The Wolfpacker

JANUARY 2016 ■ 67 In 1995, Antonelli's first son, Joey, was born — an event that changed her career path. "I'd come back from maternity leave and was getting a lot more opportunity to do regional broadcasts and more work for ESPN," she explained. "I couldn't keep up the same schedule I'd had working full- time at OSU and doing TV on the side." Now in her 28th season of basketball coverage, Antonelli works from her home base of Mount Pleasant, S.C., a suburb of Charleston. Husband Frank runs Em- pire Sports Management, a multi-faceted conglomerate that represents players, runs sports-related events, designs golf courses and holds corporate marketing events. Her sons — Joey, 20; Frankie, 18; and Patrick, 13 — fill the non-basketball mo- ments, and in Frankie, who was born with Down Syndrome, Antonelli says she's found the embodiment of her third basic guiding principle: Empowerment. "It doesn't define who he is," she ex- plained. "It's a part of him, like having blue eyes or brown hair. That's the way we look at it and how we treat him and expect everyone else to treat him. He is smart, handsome, athletic [he swims, plays golf, lifts weights and models for two different agencies], and has already given talks on anti-bullying at universities." Antonelli hopes to use her experience with her son to eventually write a book that she hopes will help others facing similar challenges. She credits a long talk with Yow in 1998, during the Pack's Final Four trip, with helping her meet that challenge. "Coach Yow related what I was going through with her finding out she had can- cer," Antonelli recalled. "It was one of the most powerful things she ever said to me, because it was then that I decided that no one was going to tell me that Frankie couldn't do this, or won't do that. I'll find a way to make it happen — and that's a big part of what I do daily now. "My memories of NC State are all about my teammates and the bond we shared because of Coach Yow," she said. Antonelli helped lead the drive to name Reynolds Coliseum's court after Yow, and she is hop- ing to be involved in the production of a documentary on Yow's 2007 team. "She cared more for us as people than players, and that was true before it was cli- ché to say it," Antonelli said. "When they went to the Final Four in 1998, we all felt we were a part of that because that's the feeling she created with all of her players, that we were all one big family. That's the best memory, and it's an incredible build- ing block to a 28-year career in basketball that I couldn't have imagined." ■ 403 S. Broad Street, Edenton, NC 866 360 5222 6385 N. Croatan Hwy, Suite 105, Kitty Hawk, NC 800 488 3041 www.vogedesinsurance.com Vogedes InsuranceAgency, Inc. 6345 North Croatan Highway #200 Kitty Hawk, NC 27949 800•488•3041 Management Professionals, Inc. WWW.ELITE-MGMT.COM Community Association Specialist AAMC 919.233.7660 WOLFPACK CLUB WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

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