Tar Heels Fans, National Media Regularly Dismiss NC State Rivalry

The cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel comprise what is referred to as “The Triangle,” an integrated metropolitan area located in the literal and figurative heart of North Carolina.

The cities are also home to three of the state’s prized universities: NC State (Raleigh), Duke (Durham), and UNC (Chapel Hill).  

For almost a century, North Carolina has been embroiled in an intense rivalry with Duke that transcends basketball and often spills over into other areas.  Every year come college basketball season, the national media spotlight shines brightly on the two prestigious schools, which are separated by a mere eight miles.

Although its proximity to UNC is not as close as Duke’s, an approximately 30-minute, 24-mile drive separates NC State from its in-state foe, UNC.  That’s about where the similarities, if they exist at all, between NC State’s relationship with UNC—as opposed to the well-established Carolina-Duke rivalry—end.

Despite more than 200 head-to-head games against North Carolina, NC State finds itself the lonely third leg—the red-jerseyed stepchild regularly ignored among its bluer-clad neighbors—in the athletic, institutional, and regional hate triangle that supposedly exists between the three ACC schools.

This scenario has seemingly grown more common as of late.  At UNC’s campus, a younger generation of Tar Heels regularly overlook and scoff at the notion that the Wolfpack pose as rivals.  This sentiment overwhelmingly rang true during my brief but wondrous four-year stint in Chapel Hill among my fellow students.

In fact, the unofficial but widely accepted, known, and sung version of UNC’s fight song includes the line “go to hell, Duke"—or Dook, the more partisan and cynical spelling preferred by Heels fans.  This reference to Duke is rooted firmly as the default, and Tar Heels only change the lyrics momentarily to accommodate the Wolfpack during actual competitions against NC State.

The national media share this common campus sentiment, reflected in the previous lyrical exclusion, as well.

One of the annual Carolina-Duke games is televised nationally, often on CBS, a major network.  ESPN has produced specials that document the rivalry.  Featured and notable sports commentators on America’s premier sports network, including the excitable Dick Vitale, universally acknowledge the fierce rivalry and refer to it as a heralded standard in college basketball.

On the other hand, these same analysts frequently treat North Carolina-NC State as an afterthought—a tiny footnote that belies the long history actually shared between the two.

In reality, UNC has faced off against NC State in 215 games and leads the series 140-75—having won 10 of the last 13 meetings, including two straight at the RBC Center, the Wolfpack’s home court.

This home court is what precisely adds zero credence to the UNC-NC State rivalry.  The name itself is bland and reeks of corporate sterility.  It’s not even located on campus—although NC State does not possess an authentic campus feel, being stationed in the center of downtown Raleigh.  Moreover, the Wolfpack share the venue with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, not to mention the fact that the arena regularly hosts a myriad nonsporting events.

Simply put, NC State’s home court offers no sense of history, which is vital to creating a sense of a juxtaposing character versus North Carolina.

While it is true that UNC’s Dean E. Smith Center is a newer venue in the same mold as the RBC Center, it has the fortunate blessing of a campus location and being named after a legendary man who embodies UNC basketball and the university.

NC State’s lack of recognition may also be attributed to a general decline in the program’s success despite having won two national championships (1974, 1983).  Nevertheless, the program hasn’t yielded the same level of success in the past two decades under the tenures of Lee Robinson, Herb Sendek, and now, Sidney Lowe.

North Carolina suffered a period of decline under Matt Doherty, but it has bounced back magnificently under Roy Williams.  Mike Krzyzewski has been a seemingly permanent fixture at Duke since he took over in 1980.  Since then, Duke has been a prime example of consistency under his watch and direction.

Finally, geographical proximity may actually be the understated factor that may have buried the UNC-NC State rivalry in favor of UNC-Duke.  While 24 miles is a short distance from a rival school, there is something remarkable about the nation’s fiercest rivals being separated by an eight-mile stretch.

Furthermore, each school offers a distinctly different picture.  North Carolina is a large, public university built on simple, Southern charm and integrated with the quaint college town of Chapel Hill.  It is more protective of in-state students than any other public university of its caliber.

Duke, on the other hand, is a smaller, private institution that has a distinctly Gothic feel; it almost seems out of place in Durham and does not enjoy the level of integration with its surrounding community.

As another public school, NC State simply does not offer enough of a contrast against UNC, except maybe all the redness.

When UNC and NC State clash tonight for the 216th time, each side has the opportunity to add not only to the statistical record books, but also to the distinct character that exists between them in the form of pranks.

Students from one school secretly deflower a campus landmark of the other with their own colors.  In the past, UNC students have painted NC State’s Free Expression Tunnel Carolina blue, which was painted over within hours.  Wolfpack students have dyed water fountains and have spray painted the Old Well, UNC’s most prized and recognizable landmark, red.

Perhaps it is better, if not inevitable, that the North Carolina-NC State rivalry will remain a second-string, localized phenomenon, without the national media’s attention.

After all, it may be the one thing that does give the clash its own unique personality, along with one side’s stubborn refusal to see the other as its equal.