Antonelli, Yow speak to student athletes

 

In front of over 500 N.C . State student-athletes gathered inside of McKimmon Center, former women’s basketball point guard Debbie Antonelli delivered a concise but powerful message.

“You’re not entitled,” Antonelli said. “But you can be empowered.”

Antonelli , a 1986 graduate from State, made several different pleas of guidance in her keynote address. While noting how some programs have endured recently struggles with NCAA violations, Antonelli explained how Wolfpack student-athletes must respect the opportunity they have been given. 

“There’s a lot going on in college athletics right now,” Antonelli said. “Despite all the issues and propaganda out there, you need to know that there is value in your diploma. My N.C . State degree means something to me. It’s given me the opportunities to do what I do now.”

The degree Antonelli received was a double major in economics and business management. Since her graduation, Antonelli has enjoyed a prosperous 23-year career at ESPN, Westwood One, and several other prominent media outlets. As a South Carolina resident with powerful State pride, Kay Yow’s former pupil had no issues with driving four and a half hours to share her personal message with a unique portion of the Pack’s student body. 

“Some of you are going to be in positions in the future to give back to this university,” Antonelli said. “Recall how wonderful your experience has been. ‘Wolfpack Unlimited’ to me is strong. Those two words together – Wolfpack and Unlimited – inspire building, intensity and beauty. You have chosen to be a part of N.C . State, and this is your team.”

With the women’s basketball program continuing to rebuild, Athletics Director Deborah Yow made the decision to bring back a former player who reached the NCAA Tournament on four occasions under Coach Kay Yow . Antonelli said she was honored and flattered to receive an invitation from one of the other standout members of the Yow family. 

“Debbie used basketball as her way to get into administration at Saint Louis, Maryland and now N.C . State,” Antonelli said. “I have followed her career path very closely because I thought I wanted to be an athletics director also. The Yow family is very special and very unique, and when I got a call to come speak, my first reaction was ‘wow she trusts me enough to have her speak in front of her team.’ That’s a huge honor for someone like me.”

Following Antonelli’s address, Yow spoke to the student-athletes for several minutes. For the majority of that time, the former women’s basketball coach at Florida and Kentucky made detailed comments on both athletic and academic development. 

“A year ago, we finished 89th in the National Director’s Cup Competition,” Yow said. “I don’t think any of us would ever want to be No. 89. We’ve started up that mountain to get better and better with our theme ‘Wolfpack Unlimited.’ All of our teams from this past year have moved us up 22 spots to 67th place. That’s a great jump. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an athletic program jump 22 spots in one year. 

“Academically, we had our best ever graduation rate for student-athletes at N.C . State with 69 percent,” Yow said. “We also had our greatest number in around 40 years for All-ACC academic selections. We have about 550 student-athletes, and 213 of you earned All-ACC academic honors.”

Following recognition of the best athletic and academic teams throughout the past year, Yow spoke about the different standards NCSU’s athletic program should hold itself to. 

“You measure success by all of these factors,” Yow said. “I don’t think you would ever want to limit them in terms of being either a great athlete or great student. We expect them to be both, and I think they will rise to the expectations.”

In only its second year, Yow said that the meeting accomplished the goal of establishing a proper message from a passionate speaker. 

“We had Dewayne Washington last year and Debbie [ Antonelli ] this year, so we are getting a pretty good run going,” Yow said. “It’s good for them to see a person with an N.C . State degree doing what she is doing. It says to a lot of people, ‘If she can do that, I can to.’ She’s the type of role model we need around our athletes.”