NC State Feature Stories

Recent Athletics Stories — Page 3

What They’re Saying

Members of the athletic community share their thoughts on NC State's hire of Debbie Yow as the university's athletic director.

Becoming Mr. Wuf

Zach Jones always wanted to be a hapless cartoon animal with a dangerous lifestyle and endless vitality. He was living the dream this weekend, on a quest to become the legendary Mr. Wuf. Is Zach mascot material? Follow along as the NC State freshman went under the mask, and see how his journey turned out.

A Perfect Game

Lindsay Campana, one of the ACC's top pitchers and the ace of the Wolfpack, will spend Monday afternoon helping 20 local children with disabilities experience the joys of playing softball. But unlike other matchups to be played across the conference that day, everyone on NC State's Dail Stadium diamond will truly leave the game a winner.

Honoring a Legend

The NC State Student Government is about halfway towards its goal of raising $85,000 to create a memorial for late women's basketball coach Kay Yow. The garden, called the Coaches' Corner, will eventually honor several coaches who have built championship teams at NC State. But Yow was the students' choice to be the first honoree.

Nothing But Net

Pay attention, Shaq: Two NC State engineers have figured out the best way to shoot a free throw - a frequently underappreciated skill that gets more important as the game clock winds down. For the rest of us, it's an opportunity to learn how to leave the bricks on the Brickyard and delve into the physics of a successful free throw.

Voice of the Pack

Ed Funkhouser is regarded by his colleagues as one of the Department of Communication's top faculty members - a veteran educator with decades of experience he shares with his students. But when it's time for Wolfpack football and women's basketball games, Funkhouser moves out of the classroom and behind the microphone to communicate with fans on a whole other level.

Keeter Time

Friday’s Red Rally event signifies more than the beginning of another season of NC State basketball – it’s a time for the NC State community to rally together and support one of its own. Former walk-on and four-year letterman Brian Keeter (’99-’02), who endeared himself to Wolfpack fans through hard work and a knack for piling up the points late in NC State victories, plans to return to campus for the first time since a December 2008, single-car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down.

Setting the Stage

U2’s much-anticipated appearance on campus Oct. 3 will not only mark the end of Carter-Finley Stadium’s 11-year hiatus from holding special events, it will also highlight NC State and U2 lead singer Bono’s shared passion for environmental issues while helping to bring more than 1,500 temporary jobs to workers in our community.

Cousins Who Serve

First Lieutenant Christopher Young has never needed to write a letter to the parents of one of his Marines, explaining why their son won't be coming home from Afghanistan. And that's why the former NC State football player from Raleigh was recently awarded the Bronze Star for bravery – protecting his platoon during a hellacious month in Afghanistan's southern Helmand Province. Some of the support Young received while in the field came from a squadron of Cobra attack helicopters – just like the one his cousin, Captain Drew Wimsatt, was flying over the region. Wimsatt, a defensive end for the Wolfpack from 2000-02, has completed several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and recently sent NC State head football coach Tom O'Brien, a former Marine officer, a flag that Wimsatt kept in the cockpit of his helicopter.

An On-Course Education

Many golfers already know that NC State's Lonnie Poole Golf Course was designed by the legendary Arnold Palmer, and they can't wait for their chance to hone their skills on the 250-acre, Centennial Campus masterpiece. But the course will grow into a into another role as a 250-acre outdoor classroom and "living laboratory" for students and faculty, some of whom don't even play golf.

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