Historical State, 125, NC State University, one hundred twenty-five years of shaping the future

1982

Reynolds, William Neal, Coliseum (Raleigh, N.C.): Completed in 1949, the building with seating for 14,000 people is named after William Neal Reynolds, president of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company founded by his brother. Construction of Reynolds Coliseum was originally proposed by David Clark after 5,000 people from all over North Carolina were rained out of a Farmers' Week meeting in 1940. The coliseum was home to the basketball team for nearly 50 years, including two NCAA champion teams. Reynolds Coliseum also provides a venue for large university and city events. Today it houses several NC State athletic teams, as well as NC State's ROTC units. The men’s basketball team moved to the RBC Center in 2000.
Jim Valvano: A native of New York City, Jim Valvano was Head Coach at North Carolina State University from 1980 until 1990, a period in which NCSU won the ACC Tournament twice (1983, 1987) and the ACC season twice (1985, 1989). In 1983, Valvano led the Wolfpack to the NCAA championship. He was voted NCAA Coach of the Year twice during his NC State tenure. He resigned as Head Coach in April 1990 following year-long accusations that team members had been selling free athletic shoes and tickets in violation of NCAA rules. The accusations resulted in State being banned from the 1990 NCAA Tournament and the basketball program being placed on probation for two years. The Poole Commission Report, along with investigations by the NCAA, UNC, and NCSU, eventually concluded that there had been no improprieties by the Coach.
Left to right: Assistant Coach Ray Martin, Assistant Coach Dick Stewart, Head Coach Jim Valvano, Assistant Coach Ed Mclean; Assistant Coach Tom Abatemarco

Burnie Batchelor Studio (Photographer)

Black-and-white print (photograph)

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