The historic Playmakers Theatre is located on Cameron Avenue between McCorkle Place and Polk Place. It was designed by Alexander Jackson Davis, the same architect who renovated the northern façade of Old East in 1844.[90] The east-facing building was completed in 1851 and initially served as a library and as a ballroom. It was originally named Smith Hall after North Carolina Governor General Benjamin Smith, who was a special aide to George Washington during the American Revolutionary War and was an early benefactor to the university.[91] When the library moved to Hill Hall in 1907, the School of Law occupied Smith Hall until 1923. In 1925, the structure was renovated and used as a stage by the university theater group, the Carolina Playmakers. It has remained a theater to the present day. Louis Round Wilson wrote in 1957 that Playmakers Theatre is the "architectural gem of the campus."[92] Playmakers Theatre was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1973.[93] Today, the building is a venue for student drama productions, concerts, and events sponsored by academic departments.
The athletic teams at the university are supported by The Marching Tar Heels, the university's marching band. The entire 275-member volunteer band is present at every home football game, and smaller pep bands play at all home basketball games. Each member of the band is also required to play in at least one of five pep bands that play at athletic events of the 26 other sports.[214]
North Carolina's athletic teams are known as the Tar Heels. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sub-level for football), primarily competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for all sports since the 1953–54 season.[162] Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, fencing, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track & field and volleyball.
As he joins the Tar Heels, Brady Manek will have someone from afar watching him closely. The fifth-year transfer met local media for the first time this week, and the 6-9 shooter said some interesting things about why he left Oklahoma to play his final college season in Chapel Hill. One, he is among the best big marksmen who ever played in the Big 12. (Chapelboro.com)
