The North Carolina–NC State rivalry 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. 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. 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 fiercest football rivalry game in the state of North Carolina.NC State has won the last 5 games in the series, winning the latest contest by a score of 42–19. Current NC State head coach, Dave Doeren, is 9–4 against UNC, including a 5–1 record in Chapel Hill.
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.
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 Duke–North Carolina rivalry. However, proponents of the rivalry cite former UNC basketball coach Roy Williams' documented animosity towards NC State and former UNC player Tyler Hansbrough's assertion that his dislike for NC State was greater than his dislike for Duke. Furthermore, many members of the Wolfpack point to the events of the 2024 ACC Tournament, which concluded with NC State upsetting the top-seeded Tar Heels in the championship game, as evidence for the rivalry's legitimacy.
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.
Football all-time series records
All-Time Series Records Listed by number of games won. Current streak: 5 – NC State won in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. All-time record: North Carolina: 68; NC State: 41; Ties: 6 Record in ACC (1953–2025): North Carolina: 37; NC State: 36 Record since 2000: NC State: 17; North Carolina: 9 Record in Kenan Memorial Stadium: North Carolina: 28; NC State: 20; Ties: 1 Record in Carter–Finley Stadium North Carolina: 15; NC State: 14 Record in Chapel Hill, NC: North Carolina leads 36–23–2 Record in Charlotte, NC: North Carolina leads 2–0 Record in Raleigh, NC: North Carolina leads 31–18–4
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 18–18–1 (.500) North Carolina 15–22 (.405)
All-Time records North Carolina 738–577–54 (.559) NC State 652–611–55 (.516)
Game results since 2000
Men's basketball all-time series records Listed by number of games won.
All-time series record North Carolina: 168; NC State: 82
Longest Win Streaks NC State: 15; North Carolina: 13
By location In Chapel Hill: North Carolina: 83; 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: 31; NC State: 7 In Raleigh: North Carolina: 68; NC State: 51 At Thompson Gymnasium: North Carolina: 20; NC State: 13 At Reynolds Coliseum: North Carolina: 28; NC State: 31 At ESA/RBC/PNC/LC: North Carolina: 20; NC State: 7 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: 7–3
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: 4–13 Will Wade: 1–0
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 10 NC State 4
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 NC State: 65; UNC: 57
Longest Win Streaks NC State: 19; UNC: 8
By location In Chapel Hill: NC State: 21; UNC: 32 At Carmichael Auditorium/Arena: NC State: 21; UNC: 31 At Smith Center: NC State: 0; UNC: 1 In Raleigh: NC State: 35; UNC: 18 At Reynolds Coliseum: NC State: 34; UNC: 18 At Broughton: NC State: 1; UNC: 0 At neutral site: NC State: 9; 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: 7; 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): 14–12
UNC coaches Angela Lumpkin (74–77): 3–4 Jennifer Alley (77–86): 7–20 Sylvia Hatchell (86–19): 41–34 Courtney Banghart (19–Present): 6–7
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 7 UNC 6
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)2020 NC State Baseball Record Book p. 11
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 2022 NC State Men's Soccer Record Book p. 10 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: 2 (1990, 2025)
NCAA championships North Carolina: 2 (2001, 2011) NC State: 0
Wrestling all-time series records
All-time series record (1955-present) Source:2022-23 NC State Wrestling Record Book p. 13-14 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) Source:2023 NC State Gymnastics Record Book p. 9-13 NC State: 82; UNC: 52; Ties: 1 (As of February 12, 2024)
Conference Championships Source: 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)
Men's swimming/diving all-time series records
Women's swimming/diving all-time series records
Softball all-time series records
Women's soccer all-time series records
Men's cross country all-time series records
Women's cross country all-time series records
Volleyball all-time series records
Men's tennis all-time series records
Women's tennis all-time series records
Men's golf all-time series records
References