The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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26 ■ THE WOLFPACKER "The part we play is being sure that they have everything they need and as much as possible that they want so that he or she doesn't ever have that feeling about being here. "I would say it will be more challenging here, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. Braden's already proven that with what he achieved. "We approach them all individually. They all have different personalities and different priorities. You have conversations and talk with them about it. You make sure they know that they are appreciated by extending con- tracts and raises." You have a new volleyball coach in Linda Hampton-Keith. What are your first impressions? "She's a whirlwind, and so is her staff. She hired two former head coaches in college volleyball, which is very smart of her. We had our first ever top-20 volleyball recruit sign with us. She did that within about three weeks of coming here. "They are off and running, and will have the first event in the new Reynolds, hosting a tournament." Reynolds Coliseum is getting close to being finished. What's the latest on the progress? "It's everything I hoped it would be right now. Every idea that we had, that we took years to discuss, to try to determine the look and feel of the place, molding the best of the old and the best of the new, has been imple- mented. "It's not completely done, but I was in re- cently to take another tour with Michael Lip- itz, who is the chair of the building committee and associate AD here for internal operations. He is doing a tremendous job leading that construction project. "The strange, oblong shape that coach Ev- erett Case required so that we could get more seats in Reynolds than Duke at Cameron In- door Stadium — the buildings have the same footprint plan — has played to our advantage. "We could slide the court to the side and then create this massive space on two levels for the Walk of Fame and History. There is nothing like it in the United States. I don't think anyone would consciously build a building in this way for that, and I've never seen anything like this. "We've taken full advantage of that shape to fit everything in it that we could jam into it for the Walk of Fame and History." What are the plans for the grand opening? "The ribbon-cutting is the same night for the athletics' Hall of Fame induction cer- emony, which is Sept. 16, a Friday evening. We can't do it any other way because they will be working on this right down to the wire. "We have so many of the Wolfpack family coming back for that Hall of Fame ceremony with the 1974 championship team. We're ex- pecting at least 1,000 people, probably 1,500. "It's going to be special." You mentioned how volleyball just signed a top-20 recruit and women's bas- ketball has back-to-back ranked classes. Wresting also signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. How have the Reyn- olds Coliseum renovations contributed to this success? "There is no question that 17-year-olds care about their facilities and want to be proud of where they are competing. Reynolds has been very helpful in that area. "They also care about who the coaches are, and it's very clear that we've hired a number of the best. Our student-athletes are never go- ing to be disappointed about their experiences here. It's a combination of those. "We have seven people who are our sports supervisors. On a day-to-day basis, they are committed to meeting the needs of their coaches. "We just lost one of them, Sherard Clink- scales. He was hired to be the athletics direc- tor at Indiana State. I'm proud of that. "We've hired Raymond Harrison from Texas A&M. He had also been at the Uni- versity of South Carolina. He's a very ex- perienced senior-level administrator. He's going to be very good for us and bring some new ideas. "Sherard and I have been texting back and forth. He's learning what it is to be an AD and drink water from a fire hose." How many current athletics directors have worked for you? "I probably have 10 or 11. I've had one retire. It's fun to see them succeed. I have two to three more here right now that will become ADs probably in the next few years. "I don't want to see them go, but I am go- ing to help them because that's what I should be doing." With Reynolds ready to wrap up, are there any new projects on the horizon? "Absolutely, I am focused on right now with finishing the plans for Case Commons. We have not started construction yet. That's another piece for our success in recruiting. Coach Gottfried has a picture of the residence hall in his office. It's just lovely. "I am thrilled that the basketball players are going to be back on campus. We can keep better tabs on who is coming in and out of that building as related to agents." What is the state of the budget? "We are going to pay all of our bills again. It's tight every year. We've managed to in- crease our operating reserves from $1 mil- lion to $5 million over the last six years, but it could have easily been $15 million. We have spent $10 million ourselves in athletics. Whether it's locker rooms or office suites, these things add up. "Instead of going to the Wolfpack Club to ask for that help, we've done it out of our own revenues and operating budget. That meant it wasn't available to put into reserves. We've literally been able to save $15 million over the last six years, but we only have five of it because we spent the rest of it on the teams and coaches. "It's all about elevating the programs, and you have to have the right personnel here and reasonable facilities. We had a boom in con- struction here in the late '90s, early 2000s, and now we are having another one. "Sometimes people will say to me, 'Will there ever be an end to that?' I say, 'No, that's not how it is.' Our coaches are watching ev- erything that others have. It isn't that we have to better than them, we just have to have a critical mass. "I am a big believer in overachieving. We don't have to have the best of the best, but we at least need to be in the ballpark to compete." Reynolds Coliseum will celebrate its $35-mil- lion renovation with a Grand Reopening Gala Sept. 16 that will be headlined by the induc- tion of the Hall of Fame's 2016 class. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN