North Carolina–NC State rivalry
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The North Carolina–NC State rivalry, also known as the State-Carolina game, Carolina–State Game, North Carolina–NC State game, NCSU–UNC game, and other similar permutations, is an ongoing series of athletic competitions between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels and North Carolina State University Wolfpack. The intensity of the game is driven by the universities' similar sizes, the fact the schools are separated by only 25 miles, and the large number of alumni that live within the state's borders. Both are charter members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and are part of the Tobacco Road schools. The most popular games between the two are in football, basketball, and baseball.
| North Carolina – NC State History | |||
 
| |||
| Football Series | |||
| Last Winner | NC State (2023) | ||
| Current Win Streak | NC State, 3 (2021–present) | ||
| Men's Basketball Series | |||
| Last Winner | NC State (2024) | ||
| Current Win Streak | NC State, 1 (2024) | ||
| Women's Basketball Series | |||
| Last Winner | North Carolina (2024) | ||
| Current Win Streak | North Carolina, 1 (2024) | ||
| Baseball Series | |||
| Last Series Winner | NC State (2024) | ||
| Current Series Win Streak | NC State, 1 (2024) | ||
| Soccer Series | |||
| Last Winner | Tie (2022) | ||
| Current Win Streak | Tie, 1 (2022) | ||
Locations of the two universities in North Carolina.
In football, the rivalry game is played at the end of each season during Thanksgiving week. [1] As the ACC has moved to a new scheduling system with protected rivalries, North Carolina and NC State are matched up as permanent rivals so as to allow both schools to face each other annually.[2] Formerly, NC State was in the conference's Atlantic Division and North Carolina was in the Coastal Division and were designated as cross-over rivals that played on a yearly basis. The annual game between both schools is the biggest football rivalry game in the state of North Carolina.[3]
Both schools are also known for their basketball history. They have won eight national championships between them (North Carolina 6, NC State 2), and 29 ACC Tournaments (North Carolina 18, NC State 11). North Carolina and NC State are 2 of the 15 college programs that can claim multiple national titles in men's college basketball.[4]
In recent years, some Tar Heel basketball players and fans have claimed that the Wolfpack are not their main rivals in basketball due to the Tar Heels' recent dominance, saying that UNC's top basketball rivalry is the North Carolina-Duke rivalry.[5][6]
Opinions vary, however, about the rivalry with NC State. Former North Carolina basketball coach, Roy Williams, has an intense dislike for all things related to NC State. Plenty of articles have been written about Williams' hatred for the Wolfpack, underlining the significance of the rivalry for the fans and alumni of both schools who work, eat, and live together throughout the state of North Carolina, regardless of the outcome of the games.[7][8][9]Another Tar Heel great, Tyler Hansbrough, also voiced that his dislike for NC State was greater than his dislike for Duke.[10]
NC State put an exclamation point on the strength of the basketball rivalry, making history by winning 5 games in 5 days in the ACC Tournament to upset the #1 seed UNC-Chapel Hill Tar Heels in the ACC Championship game, 84-76, in Washington DC, making NC State the 2024 ACC Champions. [11]
Oddly enough, the ACC has split the two in baseball so that the two schools did not meet in the 2014 regular season; the result of that split was the ACC reinstating permanent partners for baseball in 2015. In the interim, the two schools agreed to a nonconference neutral-site game in Durham. NC State and North Carolina faced off in a 3 game series in Raleigh during the 2024 season, with State winning 2 out of the 3 games to win the series.[12]
Listed by number of games won.
- Current streak: 3 – NC State won in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
- All-time record[13]
North Carolina: 68; NC State: 39; Ties: 6
- Record in ACC (1953–2023): North Carolina: 37; NC State: 34[14]
- Record in Kenan Memorial Stadium: North Carolina: 28; NC State: 20; Ties: 1
- Record in Carter–Finley Stadium[13] North Carolina: 15; NC State: 13
- Record in Chapel Hill, NC: North Carolina leads 36–22–2
- Record in Charlotte, NC: North Carolina leads 2–0
- Record in Raleigh, NC: North Carolina leads 30–17–4
Largest victory margins
Listed by score.
