When Wes Moore came to Raleigh to become the head coach of N.C. State women’s basketball team after 15 seasons at Tennessee-Chattanooga, the veteran coach was used to seeing between 2,000 – 3,000 fans per home game.
But with attendance for the Wolfpack’s opening games at fewer than 1,000 people per contest, Moore can be forgiven for wondering what he had gotten into.
However, due to N.C. State’s strong start in the Moore Era and the fall sports season coming to a close, that has started to change. The Wolfpack, 15-2 overall and 2-1 in the ACC, has been bolstered by increased attendance in recent weeks, both home and away.
“I just think there are few places that have fans as passionate as Wolfpack fans are,” Moore said. “We are really fortunate. It started out slow this year, attendance-wise, and I am thinking, ‘Oh, man, what is going on here?’ and then it just kept building and building.”
On Jan. 5, in its ACC opener, N.C. State was almost willed to victory by a boisterous crowd during a thrilling come-from-behind win over then-No. 20 Syracuse at Reynolds Coliseum. The Pack was also aided Sunday by Wolfpack fans in its 62-54 victory over Wake Forest at Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem.
“[We had] 3,500 [fans] against Syracuse,” Moore said. “I think it will continue to build. To have them come out on the road… it’s a little bit tougher for people. It means a lot to us.”
Sunday’s matchup with Wake Forest in Winston-Salem was akin to a home game for the Pack. Three busloads of fans were brought to the game from Raleigh as a part of the school’s annual Ambassador’s Trip, an event for season ticket holders to women’s basketball to travel and see N.C. State play a road game.
“N.C. State Athletics annually organizes an Ambassador’s Trip, an event designed to support our team on the road,” N.C. State’s Assistant Director of Marketing Kara Kovert said. “This shows the department and team’s appreciation of our season-ticket holders and spirit groups for their support throughout the season.”
This support can be the base for the women’s basketball program to build on for future success. Both Moore and his players have noticed the attention and are appreciative of State’s fans’ commitment.
“We want to try to build and get better,” Moore said. “The fans were awesome and I told the team that. I said to them, ‘Do you realize how fortunate you were to have people come out like this and to follow you on the road?’”
Senior forward Kody Burke has been through ups and downs in her time in Raleigh. She said the support of N.C. State’s fan base is something that comes as no surprise to.
“We have a great support base,” Burke said. “They are proud of us. They are following us throughout this whole journey. Through adversity, thick and thin, they’re going to be there. I thank them very much for their support and it is their support that keeps us fighting on the road and at home.”
Senior guard Myisha Goodwin-Coleman also said she appreciates the increased attendance at State’s games.
“Last year, we would have had a couple, but not busloads,” Goodwin-Coleman said. “It means a lot just to have people out there cheering for you. [When] my family can’t make it [to games], I feel like my second family made it.”
With home games versus Florida State and Boston College coming up over the next two weeks and a road clash with 2012 ACC regular season champion Miami in-between, the schedule does not get any easier for N.C. State. But it appears the Wolfpack will face its upcoming challenges with a growing number of people in its corner.
