View complete article and references at Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina at: https://docsouth.unc.edu/commland/monument/447

Description: This massive stone and bronze sculpture is located in front of the Wendell H. Murphy Football Center on North Carolina State University's campus. The interactive monument contains six wolves, each 5 to 6 feet tall and approximately two times life size, named Confidence, Passion, Spirit, Courage, Pride, and Strength, the qualities of NCSU athletes. The wolves stand in various poses atop a stone "mountain", as they guard their turf and perhaps the Murphy Center den behind them. Passion, howling, stands at the highpoint of the sculpture. The entire structure stands approximately 28 feet high. The sculpture is considered to be interactive, with waterfalls, lighting effects, and pathways for viewers. An interpretive plaque sits several feet in front of the sculpture.

Dedication date: December 2002

Creator: Dick Idol, Sculptor

Materials & Techniques: Bronze, stone, concrete

Sponsor: Neal Hunter, the Wolf Pack Club

Cost: $650000

Subject notes: The sculpture was conceived as part of a comprehensive and long-term fundraising effort involving the collaboration of the designer and sculptor, NCSU alumnus Dick Idol, and the university booster group known as the Wolf Pack Club. The plan involved a multifaceted fundraising approach with the original commission of the Murphy Center wolf pack sculpture at the center. The effort utilized an approach in which dedication rights rights would be sold for the creation of the pack sculpture as well as for subsequent reproductions of the individual wolves to be placed at the three entrances to Carter-Finley Stadium and three other locations on the campus. Sales of limited edition collectible desktop replicas of the main sculpture and individual wolves would bring in additional revenue, all on behalf of the Wolfpack Club for university athletic student scholarships. As of 2003, the effort had raised a reported $2 million with projections of up to $3 million. Dick Idol played football during his time at NCSU.

Location: The sculpture sits in front of the Murphy Center located off Trinity Road.

Landscape: The sculpture sits in the paved plaza in front of the Murphy Center and within its own garden area with manicured grass and perennial shrubs. A low metal fence surrounds the sculpture area.

City: Raleigh

County: Wake

Subjects: Animal Monuments,Athletic Institutions,Educational Institutions