- NC State's largest victory margin: 45 points, score: 48–3 (October 15, 1988)
- North Carolina's largest victory margin: 44 points, score: 44–0 (October 12, 1894)
Conference Championships
- NC State 11 (7 ACC, 3 SAIAA, 1 Southern Conference)
- North Carolina 9 (4 Southern Conference, 5 ACC)
- NC State 17–17–1 (.500)
- North Carolina 15–22 (.405)
- North Carolina 729–568–54 (.562)
- NC State 638–599–55 (.517)
Game results since 2000
| North Carolina victories | NC State victories | Tie games |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 14, 2000 | Chapel Hill, NC | NC State | 38–20 |
| 2 | September 29, 2001 | Raleigh, NC | North Carolina | 17–9 |
| 3 | October 12, 2002 | Chapel Hill, NC | #14 NC State | 34–17 |
| 4 | September 27, 2003 | Raleigh, NC | NC State | 47–34 |
| 5 | October 9, 2004 | Chapel Hill, NC | North Carolina | 30–24 |
| 6 | September 24, 2005 | Raleigh, NC | North Carolina | 31–24 |
| 7 | November 18, 2006 | Chapel Hill, NC | North Carolina | 23–9 |
| 8 | November 10, 2007 | Raleigh, NC | NC State | 31–27 |
| 9 | November 22, 2008 | Chapel Hill, NC | NC State | 41–10 |
| 10 | November 28, 2009 | Raleigh, NC | NC State | 28–27 |
| 11 | November 20, 2010 | Chapel Hill, NC | NC State | 29–25 |
| 12 | November 5, 2011 | Raleigh, NC | NC State | 13–0 |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | October 27, 2012 | Chapel Hill, NC | North Carolina | 43–35 |
| 14 | November 2, 2013 | Raleigh, NC | North Carolina | 27–19 |
| 15 | November 29, 2014 | Chapel Hill, NC | NC State | 35–7 |
| 16 | November 28, 2015 | Raleigh, NC | #14 North Carolina | 45–34 |
| 17 | November 25, 2016 | Chapel Hill, NC | NC State | 28–21 |
| 18 | November 25, 2017 | Raleigh, NC | NC State | 33–21 |
| 19 | November 24, 2018 | Chapel Hill, NC | NC State | 34–28OT |
| 20 | November 30, 2019 | Raleigh, NC | North Carolina | 41–10 |
| 21 | October 24, 2020 | Chapel Hill, NC | #14 North Carolina | 48–21 |
| 22 | November 26, 2021 | Raleigh, NC | #20 NC State | 34–30 |
| 23 | November 25, 2022 | Chapel Hill, NC | NC State | 30–272OT |
| 24 | November 25, 2023 | Raleigh, NC | #22 NC State | 39–20 |
Men's basketball all-time series records
Listed by number of games won.
All-time series record
- North Carolina: 166; NC State: 81
- NC State: 15; North Carolina: 13
- In Chapel Hill: North Carolina: 82; NC State: 21
- At Woollen Gymnasium: North Carolina: 34; NC State: 12
- At Carmichael Auditorium: North Carolina 18; NC State: 2
- At Smith Center: North Carolina: 30; NC State: 7
- In Raleigh: North Carolina: 67; NC State: 50
- At Thompson Gymnasium: North Carolina: 20; NC State: 13
- At Reynolds Coliseum: North Carolina: 28; NC State: 31
- At ESA/RBC/PNC: North Carolina: 19; NC State: 6
- At neutral site: North Carolina: 16; NC State: 10
- NCAA Championships: North Carolina: 6 (1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2017); NC State: 2 (1974, 1983)
- Southern Conference Tournament: NC State: 7; North Carolina: 3
- Dixie Classic: NC State: 7; North Carolina: 3
- Big Four Tournament: NC State: 3; North Carolina: 2
- ACC Tournament: North Carolina: 18; NC State: 11
By Final Four appearances
- North Carolina: 21; NC State: 4
North Carolina coaches
- Frank McGuire: 13–9
- Dean Smith: 60–30
- Bill Guthridge: 6–1
- Matt Doherty: 2–4
- Roy Williams: 33–5
- Hubert Davis: 5–2
- Everett Case: 25–19
- Press Maravich: 2–2
- Norm Sloan: 13–26
- Jim Valvano: 7–18
- Les Robinson: 5–7
- Herb Sendek: 5–17
- Sidney Lowe: 1–10
- Mark Gottfried: 2–10
- Kevin Keatts: 4–11
| Decade | School | Wins | School | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | NC State | 2 | North Carolina | 0 |
| 1920s | North Carolina | 17 | NC State | 3 |
| 1930s | North Carolina | 16 | NC State | 6 |
| 1940s | North Carolina | 13 | NC State | 10 |
| 1950s | NC State | 18 | North Carolina | 10 |
| 1960s | North Carolina | 18 | NC State | 4 |
| 1970s | North Carolina | 17 | NC State | 13 |
| 1980s | North Carolina | 18 | NC State | 7 |
| 1990s | North Carolina | 15 | NC State | 7 |
| 2000s | North Carolina | 16 | NC State | 5 |
| 2010s | North Carolina | 18 | NC State | 3 |
| 2020s | North Carolina | 8 | NC State | 3 |
Listed by score.
