House Bill 389 was approved by the North Carolina House of Representatives yesterday, which would allow beer and wine to be sold athletic events at UNC System Schools.
That means we are one step closer to alcohol being sold in Carter-Finley Stadium, PNC Arena and Doak Field.
The bill has now been passed on to the North Carolina Senate for consideration.
The bill proposed by NC House Majority Leader John Bell (R-Wayne) and NC Senate Majority Whip Rick Gunn (R-Alamance) has the support of 14 of the 15 UNC System Schools, including NC State.
Duke and Wake Forest, which are private universities, already sell alcohol at sporting events. Duke only sells it in restricted areas, whereas Wake Forest has moved to also selling it in the open area. In the ACC, Louisville, Miami and Syracuse sell it in the open area as well.
Statistics show when schools allow the sale of alcohol the number of alcohol related incidents dramatically drop. After allowing alcohol sales in 2011, West Virginia University saw a 35% decrease in such incidents. The Ohio State University saw a similar decrease in 2016 – while also generating $1.2 million in sales that year.
The 2024 NFL Draft has come and gone, and NC State had two players drafted: Linebacker Payton Wilson in the 3rd round, and Center Dylan McMahon in the 6th round.
Over the past 10 years, NC State has produced 25 NFL Draft picks, and 3 1st round picks. The 25 Draft Picks ranks 8th in the ACC, and the 3 1st Round picks is tied for 7th.
NC State produced 18 NFL Draft Picks in the first 5 Draft’s of Dave Doeren’s tenure. Only 8 Wolfpack players have been selected in the past 5 NFL Drafts.
Players selected in the NFL Draft under Dave Doeren:
2024
Payton Wilson, LB – Pittsburgh – 3rd – 98th
Dylan McMahon, C – Philadelphia – 6th – 190th
NC State Cornerback Shyheim Battle has received an invitation from the New York Jets to participate in their Rookie Mini Camp.
NC State’s Shyheim Battle has been invited to rookie mini camp with the Jets with the opportunity to earn a priority free agent contract. #ncstate#NFLDraft#wpn
Battle had 1 year of eligibility remaining, but declared for the NFL Draft on January 3rd.
He finished this past year as the most experienced player on the Wolfpack’s defense, starting in 41 of the 51 games he has played in dating back to 2019. In a rarity in this day-and-age, Battle was a 4-year starter at the Cornerback position for NC State. He graduated with a degree in Communications.
In his final season in Red and White, Battle had 46 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 4 pass breakups and 1 fumble recovery. His PFF Grade of 70.6 was the 7th best on the Wolfpack defense.
Kennedy III won’t be without a friend. He will be joined by Defensive End Savion Jackson, who also signed an Undrafted Free Agent deal.
Kennedy started for the Wolfpack in every single game this season at Nickelback, tallying 31 tackles, 2 interceptions, 6 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.
His ProFootballFocus grade for the season is 79.7, which is the 2nd highest grade on the Wolfpack defense, and the highest grade of all the Safeties that came out of the Transfer Portal last year.
In his one season in Raleigh, Narveson made 18 of his 23 Field Goal attempts for the Wolfpack, and made all 38 Extra Point attempts. Narveson made some history in his one season at NC State, kicking a 57-yard Field Goal against Duke, breaking the school record for the longest Field Goal.
Narveson ranked 4th in the ACC in Field Goals attempted (23), and 5th in Field Goals made (18) this season. He ranked 9th in conference in scoring (7.1 points per game).