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North Carolina State University Athletics History
Timeline of Athletics at NCSU

Skip to Any Decade:

1890   1900   1910   1920   1930   1940    1950   1960   1970    1980   1990   2000

1890s

1892

The first official football game is played against Raleigh Academy, a local prep school. North Carolina A & M wins 12-6. Team colors are pink and blue.

1894

The first official baseball game is played, against Guilford College.

1895

Football becomes the first team to wear red and white uniforms.

1898

The first track team is organized for intercollegiate competition but is disbanded after the season. Track does not reappear at State until 1905.


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1890   1900   1910   1920   1930   1940    1950   1960   1970    1980   1990   2000

1900s

1902

The first NCSU-Wake Forest Easter Monday baseball game is played, a tradition that would last until 1947.

1907

The first on-campus football game is played at the new athletic field that would later become Riddick Stadium. The game ends with a 20-0 victory over Randolph-Macon College. The team also wins the Southern Intercollegiate Association championship, with six wins and one tie.

Baseball claims its first state championship with a 14-7 record.


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1890   1900   1910   1920   1930   1940    1950   1960   1970    1980   1990   2000

1910s

1910

The baseball team wins the South Atlantic conference championship, winning 18 of 19 games.

1911

The first official basketball games are played against Wake Forest in February, with each team winning its home game. State's game is played in Pullen Hall auditorium.

1918

Football player John Ripple is the first NCSU All-American in any sport.


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1890   1900   1910   1920   1930   1940    1950   1960   1970    1980   1990   2000

1920s

1921

First use of the nickname "Wolfpack," for the football team only. All other sports continue using the name "Red Terrors."

1922

Tennis is organized as a varsity sport.

1923

The track and cross-country teams are granted varsity status.

1924

Thompson Gymnasium opens, becoming the first on-campus home dedicated to basketball. Previously, home games had been played in Raleigh Memorial Auditorium.

1925

Wrestling is granted varsity status.

1929

With a 13-6 record, the basketball team claims its first Southern Conference championship.

Radio station WPTF begins broadcasting State College baseball games.


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1890   1900   1910   1920   1930   1940    1950   1960   1970    1980   1990   2000

1930s

1930

Morris Johnson is the first All-American in basketball.

The first night football game at Riddick is played, a 37-0 victory over High Point.

The fist golf team is organized.

1932

The boxing team claims an individual win in the 145-pound class at the Southern Conference championships. Individual wins in other classes follow in 1933 and 1936.

1939

The wrestling team wins the Southern Conference championship and finishes second to Appalachian State at the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) meet in Greensboro.


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1890   1900   1910   1920   1930   1940    1950   1960   1970    1980   1990   2000

1940s

1946

Willis Casey is hired as the swimming coach, and the team wins or shares sixteen Southern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championships over the next thirty years.

Everett Case becomes the head coach of the basketball team, a position he holds until 1965. He remains the winningest coach in NCSU basketball history.

The baseball team wins the Big Four Conference title.

1947

The basketball team places third in its first national tournament, the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).

The football team is invited to its first post-season bowl game, the January 1 Gator Bowl against the University of Oklahoma.

All NC State athletics teams adopt the nickname "Wolfpack," replacing the previous name, the "Red Terrors."

1949

The first basketball game is played in Reynolds Coliseum, on December 2 against Washington & Lee.

Organized unofficially two years earlier, soccer becomes a varsity sport.


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1890   1900   1910   1920   1930   1940    1950   1960   1970    1980   1990   2000

1950s

1950

The football team plays its first televised game on October 21 versus Maryland.

1951

The track team wins it first Southern Conference championship, repeating in 1952. It also wins the titles in the ACC in 1953 and 1954.

1952

Swimmer Bob Mattson wins the first of four consecutive years of All-American honors; in 1955 he becomes State's first NCAA champion, in the 200-yard breaststroke.

The fencing team is granted varsity status.

1953

NC State athletics teams join the newly formed Atlantic Coast Conference.

1954

The swimming team wins the Men's Outdoor National AAU Championship.

The basketball team wins the first ACC championship.

