Entries

Basketball

Basketball was first organized as a varsity sport at the university in late 1910, with the team playing its first game on January 27, 1911, a victory over Virginia Christian College. The team played its home games in Bynum Gymnasium. Though basketball initially was not as popular as football and basketball, the university developed a successful basketball program in the 1920s, winning the Southern Conference several times and completing an undefeated season in 1924. It was during this era that a sportswriter, commenting on the fast play and white uniforms of the team, gave them the unofficial nickname "White Phantoms," which would continue to be used through the 1950s.

Even amid growing concerns on campus in the 1930s about the role of athletics in the university, the basketball team continued to have success. The games moved into a larger space in the new Woollen Gym in 1938. UNC—Chapel Hill was one of the founding members of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1953 and built intense and lasting rivalries with Duke and N.C. State. The program rose to national prominence in 1957 when a team of players primarily from New York won the national championship in a thrilling triple overtime victory over Kansas.

The basketball program faced a series of challenges in the early 1960s, including NCAA investigations, the departure of coach Frank McGuire for the NBA, and a gambling scandal at the popular Dixie Classic tournament. With increased scrutiny on college sports in general and especially basketball, university administrators decided not to go after another high-profile coach and instead simply promoted a young assistant coach named Dean Smith.

Despite some challenging years early in his tenure —students hanged Smith in effigy after a particularly bad loss in 1965 —Smith would go on to become one of the most revered coaches in basketball history, leading the Tar Heels for thirty-one seasons. He led the team to multiple ACC championships and NCAA Final Four games and won national championships in 1982 and 1993. His national reputation was evident in his selection as coach for the 1976 Olympic basketball team. When UNC—Chapel Hill opened a new, much larger basketball arena in 1986, it was named for Smith.

Smith was instrumental in recruiting African American players to the basketball team for the first time. Willie Cooper, who played on the freshman team in 1964, was the first African American basketball player at UNC. He was followed a few years later by Charles Scott, who became the first African American varsity basketball player at Carolina and had a very successful career at UNC.
Carolina basketball entered a new era in 2003 with the hiring of Roy Williams, an alumnus and former assistant coach under Dean Smith. Tar Heel teams led by Williams won national championships in 2005, 2009, and 2017.

The number of retired and honored jerseys hanging from the Dean Smith Center rafters is evidence of the many great Carolina basketball players over the years. Some of UNC—Chapel Hill's most honored players include player-of-the-year award winners Lennie Rosenbluth, Phil Ford, Antawn Jamison, and Tyler Hansborough. Many former Tar Heel stars, including James Worthy, Vince Carter, and Danny Green, have gone on to long and successful NBA careers. But the university's best-known player (and almost certainly its most recognizable alumnus) is Michael Jordan, who played at Carolina from 1982 to 1984. Beginning with his championship-winning shot as a freshman and continuing through an outstanding NBA career, Jordan became one of the most popular athletes in the world. Even decades after his playing career, Jordan remained popular at Carolina, with fans wearing #23 jerseys to games and his "Jumpman" silhouette appearing on the team's uniforms.

UNC women students first organized a basketball team in 1930. Called the Tar Heelettes by the Daily Tar Heel, they played other local club teams. The first women's intercollegiate game was played a few years later. Women's basketball was established as a varsity sport in 1971. The team won its first ACC championship in 1984. In 1986 Sylvia Hatchell was hired as head coach. Hatchell would become one of the most successful women's basketball coaches of all time, leading the Tar Heels to a national championship in 1994 and multiple ACC championships. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.

Date Established: 1910

Date Range: 1910 – Present

Michael Jordan going up for a dunk in a game against the University of Virginia in 1983. Photo by Hugh Morton. Hugh Morton Photo Collection, North Carolina Collection Photo Archives, Wilson Library.

