Editor’s note: Information in this article, originally published Oct. 25, has been corrected. The changes include the reference to the amount of money spent on facilities, the “accolades” received by the Murphy Center and the texture of the indoor tennis facilities. All references to Russell Wilson and Ryan Harrow have been removed, as well.
It’s no secret we have the best athletic facilities in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Everyone has seen the eccentric statue of the howling wolves in front of the Murphy Center. If the statues haven’t caught your eye yet, journey inside Carter-Finley Stadium and taking in the brand new jumbotron that’s almost impossible to go unnoticed.
State also houses it’s men’s basketball program in a professional hockey arena at the RBC Center, or whatever name it will turn out to be in the future. Even the track and soccer facilities have received upgrades to expand seating, add concessions and make for a more fan-friendly experience.
There are also some face-lifts to Wolfpack facilities most would consider “under the hood,” or not commonly seen by the average fan or student. The majority will notice the polished Murphy Center looming beyond the south end zone, but if you go inside the building, there’s an entire museum of all things N.C . State football.
The Weisinger-Brown building tucked away next to Wood Hall is also a top-notch facility housing the athletics department and most of the locker rooms for many non-revenue sports. When you take the first step into the building, there’s another gaudy and unnecessary wolf statue, and this one even comes with fur and a pretty collar. But aside from that, the building also holds the basketball practice gym, which looks similar to a NBA level gym.
The tennis team’s indoor practice court is also something to behold to the eye. J.W . Isenhour tennis complex is also receiving upgrades that will include a plaza at the entrance, an electronic scoreboard, and improved seating.
However, there’s a big problem in this equation; none of this is adding up to conference championships or even enough notches in the win column to hold up a pair of pants. Yes, the football team did make a tiny ripple on the national scene by taking home the Champs Sports Bowl last season, but it still didn’t bring home an ACC title or even make it to Charlotte for the title game, which could have granted them a Bowl Championship Series birth and truly put the program under the national spotlight.
Men’s basketball has been mediocre at best despite the fact the program plays in a professional arena that doesn’t even sell out most of its games.
I have no intention of comparing our programs with that of our blue neighbors down I-40, but they have been winning despite a lack of facilities serving as the program focus. You can see from television presentations of Duke basketball that Cameron Indoor Stadium looks like a sweatbox and is even trumped in advancement by the gyms of some private high schools in this country. I’ve also visited the Dean E. Smith Center at UNC , and trust me, it’s not that much better. Maybe having a professional arena for men’s basketball still doesn’t solve the problem.
Women’s basketball reached the ACC Championship game in 2010 while earning a birth in the NCAA Tournament, but it still plays in an arena that was renovated in 2005 due to fire damage but still looks like its stuck in the mid-70s.
The golf program might be the only one living up to its facility upgrades with the construction of the Lonnie Poole Golf Course on Centennial Campus designed by golfing legend Arnold Palmer. The men’s program has garnered seven top-10 finishes this season and the women have also snatched up seven, as well as a national ranking.
Yes, I do understand that having quality facilities is an important factor to some prospects in their decision making process, but with millions of dollars being thrown by the University to make all of these upgrades and yielding almost nothing in return, something obviously isn’t adding up in this equation.