The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/644580
58 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY TIM PEELER T he first time Randy Ramsey saw NC State's undefeated 1972-73 basketball team, he was hooked for life. Something immediately clicked with the youngster from Morehead City. "I started pulling for State early on, not really knowing why I supported them," Ramsey said. "When I was 11, this guy named David Thompson shows up, along with Tommy Burleson and Monte Towe, and they didn't lose a game. They next year, they won the national championship. "By then, I was completely in. I was a lifelong State fan." In 1979, just before he became North Carolina's youngest charter boat captain, a friend gave Ramsey tickets to an NC State- Notre Dame basketball game at Reynolds Coliseum. By 1980-81, he was sharing sea- son tickets with his friend and driving from the coast for every home game to see the program fielded by exciting and excitable young coach Jim Valvano. When the Wolfpack won the 1983 NCAA championship, no one enjoyed the victory celebration more than Ramsey did. By 1987, Ramsey's charter boat business had taken off. He and a friend developed a custom design and built their dream boat, a 52-foot charter vessel called "Sensation." Be- fore long, other captains in the area wanted something similar, so Ramsey and his friend opened Jarrett Bay Boatworks, which is now the largest custom sports fishing boat con- struction company in the country. He had become more established as a businessman in Carteret County. So when young Wolfpack Club assistant direc- tor Bobby Purcell went fishing with some friends on Ramsey's charter boat, the die- hard fan gave back $100 of the fee to be- come a member of the NC State Student Aid Association. "I didn't fully understand what that contri- bution would do," Ramsey said. "It was very modest. That's how it started." Ramsey is now one of the state's most suc- cessful maritime businessmen, with nearly 100 Jarrett Bay custom boats built since 1986. He has branched out to boat repairs, storage and sales, with representatives from Maryland to Florida; opened the nation's largest marine industrial park on the banks of his coastal hometown; and developed a clothing line with three retail outlets. "He's one of the smartest businessmen I've ever met," Purcell said. Ramsey's initial small gift now has led to the two largest endowment gifts ever to NC State athletics and the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM). On Feb. 20, during the basketball team's 77-74 win over Clemson, the deferred estate gifts were announced with Purcell, NC State Chancellor Randy Wood- son, athletics director Debbie Yow and — as a late surprise — Thompson at their side. The Randy and Tiffany Ramsey Men's GAME-CHANGER Randy And Tiffany Ramsey Make A Record-Setting Donation To NC State Athletics And The College Of Veterinary Medicine