In the official grand opening of Reynolds Coliseum, NC State fans, alumni and Hall of Fame members gathered together to marvel at the new space and honor new inductees into the Hall of Fame Friday.
The black tie affair started off with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, allowing the guests to mingle and look around the Walk of Fame and History, which is located in the Grand Hall. Glass cases hold jerseys, gear and memorabilia of famous NC State athletes and coaches alike.
The Grand Hall also displays a row of stainless steel wolf sculptures and multimedia displays that highlight university and athletic legacies. To the left of the main hall, one can even find a piece of the original Kay Yow court displayed on the wall for all to see.
A new and highly anticipated addition to Reynolds is the “Coaches’ Corner.” This area outside the stadium memorializes four legendary Wolfpack basketball coaches: Everett Case, Norm Sloan, Kay Yow and Jim Valvano.
Case is shown holding a basketball in one hand and a net in the other. Sloan is shown holding the trophy from the 1974 National Championship. Yow is shown smiling and holding an Olympic medal in one hand and the other is raised, throwing up the classic celebratory wolf hand. Valvano is shown with a big smile on his face, both arms in the air and the net from the 1983 National Championship clutched in his hand.
“There are no words that can really say how I feel, it seems like he’s alive again,” Pam Valvano Strasser told The News & Observer. “He would be so proud to see it and I think it looks very much like him.”
The Hall of Fame induction started with a video about Reynolds, from when it was first built to the present renovations and all of the history in between. Then, Chancellor Randy Woodson and Athletics Director Debbie Yow said a few words, followed by Gary Hahn, who is the radio voice of the Wolfpack, coming out to introduce some of the current members of the Hall of Fame.
After that, NC State welcomed six members into the 2016 class of the Athletic Hall of Fame: Dave Robertson, Dick Christy, Stan Cockerton, Linda Page, Don Easterling and the 1974 men’s basketball team.
Robertson, a four-sport athlete at NC State from 1909-12, went on to become a pro baseball player for over nine seasons. He twice led the National League in home runs and helped the New York Giants win the 1922 World Series. He died at age 81 in 1970 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Christy was a star halfback on the football team from 1955-57 and led the Wolfpack to its first ACC Championship title by scoring all 29 points to beat South Carolina 29-26. He was then selected in the third round of the 1958 NFL Draft and played for the Steelers, Patriots and Titans. In 1966, he died at age 30 in a one-car accident in Chester, Pennsylvania.
Cockerton was the top college lacrosse scorer from 1977-80. He scored 193 goals and 280 points in 44 career games. In 1979, he led NC State to its only NCAA Championship appearance. The Canada native helped his country win its only world lacrosse championship and is the only NC State Hall of Fame athlete to be inducted for a sport that is no longer played at NC State.
Page was a two-time All-American basketball player for the great Kay Yow from 1982-85. She helped lead the team to four consecutive NCAA Championship appearances, two regular season ACC titles and the 1985 ACC Championship title. She is still the program’s second all-time scorer with 2,037 career points. She died in 2011 in her hometown, Philadelphia.
Easterling was a legendary Wolfpack swim coach from 1970-97. He led the men’s team to 15 ACC titles, 12 of which were consecutive. He also started the women’s program in 1976 and helped them win two ACC titles. He has coached 24 men’s and 16 women’s All-Americans, two men’s national champions, four men’s USA Swimming Champions and seven Olympians. He also led the men’s team to the most incredible team championship: the 1973 team won every event in the ACC Championships.
And last, but certainly not least, the 1974 men’s basketball team was inducted into the Hall of Fame. This team is still remembered as one of the best college basketball teams in history. After a perfect 27-0 regular season record, the Wolfpack finished the season with a record of 30-1 and brought NC State its first NCAA Championship in any sport. They beat Maryland in one of the greatest games for the ACC Championship and ended UCLA’s seven-year streak by defeating them in the semifinals, then going on to beat Marquette for the championship title.
Eddie Biedenbach, a former NC State basketball player was included in the 1974 Men’s Basketball Hall of Fame team, as he was assistant coach at the time.
“The core of NC State’s rich athletic tradition is not the building,” Biedenbach said. “It’s our athletes, the teams and our coaches that have built great tradition in athletics.”
Reynolds Coliseum is now open to the public and hosts volleyball, women’s basketball, gymnastics and wrestling. The renovation is not only aesthetically pleasing, but is a major upgrade for the athletes who practice and play here. New offices, locker rooms, seating and center-hung video board will enhance the game for athletes, coaches and fans alike. But the most noticeable change is that air conditioning will run for the first time since the arena was opened 67 years ago. Wolfpack fans of all ages can come to Reynolds to enjoy the new look while reliving the past in the Walk of Fame.
The 1974 Men's Basketball team is inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame during the Reynolds Coliseum Grand Reopening Celebration on Sept 16. Under Norm Sloan's coaching, the team had a 30-1 record on their way to NC State's first national championship. The team took the Wolfpack to victory, beating number 5 Maryland in overtime, 103-100.