- North Carolina's largest victory margin: 107–56 (January 8, 2017)
- NC State's largest victory margin: 79–39 (February 19, 1949)
Women's basketball all-time series records
Listed by number of games won.
- NC State: 64; UNC: 55
- NC State: 19; UNC: 8
- In Chapel Hill: NC State: 21; UNC: 31
- At Carmichael Auditorium/Arena: NC State: 21; UNC: 30
- At Smith Center: NC State: 0; UNC: 1
- In Raleigh: NC State: 35; UNC: 17
- At Reynolds Coliseum: NC State: 34; UNC: 17
- At Broughton: NC State: 1; UNC: 0
- At neutral site: NC State: 8; UNC: 7
- NCAA Championships: NC State: 0; UNC: 1
- NCAA Final Fours: NC State: 2; UNC: 3
- ACC Tournament: NC State: 7; UNC: 9
- ACC Regular Season: NC State: 6; UNC: 4
- Robert R. Doak (74-75): 0-2
- Kay Yow (75-09): 49-37
- Kellie Harper (09-13): 2-6
- Wes Moore (13-Present): 13-10
- Angela Lumpkin (74-77): 3-4
- Jennifer Alley (77-86): 7-20
- Sylvia Hatchell (86-19): 41-34
- Courtney Banghart (19-Present): 4-6
| Decade | School | Wins | School | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | NC State | 11 | UNC | 3 |
| 1980s | NC State | 19 | UNC | 8 |
| 1990s | NC State | 13 | UNC | 10 |
| 2000s | UNC | 18 | NC State | 6 |
| 2010s | UNC | 11 | NC State | 9 |
| 2020s | NC State | 6 | UNC | 4 |
Listed by score.
- NC State's largest victory margin: 89-58 (February 10, 1978)
- UNC's largest victory margin: 85-51 (February 13, 1975)
Baseball all-time series records
All-time series record
- North Carolina: 168; NC State: 135; Ties: 1
- As of May, 2019
ACC regular season championships
- North Carolina: 13 (1960, 1964, 1966, 1969, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1990, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013)
- NC State: 4 (1968, 1975, 1981, 1986)[17]
ACC Tournament championships
- North Carolina: 8 (1982,1983,1984, 1990, 2007, 2013, 2019, 2022)
- NC State: 4 (1973, 1974, 1975, 1992)
College World Series appearances
- North Carolina: 12 (1960, 1966, 1978, 1989, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2018, 2024)
- NC State: 4 (1968, 2013, 2021, 2024)
College World Series victories
- North Carolina: 16
- NC State: 5
NCAA championship game/series appearances
- North Carolina: 2 (2006, 2007)
- NC State: 0
Men's soccer all-time series records
All-time series record (1950-Present)
- North Carolina: 52; NC State: 22; Ties: 13 [18]
- As of February, 2024
ACC regular season championships
- North Carolina: 4 (2000, 2011, 2012, 2016)
- NC State: 1 (1994)
ACC tournament championships
- North Carolina: 3 (1987, 2000, 2011)
- NC State: 1 (1990)
College Cup appearances
- North Carolina: 8 (1987, 2001, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2017)
- NC State: 1 (1990)
- North Carolina: 2 (2001, 2011)
- NC State: 0
Wrestling all-time series records
- NC State: 52; UNC: 51; Ties: 2
- (As of February 7, 2024)
- NC State: 21
- (1976, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
- UNC: 17
- (1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006)
- NC State: 30
- (Jim Zenz, Matt Reiss, Chris Wentz, Frank Castrignano, Tab Thacker, Chris Mondragon, Scott Turner, Marc Sodano, Mike Lombardo, Michael Stokes, Brian Jackson, Chris Kwortnik, Sylvester Terkay, Steve Williams, Mike Miller, Darrion Caldwell, Darrius Little, Nick Gwiazdowski, Kevin Jack, Tommy Gantt, Pete Renda, Tariq Wilson, Hayden Hidlay, Michael Macchiavello, Trent Hidlay, Jakob Camacho, Thomas Bullard, Daniel Bullard, Kai Orine, Ed Scott)
