NC State McMurray Family Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan met with the media to discuss potential sponsorships, NC State athletics, and much more!
Opening statement...
Thank you, everybody. Let me start with this. We were supposed to have this press conference a month and a half ago. That day, my 96-year-old mother passed away. That's why we weren't here. It wasn't anything else. I owe an apology to Chip. He said something as we were walking out of the building that day. You blew us off today or something like that, but let Chip know that I apologize. He said something about blowing off the press conference. I'm like, well, my mom died. I was still probably dealing with it. That's why. That's not for anything other than that. I just apologize for removing that.
Everyone knows who my father was, right? Gene Corrigan, great career, all those things. My mom was awesome. 96-year-old, raised seven kids, 19 grandkids, 20 great-grandkids. We added up to 60 people she's been directly involved with in her life. I just think that's awesome. I just think that's awesome. Knowing the love of a family is something I will cherish, and I hope everyone else has that in their life because it's a really special thing. Y'all can grill my ass if you want. That's fine. I wanted to just talk about my mom. So thank you for indulging me in that for a second.
Excited about the year, right? So we come back. It's Monday. I drive onto campus. There are people everywhere. There are cars. There's traffic. There are kids on scooters. And I think to myself, man, this is awesome, right? We're starting over again because I think everyone knows that by May-June, you've been on the treadmill for 9-10 months and you're kind of ready for a break. Every year you ramp back up, and that's where we are right now. I had a couple of soccer matches last night. Happy to report the Pack is still undefeated this year. Women's soccer is 3-0. Had a tie last night. Excited about where we are, what we're doing. I believe the Richmond game is coming off the board, right? It's a sellout. We've got App State as well, so that puts us at 29 consecutive sellouts. Excited about not only the sellouts, but the people who come to the games. The people who are in the seats and the people who enjoy the games. Kind of an opening statement, but open to questions at this point.
In February, you told the Board of Trustees that we were facing a deficit in last year's budget. What does that end up looking like, and what are you looking at for this year?
It's a crazy time, right? When you think about the revenue share, you're also thinking about everything else that goes into it. With coaches, retaining coaches, and travel, where travel expenses have gone up and everything else. We were able to balance last year. Great thanks to the Wolfpack Club for what they've done to help us along the way. We're going to face a deficit again this year, but every year we spend a lot of time, effort, and energy getting to that balance. Not sure exactly what the numbers are right now. As you kind of come off in May and June, you're trying to put all your energy into what we can do. To end FY26 and approach FY27 at this point.
According to some CBS reporting earlier this week, NC State ranked in the bottom half for NIL payments to players this past year, based on its football roster. Just your thoughts on where that stands and how to continue to improve that standing for NC State.
Again, I was talking to someone the other day; the job is revenue generation. Is really what the job is. I feel really good about our culture in the athletic department. I feel really good about the coaches that we have. Including the new coaches who have come in, who they are, and what they represent. We're going to continue to fight every day. I think so much of it also depends on whether it's the highest or lowest number; it's still about fit. And player identification and who fits with whom. And I think we've seen that over the years, the ability to find people who make sense.
To find people who kind of play together, who believe in who we are, what we are. Believe in Coach Doeren's culture. Believe in Coach Gainey's culture. Wes Moore, Elliott Avett, now Chris Hart. We're really looking more for a fit with who we are. We're going to continue to be as competitive as we can. I don't think... outside the Dodgers, where money really matters. There aren't a whole lot of other teams where it's just straight dollars, and you win. The Dodgers are in a different situation right now. Who knows what they'll do this year, but certainly the last couple of years with their payroll. It's not all about money, but we need to be as competitive as we can.
