The intensity of the N.C. State-North Carolina rivalry has been embedded into Izzy Brown’s life from the very beginning.
Her father, Chucky Brown, was a Wolfpack basketball star in the late 1980’s before embarking on a 13-year NBA career. Growing up, Izzy Brown spent lots of time on the N.C. State campus with him, absorbing the fanfare as Chucky was stopped by passerby for handshakes, signatures and photos.
But when Brown was given the opportunity to continue her own soccer career at one of the two universities’ programs, she picked prestige over pedigree: the allure of UNC’s team, sporting 22 national championships in the last 36 years, was too enticing to pass up.