- UNC: 23
- (C.D. Mock, Dave Cook, Jan Michaels, Bob Monaghan, Mike Elinsky, Rob Koll, Bobby Shriner, Tad Wilson, Al Palacio, Lenny Bernstein, Doug Wyland, Enzo Catullo, Pete Welch, Shane Camera, Jody Staylor, Marc Taylor, Stan Banks, Justin Harty, Evan Sola, Chris Rodrigues, Evan Henderson, Ethan Ramos, Joey Ward)
NCAA Champions (individual)
- NC State: 7
- Matt Reiss (1980)
- Tab Thacker (1984)
- Scott Turner (1988)
- Sylvester Terkay (1993)
- Darrion Caldwell (2009)
- Nick Gwiazdowski (2014, 2015)
- Michael Macchiavello (2018)
- UNC: 4
- C.D. Mock (1982)
- Rob Koll (1988)
- T.J. Jaworsky (1993, 1994, 1995)
- Austin O'Connor (2021, 2023)
NCAA Championships (team)
- NC State: 0
- UNC: 0
Gymnastics all-time series records
- NC State: 82; UNC: 52; Ties: 1
- (As of February 12, 2024)
- NC State: 8
- ACC: 2 (1984, 2024)
- EAGL: 6 (1999, 2000, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2018)
- UNC: 5
- ACC: 0
- EAGL: 5 (2002, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011)
NCAA Champions (individual)
- NC State: 0
- UNC: 1 (Courtney Bumpers)
NCAA Championships (team)
- Semi-Finalists
- NC State: 1
- UNC: 0
- Finalists
- NC State: 0
- UNC: 0
- Champions
- NC State: 0
- UNC: 0
Men's swimming/diving all-time series records
Women's swimming/diving all-time series records
Softball all-time series records
Women's soccer all-time series records
Men's cross country all-time series records
Women's cross country all-time series records
Volleyball all-time series records
Men's tennis all-time series records
Women's tennis all-time series records
Men's golf all-time series records
- ^ "Lucas: 2014 Schedule Thoughts".
- ^ "ESPN - Breaking down ACC football's matchups through 2030". ESPN. 30 October 2023.
- ^ "North Carolina - NC State -- The Rivalry America Doesn't Care About". www.fanragsports.com. Archived from the original on 2016-12-22.
- ^ "What school has the most college basketball national championships? | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ Albert, Darryn (7 January 2019). "Luke Maye does not see North Carolina-NC State as rivalry". Larry Brown Sports.
- ^ Giglio, Joe. "UNC and Duke a rivalry, Joel Berry says. NC State? Not so much". The Raleigh News & Observer. The McClatchy Co.
- ^ "Five Reasons Behind Roy's Hate for State". 16 January 2015.
- ^ "In Case You Forgot Roy Williams Hates NC State". 26 January 2012.
- ^ "Roy Williams does not like NC State". 26 January 2012.
- ^ "Tyler Hansbrough shows respect to hated rival with podcast answer". 31 October 2023.
- ^ "2024 ACC Tournament Champions". 17 March 2024.
- ^ "2023 Baseball Schedule".
- ^ a b "North Carolina Game by Game against Opponents". Archived from the original on 2013-12-02.
- ^ "North Carolina State vs North Carolina". Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- ^ "Winsipedia - North Carolina Tar Heels vs. North Carolina State Wolfpack football series history". Winsipedia.
- ^ "Men's and Women's College Basketball Statistics and History".
- ^ 2020 NC State Baseball Record Book p. 11
- ^ 2022 NC State Men's Soccer Record Book p. 10
- ^ 2022-23 NC State Wrestling Record Book p. 13-14
- ^ 2023 NC State Gymnastics Record Book p. 9-13
- ^ 2023 NC State Gymnastics Record Book p. 9-13