Two arena/stadium questions. We want a bigger picture. We've heard a lot from the Hurricanes about what the development means for the area around the arena. The possibility of Lenovo moving its headquarters here, parking decks, and some other things. What is the NC State view of those bigger projects? Is that really a "that's what the money is for" type of situation? You know how NC State fans feel about their parking spots and tailgating. That's number one. How do you view the development of that project? Number two, how close are you to putting a name on this stadium? I know SAS was in the works there for a little while. It doesn't sound like that might not be coming home the right way.
Every Friday morning, we have a meeting over there to discuss it with the steering committee, including Jeff Merritt, others, and me. We're deeply engaged in all those conversations specifically around the arena and what it is. I've jokingly said before that if we had a $300 million donor to renew our basketball facility, I think that would be on the front page of the paper. We benefit from the arena renovations in terms of parking. It's really important to us. It's like the best. Who in college football has better parking than we do? When you think about 10,000 paved spots. We're very aware of where the development is going and when it starts. If you go backward, it was supposed to actually start at the end of last season.
We didn't complain when it didn't start. I can tell you that much. The parking garage is on that side. We'll be very conscious of when, where, and how it starts. Personally, I worry a lot about laydown areas. You can talk about the building going to go here, and it's going to be in this space. The next thing you know, it's like, yeah, but we need this space too. Yeah, but we need this space too. Very aware of what's going on. We got to try to figure out a way again with Tom Dundon, with the hurricanes, with the whole development. What opportunities do we have to generate revenue? One of the good news stories is with the viewing parties and everything. As the Canes went on the run, it was an opportunity for us to open up Rollywood, have the fans in there, and do a couple of things over there from that standpoint.
But we need to continue thinking and being as creative as we can. From a naming opportunity, we are in the market. Anyone interested in this room, we're more than happy to take your dollars. We've got a couple of people who have been further along with it. It's just not easy. You put the jersey patch on top of that and use the same angle on the patch to get people. I believe in what our brand is, who we are, and what we represent to the state. We've just got to find the right partner.
OG Field has a nice ring to it, but I don't think we can afford it. It used to be that 2030 and 2036 felt like a long time away, but it’s not anymore. What kind of conversations are taking place at the NC State level with you and Kevin that might be different from those you and Randy had before, as to what NC State's position is for whatever might be next? There's a lot of the unknown, but I'm curious what kind of prep work is taking place at your level and then, to follow that up, what kind of conversations happen at industry levels when you're talking to other ADs or when you're in the industry, and people are maybe speculating about what might be next. Just local and then on a macro where NC State might be.
How do we best position ourselves? One, we've been in the ACC since 1953, and it's been great for us; I think we've been a really good conference member. We want to be as good as we can be. We want to be as competitive as possible. 29 consecutive sellouts are a big deal. Being competitive in basketball, going to the NCAA tournament. I think, before we got here, we spent a lot of time in comparison. They had this, they had that, and we took on the philosophy of: what if we worry about being the best NC State we can be and let that be who we are, what we are? It's worked out pretty well.
I think that's continuing with Chancellor Howell. My conversations there with him are about what we need to do to be the best NC State we can be, and then you let the chips fall where they may. I think a lot of times schools talk about what we want to do, and we want to go here, and we want to go there. I wanted to marry my wife. She had to say yes. You need somewhere to go in this whole process. You get to the Protect College Sports Act and some of the things in it right now. Again, I think you can spend a lot of time spinning your wheels and going out, and we're going to do this, and we're going to do that, where really the focus needs to be on who you are and what you are and what you're doing.
From an industry standpoint, people are just fighting. You're fighting to do everything you can to build your brand the best that you can, to be as competitive as you can be, to try to be as creative as you can be, to find ways to generate revenue. I think that's the name of the game to a large degree right now: to generate as much revenue as you can. Our fan support has been amazing here, not only for football but also for basketball. We had 3,000 people at soccer last night. I think people know that North Carolina is a great state to live in. It's a growing state to be in. We're proud of our alums who stay in state. I think when you look at NC State as a member of the ACC, we're a really good group.
On the recent Colorado court ruling regarding player eligibility for 2022 graduates...
