For NC State director of athletics Boo Corrigan, it has been a long time coming.

Appearing on the ACC Network’s Packer and Durham morning show, Corrigan noted that they anticipate some fan complaints originating from the first game of the year. Perhaps there will be issues with the digital tickets they have switched to for this season.

After a year in which fans were largely locked out of Carter-Finley Stadium, the complaints will almost be music to Corrigan’s ears.

“It’s going to be awesome,” Corrigan said of the season opener Thursday night against South Florida. “It was great even riding in today right by the Winnebago lot, there’s 20, 25 Winnebago’s and buses and they’re out there and it’s like, all right, here we go.”

Some things haven’t changed since the COVID-19 pandemic swept over the country. Corrigan noted there will still be hand sanitizers across the stadium. There will be lines in and lines out. The concession stands will be cashless.

There have also been some changes to the stadium. The northeast corner of the stadium will feature what they are calling “Raleighwood.” Food trucks and beverage stations will be stationed there to enhance the fan experience.

“It’s going to look and feel a little bit different, but it’s still about NC State, and still about this great university and our coaches and our players,” Corrigan said.

The product on the field excites Corrigan, too. He noted that it was the football team that set the tone for a banner year on the field of competition for NC State overall in 2020-21.

The baseball team made it to the College World Series. Women’s tennis reached the Final Four. Both women’s cross country and women’s swimming finished second at the NCAA championship meets. Women’s basketball won an ACC title and reached the Sweet 16, and both men’s swimming and wrestling had top-10 national finishes.

Corrigan is hopeful the football team can set the tone again.

“When you at look at 20 returning starters, you look at where they are, you look at our linebacker corps whose been together a couple of years, the secondary and its depth, you look at the offensive line,” Corrigan listed. “I always go back to leadership. You spend all that time at West Point so maybe some of that rubs off, but you look at Grant Gibson, you look at Isaiah Moore, and just who they are as individuals.

“Those are the two that aren’t going to put up with anything. Those are the two that want to be on the forefront of everything we’re doing.”

The team will be wearing alternate uniforms against South Florida, including the slobbering wolf logo on the helmet. Both Corrigan and show host Mark Packer were wearing that version of the logo on hats during the television appearance.

“Tuffy … is going to be the primary, but so many people have so many different connections into NC State that you want to celebrate them and make sure that they’re part of what we’re doing. … Since we have a great history, there’s a lot of positivity around it,” Corrigan explained. “Why not bring it back?”

Corrigan added that there is a good story behind the uniforms.

“It's great to look cool,” Corrigan said. “It’s better to have a story why you look cool. … I think the story’s what it’s about.”

It’s exciting times for Corrigan and the athletics department at NC State. His hope is that is can stay that way. Cautious to get too ahead of himself, Corrigan said they feel that the Pack is “on the right trajectory.”

Now it’s time for the fans to join into the excitement firsthand after a long year watching from home.

“We only got seven of them this year,” Corrigan said of the home football games. “We had six last year but how many people got here for more than one game? … That’s a big part of it. Enjoy what it is.

"Enjoy the people that you’re with, that are watching the product on the field, that are watching the growth the players I this program the last couple of years.”

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