The good news for Mike Brey is that he returns the large majority of his offensive production from last season and adds a quality piece in Yale transfer Paul Atkinson in the post. The bad news is that the Fighting Irish have been a middling ACC team in recent years, and as efficient as his offense may be, the lack of defensive production has been a serious downfall. All-ACC guard Prentiss Hubb and forward Nate Laszewski give Notre Dame a solid duo to build around this season.
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]
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]
UNC-Chapel Hill offers 71 bachelor's, 107 master's and 74 doctoral degree programs.[94] The university enrolls more than 28,000 students from all 100 North Carolina counties, the other 49 states, and 47 other countries. It is the third largest university in North Carolina, just behind North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in enrollment. State law requires that the percentage of students from North Carolina in each freshman class meet or exceed 82%.[95] The student body consists of 17,981 undergraduate students and 10,935 graduate and professional students (as of Fall 2009).[96] Racial and ethnic minorities comprise 30.8% of UNC-Chapel Hill's undergraduate population as of 2010[97] and applications from international students have more than doubled in the last five years (from 702 in 2004 to 1,629 in 2009).[98] Eighty-nine percent of enrolling first year students in 2009 reported a GPA of 4.0 or higher on a weighted 4.0 scale.[99] UNC-Chapel Hill students are strong competitors for national and international scholarships. The most popular majors at UNC-Chapel Hill are biology, business administration, psychology, media and journalism, and political science.[99] UNC-Chapel Hill also offers 300 study abroad programs in 70 countries.[100]
Tony Bennett has consistently brushed aside his skeptics in dominating the ACC standings in recent years, although this year may require his best coaching job yet as standouts from last season – center Jay Huff and forward Sam Hauser – have left Charlottesville. Trey Murphy also took his potential to the NBA, where he’s now playing for New Orleans. Justin McKoy transferred to UNC, while Casey Morsell moved to Raleigh. What’s left is a veteran guard in Kihei Clark and a group of transfers that include guard Armaan Franklin (Indiana) and forward Jayden Gardner (East Carolina). Top-100 signee Taine Murray will have an opportunity to carve out playing time as well.
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]
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.
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]
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]
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.
Leonard Hamilton has built quite the program in Tallahassee, developing both elite recruits and lesser-known talents into NBA-ready prospects. The Seminoles have lost some key pieces from last season’s squad – guards Scottie Barnes and M.J. Walker and forwards Raiquan Gray and Balsa Koprivica – although sharpshooting wing Anthony Polite, forward Malik Osbourne and wing RayQuan Evans are back. There’s also the arrival of Houston standout guard Caleb Mills, who will join a Top-5 recruiting class, which is headlined by Top-25 forward Matthew Cleveland, and fellow transfer Cam’Ron Fletcher (Kentucky).
Tar Heels have also made a mark on pop culture. Andy Griffith[248] and John Forsythe[249] became successful actors. Stuart Scott,[250] Woody Durham,[251] and Mick Mixon[252] have become sportscasters. Civil War historian and writer Shelby Foote,[253] sportswriter Peter Gammons,[254] Pulitzer Prize winner Lenoir Chambers[255] and comedian Lewis Black all graduated from North Carolina. Other notable writers who have attended UNC-Chapel Hill include Thomas Wolfe, who has a memorial on campus; National Book Award winners Walker Percy, Hayden Carruth, and Charles Frazier; Dos Passos Prize winner Russell Banks; National Book Critics Circle Award winner Ben Fountain; Pulitzer Prize finalist Lydia Millet; New Yorker columnist Joseph Mitchell; National Geographic writer John Patric; Armistead Maupin; and the notable poets Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Bollingen Prize winner Edgar Bowers.Television journalist Charles Kuralt, honored with three Peabody Awards, is a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate. Three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, political cartoonist Jeff MacNelly graduated from Carolina. Caleb Bradham,[256] the inventor of the popular soft drink Pepsi-Cola, was a member of the Philanthropic Society and the class of 1890. Actor Ken Jeong attended UNC's School of Medicine, joining the small group of performers and personalities who also possess doctorates. Brooke Baldwin anchors CNN's Newsroom and graduated from UNC in 2001.[257] Pamela Brown serves as CNN's Senior White House Correspondent.[258] Pulitzer Prize winner and creator of the 1619 Project, Nikole Hannah-Jones achieved her master's degree from UNC in 2003.[259]
The updated 247Sports rankings for the 2022 basketball recruiting class were released Wednesday. All of UNC's commitments made a significant shift. Point guard commit Seth Trimble jumped from 41 to 28 in the rankings. Center Jalen Washington fell from 22 to 49. Center Will Shaver fell from 103 to 141. And forward Tyler Nickel moved from No. 75 to No. 79. (Inside Carolina)
