Over the last week, there’s been a lot of talk about the word loyalty and what it truly means to NC State.
After Will Wade’s departure, NC State hired former player Justin Gainey to lead its men’s basketball program, and Gainey didn’t mince words in his opening press conference.
“We’re going to build this program that reflects [Wolfpack nation’s] energy, your toughness and your commitment,” Gainey said. “We will compete every single day to represent this university in the best way it possibly can.”
Players, coaches and donors — both past and present — gathered to celebrate the hiring and hear Gainey’s plans for the future of the program, including NC State baseball head coach Elliott Avent, who delayed midseason practice to welcome Gainey to Raleigh.
“I wouldn’t have missed that press conference for all the tea in China,” Avent said. “I wanted to be there to see us bring back somebody that I think represents who we’re all about.”
That raises the question: What is NC State all about, and how do you represent it?
According to Avent, look no further than the rest of NC State’s athletic programs.
“That’s what Dave Doeren does,” Avent said. “He’s had a lot of success here, but he’s always represented the program the way it’s supposed to be represented. That goes down the line: [swim head coach] Braden Holloway, [wrestling head coach] Pat Popolizio, [women’s basketball head coach] Wes Moore…”
Doeren has the most wins in program history and boasts the fourth-longest tenure in the FBS. Holloway is a 11x ACC Coach of the Year and sits second in the ACC all-time for most awards won. Popolizio has coached four national champions and 31 All-Americans. Moore guided his team to three-straight ACC Tournament titles, the first head coach in program history to do so.
But more than that, each coach has built their program from the ground up and has continued to write their names into the history books at NC State. Each coach has been in Raleigh for over a decade, something that today’s transactional market has turned into a rarity.
“They just represent our program the way we think it should be represented in a day and age when that’s not always the case,” Avent said. “People are making decisions based on just winning and all this crazy stuff that’s going on in college. That’s not what I grew up with.”
Then there’s Avent himself — the winningest coach in program history — in his 30th season at NC State. He’s been so successful for so long that he sits in third place in wins among active head coaches, and has taken the Wolfpack to the NCAA Tournament in 17 of his last 20 seasons.
If anyone can speak on loyalty and program development, it’s Avent.
So, when questions emerge about Gainey’s future at NC State and the future of the men’s basketball program, look to the legacy that the rest of the Wolfpack coaches have created. The blueprint is right there for copying.
“College athletics needs to tone it back a little bit and reassert itself and figure out what it’s all about,” Avent said. “That’s what Justin Gainey brings to NC State.”
In a time when college sports can feel increasingly transactional — where rosters flip overnight and coaches chase the next opportunity — NC State has long prided itself on something different. Its greatest programs haven’t been built overnight, but through years of trust, consistency and a shared belief in what it means to represent the university.
Gainey now steps into that tradition.
The expectations in Raleigh aren’t just about wins and losses. They’re about building something that lasts, something that reflects the toughness, loyalty and pride that Wolfpack fans see in the coaches who have defined the athletic program for decades. If Gainey follows the path of those coaches, success will come in time.
“I hope he’s here for 30 years,” Avent said. “But more than that, I just hope he has a great time, and he’s going to represent this program the way NC State people want it to be represented.”
Because at NC State, loyalty isn’t just a word that gets thrown around — it’s the foundation that programs are built on.
