The word "Due" read from top-down and "South" left-right, with the U shared between them. Reminiscent of a compass.

Due South

Tuffy III grows into role as NC State Wolfpack's live mascot

By Leoneda Inge,

Published November 21, 2024 at 9:43 AM EST

We’re deep into football season and early in basketball season, so you know this is an important time of year for college sports fans, especially here in the Triangle. And whose job is to make sure those fans get whipped up into a frenzy? The mascots, of course!

If you're a Wolfpack fan, you know NC State’s Mr. and Ms. Wuf, but another NC State mascot has emerged in recent years: a live mascot named Tuffy III.

Co-host Leoneda Inge talks with Tuffy III’s owners, Lisa and Joe Downey, about how the dog brings sweet, cuddly vibes to even the fiercest of competitions.

Guests

Lisa and Joe Downey, long-time owners, trainers, and caretakers of NC State’s live mascots

Tags

Due South NC State University

Leoneda Inge

Leoneda Inge is the co-host of WUNC's "Due South." Leoneda has been a radio journalist for more than 30 years, spending most of her career at WUNC as the Race and Southern Culture reporter. Leoneda’s work includes stories of race, slavery, memory and monuments. She has won "Gracie" awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and several awards from the Radio, Television, Digital News Association (RTDNA). In 2017, Leoneda was named "Journalist of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Journalists.

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Rachel McCarthy

Rachel McCarthy is a producer for "Due South." She previously worked at WUNC as a producer for "The Story with Dick Gordon." More recently, Rachel was podcast managing editor at Capitol Broadcasting Company where she developed narrative series and edited a daily podcast. She also worked at "The Double Shift" podcast as supervising producer. Rachel learned about audio storytelling at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Prior to working in audio journalism, she was a research assistant at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.

See stories by Rachel McCarthy