Another Drive Down Tobacco Road - North Carolina

Name: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It's one of the three corners that make up the Research Triangle. Raleigh & Durham are the other two.

Year Established: Chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1789 and beginning instruction in 1795, the University of North Carolina is known as the oldest public university in the nation

Affiliation: Public research university

Mascot: Well the nickname is the Tar Heels. Don't know what that is or what it means? Yea, me neither. The origins are a little vague and there are many stories as far back as the Civil War regarding the term. But experts seem to agree that the term was developed from the fact that tar, pitch and turpentine created from the pine forests were one of North Carolina's most important exports early in the state's history.

Aside from the Tar Heel nickname they also have Rameses the Ram. Yes, they take a real live ram and paint the poor thing this horrible shade of teal.

Here is the story from the UNC web site: "In 1924 Vic Huggins, UNC's head cheerleader, decided that Carolina needed a mascot. At the time, Jack Merrit, known to his fans as the "Battering Ram," was a popular member of UNC's football team. Making use of this nickname, Huggins hit upon the idea of a ram as the Carolina mascot.

The cheerleader went to Charles T. Woollen, the University's Business Manager, and asked him to find twenty-five dollars to buy a ram. They ordered UNC's first mascot from Texas.

The 1924 team had been in a slump and Carolina fans were looking for something to break the jinx. The Tar Heel sports staff joined the campus in hoping that the new mascot would bring the much-needed luck.

The mascot, who was named Rameses, arrived in time for the UNC-VMI game on 8 November 1924. UNC got a 3­0 victory. Carolina fans credited the first Rameses' presence for pulling Carolina past VMI, and giving birth to the long line of rams who have witnessed Tar Heel games."

On a sad note, UNC like many schools also have a version of their mascot that is a student dressed in a ram costume. In March 2007, Jason Ray, the cheerleader assigned to the Rameses costume, was struck by a vehicle outside the UNC cheerleaders' hotel prior to the Sweet Sixteen game with the Southern Cal. Jason Ray died as a result of the injuries sustained in the accident.

Colors: Carolina Blue and White

Student Population: Totals around 27,000. 17k of which are undergrads.

Favorite Celebrity Relation: Andy Griffith the iconic American actor, producer, writer, director and southern gospel singer. He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.


Gift to the World/America: Leave it to a Southerner to create another carbonated soda for us all to enjoy. Those of you out there who are not fans of Coke should send thanks out to Caleb Bradham - the pharmacist and inventor of Pepsi-Cola. It doesn't taste all that great, but at least it gives you options.
Talented Hottie: We all know Fox News will only hire young attractive ladies to read you the news. Usually blonde is their preference. Laurie Dhue is no exception. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science with a concentration in dramatic arts.


In The Term "Student-Athlete," Which Comes First? UNC is well regarded academically. Over all U.S. News and World Report ranks them as 28th overall undergrad program, and 5th undergrad program among public universities. Their schools of Medicine, Public Health are also highly ranked.

Conference: ACC, Coastal Division

Recent History: It's a new day for the Tar Heel nation, John Bunting is out as head coach and Butch Davis has taken over. In 2006 they went 3-9. So far this year they have a 3-7 record with wins over James Madison, Miami, and Maryland. Their remaining two games are Ga Tech and Duke.

What I Feel Good About: Hopefully the Jackets are on a mission to finish off their ACC schedule with a win and enhance their bowl standing.

What Worries Me: NC is not a team to mess around with. The NC vs NCState game left a bad taste for them and I'm sure they will come out motivated. If we decide to sleepwalk and turn the ball over the Tar Heels could easy take home a win.

Who Needs To Play Well: This is a game that could live and die on turnovers. We can't just give away points the way we did against Duke. They will take advantage of our mistakes.

What I Want To See: After watching the Duke game again last night I noticed how well Earls and BayBay can play when the passing game is clicking. We need to get in a rhythm that we can sustain next week against UGA. I also would like to see more out of our backup RBs Evans and Dwyer. Tashard is obviously not even close to being healthy and after more thought I feel he really shouldn't have been playing in the Duke game.

Dislike-O-Meter: NC falls into the same category as Duke. You hate them more when BBall season gets revved up. That being said they are a Division Opponent so they get a sold 4.

Notable Blogs: Tar Heel Fan, Carolina March, HeelsBlog

Coming Next: Satan's Minions - UGA