History of the Wolfpack

The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for college football) as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for all sports since the 1953–54 season. The athletic teams of the Wolfpack compete in 23 intercollegiate varsity sports. NC State is a founding member of the ACC and has won nine national championships: three NCAA championships, two AIAW championships, and four titles under other sanctioning bodies. Most NC State fans and athletes recognize the rivalry with the North Carolina Tar Heels as their biggest.

The primary logo for NC State athletics is a red block 'S' with an inscribed 'N' and 'C'. Block S has been in use since 1890 but has seen many alterations through the years. The color red was adopted from the state bird, the cardinal. It became the sole logo for all NC State athletic teams in 2000 and was modernized to its current design in 2006.

NC State athletic teams are nicknamed the 'wolfpack'. The name was adopted in 1921 when a disgruntled fan described the behavior of some of the school's football players as being "as unruly as a pack of wolves". Prior to the adoption of the current nickname, North Carolina State athletic teams went by such names as the Aggies, the Techs, the Red Terrors, and Farmers.

College Sports Established
1911

Location
Raleigh, North Carolina

College Name
North Carolina State University

Collegiate History
1973 - Present / NCAA Division 1
1921 - 1973 / University Division of the NCAA
1911 - 1921 / Athletic Association of the United States

Conference History
1953 – Present / ACC
1921 - 1953 / Southern Conference
1911 - 1921 / South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association

Nickname
Wolfpack - The athletic teams were inconsistently referred to as “The Farmers”, “The Mechanics”, “The Aggies”, and “The Techs”.
The basketball team became known as the Red Terrors and a bull terrier named Togo became the mascot.
The nickname “Wolfpack” was first used in reference to the football team when a letter was written to the school paper complaining that the football players were as “unruly as a pack of wolves”
Chancellor J. W. Harrelson asked students to suggest a new name for the sports teams. The football team had increasingly become known as the Wolfpack, while other NC State athletic teams were still referred to as Red Terrors. The Chancellor disliked the term Wolfpack because of connotations with World War II German U-boat formations. However, the students voted overwhelmingly to keep the nickname Wolfpack and use it for all the athletic teams. Go Pack!

NCAA Championships
Baseball 0

Men's Basketball 2
1983, 1974

Women's Basketball 0

Football 0

Soccer 0