The 1981 NC State Wolfpack football team represented North Carolina State University during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Monte Kiffin. NC State has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since the league's inception in 1953. The Wolfpack played its home games in 1981 at Carter–Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, which has been NC State football's home stadium since 1966.