The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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24 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK If he could, Wolfpack Club executive di- rector Bobby Purcell would give the recent lifetime achievement award he received to every donor who has ever given a little something to the Wolfpack Club. He would give it to every member of his staff, including those who have gone on to college athletics leadership positions and academic administration roles, and all those who have ever helped solicit a donation, calmed a passionate supporter about the previous weekend's result or found a closer parking space for a season-ticket holder. He'd give it to all the district representa- tives who have worked tirelessly during his quarter-century as the head of the NC State Student Aid Association to organize golf tournaments, banquets for the coaches' caravan and phone campaigns to recruit new donors. And he'd give it to every one of the vol- unteers who have served on the Wolfpack Club Board of Directors, those who have studied ways and reached consensus on how to move the organization, which dates back to the late 1930s, forward to best assist the athletics department in reaching its goals. Purcell knows those are the people who have made him successful as the leader of one of the nation's largest booster orga- nizations, with 20,499 members as of the beginning of 2014. He knows they are why he was ever eligible to win the National As- sociation of Athletic Development Direc- tors Lifetime Achievement Award, which was announced in February at the organiza- tion's meeting in Cleveland and presented on June 10 at the Learfield Sports Direc- tors' Cup Luncheon in Orlando. "People get awards like this because they have surrounded themselves with extraordi- nary people," Purcell said. "I'm probably the best example of that you will ever find. I've always been surrounded by a great staff." But he's also driven his staff to succeed by making sure they treated every donor equally, while generating the resources the Wolfpack needs to be successful on the field. His staff has raised $373 million dur- ing Purcell's tenure. "Bobby deserved this recognition, and it was a pleasure to be there to share in this proud professional moment in his honor," Wolfpack athletics director Debbie Yow said. Purcell, a native of Clinton, N.C., grew up wearing Wolfpack red, and he never wanted to change colors, even after he left NC State to finish his college degree at North Carolina and received his master's of education in sports management at Georgia. When he came back to Raleigh in 1981 as a graduate assistant under football coach Monte Kiffin, Purcell planned to pursue a career in coaching. He worked for both Tom Reed and Dick Sheridan before tak- ing his first job with the Wolfpack Club in 1987. Under the guidance of executive sec- retary K.M. "Charlie" Bryant, Purcell learned the ropes of athletic fundraising. He became the first executive director of the Wolfpack Club in 1991 and has culti- vated more than 25 years of department- sustaining giving from Wolfpack fans. Purcell, now 59, is convinced his back- ground in football, as a graduate assistant and as a recruiting coordinator, prepared him perfectly for athletics fundraising. "It's all very similar to recruiting," he said. "It's all about building trust, building rela- tionships and caring about the people you are dealing with. That's why our goal is to also treat every donor with the same importance." Purcell sometimes wonders what his ca- reer path might have been like if he had stayed in coaching, with the endless num- ber of hours of work on the field, the gru- eling recruiting, the constant pressure to succeed in an unforgiving profession. The rewards, of course, can be great. But it's a nomadic life, even for the most successful head coaches and assistants, who hopscotch all over the country trying to climb up one more rung on the ladder of success. Purcell never wanted to leave home. He's loved NC State since childhood and can't imagine working anywhere else. "I think back on the great coaches I worked with that were so much better than I was and how they have moved numer- ous times and been all over the country," Purcell said. "I never wanted to leave NC State. It's where my heart has always been. I've been very blessed. Wolfpack Club Executive Director Bobby Purcell Receives Lifetime Achievement Award Purcell (shown holding the award, with NC State athletics director Debbie Yow and Wolfpack Club board president Tom Cabaniss to his immediate right, and surrounded by staff, former staff and donors of the Wolfpack Club) was presented the National Association of Athletic Development Direc- tors Lifetime Achievement Award in June. PHOTO COURTESY WOLFPACK CLUB 14-16,18,20,22,24-25.TTP.indd 24 6/27/14 2:39 PM