Why NC State’s trip to the Military Bowl has a deeper connection to the Wolfpack coaching staff

There’s a world where NC State’s Dave Doeren never coached college football. 

The Wolfpack’s all-time winningest coach with 87 victories at the helm of the blue-collar program didn’t think he’d be in this position as a high school senior. Instead, Doeren believed he was bound for a service academy out of Shawnee Mission (Kan.) High. 

Doeren, who hails from a military family where his father, Bill, served in the Navy, applied to the Air Force Academy, Naval Academy and West Point as he looked for a college destination. 

The schools located in Colorado and New York both rejected the high school tight end, but the university nestled on the Maryland banks of the Chesapeake Bay admitted Doeren. 

The only hurdle between the Pack’s coach and attending the Navy’s institution in Annapolis? The time commitment for a Navy doctor after the academy. Doeren was set on pursuing a medical career at the time, but the two-decade service requirement was a tough thing for the 17-year-old to commit to. 

“I was very excited about that opportunity,” Doeren said of the possibility of attending the Naval Academy. “To go to an academy, you owed them 20 years of your life after med school. That’s kind of hard at 17 to make a decision like that, so I punted on that one.”

While Doeren passed on the opportunity to attend one of the most prestigious institutions in the country, and eventually moved on from becoming a doctor, his military roots still shine through. In addition to his father, Doeren’s grandparents served and so did his father-in-law, Stan, an Army veteran. 

So as NC State prepares to play East Carolina in the Go Bowling Military Bowl on Saturday (5:45 p.m., ESPN), the armed forces aspect of the game brings a deeper appreciation for the Wolfpack’s fifth straight bowl appearance under Doeren. 

“The military, for us, is meaningful,” said Doeren, who was born at a California Naval hospital. “It’s a part of our upbringing. … You do feel the pageantry of the military here more than you do anywhere. Playing on base at a place like that, there’s a lot of pageantry, a lot of special things that goes with being there.”

Although Doeren has multiple military ties as the Wolfpack is set to play on the Naval Academy’s campus for the first time in his tenure, he isn’t the only NC State staff member with deep connections to the armed forces.

Wolfpack graduate assistant Kevin Hodges served in the Navy for 10 years as a Cryptologic Technician (Collection) First Class, while student assistant Tyler Bailey spent more than seven years active duty in the Army’s special forces with two deployments to Afghanistan in 2017 and 2018-19. 

Hodges was stationed on the USS Chosin at Pearl Harbor before later moving to Fort Meade in Maryland, just over 18 miles away from Navy-Marine Corps Stadium, for his last four years of service. For the defensive backs assistant, the Military Bowl brings his past and present together for a weekend. 

“For me personally, it’s full circle,” Hodges said. “I took a chance of getting out of the Navy to go chase my dream [in coaching], prove to my son that I can do it. To be going back now for a bowl game, this is my third bowl, but this feels special for me. Being able to go back to a place that I once considered home for a few years is going to be good, so I’m excited for it.”

Bailey, who is still connected to the Army, thought NC State is among the best at honoring service men and women. This bowl game, in his eyes, provides another opportunity to do just that, in addition to the annual military weekend the Wolfpack holds each season. 

“It means a lot to me because nobody does the military appreciation stuff better than Wolfpack nation, in my opinion,” Bailey said. “Being able to represent the military in this capacity, it means so much more to me, especially on a national stage of us playing [in the bowl].”

Both Bailey and Hodges lean on their military experience in coaching. Their time in the Army and Navy provided opportunities to overcome adversity on a routine basis, something akin to football. It also had leadership skills they learned as young men have translated seamlessly into their football lives. 

“I tell my guys all the time, don’t tell me you can’t do it,” Hodges said. “Don’t tell me you can’t lead because you’re 20 or 21, I did it. You can do it. The leadership aspect and dealing with young people. Being young and having to lead at the same time, I don’t think you can get that in any environment besides the military.”

While Bailey and Hodges both noted they didn’t serve in the military for the recognition, rather because they wanted to on their own accord. The chance to play in a game that honors them as well as those they served alongside, however, was still a special opportunity. 

And what about Doeren, a coach that embraces the military as often as he can? This bowl placement was the perfect match. 

“I’m excited to go to Annapolis, like really excited to see that,” Doeren said. “I have so much respect for the military academies — all of it. … Anytime we can do anything that lets the military have football involved in it where they can take a break from protecting us and enjoy a day, I’m all about it.”