NC State, UNC football parents will be allowed in for games, with stipulations
A day after a group of N.C. State parents got together and took a signed petition to Governor Roy Cooper’s office, they got some really good news.
The parents will get to see their kids play. N.C. State got word Friday morning that they will receive 350 tickets for Saturday’s home game against Wake Forest. Each player on the team will receive two tickets. The school will also give 100 tickets to Wake Forest.
When it plays at home again, UNC parents will be allowed in, too. Coach Mack Brown sent an email Thursday letting parents know. The Tar Heels are currently scheduled to play at home again on Oct. 10 against Virginia Tech, although they are searching for a possible opponent to play next week.
A spokesman from Duke said it will not have spectators at its game against Boston College on Saturday.
In a letter from the governor’s office sent to one of the parents Friday morning, one of the stipulations for attending games was to maintain the 3Ws protocol: Wash, Wear and Wait and keep a social distance of six feet apart between families. Families also have to wear face coverings.
Kelly Connor, Communications Manger for the NC Department of Health and Human Services, sent out a statement Friday morning saying the state is currently seeing positive signs, including a decline in new cases and hospitalizations.
“We understand that parents and close family members are accustomed to, and look forward to seeing their athletes play games and that not being there is incredibly difficult,” Connor said. “DHHS is supportive of higher education institutions developing plans and protocols for game-day operations that mitigate risk as much as possible to keep players, coaches, staff, parents and close family members as safe as possible.
Thursday morning parents of Wolfpack football players met at the governor’s administration office downtown and handed over a petition with 96 signatures from parents. John Ruocchio, father of N.C. State senior tight end Thomas Ruocchio, told the News & Observer it was “exciting” to know that their voices were heard.
“We’ve supported our kids the whole time,” Ruocchio said. “Now it’s just exciting that all of us can be there.”
The Wolfpack 4th-and 5th-year players were going to receive 50 tickets prior to Cooper’s change of heart. Ruocchio said he was more excited for the parents of freshmen players, who get to see their sons in a Division I jersey for the first time, a moment they will never forget.
At his press conference on Thursday, N.C. State coach Dave Doeren showed full support of the parents.
“I understand there’s rules and regulations and you don’t want to open up Pandora’s box for everybody,” Doeren said. “But this seems like there should be a little flexibility when you see a lot of people hanging out on a patio at a bar, but you can’t have 500 parents in a 60,000 seat stadium. Doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
“Doeren talks about One Pack, One Goal, and Wolfpack family,” Ruocchio said. “And now our kids buy into it, so we are excited.”
With emergency orders in place and so much on the governor’s plate, Ruocchio was thankful their voices were heard.
“We very much appreciate the Governor listening to us,” Ruocchio said. “We know he’s being pulled in different directions and we are just glad and thankful for his decision to allow parents, now across the state, to watch their children play.”
This story was originally published September 18, 2020 at 8:46 AM.