Baseball

Baseball was one of the earliest sports in which UNC played against other schools. In December 1866, as baseball was catching on across the Southeast following the Civil War, a group from Carolina known as the University Club of Chapel Hill defeated the Pioneer Team in Raleigh. The university team played again, against another Raleigh club, in early 1867. This early interest in baseball appears to have faded as the student population dwindled prior to the university's closing in 1870. Baseball came back to Carolina in 1891 when a varsity team was formed and intercollegiate competition began. The baseball team soon found itself overshadowed by the rising popularity of other sports. In 1916 members of the Carolina team wrote a letter to the Tar Heel complaining of inferior treatment compared to the football and basketball teams. Nonetheless, the baseball team did well, winning the Southern Conference several times in the 1930s and 1940s under Coach Bunn Hearn.

The early 2000s saw the most successful run in UNC—Chapel Hill baseball history: the team made it to the College World Series six times in seven seasons, going all the way to the final round in 2006 and 2007 before falling to Oregon State both times. Several UNC baseball alums have gone on to play Major League Baseball, including Walt Weiss, B. J. Surhoff, Brian Roberts, and Andrew Miller. One of the best-known baseball players from the university is probably Archibald "Moonlight" Graham, brother of Frank Porter Graham, who graduated in 1901. After several years in the minor leagues, Graham was called up to the New York Giants. He played only one inning in the major leagues and never got a chance to bat. His story caught the attention of author W. P. Kinsella, who made Graham a character in his novel Shoeless Joe. Graham's story got even more attention when the novel was made into the 1989 movie Field of Dreams.

Carolina baseball has an interesting connection with George Steinbrenner, former owner of the New York Yankees. Steinbrenner's daughter and son-in-law are Carolina alums. In 1977, 1979, and 1981 the Yankees played exhibition games against the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. In 2006 Steinbrenner gave $1 million toward the renovation of Boshamer Stadium. The area outside of the renovated stadium was named the Steinbrenner Family Courtyard.

Date Established: 1866

Date Range: 1866 – Present

UNC baseball team on McCorkle Place, ca. 1890s. UNC Image Collection, North Carolina Collection Photo Archives, Wilson Library.

Aycock Residence Hall

Completed in 1924, Aycock was one of three new dorms built on the east side of campus (Graham and Lewis are the others). It was named in 1928 for Charles Brantley Aycock. At the time Aycock was one of the most revered men in the state. A member of the UNC class of 1880, Aycock was a successful lawyer and served as North Carolina governor from 1901 to 1905. He was known as the education governor for his work to expand public schools for white students in North Carolina. Aycock was also known as a skilled speaker. He traveled the state during the 1898 "white supremacy" campaign, helping spread fear and resentment of African Americans among white voters. His efforts were successful, and he was rewarded by Democratic Party leaders, who nominated him for governor a few years later. As governor, Aycock helped pass new laws that effectively disenfranchised African American voters and established a system of racial segregation and discrimination that would take more than a half century to dismantle. In recognition of Aycock's undeniably racist speeches and actions, three North Carolina universities have chosen to remove Aycock's name from buildings on their campuses: East Carolina University and Duke University renamed residence halls in 2015 and UNC-Greensboro renamed its Aycock Auditorium in 2016.

Date Established: 1924

Date Range: 1924 – Present

Aycock Residence Hall, ca. 1950s. UNC Photo Lab Collection, North Carolina Collection Photo Archives, Wilson Library.

Avery Residence Hall

Opened in the fall of 1958, Avery was built at the same time as Parker and Teague Residence Halls. Avery, located at the end of Stadium Drive, was a first step in expanding campus housing toward South Campus. The building is named for William Waightstill Avery, a Burke County native who graduated from Carolina in 1837. Avery was a lawyer, an occupation that led to trouble in 1851 when he was attacked by a man involved in one of his cases. A week later Avery shot the man in a courtroom, killing him instantly. He was acquitted on the grounds of "provocation" and temporary insanity. During the Civil War Avery represented North Carolina in the Confederate Congress before joining the army. He died from wounds received in battle. It is not clear why the UNC Board of Trustees decided in the 1950s to name a campus dorm for Avery.

Date Established: 1958

Date Range: 1958 – Present

Avery Residence Hall, ca. 1967. UNC Photo Lab Collection, North Carolina Collection Photo Archives, Wilson Library.