This season the N.C. State football team is putting its points toward an effort to name a new library study room in honor of student-athletes.
Touchdowns for Hunt, supported by ads in The Wolfpacker online magazine and in-game announcements on the Jumbotron, is calling on Pack loyalists to pledge $ to $50 (or more) for each touchdown the Pack scores this year.
The money would go toward naming a study room in honor of student-athletes at the James B. Hunt Jr. Library currently under construction on Centennial Campus.
“We just wanted to do something to honor all our student-athletes bring to the University,” said Doug Yopp, director of Friends of the Library. “The room will be named in honor of all N.C. State athletes — past, present and future.”
The effort also has strong support from The Wolfpack Club, said executive director Bobby Purcell.
“The Wolfpack Club has donated over $200,000 to the NCSU Libraries over the past 10 years. We believe strongly in expanding our library [system],” Purcell said.
Yopp said he’s confident the fans who pack Carter-Finley Stadium will be eager to give if they can.
“It goes without saying how supportive Wolfpack fans have been. We want them to know what they can do to show their appreciation for student-athletes,” Yopp said.
To endow and name the new group study room, fans need to pledge $35,000.
“The University sets naming prices for new spaces based on visibility and square footage. We wanted a space that would experience high usage by students and something that was highly visible,” Yopp said, using the Murphy Center as a “larger scale” example of how the University handles naming rights.
Hunt Library is slated to open in summer 2012. The room named for student-athletes will be open for use by any student, and will be similar to group study rooms in D.H. Hill, Yopp said.
“There will be quiet space for study and group collaborations. The room will be open for use by any student; it will just be named for student-athletes,” Yopp said.
Football coach Tom O’Brien said he has already made a per-touchdown pledge, and hopes others in the community follow suit.
“Our student-athletes count on the libraries’ many resources—study rooms, research tools, technological services and a vast number of other resources—to help them excel while obtaining their degrees at N.C. State,” O’Brien said in a release. “Please join me and make your pledge today.”
Touchdowns for Hunt is the first in a series of programs aimed at raising $10 million for Hunt Library, Yopp said.
But if Touchdowns for Hunt fails to raise enough money for the naming rights, the campaign will continue. Basketball coaches Kellie Harper and Sidney Lowe have agreed to participate in “3s for Hunt,” in which fans can pledge money for each 3-point shot the Pack hits.
The “3s for Hunt” program will enjoy continued support from The Wolfpack Club, said Purcell.
“The Hunt Library is something that impacts everyone on our campus. It is something that we should all support,” Purcell said.
Learn more about TDs for Hunt at http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/touchdownsforhunt.
