RALEIGH, N.C. — For a little over 100 years, North Carolina State has been synonymous with the Wolfpack.
From a fuzzy mascot to fans and students making a wolf face with their hands, the school's pride for the Pack is clear.
But, did you know NC State wasn't always called the Wolfpack?
NC State used to be called the NC College for Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. They had at least three different names that were given by outside entities: The Aggies, The Farmers, and The Techs.
In 1921, just after World War I, enter an anonymous alum.
This alum wrote an unsigned letter saying they were upset that the behavior of some players on the football team was "as unruly as a pack of wolves."
Very soon, both the NC State Alumni News and the student newspaper, Technician, began referring to the football team as "The Wolfpack."
A copy of that letter has never been found.
And there isn't even any evidence that the school’s Board of Trustees or Athletics Council ever officially adopted “Wolfpack” as the football team’s official nickname.
The nickname was featured in articles from the Fayetteville Observer and the Raleigh News & Observer by September of that year.
However, the Wolfpack name didn't go unchallenged.
In the 40s, Col. John Harrelson became the chief executive of the college. One of his first proposals was to get rid of the Wolfpack name due to its association with German navy submarines.
He offered a contest for students and alumni to come up with a better nickname, with first prize being six season football tickets for the 1947 season.
Several contenders came out of the contest: the North Staters, the Cardinals, the Hornets, the Cultivators, the Pine-Rooters, the Auctioneers and the Calumets.
But the overwhelming majority of the school wanted to keep the Wolfpack name.
Harrelson agreed, as long as all teams on campus also adopted the name.
The rest is history! Now, we have the Wolfpack that we know and love.
You can watch the Wolfpack play Duke at 5:05 p.m. on Sunday on WFMY News 2.
