NC State University 125 Years: Tradition and Transformation

For those who missed it, NC State is celebrating 125 years since being first established in March 7, 1887.  NC State was founded to support the people of North Carolina. Since it’s humble beginnings as a university with a plot of land and no money for staff or programs, it has swelled to become the largest University in the state of North Carolina and one of the biggest, if not THE biggest, university in the central Atlantic and the third largest engineering school in the nation.

NC State has a fine tradition and one thing that was always impressed upon me (not by the sorry administration that ran the place at the time, but by family and fans) is that NC State’s tradition is undeniably linked to our own traditions.  Whether we came to NC State and wore and athletic jersey, knowing the excitement of being cheered on by thousands of fans, or whether we did little more than attend class and survive to become one of the proud alumni of State College, we are all a part of what makes up NC State.  Rich, poor, locals, foreigners, athletes, students, legacies, and new additions to the family, we are all what make up NC State.

Happy birthday to NC State.  Happy birthday to us.


If you are on Twitter, please send a shout-out to @NCState, the new official account for beloved State College.

If you are in Raleigh, you can take a look at NC State’s 125th anniversary page for more information about events and drives.

If you are wanting something to get mad about, see my previous article on NC State’s rivalry with UNC and why the rivalry seeps down to the establishment of ‘State College’.

About NCStatePride

***ABOUT THE AUTHOR: NCStatePride has been writing for StateFansNation.com since 2010 and is a 2009 graduate of the College of Engineering.

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9 Responses to NC State University 125 Years: Tradition and Transformation

  1. Trout 03/07/2012 at 10:09 AM #

    http://125.ncsu.edu/

    Happy Birthday NC State! Really proud to be a graduate of a university that truly serves the citizens of North Carolina and beyond!

  2. compsciwolf 03/07/2012 at 10:49 AM #

    Who ever is doing NC State’s video and branding needs credit – it has improved immensely over the last few years and looks very professional. It’s way better than what I see from most universities.

    I love the stylized bell tower logo at the end of the video.

  3. Trout 03/07/2012 at 10:52 AM #

    ^ Agree. University Communications did a great job on this and have really made huge strides in marketing NC State. Well done!

    http://www.ncsu.edu/university-communications/

  4. BureauOfMines 03/07/2012 at 11:48 AM #

    A mighty snazzy video … very cool.

  5. Six Pack 03/07/2012 at 1:08 PM #

    Happy Birthday from a life-long fan but an alum of other universities! Happy Birthday to THE University IN North Carolina!!

  6. ryebread 03/07/2012 at 3:25 PM #

    Pretty impressive. This may sound lame, but it gave me a tiny little shiver. 🙂

    Our video marketing has drastically improved over the last few years. We’re light years ahead of “I want to see the future.”

  7. Pack78 03/07/2012 at 6:34 PM #

    Great video; loved the shot of John T. Caldwell (namesake of the scholarship) who was chancellor during my first two years. Really think that he was the last really good chancellor that was ‘all in’ on NCSU prior to Randy Woodson…

  8. backnine 03/07/2012 at 10:25 PM #

    I am really enjoying the professional calibre of marketing and PR lately. We appear to finally be in the hands of seasoned professionals who understand the power of building a strong brand. The video and music married up nicely together to create the emotional response you would hope for (at least they did with me). Felt pride watching that. And still enjoying the billboards on the interstates displaying, “Welcome to our STATE.” Hope this activity continues and even increases. Its time for this university to bloom.

  9. NCStatePride 03/08/2012 at 10:22 AM #

    I had a friend at church that stopped me and said, “Hey, I was driving into North Carolina last weekend and I saw a billboard that had your NC State logo on it. It said ‘Welcome to our STATE’ with that S-logo you guys have. I thought it was really cool.”

    THAT is exactly what we should be going for, IMHO. This is a girl who has never lived in the state of North Carolina and has always just kind of been a local-yokal in my community, but she is ‘aware’ of this big-deal-school in Raleigh just because she sees it marketted more throughout the state. Very proud of Randy Woodson. What I like even better is that 125 years since “establishment” is kind of a manufactured benchmark. The school didn’t open until 1889, which is the date on all our logos and on the “official class ring”. What that tells me is that Randy is really pushing to advocate for the history and tradition of NC State.

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