I'm not impressed is what you should have said. Breaking news. Breaking news. As that happened, Ven-Allen came back. We have a soccer player and a football player who came back. Again, I think we all knew going in that this could happen. That this is something that could happen from an overall philosophy standpoint. I think the NCAA, at some point, and we are part of the NCAA, if you're going to do five for five, you need to put a line in the sand at some point. This is when it's going to start. I don't know. Again, this is breaking news. I was surprised initially when the court case went the way it did. From that standpoint, I think we've got to go back and figure out where we are. What does it mean? Visit with our general counsel, visit with the ACC's general counsel, and really understand what this means.
On what he’s looking for in a company to partner with NC State...
There are a lot of things. You can just throw an imagination on where you're not going to go from that standpoint. I think we want someone who's willing to invest back in the university. It's great to put your name on the stadium, but what you really want is a partner. What does that mean? Does that mean internships for students? Does that mean a greater partnership with the university? All those things. The idea of just putting a logo on a uniform, with nothing else, is only so appealing. I would imagine it's only so appealing to the company as well. Figure out how deep a relationship we can have with that company. It would be great if it were North Carolina-based, but I don't think that's something that we're wedded to in this. As we look at it, we need to find someone who really wants to partner with us and help make it a bigger, broader relationship. Does that mean taking it into the music business?
What are your long-term goals? Did you go to either of the concerts, or did any of your family members go to the concerts?
No, we went to both concerts. I've been to all three concerts. One, I love live music. We're actually going to a concert tomorrow night. It's been really a neat thing to see. The first one was kind of a big swing to do a concert during the season. Talked to Commissioner Troxler. He was very happy that it wasn't during the State Fair, and we decided to do it. It was the day before the State Fair opened, so that was good. I think the good thing is, so we go into the concert, they come to me, and they say, we've got Guns N' Roses, and we've got this guy Noah Kahan. I'm thinking to myself, thank God we've got Guns N' Roses. I have no idea who Noah Kahan is.
I know who he is now. It was great to see two totally different crowds at the game. We had many partner agencies in the Raleigh area that worked hard on this. I think you saw from a traffic standpoint, from an ingress and egress standpoint, how much better it got with the second set of concerts than it did with the Chris Brown show. It's something that we're really interested in. It's something we hope to continue. I don't know whether Coach Doeren went to both shows. I believe he went to one of them. We went, and we had a great time. It was kind of fun to see and love Noah Kahan, and I'm pretty sure he loved Raleigh, or something about him, enough to get a tattoo of him at some point. I'm not sure where that actually ended up. I really enjoyed being in that.
To follow up on Joe's question, you said you've got to take care of NC State, and you've done so. How do you position yourself? Some of the musical chairs of the SEC, Big Ten, or whatever the next step looks like, how do you position yourself to make sure that NC State has a seat when the music stops?
Depending on what the music is. I think the music stopped.
I know you can't get too into whatever, but you also don't want to be fear-mongering. I do think there is a sense that you don't want to be left out.
I think part of that is what we do every day. You want to ensure NC State is seen as a strong member of the ACC. You can't be great somewhere else until you're great where you are. That's why I continue to focus on who we are and what we do. Having a new chancellor has added nothing bad, just something different. Chancellor Woodson had been here for 15 years. He knew all the other chancellors in the ACC. He was probably the longest-tenured ACC president or chancellor at the university where he left. Just making sure that we're around, talking to people, being available. Again, I think that's the main focus. You've got to focus on yourself as opposed to what's next, what's next, what's next. What if you're broken when you try to go? That's really what our focus is.
Just on the basketball side of things, I wanted to ask you because the last time we really got to talk to you was after a lot had just taken place. Justin Gainey is now taking over the program. Just your thoughts on where he's taken the program now, where the roster stands, and how quickly he's done the job to get the baseline of what you guys want to put together this year.
