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Members of the 1983 N.C. State men’s basketball team tried to make up for lost time, but a judge was not having it.
Members of that national championship squad, coached by Jim Valvano, filed a suit requesting NIL compensation last year.
“For more than 40 years, the NCAA and its co-conspirators have systematically and intentionally misappropriated the Cardiac Pack’s publicity rights — including their names, images, and likenesses — associated with that game and that play, reaping scores of millions of dollars from the Cardiac Pack’s legendary victory,” the lawsuit said, via ESPN.
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North Carolina State’s Sidney Lowe, #35, gets the rebound against Houston’s Clyde Drexler, #22, during the NCAA Final Four in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on April 4, 1983. (Peter Read Miller/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
However, a North Carolina judge dismissed the lawsuit this week, citing the “untimely” argument and “failure to allege a violation of a legally enforceable right.”
“We are proud of these Cardiac Pack players who stood up in the national fight for justice against a system that colludes to exploit young and often vulnerable student athletes,” lawyer Stacy Miller, who represented the former NC State players, said in a statement to WRAL.
The Wolfpack, who were coined the “Catpack,” entered the March Madness tournament (then just 52 teams) as a No. 6 seed and won several nailbiters en route to the championship. Their first game was a 69-67 thriller against No. 11 Pepperdine. N.C. State then upset No. 3 UNLV, 71-70, before dismantling No. 10 Utah in the Sweet 16, 75-56.
Closeup of North Carolina State’s Dereck Whittenburg, #25, holding the net with teammates after winning a game vs. Virginia at Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah on March 26, 1983. (Peter Read Miller/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
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Their toughest task up to that point had been going up against No. 1 Virginia, but they earned a 63-62 win to make the Final Four. They took down No. 4. Georgia 67-60 before taking on No. 1 Houston, nicknamed Phi Slama Jama, in the championship.
They won the title after an air-ball from Dereck Whittenberg was snagged in midair and dunked home by Lorenzo Charles just before the buzzer – neither player was involved in the suit.
N.C. State was on the bubble for most of the season to even make the tournament but earned their bid by winning the ACC Tournament, similarly to the 2024 Wolfpack team that made it to the Final Four.
North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano, left, celebrates a victory with Dereck Whittenburg, #25, after winning a game vs. Virginia in Ogden, Utah, on March 26, 1983. (Andy Hayt/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
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The Cinderella run was turned into an ESPN 30 for 30 titled “Survive and Advance,” which has now become a staple motto for other Cinderella teams.
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