Willie Burden (2026) - NC State Athletic Hall of Fame

Willie Burden

Induction:
2026

The first player in school history to surpass the 1,000-yard rushing mark, Willie Burden is one of just seven ACC Players of the Year in the history of the Wolfpack football program. An All-ACC performer in 1972 and 1973, the Raleigh native was the league's rushing leader in '73 and helped lead head coach Lou Holtz's squad to the '73 ACC title. He still ranks 10th in school history in career rushing yards, 50 years after his graduation. Burden went on to gain fame in the Canadian Football League and has been inducted into the CFL and North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. He earned an economics degree from NC State, a master's degree in sports administration from Ohio University and a doctorate in education from Tennessee State. He served as athletic director for North Carolina A&T University from 1990 to 1999 and then as a professor of sports management at Georgia Southern University, where he published scholarly research in academic journals and was deeply committed to student learning, mentorship, and leadership development. He retired on May 31, 2015, following a distinguished career in higher education and athletics administration. He passed away in 2015.