NC State AD Boo Corrigan: ‘We came here to be great. We didn’t come here to be good.’

NC State’s last 12 months have been filled with trophies. From women’s cross country claiming its third straight NCAA title to men’s and women’s basketball making runs to the Final Four to baseball going to the College World Series. 

For Wolfpack Athletic Director Boo Corrigan, it’s been a ride that he might not have envisioned five years ago when he was hired. The Pack leads the ACC in conference titles since Corrigan arrived in Raleigh with 24, including five this past academic year. 

But as Corrigan reflected on the progress NC State’s athletic department has made to be competitive on a national level consistently, he remembered back to his early days with the Wolfpack.

“It felt like, to me, when we got here, we spent a lot of time comparing. They got this, they got that,” Corrigan said during his annual preseason press conference Friday. “ Comparison is the thief of joy. What if we worry about us and be the best NC State we can be? And then let them worry about us instead of us worrying about someone else, and that’s really been our focus.”

That paid off with programs reaching new heights. Women’s cross country, as mentioned earlier, has been the standard in its sport and it owns three of the five team national championships in the department’s history. Men’s basketball won five straight games at the ACC Tournament to claim its first conference crown in 36 years, too. Football, meanwhile, has won at least seven games in nine of coach Dave Doeren’s first 11 years leading the program.

What’s been the secret for Corrigan, who has stuck with Doeren, men’s basketball coach Kevin Keatts and others around campus that he inherited? Patience. 

“You just try to do the right thing every day,” Corrigan said. “You believe in the leaders that you have. The question is, from our standpoint, is what can we do to help you? What do you need us to do? What can we do?”

The department’s help could be through added staff members or nutrition, but Corrigan’s goal was to be there for his coaching staffs. And that paid off, even in a time period where some athletic departments are quick to move on from a coach. 

In Corrigan’s eyes, believing in a leader can help a program go far, even if there are bumps in the road. 

“It feels like looking back, there were times where it was four or five years [with a coach] and ‘let’s make a change,’” Corrigan said. “Making a change is a big deal. Looking at a coach and saying, ‘We’re making a change’ is a big deal. If you weather a little bit, but you believe in the person leading the program, I think it’s great to see the success.”

As things on the national landscape continue to change, including new scholarship limits for the 2025-26 and the uncertainty of funding Olympic sports, Corrigan remained committed to helping each of the Wolfpack’s 22 sports teams.

He hails from an athletic administration family, which includes his father, Gene, the former Notre Dame and Virginia athletic director, ACC commissioner and NCAA president. Corrigan’s goal is simple — to be good at everything — even in the changing world.

“It’s different,” Corrigan said. “As I remind my 94 year-old-mother, it’s a lot different than it used to be. But there’s a lot of things that are different. Our ability to embrace what’s different, I think, is what’s really helped us.”

NC State has seen unprecedented success over the past year, and the Wolfpack is hopeful that isn’t done just yet. Corrigan was high on the Pack’s football program, which he thought had a chance to compete for a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff. 

That matches Doeren’s thinking, too. 

“What does greatness look like for NC State?” Doeren said at ACC Media Day in Charlotte. “We want to hold that trophy up at the end of the year.”

For the Wolfpack football program to do that, just like the rest of the athletic department’s teams, Corrigan’s leadership will be key. He is willing to do whatever it takes to win and that culture is what the athletic director thought breeds sustained success. 

“We’re in a role of support, to make sure we have a good culture in the athletic department. One of trust, one of accountability with our coaches and make sure that they know that we are in it with them, not in it against them.”

That, in a way, lines up with what Corrigan’s goal is for the athletic department: Win as many games as possible. Of course, that is a tough task in any calendar year, but so far, the Pack has done just that across multiple sports. 

“We came here to be great. We didn’t come here to be good,” Corrigan said. “You look at the university and the job that Chancellor Woodson has done in his tenure, the passionate fan base, the great city. It’s a great recruiting area. We have to continue to capitalize on all the assets that we have — being in the ACC, being at NC State — and continuing to focus on the best NC State that we can be.”

