Saturday night’s football game versus Florida State will be jam PACKed with special recognitions and events. Here’s a look at some of the things taking place.
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MILITARY APPRECIATION DAY
NC State Athletics is going all out to honor those who serve at the annual Military Appreciation event. Wolfpack Nation is encouraged to come to a special Walk of Champions. ROTC members and student veterans will line the team's path, the U.S. Veteran Corps will escort the team down Trinity Rd. and the Carousel Flag Girl Equestrian team will escort 15 Combat Wounded Warriors through the walk.
Other special recognitions include:
√ The Wolfpack Club is conducting its annual Adopt-a-Service person program.
√ All those participating in Military Appreciation Day pregame or in-game events will attend a pregame tailgate sponsored by Coca-Cola.
√ The US Air Force Band will play in the Fanzone during pregame.
√ 6 military veterans from different eras will be recognized during the game.
√ 15 Combat Wounded Warriors will be recognized
√ In honor of the 100th Anniversary of NC State's Army ROTC, over 90 alumni will be recognized on the field
√ The Army ROTC unit will face off against the Air Force ROTC unit in a Tug-of-War contest with a grand prize of $5,000 courtesy of PNC.
√ A Seat of Honor in Sct. 315 will represent those military service men and women who are POWs, MIA or have fallen in the line of duty.
√ An “Honor and Remember” flag will be presented to a Gold Star Family at halftime, followed by a special performance from the Power Sound of the South and the unfurling of a field-sized flag.
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SAY CHEESE!
In the first half of Saturday’s game, an ultra high resolution 360° fan photo will be taken, so make sure you’re in your seat at game time so you won't get left out.
The interactive photo - powered by Blakeway Worldwide Panoramas - will allow fans to find and tag themselves, share the views with friends, enter to win cool prizes, and celebrate the day in incredible detail. The image will be billions of pixels in size (yes, that's billion with a "b")!
to be notified when the image is ready to be viewed.
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PACK TO ADD FIFTH CAPTAIN
When season captains Bradley Chubb, Cole Cook, Matt Dayes and Jack Tocho take the field for the coin toss on Saturday, a fifth teammate will join them. To further honor the military, redshirt sophomore Brady Bodine will serve as a captain versus Florida State.
Bodine’s father, U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Wayne Bodine, is currently stationed at Camp Lejeune, where he has served for most of his military career. While Brady and his three siblings were growing up, his father served multiple lengthy deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and is set to deploy to Iraq again on Thanksgiving weekend.
“I’d like to thank him for his service and for being the greatest leader by example for my two brothers, my sister and me,” said Brady of his dad.
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WOLFPACK LEGEND TO BE HONORED
Former Wolfpack head coach Dick Sheridan will be honored on the 30th anniversary of receiving the Bobby Dodd Coach-of-the-Year Trophy in the first quarter. The captains from the 1986 team – Kelvin Crooms, Erik Kramer and Pat Teague – will join their former coach on the field.
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#IRONWOLF
The football squad will wear its #IRONWOLF uniform for only the second time. This iron gray uniform was developed last season to pay homage to the brave men and women who serve our country at home and abroad. The Wolfpack wore it in the 2015 win over Syracuse.
The #IRONWOLF helmet features a gray and black camouflage pattern, emblazoned with the classic red NC State logo. Red wolf claw marks highlight the shoulder pads and pants, the gloves and the pregame warmup shirt.
The inspiration for the name comes from one of the Wolfpack's team mottos: "Iron Sharpens Iron."
"When two iron blades are rubbed together, each blade gets sharper and more efficient," Doeren said. "The same is true in the military and in football. We rely on each other to make each other better."
