Why NC State’s 2023-24 college sports season was among the best in NCAA history

After beating Clemson in October, N.C. State football coach Dave Doeren emphatically defended his program after analyst Steve Smith implied the season was a wash and fans were waiting for basketball season.

“This ain’t a basketball school,” Doeren said. “He can kiss my (expletive).”

Doeren said he wasn’t criticizing N.C. State’s basketball programs, but pigeonholing schools into single sports.

“It does irk me when people label us as a one-sport school, because we’re not,” Doeren said. “I think the proof is in what I said: the ability to be productive in so many sports. It’s a well-rounded athletic department full of competitive, winning teams.”

He has a point.

The Wolfpack ended its 2023-24 campaign as one of the best seasons in NCAA history. N.C. State became the third school to make both Final Fours in basketball, Men’s College World Series, and rank in the final Associated Press football Top 25 of the season, joining Texas (2002-03) and Louisville (2012-13).

It expects to be the only school to rank in final Top 25s in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and baseball.

N.C. State’s accomplishments don’t stop there. It also added five ACC championships — in men’s basketball, women’s cross country, gymnastics, wrestling and men’s swimming. For cross country, it’s the team’s third straight national title and eighth consecutive ACC championship. It added an individual swimming title and Trent Hidlay was a runner-up at the national wrestling championship.

This past week, two Wolfpack swimmers earned spots on Team USA. Katharine Berkoff placed second in the 100-meter backstroke at the Olympic Trials to earn a trip to Paris, while head coach Braden Holloway will be an assistant coach. Though the other swimmers missed the cut, performances from N.C. State’s collegiate swimmers and Wolfpack Elite Swim Club members garnered national praise.

The Wolfpack’s success pushed the program toward the goals listed in the athletic department’s 2021-26 strategic plan, as well.

N.C. State aimed to win at least one ACC championships in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and baseball. It had two from the women’s basketball team in 2021 and 2022. It now has one in men’s hoops.

The university wants to win 20 total ACC championships by the end of the 2026 season and has 16 across eight sports.

It set a goal of recording an annual top-25 finish in at least 10 sports and in the Learfield Directors’ Cup. The Pack should accomplish both.

“This has been a phenomenal year for NC State Athletics,” Chancellor Randy Woodson said in a statement. “I join the Wolfpack community in our collective pride for the athletes and their amazing success.”

N.C. State Athletic Director Boo Corrigan said the success has been a long time coming.

Corrigan emphasizes the importance of patience, care, “relentless positivity” and wholehearted investment. He’s not afraid to make changes, but he doesn’t want to make rash decisions.

Instead of making coaching changes every three or four years, the administration wants to make sure every sport — and the supporting departments — have the resources and time to succeed.

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“Comparison is the thief of joy, so why not focus all our attention on ourselves?” Corrigan said. “What do we need to do to grow? What do we need to do to get better? What do we need to do to win championships? [We] really took that approach as opposed to worrying about what happened everywhere else.

“I think if you focus on being the best N.C. State you can be and provide the resources that you need, that creates championships.”

Success beyond NCAA athletics

N.C. State’s athletic success expands beyond the NCAA field of competition through non-traditional activities and non-athletic achievements.

Abby Lampe won her second international cheese rolling championship, while the Pack Pullers won the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers’ Quarter Scale Tractor competition for the first time in school history.

Cheerleading won a national title in January, then N.C. State’s club hockey team made the American Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.

The university boasted a program-best Academic Progress Rate (996) for the 2019-20 through 2022-23 seasons, with 11 of the school’s 20 teams earning a perfect score of 1,000. Nineteen teams earned APR scores above the national average for their respective sports, and football received a school record 984.

In the NCAA’s most recent release of graduation success rates, N.C. State finished with a 92% graduation rate for freshmen entering school in 2013-14 through 2016-17. Half of its sports teams earned a 100% graduation success rate during that time period.

There’s also plenty to celebrate regarding community service, from sport camps to outreach events to social support efforts.

“Everything is kind of moving down the [right] path,” Corrigan said. “I think there’s a lot more red when you go out right now, and I think there’s a whole lot of pride in this university.”

Leaving a new legacy

N.C. State lit the bell tower red on multiple occasions this year. Fans cried at ACC championships and the Final Four.

There are many ways to measure success, and fan engagement is one of them.

Winning is fun. Seeing miracles like Michael O’Connell’s 3-pointer are memories that last a lifetime. N.C. State showed it can compete with anyone else.

NC State’s dual Final Fours taught us about hope and belief and, yes, never giving up

“I think you keep plugging away. I think hard work pays off. I really do. I think being nice pays off. Being positive pays off. I think all those things matter if you’re gonna continue to grow,” Corrigan said.

An image circulated on social media after the Wolfpack’s Men’s College World Series berth featured a cemetery and headstone declaring N.C. State’s long stretch of bad luck is dead.

The university will work to build on its successes with a vision ofthe Pack thriving for years to come.

“I think it’s an easy time to get distracted by everything that’s going on, or you focus back even more on who we are and how we can get better,” Corrigan said. “The brand is hot. How do we continue to take advantage of that?”

Timeline of N.C. State’s 2023-24 success

Oct. 27: Women’s cross country wins eighth straight ACC Championship

Nov. 18: Women’s cross country wins third straight national championship

Dec. 28: Football makes bowl game

Feb. 17: Women’s gymnastics wins ACC regular season

Feb. 23: Katharine Berkoff wins fifth straight individual ACC title

Feb. 24: Men’s swimming wins third straight ACC Championship

March 10: Wrestling wins sixth straight ACC Championship

March 16: Men’s basketball wins ACC Championship

March 22: Berkoff wins third individual national swimming title

March 23: Women’s gymnastics wins ACC Championship

March 23: Trent Hidlay places second at NCAA Wrestling Championship

March 24: Women’s swimming finishes in NCAA top 10

March 30: Men’s swimming finishes in NCAA top 10

April 5: Women’s basketball makes Final Four

April 6: Men’s basketball makes Final Four

June 15: Baseball makes Men’s College World Series

June 18: Berkoff earns spot on U.S. Olympic Team

June 23: Swim and dive head coach Braden Holloway named Team USA assistant coach

NC State’s non-NCAA accomplishments

Jan. 12: Cheerleading national championship

Feb. 23: Ice Pack makes ACHA playoffs

May 27: Abby Lampe wins second national cheese rolling title

June 3: Pack Pullers win quarter-scale tractor design championship