NC State's collectives merge into 'One Pack NIL'
NC State’s two name, image, likeness collectives are merging. After spending the past 8 months working in tandem, Pack of Wolves and Savage Wolves have officially combined to form One Pack NIL— a united front for the university’s NIL efforts.
Managed by Blueprint Sports, the same organization that ran Pack of Wolves, One Pack will provide NIL opportunities to every Wolfpack varsity athlete across 19 sports. NC State fans can donate to specific teams, join the organization as a member for exclusive events and opportunities, make tax-deductible contributions and partner with the Pack’s stars through corporate sponsorships.
While the name and logo is different, the leadership remains similar, and the process for supporting the university’s NIL efforts is still the same. In a Tuesday press release, One Pack announced that it has formed a board of directors featuring Reid Johnson (president), Clyde Phillips, and Steve Williams.
Johnson was a co-founder of Savage Wolves and now takes over in a leadership role with the new organization. The collectives worked closely together throughout 2023 and hosted multiple fundraising events alongside each other.
“I am very proud of the work that has been done over the past several months by our staff and am thrilled to see how this next chapter of NIL at NC State allows us to support our student-athletes and help keep NC State athletics competitive” Johnson said.
General manager Chris Vurnakes, associate general manager Hannah Foederer and corporate sales manager Carly Venick will all play critical roles in the collective’s day-to-day administration as well. The collective also plans on forming advisory boards for each sport within the organization.
“I think it’s going to be great for our student athletes, I think it’s going to be great for our coaches and our administrators and also our supporters,” Vurnakes said in an interview with TheWolfpacker.com. “It’s going to be one message and one collective for all of our student athletes with One Pack.”
Savage Wolves will also keep its branding as a football-specific club within the new collective. Co-founder Tom Livolsi will continue to spearhead those fundraising efforts. The organization has put a ton of resources into providing exclusive opportunities for its donors, including tours of the Murphy Center, sideline access at games and more.
That will continue under One Pack, with BluePrint Sports now managing those events.
“There’s no other fan base in the country that is more deserving of success and I think this is the opportunity for our fan base to be a part of it through NIL,” Livolsi said in a press release.
Collective members will receive additional guidance on how to continue giving to the organization, but Vurnakes made it clear that there will be little to no change for Pack of Wolves members. Donors contributing to Savage Wolves will have to sign up through the new website.
One Pack has the full support of NC State’s athletic department. Vurnakes emphasized that and also shared some lofty goals for the future. After working with 140 students athletes across the 2 collectives in 2023, the organization hopes to increase that number past 200 by the end of the year, and the general manager also anticipates a donor membership surge following the merger news.
“It’s a consolidated effort now, and I think it’s much easier for the general public to understand,” Vurnakes said. “If they want to support NIL, they need to go through One Pack, and then they can choose literally any sport that they want that support to go to based on their interests.”
