The North Carolina–South Carolina football rivalry is an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

between the

North Carolina Tar Heels football The North Carolina Tar Heels football team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the sport of American football or Gridiron Football. The Tar Heels play in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate ...

team 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 ...

and

South Carolina Gamecocks football The South Carolina Gamecocks football program represents the University of South Carolina. The Gamecocks compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern ...

team of the University of South Carolina. North Carolina leads the series 35–20–4 through the 2021 season. North Carolina won 29 of the first 40 games in the series; however South Carolina has led the series 13-6 since beating the Tar Heels in 1967.

Series history

The series started in 1903 with a win for North Carolina in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

. The teams met in 2021; South Carolina won 38-21 and will play in

Charlotte, North Carolina 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 ...

in 2023 for the 60th meeting. Both schools announced a home and home series for the years 2028 and 2029. The Tar Heels will travel to Columbia, South Carolina in 2028, and The Gamecocks will play in Chapel Hill, North Carolina the following year.

Geography

Being close geographically, both teams compete for recruits on an annual basis. North Carolina has pulled players such as Robert Quinn and

Quinshad Davis Quinshad Davis (born May 24, 1994) is a former American football wide receiver who is currently an offensive assistant at Georgia State. He played college football at North Carolina, where he holds the school record for career touchdown recep ...

out of South Carolina in recent years. South Carolina has done the same by recruiting Larenz Bryant and Connor Mitch from North Carolina. Proximity also plays a role because in some areas of the two states there are significant populations of fans for each team. For example, Charlotte, North Carolina is closer to Columbia than Chapel Hill. Location can lead to ". . .families with Gamecocks and Tar Heels split down the middle. Couples where the man bleeds Carolina Blue, and the woman is all about the Garnet and Black. The fight, when it is present, is very real."

The usage of "Carolina"

Both North and South Carolina make use of "Carolina" as a moniker. From 1999 to 2004, North Carolina had "Carolina Tar Heels" written on its interlocking N and C logo. South Carolina uses only a "C", which is used to start the title "Carolina". The official color of UNC is "Carolina Blue", which is an officially licensed color. Both schools use end zones painted with the title "Carolina" and "Tar Heels" or "Gamecocks" across them. Both schools use the script "Carolina" on a number of their sports uniforms. Both have the moniker trademarked. North Carolina fans argue that it was the first public university in America, and claimed the nickname first. Also, the

Province of Carolina Province of Carolina was a province of England (1663–1707) and Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until partitioned into North and South on January 24, 1712. It is part of present-day Alaba ...

was founded in what is modern day North Carolina. South Carolina fans argue that South Carolina became a state first as well as the fact that the principal seat of government of the Province of Carolina was located in Charles Town, now modern day

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. Both schools have referred to themselves as simply "Carolina", even when playing each other.

Gamecocks leave the ACC

North Carolina and South Carolina spent 49 years in the same athletic conferences, first in the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

and later in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

, until the Gamecocks left the ACC to become independent in 1971. The reason for South Carolina's departure was how much control and influence UNC and the other North Carolina schools had on the ACC and Gamecock coach

Frank McGuire Frank Joseph McGuire (November 8, 1913 – October 11, 1994) was an American basketball coach. At the collegiate level, he was head coach for three major programs: St. John's Red Storm men's basketball, St. John's, North Carolina Tar Heels men's ...

's displeasure with conference officials who he felt were biased in favor of the "Tobacco Road" schools. Some high-profile South Carolina recruits did not meet the academic requirements to play in the ACC. Gamecock basketball player

Mike Grosso Michael James Grosso (born July 23, 1947, in Raritan, New Jersey) is an American former basketball player. Career Grosso played for the Pittsburgh Condors of the American Basketball Association in the 1971–72 season. Previously, he had been d ...

never played a game with South Carolina, because Duke University questioned his academic standing.

Game results

References