so much time and energy in doing this the right way. "I know how much pride they are going to have when they see all of our history finally displayed in one space. We'll recognize men's basketball and football even though they have other spaces in their respective buildings. It all needs to be together so when a visitor comes on campus they can go in one place and really get a sense of what has been achieved here over the years." Speaking of history, Russell Wilson was back in the spring. What was the process of bringing him back and honoring him? "We wanted to honor him and the other members of our teams that had been in the Super Bowl. We also wanted to honor Mario Williams, and he will be recognized during a game in our football season. Russell was able to come back for the spring game. It's special. It was great to see him. "He had a magnificent presentation for our football team. That was as important as anything he did here that weekend, talking about the pride that you feel representing NC State and having confidence and faith in each other to get something special done here." The men's basketball team had a low Academic Progress Rate (APR) number this past year. Is that a concern? "It's a single-year APR and has nothing to do with the four-year rate. It's just one year. We're not anticipating problems. "I think it's rare you have three people leave at one time that didn't finish the se- mester." Financially, how is the athletic depart- ment faring? "I have to feel good about the fact that we are able to pay all our bills and save some money. We have a reserve for operations that is growing slowly, but is growing. It was a little over $1 million when I got here, and Yow called the renovation of Reynolds Coliseum "a spectacular project for a minimal amount of money," and it will include a new roof and air conditioning for the iconic building. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN 26-28,30.32.Interview With Yow.indd 28 6/27/14 12:02 PM