List of North Carolina Tar Heels bowl games explained

The North Carolina Tar Heels football team competes as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), representing the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Since the establishment of the team in 1888, North Carolina has appeared in 37 bowl games, including four combined appearances in the traditional "big four" bowl games (the Rose, Sugar, Cotton, and Orange).[1] [2]

North Carolina's first bowl game was in 1947, when head coach Carl Snavely led them to the Sugar Bowl, where they lost to Georgia 20 - 10.[2] Snavely led the Tar Heels to another Sugar Bowl and one Cotton Bowl, which both resulted in losses for the Tar Heels.[2] Taking over for Snavely following the 1952 season was George Barclay, who did not lead the Tar Heels to any bowl games during his three-season tenure.[3] Barclay's successor, Jim Tatum, coached for three years without reaching a bowl game.[3] Jim Hickey replaced Tatum after the 1958 season and coached North Carolina to one bowl game, the 1963 Gator Bowl, where they won their first bowl game in program history.[3] [4]

Bill Dooley succeeded Hickey as head coach and led the Tar Heels to six bowl games through his eleven-season run as head coach.[5] Of the six bowls Dooley led North Carolina to, they won only one, the 1972 Sun Bowl.[5] Dick Crum took over as head coach before the 1978 season. Crum led the Tar Heels to four consecutive bowl victories before losing the final two of his tenure at Carolina.[6] Crum handed over control of the program to Mack Brown after the 1987 season.[7] Brown assisted the Tar Heels into making a bowl game in six straight seasons; however, before the 1998 Gator Bowl, Brown accepted the head coaching position at the University of Texas at Austin and was subsequently barred from coaching in the bowl game.[7] Defensive coordinator Carl Torbush was promoted to head coach.[7] Torbush led the Tar Heels to two bowl victories  - the 1998 Gator Bowl and the 1998 Las Vegas Bowl  - before being let go after the 2000 season.[8]

North Carolina alum John Bunting was hired as coach before the 2001 season.[9] Bunting led the Tar Heels to a 16–10 Peach Bowl victory in his inaugural season,[10] and later to the 2004 Continental Tire Bowl, where they lost to Boston College.[11] Bunting was dismissed after the 2006 season.[12] North Carolina's then Athletic Director, Dick Baddour, subsequently hired Butch Davis to be the coach of the Tar Heels.[13] Davis brought the Tar Heels to three bowl games before being fired in the midst of an NCAA investigation into the North Carolina football program.[14] Everett Withers took over the program as the interim head coach for the 2011 season.[15] Withers helped the Tar Heels become bowl-eligible and participate in the 2011 Independence Bowl, where they lost by seventeen points to the Missouri Tigers.[16] Larry Fedora, coming off of a successful season as the head coach for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team, was hired to be the next head coach for the Tar Heels.[17] After obtaining a bowl eligible record but not being able to play in the postseason due to self-imposed sanctions in his first year, Fedora led North Carolina to a victory in the Belk Bowl over Cincinnati in his second season.[18]

Key

General
Bowl game record attendance
Former bowl game record attendance
Results
WWin
LLoss

Bowl games

! scope="col"

BowlScoreDateSeasonOpponentStadiumLocationAttendance[19] Head coach
1Sugar Bowl1946GeorgiaTulane StadiumNew Orleans73,300
2Sugar Bowl1948OklahomaTulane StadiumNew Orleans82,000
3Cotton Bowl Classic1949RiceCotton BowlDallas75,347
4Gator Bowl1963Air ForceGator Bowl StadiumJacksonville50,018
5Peach Bowl1970Arizona StateGrant FieldAtlanta52,126
6Gator Bowl1971GeorgiaGator Bowl StadiumJacksonville71,208
7Sun Bowl1972Texas TechSun Bowl StadiumEl Paso31,312
8Sun Bowl1974Mississippi StateSun Bowl StadiumEl Paso30,131
9Peach Bowl1976KentuckyFulton County StadiumGeorgia54,132
10Liberty Bowl1977NebraskaLiberty Bowl Memorial StadiumMemphis49,456
11Gator Bowl1979MichiganGator Bowl StadiumJacksonville70,407
12Bluebonnet Bowl1980TexasHouston AstrodomeHouston36,667
13Gator Bowl1981ArkansasGator Bowl StadiumJacksonville71,009
14Sun Bowl1982TexasSun Bowl StadiumEl Paso31,359
15Peach Bowl1983Florida StateFulton County StadiumGeorgia25,648
16Aloha Bowl1986ArizonaAloha StadiumHonolulu26,743
17Peach Bowl1992Mississippi StateGeorgia DomeGeorgia69,125
18Gator Bowl1993AlabamaGator Bowl StadiumJacksonville67,205
19Sun Bowl1994TexasSun Bowl StadiumEl Paso50,612
20CarQuest Bowl1995ArkansasJoe Robbie StadiumMiami34,428
21Gator Bowl1996West VirginiaJacksonville Municipal StadiumJacksonville45,202
22Gator Bowl1997Virginia TechAlltel StadiumJacksonville54,116
23Las Vegas Bowl1998San Diego StateSam Boyd StadiumWhitney21,429
24Peach Bowl2001AuburnGeorgia DomeAtlanta71,827
25Continental Tire Bowl2004Boston CollegeBank of America StadiumCharlotte70,412
26Meineke Car Care Bowl2008West VirginiaBank of America StadiumCharlotte73,712
27Meineke Car Care Bowl2009PittsburghBank of America StadiumCharlotte50,389
28Music City Bowl2010TennesseeLP FieldNashville69,143
29Independence Bowl2011MissouriIndependence StadiumShreveport41,728
30Belk Bowl2013CincinnatiBank of America StadiumCharlotte45,211
31Quick Lane Bowl2014RutgersFord FieldDetroit23,876
32Russell Athletic BowlDecember 29, 20152015BaylorOrlando Citrus Bowl StadiumOrlando40.418
33Sun Bowl2016StanfordSun Bowl StadiumEl Paso42,166
34Military Bowl2019TempleNavy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis24,242
35Orange Bowl2020Texas A&MHard Rock StadiumMiami Gardens13,737
36Duke's Mayo Bowl2021South CarolinaBank of America StadiumCharlotte45,520Mack Brown
37Holiday Bowl2022OregonPetco ParkSan Diego36,242Mack Brown
38Duke's Mayo Bowl2023West VirginiaBank of America StadiumCharlotte42,925Mack Brown

