In 2011, the first of several investigations found fraud and academic dishonesty at the university related to its athletic program.[49] Following a lesser scandal that began in 2010 involving academic fraud and improper benefits with the university's football program, two hundred questionable classes offered by the university's African and Afro-American Studies department (commonly known as AFAM) came to light. As a result, the university was placed on probation by its accrediting agency in 2015.[50][51] It was removed from probation in 2016.[52]
The campus covers 729 acres (3 km2) of Chapel Hill's downtown area, encompassing the Morehead Planetarium and the many stores and shops located on Franklin Street. Students can participate in over 550 officially recognized student organizations. The student-run newspaper The Daily Tar Heel has won national awards for collegiate media, while the student radio station WXYC provided the world's first internet radio broadcast. UNC Chapel Hill is one of the charter members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, which was founded on June 14, 1953. Competing athletically as the Tar Heels, UNC has achieved great success in sports, most notably in men's basketball, women's soccer, and women's field hockey.
Colin Moran was batting .297 with four home runs and 19 RBI in his first 32 games, so Pirates manager Derek Shelton worried the fracture of the left pisiform bone, located on the outer half of the base of his hand, would affect not only his swing but the grip strength of one of the Pirates’ top power bats. The injury hasn’t hindered the lefty-hitting Moran. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina[10]) is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The flagship of the University of North Carolina system, it is considered to be a Public Ivy, or a public institution which offers an academic experience similar to that of an Ivy League university.[11] After being chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolling students in 1795, making it one of the oldest public universities in the United States. Among the claimants, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the only one to have held classes and graduated students as a public university in the eighteenth century.[12]
The NCAA refers to UNC-Chapel Hill as the "University of North Carolina" for athletics.[9] As of Fall 2011, the university had won 40 NCAA team championships in six different sports, eighth all-time.[163] These include twenty one NCAA championships in women's soccer, six in women's field hockey, four in men's lacrosse, six in men's basketball, one in women's basketball, and two in men's soccer.[164] The Men's basketball team won its 6th NCAA basketball championship in 2017, the third for Coach Roy Williams since he took the job as head coach. UNC was also retroactively given the title of National Champion for the 1924 championship, but is typically not included in the official tally. Other recent successes include the 2011 College Cup in men's soccer, and four consecutive College World Series appearances by the baseball team from 2006 to 2009.[165] In 1994, the university's athletic programs won the Sears Directors Cup "all-sports national championship" awarded for cumulative performance in NCAA competition.[166] Consensus collegiate national athletes of the year from North Carolina include Rachel Dawson in field hockey; Phil Ford, Tyler Hansbrough, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, James Worthy and Michael Jordan in men's basketball; and Mia Hamm (twice), Shannon Higgins, Kristine Lilly, and Tisha Venturini in women's soccer.[167]
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)
Student government at Carolina is composed of an executive branch headed by the student body president, a legislative branch composed of a student-elected student congress, and a judicial branch which includes the honor court and student supreme court.[221] The Judicial Reform Committee created the Instrument of Student Judicial Governance, which outlined the current Honor Code and its means for enforcement in 1974.[222] Currently, Carolina boasts one of the only student-run judicial systems in the nation. All academic and most conduct violations are handled by the student-run Honor System. Prior to that time, the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies along with other campus organizations supported student concerns.[223]
If there’s one person the Seattle Mariners' young core of players turns to, it’s Kyle Seager. A massive roster turnover led the 11-year veteran to embrace the role of mentor, especially as players gear up for meaningful games in September — something many of them have yet to face. You learn to love Kyle Seager. He’s a "constant." He’s an inspiration. (The Olympian)
Colin Moran was batting .297 with four home runs and 19 RBI in his first 32 games, so Pirates manager Derek Shelton worried the fracture of the left pisiform bone, located on the outer half of the base of his hand, would affect not only his swing but the grip strength of one of the Pirates’ top power bats. The injury hasn’t hindered the lefty-hitting Moran. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
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.
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)
Kiplinger's Personal Finance in 2015 ranked UNC-Chapel Hill as the number one "best value" public college in the country.[152] The university also topped The Princeton Review's list of the Best Value Colleges in 2014.[153] Similarly, the university is first among public universities and ninth overall in "Great Schools, Great Prices", on the basis of academic quality, net cost of attendance and average student debt.[154]
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]
During the Civil War, North Carolina Governor David Lowry Swain persuaded Confederate President Jefferson Davis to exempt some students from the draft, so the university was one of the few in the Confederacy that managed to stay open.[29] However, Chapel Hill suffered the loss of more of its population during the war than any village in the South,[citation needed] and when student numbers did not recover, the university was forced to close during Reconstruction from December 1, 1870, until September 6, 1875.[30] Following the reopening, enrollment was slow to increase and university administrators offered free tuition for the sons of teachers and ministers, as well as loans for those who could not afford attendance.[31]
One of the fiercest rivalries is with Durham's Duke University. Located only eight miles from each other, the schools regularly compete in both athletics and academics. The Carolina-Duke rivalry is most intense, however, in basketball.[181] With a combined eleven national championships in men's basketball, both teams have been frequent contenders for the national championship for the past thirty years. The rivalry has been the focus of several books, including Will Blythe's To Hate Like This Is to Be Happy Forever and was the focus of the HBO documentary Battle for Tobacco Road: Duke vs Carolina.[182] Duke was Carolina's biggest rival from the 1930s until the early 1960s, when Duke's declining athletic program shifted Carolina's rival focus to North Carolina State.
