Chuck Amato dies at 80: Legendary NC State coach led Wolfpack to 11-win campaign in 2002 season

A beloved figure in Raleigh, he led the Wolfpack to a program-record 11 wins in 2002, developed Philip Rivers and helped win two national championships under Bobby Bowden at Florida State

Oct 19, 2026 at 3:29 pm ET • 2 min read

Chuck Amato, a man synonymous with putting NC State football on the map, has died, the school announced on Monday. He was 80.

Amato was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2009 and reportedly battled progression of the disease in recent years. He went 49-37 over seven seasons as NC State's coach from 2000-06, leading the Wolfpack to four bowl wins and a school-record 11-win campaign in 2002 as the 12th-best team in the country.

That memorable season was capped by a Gator Bowl win over Notre Dame after MVP quarterback Philip Rivers threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns. Amato helped land Rivers, a four-year starter at NC State who set numerous program passing records. 

The former NFL star was NC State's first All-American signal caller since Roman Gabriel, and Amato was instrumental in his development. Amato was an elite recruiter and flexed his acumen after signing running back TA McClendon in NC State's 2002 cycle. McClendon was the ACC's Freshman of the Year that season, setting school records with 18 total touchdowns.

McClendon, an Albermarle, N.C. native, had dozens of major scholarship offers after rushing for 9,004 yards and scoring a national-best 178 total touchdowns over his four-year prep career before staying home with the Wolfpack.

After earning his stripes as a captain linebacker and unbeaten wrestler for the Wolfpack in the 1960s, Amato returned to his alma mater as a GA in 1971 before becoming NC State's defensive coordinator five years later. Following stints at Arizona State and Florida State under legendary Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden, Amato became NC State's head coach in 2000.

Known for his trademark raspy voice, shades and sideline personality on game days, Amato made the Wolfpack one of the ACC's toughest teams to beat on the road and helped create a loud and raucous environment at Carter-Finley Stadium.

"Amato" is the Italian word for beloved, and he was certainly that for the Wolfpack faithful.

Amato's coaching history

During his initial stint at NC State as a defensive assistant and later coordinator, Amato worked under Lou Holtz and others over nine seasons on staff. He aided in the development of four All-SEC defensive backs, including future Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher, who resides in Raleigh.

Amato left NC State in 1980 to join the Arizona staff as linebackers coach and spent two seasons with the Wildcats before teaming up with Bowden at Florida State. Amato spent more than a decade with the Seminoles, assisting on the 1993 and 1999 national championship teams.

He left Tallahassee after Florida State's win over Virginia Tech in the 2000 Sugar Bowl to assume the vacancy at NC State as a first-time head coach, the 32nd in program history.

Amato re-joined Bowden at Florida State in 2007, but was not retained by new coach Jimbo Fisher following Bowden's retirement after the 2009 campaign. Amato retired from coaching in 2018 after finishing up his sixth season as an assistant coach at Akron.