Debbie Antonelli ‘grateful’ to join NC State’s women’s basketball Ring of Honor

Each time Debbie Antonelli walks into Reynolds Coliseum to broadcast an NC State women’s basketball game for ESPN’s family of networks, she takes a moment to look down at the script to the left and right of midcourt. 

It’s a moment of appreciation. A moment of reflection. 

Antonelli, a four-year player for the Wolfpack, always takes time to look at the words she fought so hard to get added to the hardwood in 2007: Kay Yow Court. 

Yow, like for so many that made their way through NC State for the 34 years she led the program, left an impactful mark on Antonelli. Usually, her name will come up on many of Antonelli’s broadcasts involving the Wolfpack, thinking back to what her former coach taught her or how her life was an inspiration. 

But the next time Antonelli walks onto the Pack’s playing surface, there will be a familiar name hanging not too far from Yow’s — it’ll be her own. NC State will enshrine its former team captain into its Ring of Honor on Thursday night for her work as a college basketball broadcaster. 

The newest banner to go up inside the storied building features Antonelli’s name in a bold, black font with a red headset directly underneath it. 

Antonelli didn’t expect for this moment to ever happen. But for the once young basketball player that grew up in nearby Cary, her name going up for the rest of time is an honor Antonelli has trouble finding the expression to describe the feeling. 

“It’s hard to put it into words because it means so much to me,” Antonelli told TheWolfpacker.com. “It’s a great reflection back on that 13-year-old little girl that sat on the railing at Reynolds and learned that women could play basketball in college and could get a scholarship for doing it. … It’s very humbling.”

Fulfilling a childhood dream, forging a path in broadcasting

There’s a sense of irony that could come from Antonelli’s path to playing at NC State. Why? Well, because she almost didn’t. Instead, she nearly donned North Carolina’s shade of blue.

Antonelli grew up with the goal of playing at NC State from the first time she set foot inside Reynolds Coliseum. She went to every Yow-hosted basketball camp and clinic that she could make it to, looking to make a positive impression on the Wolfpack’s staff.

“I always tried to make myself good enough that she would pick me,” Antonelli said. “I knew I had to work really hard for her to be able to pick me.”

But as the recruiting process went on, an offer from NC State didn’t arrive. The Pack bluntly told Antonelli they didn’t want her, instead, they were recruiting someone else to join the team for the 1982 season. 

But one day during Antonelli’s senior season, Yow called. The player the Wolfpack was initially recruiting went elsewhere, opening up a spot for Antonelli to take. It was a no-brainer, right?

Not quite. 

Antonelli held an offer from UNC and had a “bruised ego” from the program she dreamed of playing for telling her no. It took some convincing from Yow to change her mind. 

“‘Debbie, haven’t you come to every one of my camps and clinics? Didn’t you dream about playing at NC State?’” Antonelli recalled Yow telling her on the phone. “She’s like, ‘Well, this is your dream. I’m giving it to you. Here’s your opportunity.’”

That opportunity is one Antonelli eventually took. She went on to be a three-year starter for Yow, helping the Wolfpack to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances during her time in Raleigh. Antonelli was on NC State’s historic 1984-85 team that swept the ACC regular season and tournament championships, while she also went to the Sweet 16 twice in her collegiate career. 

While Antonelli boasted a decorated resume from her playing career, sticking around in basketball was a career path she had to manufacture herself. There weren’t many women in sports broadcasting at the time and only the national championship game was televised. 

Shortly after she earned a master’s degree in Sports Administration from Ohio University, Antonelli went to work in making her own pathway. She was the Director of Marketing for Kentucky, where Antonelli created and broadcasted the first televised women’s games in Wildcats history. 

From there, she did something similar at Ohio State, where she helped get the Buckeyes’ games on local television, while also serving as the team’s radio analyst for eight seasons. 

Fast forward to now, 37 years after Antonelli kicked off her broadcasting career, and women’s basketball is in an entirely different light. The sport outdrew the men’s national championship this past March with 18.9 million watching South Carolina beat Iowa compared to the 14.8 million that tuned in for UConn and Purdue on the men’s side.

For Antonelli, a stalwart on the women’s basketball broadcasting circuit with ESPN and as an analyst for the Indiana Fever, the drastic change in viewership from her time playing at NC State to now is one she couldn’t have imagined. 

“It’s pure joy, honestly. It’s an incredible elation,” Antonelli said. “You can’t wipe the smile off your face when you see the arenas are full. We’ve always had a good product, but we never positioned the product properly for a lot of different reasons. But mostly, now people care. They see there’s investment opportunities in women’s sports. That’s good for everybody.”

While Antonelli has paved the way for herself and the many women in sports broadcasting that followed, she wasn’t sure how her career would have turned out if she didn’t accept Yow’s phone call during the latter stages of her college recruitment. 

“I’m grateful for it. I’m glad she came back [to me],” Antonelli said. “I don’t know where we would be if I hadn’t had the opportunity to play for Kay Yow.”

What the latest honor means to Antonelli

NC State Athletic Director Boo Corrigan asked Antonelli to meet him in his office at the Weisiger-Brown Athletics Building in August. She wasn’t sure what he wanted to talk about — though she came ready with her own topics she wanted to hit on in the meeting. 

But as they began talking, he mentioned that he wanted to show her a new trophy case inside Reynolds Coliseum that honored the Jim Valvano and the Kay Yow fund. Once they arrived at the gym, the two walked across the court to a hallway, where 40 of Antonelli’s friends and family were waiting for her. 

That’s when he broke the news: Antonelli was joining the Ring of Honor. 

Antonelli, who is a two-time Emmy Award winner and was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022, couldn’t believe it. She didn’t go into broadcasting to earn the awards, but they have followed along the way.

“Honestly, all the awards that I’ve received over the last couple of years are not anything I ever thought about,” Antontelli said. “I’m doing my job, my job that I absolutely love. I’ve been so fortunate for 37 years to be on air.”

Antonelli is not sure how Thursday night is going to be for herself. She was on a walk through Raleigh as she talked about the recognition and pointed out one thing for certain — it’s likely going to be an emotional ceremony. 

“I don’t know how I’m going to feel about my name being in the rafters,” Antonelli said. “When I look up there, I’ll just think about all the people that helped me live my dream of staying in basketball. Staying in basketball means all the years I played and then the opportunities that have come along my way from a broadcasting standpoint.”

“I feel very fortunate about my timing because I’ve been able to do some incredible things and experience some incredible moments about a game I deeply care about.”

For the former Wolfpack standout and current ESPN broadcaster, this will be “celebration of every person in my journey and in my path that has been a great teammate and helped make me better.” 

It will also bring her basketball career full-circle. Antonelli’s name will live inside Reynolds for the rest of time, allowing others to look up and see it among the other greats of the program. 

And it will also be near Yow’s, the coach that helped her blossom as a basketball player and has touched the lives of so many, including Antonelli.

“When her name got on the court, I thought that was going to be the greatest thing I’ve ever experienced at NC State,” Antonelli said of Yow. “Now, when I go in the arena I’m going to see her name and when I look up, I’m going to see mine. It’s not something I ever, ever expected. I’m grateful for it.”