Justin's love of the university is the first thing that comes through. Who he is, who he was as a player, the way he's been able to build his career, the people he's been around, hit the ground running, and was able to attract a number of great assistant coaches who had been at the power four level. I think that's really important, seeing him bring them together. Not only do you have new players, but you've got new staff as they're coming together. I've been in a number of practices. It's funny, I talked to him, I think it was after the second day of practice, and he kind of sounded like I do. He's raspy. He's like, I don't have my coach's voice yet.
The way he runs practice, I enjoy watching him; the emphasis he places on the details, the emphasis he places on defense, and I think that's going to be his calling card; therefore, it'll be our calling card. Basketball's the important part, and that's the defense. His ability to attract the players that he did. His ability to re-engage Ven with the program. I think he speaks volumes about Justin; I think he speaks volumes about NC State. Who we are as a university, who we are as a campus. It's not just about who the coach was; it was about the overall experience that Ven had here, but I'm very bullish on Coach Gainey, what he's building, how he's doing it, and, again, his ability to recruit. He's recruited at a super high level, he's beaten a number of schools previously for a big-time talent, and I think that's going to continue here.
Speaking of you being another hire this offseason, what's that like for you to be able to have an internal option, that's pretty cool.
Well, we had a staff meeting yesterday, and introduced Chris as our new head coach, and jokingly said it was a seven-year interview. It's just being around him and watching the great job that Coach Gainey did, and what he built, and what his legacy is, and will remain at NC State, but Chris was a real big part of what was going on with that baseball program, and he was very, very interested in the job, and I don't know how many jobs he offers he had to leave, but he really wanted to be at NC State, and I think as a reward for that loyalty that Chris Hart had, there's a number of players playing Major League Baseball that were very interested in Chris Hart as well, and so it's nice to see the connection that he has to our former players, to our recruits, to his ability to coach, right, and in the end of it, Chris is the student of the game, and that's what he loves, and I think he's going to be a great hire.
Regarding the football team this year, there was a lot of hype around the team, it feels like there's always hype around the team, you mentioned, obviously, getting as much revenue as you can, obviously football can be a big powerhouse in that, a bit of a two-parter, how important is it to have a good football team to generate that money, and when you look at the team this year, with the roster that Dave has assembled, and the coaching staff that he's assembled, how confident are you that this team can kind of take that next step and be a contender in the ACC and hopefully book a trip to Charlotte to be playing for some hardware?
Well, I mean, clearly I believe in Coach Doeren, and who he is and what his approach is, he's a great fit here, he's a great football coach, he understands who we are as a university, but I think Dave's also done a great job of adapting to this new world, I think, I don't want to speak for him, but our conversations in the past is, he kind of got into this to teach and to mentor and coach and see young people go through the program, and obviously that's changed with the number of transfers that we have now, and I think he's done a great job adapting to that, and it's great to have Coach Roper and CJ back, I mean, I don't know how many three-year starters there are, or even two-year starters there are.
So, he's one of them. I mean, I think that's a great thing, but also, the leadership qualities that we have on this team is really powerful, and they've worked really hard at that, and it's not as easy as deeming someone a captain, right, because of the position you play or the talent you have, I think it's more about teaching people how to be leaders, and Coach Doeren has done a great job with that. I engaged with a guy named Mike Erwin, who left the Army as a Major and has studied leadership for a long time, and he's done a great job not only with football but also with a number of our other programs. But, yeah, I believe in this team. You go into every year believing. I mean, that's what we do. We get into this to win games and do things the right way, and at the end of the day, you let the dust settle, and you see where you are and where you land, and I feel very good about this football team.
I have one last question. You talk to a lot of folks, so a lot of folks say, Boo, NC State Athletics is doing a great job doing what? But, Boo, NC State Athletics can improve by doing what?
