William Donald Carmichael, Jr. Arena is a multi-purpose
arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...
in on the campus of the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
in
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange, Durham and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 census, making Chapel Hill the 17th-largest municipality in the state. Chapel Hill, Durham, and the sta ...
, United States. It is home to four
Tar Heels athletic teams:
women's basketball
Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...
, volleyball,
women's gymnastics
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
, and
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
. It is named for William Donald Carmichael, Jr., a popular former school vice-president and brother of
All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
basketball player
Cartwright Carmichael.
Although there had been concerns as early as the late 1940s that the
men's basketball team's needed a new home to replace 6,000-seat
Woollen Gymnasium, the need for a larger arena had become acute by the 1960s with the team's growing popularity. The Tar Heels were forced to move home games to
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
or
Greensboro
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...
, which were more than double Woollen's size.
However, the state was unwilling to fund a completely new arena. As a result, Carmichael Auditorium was built as an annex to Woollen; it shares the older facility's eastern wall. It originally seated just over 8,800 people, but was expanded to 10,000 seats in 1976.
Carmichael was known as one of the loudest arenas in the country while the Tar Heel men played there, largely because of a low roof and a student section that ringed the court. In part due to this formidable home court advantage, the men had a record of 169–20 (.894) in just over 20 seasons there.
Dean Smith
Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel ...
was the Tar Heels' coach for their entire tenure in Carmichael. The Tar Heels won their second NCAA title in 1981–82, while playing at the arena.
In their last game at Carmichael, the
North Carolina Tar Heels
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...
beat the
North Carolina State Wolfpack
The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for college footb ...
90–79 on January 4, 1986.
The team moved to the
Dean Smith Center
The Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center (commonly known as the Dean Smith Center, Smith Center, or the Dean Dome) is a multi-purpose arena in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, used primarily as the home for the University of North Carolina at Ch ...
two weeks later. After a remodeling project completed in 2009, capacity is 8,010.
A new floor was installed in 1998, after a roof fire that occurred in February during renovations. The arena was completely remodeled beginning in spring 2008, and the women's team joined the men in the Dean Smith Center until completion in December 2009. The facility was officially renamed Carmichael Arena during the women's team's matchup against rival
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
on February 28, 2010.
The men's team played their first round home game of the
2010 National Invitation Tournament
The 2010 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. T ...
at Carmichael because renovations were taking place at the Smith Center. On March 16, 2010, they defeated
William & Mary in their first official game at Carmichael in 24 years. Coincidentally, William & Mary was the first-ever opponent for the men's basketball team in Carmichael Arena in 1965. In December 2019, due to a scheduling conflict with the university's fall commencement, the Carolina men's basketball team played their first regular season game in Carmichael since moving to the Smith Center full-time in 1986 against the Wofford Terriers, losing 68–64.
The arena hosted a speech by President Barack Obama on April 24, 2012.
See also
*
List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Carmichael Arena page on University of North Carolina Athletics website
{{North Carolina NCAA Division I women's college volleyball venues navbox
College basketball venues in the United States
College gymnastics venues in the United States
College wrestling venues in the United States
College volleyball venues in the United States
North Carolina Tar Heels basketball venues
Basketball venues in North Carolina
Sports venues completed in 1965
1965 establishments in North Carolina