Chuck Amato, the former NC State football coach who led his alma mater to its first 11-win season and helped Florida State win two national championships, has died at 80.
WFMY News 2 reported his death on October 19, citing loved ones. The Wolfpacker reported that he died Monday morning. Published reports said he had battled recurring throat cancer in recent years; a precise medical cause of death was not independently confirmed.
For NC State supporters, Amato’s story stretched far beyond his seven seasons as head coach. He had worn the uniform, wrestled for the university, earned two degrees there and returned as an assistant before finally taking charge of the football program in 2000.
His connection to one of the school’s best-known teams began with something much smaller than a coaching contract: a case of white shoe polish.
From white shoes to NC State’s first 11-win season
Before NC State’s September 16, 1967, opener against North Carolina, Amato persuaded his defensive teammates to paint their shoes white, according to the university’s historical account. The polish came from the Man-Mur Barber Shop on Hillsborough Street.
The Wolfpack won 13–7, beginning an eight-game winning streak. The “White Shoes Defense” became part of NC State football history, with Amato helping give the unit an identity before he ever coached it.
The Easton, Pennsylvania, native was a linebacker on the 1965 team that shared the ACC championship and a defensive captain in 1967. He also excelled on the wrestling mat, winning the ACC heavyweight championship in 1966 and the 191-pound title in 1968.
Education remained part of that journey. Amato earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics education in 1969 and a master’s in education in 1973. He began coaching at Easton Area High School before returning to NC State as a graduate assistant in 1971.
When NC State appointed him head coach on January 6, 2000, athletics director Les Robinson described the attraction of bringing an alumnus home in the university’s announcement: “He graduated from NC State, he earned his master’s from NC State, he played at NC State and he coached at NC State.”
Two years later, Amato and quarterback Philip Rivers delivered the season most closely associated with his tenure. The Wolfpack finished 11–3, beating Notre Dame 28–6 in the Gator Bowl on January 1, 2003.
That victory completed the 2002 season and secured final rankings of No. 12 in the Associated Press poll and No. 11 in the Coaches Poll. Rivers played all four college seasons under Amato and became the ACC Player of the Year in 2003.
Remembering his former coach upon Amato’s retirement in 2018, Rivers said: “Coach Amato believed in me when I was an 18-year old kid from north Alabama.”
There were difficult years, too. Amato finished 49–37 overall and 25–31 in ACC games, with five bowl appearances and four bowl victories. NC State dismissed him after a 3–9 season in 2006.
The university’s dismissal announcement acknowledged both sides of his tenure: new facilities, record ticket sales and greater expectations, alongside results that had fallen below the program’s ambitions.
The players who carried his influence into the NFL
Rivers was the most recognisable offensive figure of Amato’s NC State years, but the defensive talent offered another measure of his program’s reach. The 2004 Wolfpack led the nation in total defense.
In the 2006 NFL Draft, three NC State defensive linemen went in the first round. Houston selected Mario Williams first overall, San Francisco took Manny Lawson at No. 22 and Buffalo selected John McCargo at No. 26.
Six Wolfpack players were drafted that year. Alongside those three were linebacker Stephen Tulloch, safety Marcus Hudson and tight end T.J. Williams.
Amato had already spent years developing defensive players at Florida State. During his first stint from 1982–1999, he coached the defensive line and later linebackers, while also serving as assistant head coach from 1986.
He worked alongside defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews on Bobby Bowden’s staff, helping the Seminoles win national championships in 1993 and 1999. His pupils included Reinard Wilson, Andre Wadsworth, Sam Cowart and Odell Haggins.
After leaving NC State, Amato returned to Florida State from 2007–2009. His final coaching stop brought another Bowden connection: six seasons as Terry Bowden’s associate head coach and defensive coordinator at Akron from 2012–2017.
There, linebacker Jatavis Brown became the 2015 MAC Defensive Player of the Year and Akron’s first linebacker selected in the NFL draft.
Amato formally announced his retirement on February 26, 2018. In Akron’s announcement, he spoke about family responsibilities and spending time with his grandsons. His family included his wife, Peggy, and twin daughters, LuGina and Selena.
His career had taken him from a Pennsylvania high school to championship sidelines and across generations of college football. At NC State, its most personal chapter began long before the 11 wins—with a young linebacker persuading his teammates to paint their shoes white.
Make Swikblog your go-to source on Google for reliable updates, smart insights, and daily trends.
