Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Wolfpack Cash Machine
It's hard to imagine that any school in the country has improved its football facilities more than NC State during the past five years. Carter-Finley Stadium has added new seats in both end zones, a state of the art training center, new press boxes, and luxury suites at Carter-Finley stadium. In addition, the RBC Center (jointly paid by NC, Wake County, and NC State) opened for basketball and hockey in 1999.
The man behind those improvements is Wolfpack Club head Bobby Purcell. He has raised a mountain of cash since taking the reins in 1997. In the most recent fiscal year, the Wolfpack Club raised 40% and 60% more than Duke and Carolina, respectively.
Purcell is well known for his ability to recall names and facts when dealing with his 20,000 members. I saw it first hand a month ago at a breakfast in Greensboro. He walked right up to my best friend and apologized for the Wolfpack Club not getting seat cushions delivered to his football seats this past fall. We were both dumbfounded.
Of course, with large donations come larger expectations. The heavy dollars flowing into Raleigh for facilities improvements only increase the pressure on Chuck Amato and Herb Sendek.
The man behind those improvements is Wolfpack Club head Bobby Purcell. He has raised a mountain of cash since taking the reins in 1997. In the most recent fiscal year, the Wolfpack Club raised 40% and 60% more than Duke and Carolina, respectively.
Purcell is well known for his ability to recall names and facts when dealing with his 20,000 members. I saw it first hand a month ago at a breakfast in Greensboro. He walked right up to my best friend and apologized for the Wolfpack Club not getting seat cushions delivered to his football seats this past fall. We were both dumbfounded.
Of course, with large donations come larger expectations. The heavy dollars flowing into Raleigh for facilities improvements only increase the pressure on Chuck Amato and Herb Sendek.