The ACC office did the Tar Heels no favors with three Saturday-Monday turnarounds in a five-week span at the tail end of the schedule. UNC will host N.C. State on Saturday, Jan. 29 before heading to Louisville to play the Cardinals on Monday, Jan. 31. Three weeks later, the Tar Heels will play at Virginia Tech on Saturday, Feb. 19 before hosting Louisville on Monday, Feb. 21. The following week, UNC will travel to Raleigh to face the Wolfpack on Saturday, Feb. 26 before welcoming Syracuse on Monday, Feb. 28.
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]
Following a down year for Mike Krzyzewski and his Blue Devils, there was a significant amount of offseason roster movement. Leading scorer and All-ACC forward Matthew Hurt was joined by guard D.J. Steward and forward Jalen Johnson in turning pro after the season, while guard Jordan Goldwire and forwards Henry Coleman and Jaemyn Brakefield transferred out. There are quality pieces that remain. Point guard Jeremy Roach and center Mark Williams showed flashes of potential last season, while forward Wendell Moore is a key veteran. The Blue Devils brought in Marquette transfer Theo John to add depth in the frontcourt, and as always, there’s an elite recruiting class headlined by No. 2 overall forward Paolo Banchero and No. 17 overall wing A.J. Griffin.
Basketball coach Dean Smith was widely known for his idea of "The Carolina Way", in which he challenged his players to, "Play hard, play smart, play together."[172] "The Carolina Way" was an idea of excellence in the classroom, as well as on the court. In Coach Smith's book, The Carolina Way, former player Scott Williams said, regarding Dean Smith, "Winning was very important at Carolina, and there was much pressure to win, but Coach cared more about our getting a sound education and turning into good citizens than he did about winning."[173]
At the undergraduate level, all students must fulfill a number of general education requirements as part of the Making Connections curriculum, which was introduced in 2006.[101] English, social science, history, foreign language, mathematics, and natural science courses are required of all students, ensuring that they receive a broad liberal arts education.[102] The university also offers a wide range of first year seminars for incoming freshmen.[103] After their second year, students move on to the College of Arts and Sciences, or choose an undergraduate professional school program within the schools of medicine, nursing, business, education, pharmacy, information and library science, public health, or media and journalism.[104] Undergraduates are held to an eight-semester limit of study.[105]
Since the beginning of intercollegiate athletics at UNC in the late nineteenth century, the school's colors have been blue and white.[190] The colors were chosen years before by the Dialectic (blue) and Philanthropic (white) Societies, the oldest student organization at the university. The school had required participation in one of the clubs, and traditionally the "Di"s were from the western part of North Carolina while the "Phi"s were from the eastern part of the state.[191]
With over 300,000 living former students,[236] North Carolina has one of the largest and most active alumni groups in America. Many Tar Heels have attained local, national, and international prominence. James K. Polk served as President of the United States for a single term,[237] William R. King was the thirteenth Vice President of the United States.[238] North Carolina has produced many United States Senators including Paul Wellstone[239] and Thomas Lanier Clingman,[240] along with multiple House Representatives such as Virginia Foxx[241] and Ike Franklin Andrews.[242] Algenon L. Marbley[243] and Thomas Settle[244] have received positions of federal judgeship. Former Secretary of War and Secretary of the Army Kenneth Claiborne Royall[245] and the fifth White House Press Secretary Jonathan W. Daniels were graduates of North Carolina.[246] North Carolina has also produced 38 state governors, including Terry Sanford, Jim Hunt, and Roy Cooper, the current Governor of North Carolina. Peaches Golding was appointed by HM Queen Elizabeth II as High Sheriff of the City and County of Bristol 2010–2011, the first Black female High Sheriff and second only black High Sheriff in over 1,000 years. Stormie Forte was appointed as the first Black woman and openly LGBTQ female member of the Raleigh City Council. Carolyn Hunt served as the Second Lady of North Carolina and twice served as the First Lady of North Carolina. Margaret Rose Sanford served as First Lady of North Carolina. James E. Webb, the 2nd Administrator of NASA and an architect of the Apollo program during the Kennedy administration, was a Tar Heel. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the next generation successor of Hubble scheduled to launch in 2019, was named in honor of Webb.[247]
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)
The Clef Hangers (also known as the Clefs) are the university's oldest a cappella group, founded by Barry Saunders in 1977.[208][209] The group has since won several Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARAs), including Best Soloist in the song Easy, featured on the 2003 album Breeze. They have won two more CARAs for Best Male Collegiate Songs for My Love on Time Out (2008),[210] and for Ain't Nothing Wrong on Twist (2009).[211] Members have included Brendan James, who graduated in 2002,[212] and Anoop Desai, who graduated in 2008.[209] Since the spring of 2002, the Clef Hangers have sung each year at Commencement. They hold fall and spring concerts, sometimes featuring special guests.
Platek attended North Carolina for four years, and was a member of the school’s basketball team from start to finish. He made 127 appearances for the Tar Heels, and started 11 games. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard averaged 2.6 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. His best season came as a junior when he boasted career-highs in points (3.9), rebounds (2.1) and assists (1.4) per game. Nine of his career starts came during that season, and he logged a career-best 18.1 minutes per game.