Notes

  1. Web site: Sports Reference LLC . SR/College Football . North Carolina Tar Heels Bowls. May 21, 2014 .
  2. History, p. 139
  3. Book: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/issue/39383?SPID=12962&DB_OEM_ID=3350. Record Book . Carolina 2011 Tar Heel Football . UNC Athletic Communications Office . University Directories . April 20, 2013. 140. https://web.archive.org/web/20140722103114/http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/issue/39383?SPID=12962&DB_OEM_ID=3350. July 22, 2014 . live.
  4. History, p. 140
  5. History, pp. 140 - 142
  6. History, pp. 142 - 144
  7. News: North Carolina Aide Is Named Coach . December 9, 1997 . The New York Times . . May 21, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140530014411/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/09/sports/colleges-football-north-carolina-aide-is-named-coach.html . May 30, 2014 . live .
  8. News: Tar Heels Fire Football Coach. CBS News . CBS Interactive Inc.. Associated Press. May 25, 2014. November 20, 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20131214201521/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tar-heels-fire-football-coach/. December 14, 2013 . live.
  9. News: North Carolina Hires Bunting as Its Coach . Los Angeles Times . May 25, 2014 . December 12, 2000 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131229095832/http://articles.latimes.com/2000/dec/12/sports/sp-64543 . December 29, 2013 . live .
  10. News: North Carolina vs. Auburn. USA Today. May 25, 2014. December 31, 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20121020214447/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/scores101/101365/101365329.htm. October 20, 2012. live.
  11. News: Boston College vs. North Carolina. USA Today. May 25, 2014. December 30, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20121018211324/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/scores104/104365/20041230NCAAFUNC-------0.htm. October 18, 2012. live.
  12. News: North Carolina parting with Bunting at end of season. USA Today. May 25, 2014. October 22, 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20140526045435/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/acc/2006-10-22-unc-bunting_x.htm. May 26, 2014. live.
  13. News: Butch Davis taking over at North Carolina . USA Today . . May 25, 2014 . November 14, 2006 . https://www.webcitation.org/6QQhiQ4cE?url=http://archiviostorico.unita.it/cgi-bin/highlightPdf.cgi?t=ebook . June 18, 2014 . live .
  14. News: Butch Davis fired by Tar Heels. ESPN. May 25, 2014. July 27, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20140526042730/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/acc/2006-11-13-north-carolina-davis_x.htm. May 26, 2014. live.
  15. News: North Carolina picks Everett Withers as interim coach. USA Today. May 25, 2014. July 28, 2011. Jack. Carey. https://web.archive.org/web/20140526041241/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/acc/2011-07-28-north-carolina-dick-baddour-butch-davis_n.htm. May 26, 2014. live.
  16. News: Scoring Summary. ESPN. May 25, 2014. December 26, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20140526052925/http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=313600153. May 26, 2014. live.
  17. News: North Carolina Tar Heels hire Larry Fedora of Southern Miss Golden Eagles. ESPN. Associated Press. May 25, 2014. December 8, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20131213234905/http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7332850/north-carolina-tar-heels-hire-larry-fedora-southern-miss-golden-eagles. December 13, 2013. live.
  18. News: Return touchdowns help UNC overwhelm Cincinnati. ESPN. Associated Press. May 25, 2014. December 28, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140703224359/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=333620153. July 3, 2014 . live.
  19. Bowl/All-Star Game Records, pp. 3–14

References

General
Specific
Bibliography

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