College Football Playoff committee experience

For the first time since he served as the College Football Playoff committee chair, which included a controversial ending, Corrigan opened up on his experience. 

“It was an honor to be a part of that committee, just as it’s an honor to be the AD at NC State,” Corrigan said. “Personally, I could have done without all the TV stuff, not my favorite thing to do.”

Corrigan is alluding to the ESPN television show each time the CFP committee released a new set of rankings. He sat on a stool, alone, and stared into a television camera to explain the reasoning for where each team was slotted. 

But the final rankings show, which left ACC champion Florida State out of the field, led to a national backlash. Although Corrigan was one of 13 people on the voting committee, he was the one that became public enemy No. 1 in the eyes of many college football fans. 

That led to more than 2,500 emails and voicemails at his office from people all over the country, fuming at the committee’s decision. For him, though, it was just a part of the job. He did, however, feel for what his family went through for a week or so. 

“For me, it was OK,” Corrigan said. “I’m not on social media, I don’t spend any time on social media. Candidly, it was hard for my family. It was hard for my wife and three kids. They took the brunt of it, to be honest with you. … That was difficult from a personal standpoint.”

Corrigan has moved on from his time on the committee. He served a three-year term and is now able to have his sole focus on NC State this fall. He said he watched upwards of 12 college games a weekend to keep tabs on teams around the country, but now, the Wolfpack is the only team Corrigan needs to give his focus to this season. 

But as he reflected, Corrigan shared his advice for Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel, who took over as the committee chair for the 2024 season — the first with a 12-team format. 

“The key to being the chair is you’re speaking for 13 people,” Corrigan said. “I don’t think people understand that all the time, it’s not like the chair has four votes and everybody else has one. It’s 13 people coming to a conclusion. It got a little dicey at the end. But at the end of the day, my job as the chair was to represent the committee the best that I could as we went through the last two years.”

Ongoing athletic projects

As NC State continues to win, and Corrigan’s goal is to help each program along the way, there is a major athletic project that is still in process: the baseball renovations. 

Originally a $15 million dollar project, the Doak Field renovations are now approved for a $20 million price tag. Phase one was completed in time for the 2023 season, which included a new playing surface, seating in the stands and moving the bullpens to the outfield, but the major upgrades to the team facilities have been slow moving. 

Corrigan was first to admit that. 

“There have been opportunities to do things faster and due to other conditions, we haven’t been able to do them as fast as we want,” Corrigan said. “As we go into it, there is Earth moving over there now and we’ll see more as we get to the start of the season. People will start to see more and more construction going on, with the hope to be in a better place during the season and at the end of the season.”

The next steps in the renovation, which Corrigan said should be completed by 2026, include a new team locker room, team lounge, revamped batting cages and an improved weight room among other things. 

NC State’s renovation, however, is big for coach Elliott Avent. It is his goal to see them through, thus making the statement that he will stick it out until it is completed. 

“I always said I’d retire here when I felt I’ve done everything I can do,” Avent said in June. “Part of that everything I can do is to make sure the stadium is built. Until that stadium is built, I have no thoughts of retiring.”

While baseball’s renovation is underway, PNC Arena, home to the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes and the NC State men’s basketball team, will have mixed-use development built in the surrounding area, which is currently a parking lot. 

Phase one of the project includes more than 200,000 square feet of entertainment and lifestyle retail, a hotel, more than 500 apartments and 150,000 square feet of office space. That is projected to be completed by 2030, but it will take prime tailgating spots away from Carter-Finley Stadium. 

For Corrigan, it is his goal to have NC State’s voice heard throughout the project. 

“It’s going to be change, and change is always difficult,” Corrigan said. “I think we have the best parking in college football. People love to talk about other places around the country that have these tailgating zones and these areas, and I try to be quick to remind people, that’s because they don’t have any parking.”

“It will change. It’s not going to change tomorrow. It will change over time,” Corrigan continued. “And as it does change, we’re going to be a part of it. …We’re making sure that we’re communicating with everyone, both internally … and with the Centennial Authority to make sure NC State is represented in everything.”