The university's teams are nicknamed the "Tar Heels," in reference to the state's eighteenth century prominence as a tar and pitch producer.[168] The nickname's cultural relevance, however, has a complex history that includes anecdotal tales from both the American Civil War and the American Revolution.[168] The mascot is a live Dorset ram named Rameses, a tradition that dates back to 1924, when the team manager brought a ram to the annual game against Virginia Military Institute, inspired by the play of former football player Jack "The Battering Ram" Merrit. The kicker rubbed his head for good luck before a game-winning field goal, and the ram stayed.[169] There is also an anthropomorphic ram mascot who appears at games.[170] The modern Rameses is depicted in a sailor's hat, a reference to a United States Navy flight training program that was attached to the university during World War II.[171]
The batting average with him is rather insignificant. If you want to know if Aaron Sabato of the Cedar Rapids Kernels is doing the things the parent Minnesota Twins drafted him for in the first round last year, you need to focus on his slugging percentage and his OPS. "If I put the bat on the ball, I can hit it just as hard as anybody in professional baseball." (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
Chase Hall was originally built in 1965 to offer South Campus dining options and honor former UNC President Harry Woodburn Chase, who served from 1919 to 1930. In 2005, the building was torn down to make way for the Student and Academic Services buildings, and was rebuilt north of the original location as the Rams Head Center (with the inner dining hall officially titled Chase Dining Hall). Due to students nicknaming the dining hall Rams Head, the University officially reinstated Chase Hall as the building name in March 2017. It includes the Chase Dining Hall, the Rams Head Market, and a conference room called the "Blue Zone".[225] Chase Dining Hall seats 1,300 people and has a capacity for serving 10,000 meals per day.[226] It continues to offer more food service options to the students living on south campus, and features extended hours including the 9 pm – 12 am period referred to as "Late Night".[227]
UNC took the field last Monday at Boshamer Stadium for its first baseball scrimmage of the fall. The Tar Heels followed that up with scrimmages Friday and Saturday. After going 2-for-4 with two RBI in UNC's first scrimmage, freshman Vance Honeycutt continued to show why the San Francisco Giants picked him in the 20th round of July’s MLB Draft. (Boshamer Bulletin)
Notable leaders of the university include the 26th Governor of North Carolina, David Lowry Swain (president 1835–1868); and Edwin Anderson Alderman (1896–1900), who was also president of Tulane University and the University of Virginia.[66] On December 13, 2019 the UNC System Board of Governors unanimously voted to name Kevin Guskiewicz the university's 12th chancellor.[67]
Steve Forbes is another ACC coach who was active in the transfer portal this offseason, bringing in Colorado center Dallas Walton, Ole Miss forward Khadim Sy, Oklahoma guard Alondes Williams, Indiana State forward Jake LaRavia and East Tennessee State forward Damari Monsanto, who suffered an Achilles tear this summer. The group will need to provide adequate support for returning leading scorer Davien Williamson (12.9 ppg), junior forward Isaiah Mucious (10.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and former Top-100 point guard recruit Carter Whitt if the Demon Deacons hope to climb out of the league cellar.
In 2003, Chancellor James Moeser announced the Carolina Covenant, wherein UNC offers a debt free education to low-income students who are accepted to the university. The program was the first of its kind at a public university and the second overall in the nation (following Princeton University). About 80 other universities have since followed suit.[161]
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.
Wednesday wasn't officially Tyler Nickel Day at East Rockingham High School. But it sure felt like it. Classes were adjourned 30 minutes early so the other 749 or so students could attend Nickel's announcement. As he put on a UNC hat, Nickel represented more than the first student-athlete in East Rockingham history to commit to a Division 1 school. (Inside Carolina)
From the late 1990s and onward, UNC-Chapel Hill expanded rapidly with a 15% increase in total student population to more than 28,000 by 2007. This is accompanied by the construction of new facilities, funded in part by the "Carolina First" fundraising campaign and an endowment that increased fourfold to more than $2 billion within ten years.[45][46] Professor Oliver Smithies was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2007 for his work in genetics.[47] Additionally, Professor Aziz Sancar was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2015 for his work in understanding the molecular repair mechanisms of DNA.[48]
Wolfpack veterans D.J. Funderburk, Braxton Beverly and Devon Daniels are no longer with the program, while promising prospect Shakeel Moore will suit up for Mississippi State this season. Those are big losses for Kevin Keatts, who is trying to secure his footing in a changing Triangle dynamic with two legends retiring. The Wolfpack will rely on three quality pieces in guard Cam Hayes, wing Jericole Hellems and center Manny Bates. A couple of transfers (Casey Morsell, Virginia; Greg Gantt, Rutgers) will factor into the lineup, as well as some underclassmen such as guard Thomas Allen and forward Dereon Seabron. There’s also a pair of Top-100 prospects in forward Ernest Ross and guard Terquavion Smith who could work their way into playing time for the Wolfpack.
Lenoir Dining Hall was completed in 1939 using funds from the New Deal Public Works Administration, and opened for service to students when they returned from Christmas holidays in January 1940. The building was named for General William Lenoir, the first chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University in 1790. Since its inception, Lenoir Dining Hall has remained the flagship of Carolina Dining Services and the center of dining on campus. It has been renovated twice, in 1984 and 2011, to improve seating and ease mealtime rushes.[224]
While students previously held "Beat Duke" parades on Franklin Street before sporting events,[185] today students and sports fans have been known to spill out of bars and residence halls upon the victory of one of Carolina's sports teams.[186] In most cases, a Franklin Street "bonfire" celebration is due to a victory by the men's basketball team,[187][188] although other Franklin Street celebrations have stemmed from wins by the women's basketball team and women's soccer team. The first known student celebration on Franklin Street came after the 1957 men's basketball team capped their perfect season with a national championship victory over the Kansas Jayhawks.[189] From then on, students have flooded the street after important victories.[189] After a Final Four victory in 1981 and the men's basketball team won the 1982 NCAA Championship, Franklin Street was painted blue by the fans who had rushed the street.[189] This event has led local vendors to stop selling Carolina blue paint as the Tar Heels near the national championship.
North Carolina left the Southern Conference in 1953, opting to become a founding member of the newly formed Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tar Heels won their first ACC baseball title in 1960. The program's first College World Series appearance also came in 1960. In 1964, the Tar Heels won their second ACC baseball title, posting an undefeated record in conference play. No other team in ACC baseball history has ever been undefeated in conference play.[2]
The Pittsburgh Pirates have named Jacob Stallings the team’s nominee for this year’s Roberto Clemente Award, given to the Major League Baseball player who "best represents the game through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions on and off the field." Stallings says he became emotional. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
We already knew UNC's nonconference opponents and dates, and the Atlantic Coast Conference opponents, so Thursday's basketball schedule release is about seeing how conference opponents fall. With that in mind, the first look has to be at how many short turnarounds the Tar Heels face. There are three Saturday-Monday combinations this season. (GoHeels.com)
