North Carolina–NC State rivalry explained

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)

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.

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]

Football all-time series records

See main article: North Carolina–NC State football rivalry.

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)

Bowl Record

• NC State 17–17–1 (.500)
• North Carolina 15–22 (.405)

All time records

• North Carolina 729–568–54 (.562)
• NC State 638–599–55 (.517)

Game results since 2000

Men's basketball all-time series records

Listed by number of games won.

All-time series record

• North Carolina: 166; NC State: 81

Longest Win Streaks

• NC State: 15; North Carolina: 13

By location

• 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

By Titles

• 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

By coach

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

NC State coaches

• 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

By decade

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

Other

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)

Scores of games (1913–Present)

Winning team is shown in bold. Ranking of the team at the time of the game by the AP poll is shown in parentheses next to the team name (failure to list AP ranking does not necessarily mean the team was not ranked at the time of the game).

Women's basketball all-time series records

Listed by number of games won.

All-time series record^[15]

• NC State: 64; UNC: 55

Longest Win Streaks

• NC State: 19; UNC: 8

By location

• 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

By Titles

• 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

By coach

NC State coaches

• 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

UNC coaches

• Angela Lumpkin (74-77): 3-4
• Jennifer Alley (77-86): 7-20
• Sylvia Hatchell (86-19): 41-34
• Courtney Banghart (19-Present): 4-6

By decade

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

Other

Listed by score.

• NC State's largest victory margin: 89-58 (February 10, 1978)
• UNC's largest victory margin: 85-51 (February 13, 1975)

Scores of games (1975–Present)

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)^[16]

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 ^[17]
• 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)

NCAA championships

• North Carolina: 2 (2001, 2011)
• NC State: 0

Wrestling all-time series records

All-time series record (1955-present) ^[18]

• NC State: 52; UNC: 51; Ties: 2
• (As of February 7, 2024)

ACC Championships

• 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)

All-Americans

• 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

Scores of games (1955–Present)

Gymnastics all-time series records

Series record (1981-present) ^[19]

• NC State: 82; UNC: 52; Ties: 1
• (As of February 12, 2024)

Conference Championships ^[20]

• 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

Scores of meets (1981–Present)

Notes and References

1. https://goheels.com/news/2014/1/22/209383441
2. Web site: ESPN - Breaking down ACC football's matchups through 2030. ESPN.
3. Web site: North Carolina - NC State -- The Rivalry America Doesn't Care About . www.fanragsports.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20161222222907/http://www.fanragsports.com/cfb/north-carolina-nc-state-the-rivalry-america-doesnt-care-about/ . 2016-12-22.
4. Web site: What school has the most college basketball national championships? | NCAA.com. www.ncaa.com. 23 March 2023.
5. Web site: Albert . Darryn . Luke Maye does not see North Carolina-NC State as rivalry . Larry Brown Sports . 7 January 2019.
6. News: Giglio . Joe . UNC and Duke a rivalry, Joel Berry says. NC State? Not so much. . The Raleigh News & Observer . The McClatchy Co. . en.
7. Web site: Five Reasons Behind Roy's Hate for State . 16 January 2015 .
8. Web site: In Case You Forgot Roy Williams Hates NC State . 26 January 2012 .
9. Web site: Roy Williams does not like NC State . 26 January 2012 .
10. https://sports.yahoo.com/tyler-hansbrough-shows-respect-hated-173849779.html
11. Web site: 2024 ACC Tournament Champions .
12. Web site: 2023 Baseball Schedule .
13. Web site: North Carolina Game by Game against Opponents . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131202233516/http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/acc/north_carolina/opponents_records.php?teamid=2287 . 2013-12-02 .
14. Web site: North Carolina State vs North Carolina . 27 November 2021 .
15. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/
16. 2020 NC State Baseball Record Book p. 11
17. 2022 NC State Men's Soccer Record Book p. 10
18. 2022-23 NC State Wrestling Record Book p. 13-14
19. 2023 NC State Gymnastics Record Book p. 9-13
20. 2023 NC State Gymnastics Record Book p. 9-13