1954, 1956

Dick Fadgen wins seven NCAA and AAU individual championship swimming events.

1956

Swimmers (as an athletic club) win the Men's Indoor National AAU Championship.

1957

The first African-American athletes are Manuel Crockett and Irwin Holmes, both in Track.

1958

The basketball team wins the Dixie Classic Tournament against several powerhouse teams, including four in the Associated Press top ten, as well as the NCAA winner.

The rifle team is granted varsity status.


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1890   1900   1910   1920   1930   1940    1950   1960   1970    1980   1990   2000

1960s

1962, 1963

Benito Artinatos becomes the first All-American in soccer, in consecutive years.

1965

The final football game is played at Riddick Stadium on November 13 against Florida State.

1966

The new Carter Stadium (renamed Carter-Finley Stadium in 1979) is unveiled on October 8 as the football team hosts South Carolina.

Doak Field opens as the new facility for the baseball team.

1967

The football team wins its first bowl game, a 14-7 victory over Georgia in the Liberty Bowl.

1968

The baseball team wins the ACC title and places third in the College World Series.

1969

Clyde Chesney becomes the first African-American football player.


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1890   1900   1910   1920   1930   1940    1950   1960   1970    1980   1990   2000

1970s

1972

The Case Athletics Center opens; named after Everett N. Case, basketball coach from 1946 to 1965.

1973

Basketball player David Thompson is the first African-American to be named an All-American in any sport. He repeats as All-America the following year.

Swimmer Mark Elliott wins multiple gold medals at the World University Games.

1974

The men's basketball team wins its first NCAA championship.

The first women's athletic team (basketball) begins to play.

1975

Men's gymnastics and women's softball and volleyball begin varsity play.

1976

Swimmers Steve Gregg and Dan Harrigan win medals for the United States at the Summer Olympics in Montreal.

Basketball player Susan Yow is the first woman All-American in any sport.

1978

Ted Brown is the first African-American to be named an All-American in football.

The women's basketball team wins its first ACC championship.

1979

The football team wins its first ACC championship.

The University Track is renamed the Paul H. Derr Track, for the long-time track & field coach.

1979, 1980

The Women's Cross Country Team wins back-to-back national championships.


Skip to Any Decade:

1890   1900   1910   1920   1930   1940    1950   1960   1970    1980   1990   2000

1980s

1980

Women's cross country runner Julie Shea is awarded the Broderick Cup by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) as the most outstanding athlete of the year.

1981

Women's gymnastics becomes a varsity sport.

Jim Valvano is hired as the men's basketball coach, a position he holds through 1990.

1982

The Weisiger-Brown Athletics Facility opens.

1983

The men's basketball team wins the NCAA Championship.

Women's golf becomes a varsity sport.

1984

Alumna Joan Benoit wins the Women's Marathon at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

1985

The men's 4x100 Meter Relay Team wins the NCAA championship.

1987

Women's basketball head coach Kay Yow is inducted into the Women's Sports Hall of Fame.

1988

Coach Kay Yow's U.S. Olympic Women's Basketball Team wins the Olympic Gold Medal in Seoul, South Korea.


Skip to Any Decade:

1890   1900   1910   1920   1930   1940    1950   1960   1970    1980   1990   2000

1990s

1990

The men's soccer team wins its first ACC championship.

1998

Women's basketball reaches the Final Four at the NCAA tournament.

1999

The men's basketball team plays the first game in the off-campus RBC Center on November 19.


Skip to Any Decade:

1890   1900   1910   1920   1930   1940    1950   1960   1970    1980   1990   2000

2000s

2000

Women's golf is reinstituted as a varsity sport. A team was previously fielded from 1980 to 1986.

2002

One hundred thirty-four NCSU athletes are named to the ACC Fiftieth Anniversary Teams in twenty-one sports.

2003

The Wendell H. Murphy Football Center opens.

2004

The J.W. Isenhour tennis facility opens.

2005

Swimmer Cullen Jones wins a gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle at the World University Games.

Other Timelines

Timeline of NCSU History
Timeline of African Americans at NCSU

University History Main Page

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