Over 57,000 fans come out to Carter Finley Stadium to celebrate whenever the North Carolina State Wolfpack come home to hunt. They defend their home against all comers with the strength and ferocity of a serious wolf pack, bringing their A-Game to delight fans from all nearby cities and across the country. Fans will tell you that the best Wolfpack games are always at home because everyone knows that a team plays the hardest in their field. Even if you are a fan of the visiting team, you can’t deny that this program puts out their best offensive and defensive plays on full display for all of their home games. That’s why fans of the Red and White always eagerly count the days before the next Wolfpack appearance.
Just imagine, you could watch the strategies that long-time seasoned Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren is bringing to the table to push the Wolfpack further than they have last year. Even when North Carolina State struggles, they still put up a serious fight as your favorite players from previous seasons work with bright and shining rookies and hopefuls, to keep the on-field action hot all season long. So if you want to catch the plays that highlight reels miss and avoid missing the intense edge-of-your-seat action, then there’s one thing left to do. Join the hunt and make sure you don’t miss out on home games at Carter Finley Stadium.
But make sure you act fast because long-time fans are already snapping up the best seats in the house.
The Basics You Need to Know about the Wolfpack
The NC State Wolfpack is one of the teams that joined the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision after spending time in the Southern Conference. The switch came after the team joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1953 and led to them becoming one of the founding members. During their time with the ACC, the Wolfpack hs won notoriety for winning seven conference championships and participating in 31 Bowl games, of which they 17 were won including 8 of their last 11. The team is known for its being one of the programs that keep a live mascot on the field. In their case, they have a wolf-like Tamaskan Dog named “Tuffy” who remained on the sidelines at all Carter-Finley Stadium games since September 16, 2010.
The program is also known for having more rivalries than many other universities with 5 heated matches that fans get to look forward to every year. These rivalries include North Carolina who, while members of separate divisions in the Atlantic Coast Conferences, are designated as cross-over rivals. The teams play at least once every year including a 2019 battle in Raleigh. Currently, North Carolina leads the series at 66-36-6 as of 2018. Wake Forest is another heated rival for the Wolfpack as both programs are members of the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Currently, NC State leads the series at 66-40-6 as of 2018. Clemson has one of the more bitter rivalries with the Wolfpack, as they face off in the Atlantic Division. Currently, Clemson dominates the series at 58-28-1 as of 2018. Speaking of bitter rivalries, we can’t forget how East Carolina and NC State have battled from as far back as 1970. The teams played annually until 1987 where they now face each other infrequently with their next meeting to come in 2022. Currently, NC State leads the rivalry at 18-13. Finally, South Carolina and NC State formed a rivalry in the early days of the Atlantic Coast Conference with South Carolina narrowly leading the series at 28-26-4 as of 2017. But since South Carolina left the ACC, the teams no longer face off annually making this a potentially cooling rivalry.
Finally, there have been 8 jersey numbers retired in the history of the Wolfpack with two more that are honored but available to future players who will wear patches recognizing former number holders.
How Carter-Finley Stadium Got a Bold New Look and Design
The need for a new Wolfpack stadium began as soon as the 1950s when State was looking to replace its on-campus facility, Riddick Stadium. The old stadium was built with concrete-and-wood in 1907 and was showing its age with only 14,000 permanent seats and no more than 23,000 seats available. Because of the age of the stadium, many of the longtime coach Earle Edwards’ teams played more road games than at home. It was Edwards’ urging that finally prompted the campus to take a concerted effort to modernize the stadium.
The new stadium was finally opened in 1966 and was originally named Carter Stadium in honor of graduates of the university. But Finley was later added to the stadium name in honor of a major university contributor as of September 1979. The stadium was built on University land but was a few miles west of the academic campus and was such a success that season tickets were sold out for an incredible streak of nine straight years. It also features the smallest clearance between stands and the sidelines of any stadium in the ACC. The stadium features retired numbers displayed on the west facade as well as banners from NC State’s Bowl appearances including the Gator Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Liberty Bowl.
But this stadium needed further renovation which led to further modernization in 2001 that included enclosing the southern end zone with seats and the Murphy Center built behind it. The stadium was later expanded in 2004 with the Vaughn Towers, a group of luxury boxes, club seats, and media facilities that were ready for the 2005 season. The following year, a new north end zone grandstand was added with 5,730 new seating including handicap-accessible seating as well as 1,630 permanent bleacher seats built beneath the video scoreboard giving it a capacity of 57,583. Revisions and upgrades would include expanded plaza space for concession stands and expanded space for large video screens on each corner of the south end zone.
From a humble origin at Riddick Stadium, the Wolfpack can now enjoy playing home games in the modern and comfortable Carter-Finley Stadium.