North Carolina State Wolfpack football The NC State Wolfpack football team represents North Carolina State University in the sport of American football . The Wolfpack competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) and the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) . Prior to joining the ACC in 1953 , the Wolfpack were a member of the Southern Conference . As a member of the ACC , the Wolfpack has won seven conference championships and participated in 25 bowl games , of which the team has won thirteen . Since 1966 the Wolfpack has played its home games in Carter - Finley Stadium . On September 16 , 2010 NC State restored the tradition of having a live mascot on the field as a wolf - like Tamaskan Dog named " Tuffy " was on the sidelines for the Cincinnati game in Raleigh , North Carolina . Program history . The early years ( 1892 - 1953 ) . NC State ( then known as The North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts ) played its first football game against a team from the Raleigh Male Academy on March 12 , 1892 in what is now Pullen Park . The Aggies , whose colors were pink and blue , won 12 - 6 in front of more than 200 spectators . The following year , the school played its first intercollegiate game : a 12 - 6 victory over Tennessee College . The program ' s long - standing rivalry with nearby University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill began on October 12 , 1894 with a 44 - 0 UNC victory in Chapel Hill . Eight days later , the team ( then called the Farmers ) lost again to UNC , 16 - 0 in Raleigh . In 1895 , under third - year coach Bart Gatling , the team wore red and white uniforms for the first time . Over the next five seasons the program continued to try to establish itself , achieving only one winning season during the period . The football team has also only had scholarship football players since 1933 , prior to that all Wolfpack athletics consisted entirely of non - scholarship student athletes . In 1906 , in a game against Randolph - Macon in Raleigh , the Farmers attempted their first forward pass , a play that had only recently become legal and at the time was still considered a " trick " play . The following season was the program ' s most successful yet . Under coach Mickey Whitehurst , A & M won the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship with a 6 - 0 - 1 record . That season , the program also recorded its first ever victory over the University of Virginia . The Farmers played their home games that season on campus at the New Athletic Park , which would later be known as Riddick Stadium . In addition to Pullen Park , the state fairgrounds had hosted some games prior to the opening of the new stadium . The team won a second South Atlantic championship in 1910 under coach Edward Green , finishing with a record of 4 - 0 - 2 . A win over Virginia Tech in Norfolk that season was dubbed the " biggest game ever played in the South " . Coach Green led team to a third conference championship in 1913 , with a record of 6 - 1 . The 1918 season was cut short due to the United States ' entrance into World War I and a severe flu outbreak on campus . The team ' s roster was depleted , its schedule reduced to four games , and practice was suspended for five weeks in October and November . A week after practice resumed , State College , as the school was then called , led by coach Tal Stafford , was defeated 128 - 0 by Georgia Tech in Atlanta . Tackle John Ripple was named the program ' s first All - American . The following season , on October 23 , the Farmers resumed play with North Carolina after a 14 - year hiatus . The Tar Heels won the game 13 - 12 in Raleigh . It wasn ' t until 1920 that A & M defeated the rival Tar Heels for the first time . In 1921 State College began wearing red sweaters and were referred to by the local media as the Wolfpack . The program joined the Southern Conference that year and would win the conference title six seasons later under coach Gus Tebell . The 1930 season saw the installation of field lighting at Riddick Stadium , as the Wolfpack defeated High Point University , 37 - 0 , in the team ' s first ever night game . In 1945 State hired Beattie Feathers as head coach . Feathers , a former star at Tennessee and the first NFL running back to rush for 1 , 000 yards in a season , compiled a 37 - 38 - 8 record in eight seasons , the program ' s most successful coaching tenure yet . In Feathers ' second season , Wolfpack defensive player Howard " Touchdown " Turner returned an interception 105 yards against Duke , a record that still stands as the longest play in Wolfpack history . The 1946 season began with wins over Duke and Clemson , earning the program their first appearance in the UPI poll ( 19th ) . 1947 saw the Wolfpack reach their first ever bowl game , the second annual Gator Bowl . The team lost to Oklahoma , 34 - 13 , and finished the season at 8 - 3 , the highest win total since finishing 9 - 1 in 1927 . The Wolfpack ' s first ever nationally televised game was played in 1950 . State defeated eight - ranked Maryland 16 - 13 in College Park . NC State joined the newly formed Atlantic Coast Conference in 1953 as a charter member . The team finished 1 - 9 that year under head coach Doc Newton . Earle Edwards era ( 1954 - 1970 ) . Earle Edwards was hired as the team ' s head coach before the 1954 season . Edwards had previously been an assistant at Michigan State under Biggie Munn and at Penn State under Bob Higgins . Home stadiums . Riddick Stadium . From 1891 until 1907 , the school ' s first teams played on the open fields that surrounded campus , either at Pullen Park , at the old North Carolina State Fairgrounds or on the farm tracts on the " other " side of the railroad tracks . In 1907 , faculty members , alumni and students began collecting money to enclose a large tract of land behind the Main Building that would become the home of the football and baseball teams . The Aggies played their first game there against Randolph Macon , recording a 20 - 0 win . Wooden grandstands slowly rose on the site , and it was named Riddick Field in 1912 , after popular professor W . C . Riddick , who is remembered as the father of athletics at the school . Carter - Finley Stadium . Carter - Finley Stadium is the current home to the football team . It was opened in 1966 and now has a seating capacity of 57 , 583 seats . The stadium replaced the obsolete on - campus Riddick Stadium and was originally named Carter Stadium , in honor of Harry C . & Wilbert J . " Nick " Carter , both graduates of the university . They were major contributors to the original building of the stadium . The name of Albert E . Finley , another major contributor to the University , was added in 1978 . Carter - Finley has been the home to some of the school ’ s most decorated athletes : Jim Donnan , Gerald Warren , Dennis Byrd , the Buckey twins ( Don and Dave ) , ACC - career rushing leader Ted Brown , Joe McIntosh , Erik Kramer , Jamie Barnette , Torry Holt , ACC - passing leader Philip Rivers , NFL No . 1 pick Mario Williams , and Russell Wilson . Culture . Mascot . Since the 1960s the Wolfpack has been represented at athletic events by its mascots , Mr . and Ms . Wuf . In print , the ' Strutting Wolf ' is used and is known by the name ' Tuffy . ' In September 2010 , a purebred Tamaskan Dog became the new " Tuffy " Live Mascot . Individual honors . List of All - Americans . All records per NC State Athletics .