I mean, you can always be better, okay? We didn't come here to be good. We came here to be great. And what does that mean? That means that you're winning championships. It means that you're graduating people. It means that you're providing a great student-athlete experience. All of those things. I mean, you think about it. When we got here, we did a ten-year strategic plan. Now we're doing a three-year vision for what it is because things have changed so much. I mean, I think at the end of the day, being nice, being kind, I think all of those things matter. Until the whistle blows. And then you just want to compete. And that's what we're trying to do on the field, on the courts, in the home, everywhere that we are. I think we've got to bring people, coaches, that believe in this university, that believe in who we are, what we are. We have a great chancellor who's been incredibly supportive of what we're doing. For the same, only better. Would be my answer.
On the change to the slobbering wolf logo...
Great. I mean, I don't know. I saw it, and it wasn't like it was completely different. I like NC State more than NCSU. On the hat, I'm not different from our fans. I love me some Slobbering Wolf. I think that's great. I enjoy it. I like doing it. I think it looks great. I like some of the vintage logos that we have. We're going to ride tough as we go through this. I think it's fun to have different options on that side. I like the new logo. I like the new logo very much. Thank you to the people who created the new logo. But no, I'm excited about it.
Did you get numbers from the ACC's first year of the split rev share? And have there been any increases in season ticket sales?
Second question first. We're trailing by a little bit right now. Like 200, which is still up. 1,300 from the previous years. So we feel good about that. Where we are candidly, last year we had Duke, Carolina, and Kansas on the schedule, and I'm sure that may be a factor in what it is. But we can't support one of our own. I think that's a really important part as we brought a guy back here who loves this university, who's got blood in the bricks, if you will, with the basketball program. And I really hope everyone comes out to do that. I did not have those numbers off the top of my head at this point, but I'm sure they're available.
14 years is a long time for anybody. And Doeren has navigated a lot. I jokingly asked Doeren to kick off. I mean, you can go back in time and tell Young, Puff, Dave Doeren, when you got this job, what you dealt with then versus what you're doing right now. He's been very consistent. Some people can get a little overconsistent. But do you feel there's maybe been a change in a conversation, or do you feel that there's a different way of framing it to fans who can get very, very antsy about success, to point to everything that is happening? I'm just joking. I just got the alert about the step. All these things are happening in real time, but he has managed to keep it very, very consistent. Is there a way to frame this, messaging-wise, to the masses who look and say what they want, but this guy deserves more credit than we might want to give him? Is there a way to do that?
Clearly, I've given him credit for the job that he's done. I mean, you look at the teams, you look at his ability to adapt to what's going on right now. The energy that he brings, the positivity that he brings. We talked about it the other day. Someone asked me a question about calling plays and all that. I mean, I'm looking at body language. I'm looking at where the team is, what the interactions are, and that side of what's going on. I think you see the engagement that he has with our players. We are winning games. We're not losing games. It's hard to win. I was just surprised by it. We were talking about a couple of things over there. I'm like, everyone realizes just how hard it is to win. The other guy's coming at you just as hard as you're going at them as you go through this. To take pride in who we are, take pride in what we've done in the games that we've had.
How do those players represent NC State? I think Dave's done a great job. I think it was 28 sellouts, 29 sellouts in a row. People are still coming out. Give the guy a break. We're winning a lot of games. No one wants to win more than him, I can tell you that. Every time we talk about it, every time it's funny when we win a game, I don't go to the post-game press conference because every coach has plenty of friends. When you lose a game, I go to the post-game press conference to be there with him, to talk to him. Sara's typically around.
Again, it's not a hey, this is great. You just want to be there with him as he goes through the process, and I can assure you of its importance. As disappointed as fans are when we lose a game, no one's more disappointed than Dave Doeren. No one cares more about us being good than Dave Doeren. No one cares more about us doing things the right way than Dave Doeren. He's got it circled. He knows exactly what's going on, what's happening, what we're going to do, how we're going to adjust, all those things. Because he loves this university. He really cares.
