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).History, p. 139
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. Snavely led the Tar Heels to another Sugar Bowl and one Cotton Bowl, which both resulted in losses for the Tar Heels. 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. Barclay's successor, Jim Tatum, coached for three years without reaching a bowl game. 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.History, p. 140
Bill Dooley succeeded Hickey as head coach and led the Tar Heels to six bowl games through his eleven-season run as head coach.History, pp. 140–142 Of the six bowls Dooley led North Carolina to, they won only one, the 1972 Sun Bowl. 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.History, pp. 142–144 Crum handed over control of the program to Mack Brown after the 1987 season. 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. Defensive coordinator Carl Torbush was promoted to head coach. 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.
North Carolina alum John Bunting was hired as coach before the 2001 season. Bunting led the Tar Heels to a 16–10 Peach Bowl victory in his inaugural season, and later to the 2004 Continental Tire Bowl, where they lost to Boston College. Bunting was dismissed after the 2006 season. North Carolina's then Athletic Director, Dick Baddour, subsequently hired Butch Davis to be the coach of the Tar Heels. 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. Everett Withers took over the program as the interim head coach for the 2011 season. 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. 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. 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.
Key +General Bowl game record attendance Former bowl game record attendance
+ Results W Win L Loss
Bowl games
+List of bowl games showing bowl played in, score, date, season, opponent, stadium, location, attendance and head coach#BowlScoreDateSeasonOpponentStadiumLocationAttendanceBowl/All-Star Game Records, pp. 3–14Head coach1Sugar Bowl1946GeorgiaTulane StadiumNew Orleans73,3002Sugar Bowl1948OklahomaTulane StadiumNew Orleans82,0003Cotton Bowl Classic1949RiceCotton BowlDallas75,3474Gator Bowl1963Air ForceGator Bowl StadiumJacksonville50,0185Peach Bowl1970Arizona StateGrant FieldAtlanta52,1266Gator Bowl1971GeorgiaGator Bowl StadiumJacksonville71,2087Sun Bowl1972Texas TechSun Bowl StadiumEl Paso31,3128Sun Bowl1974Mississippi StateSun Bowl StadiumEl Paso30,1319Peach Bowl1976KentuckyFulton County StadiumGeorgia54,13210Liberty Bowl1977NebraskaLiberty Bowl Memorial StadiumMemphis49,45611Gator Bowl1979MichiganGator Bowl StadiumJacksonville70,40712Bluebonnet Bowl1980TexasHouston AstrodomeHouston36,66713Gator Bowl1981ArkansasGator Bowl StadiumJacksonville71,00914Sun Bowl1982TexasSun Bowl StadiumEl Paso31,35915Peach Bowl1983Florida StateFulton County StadiumGeorgia25,64816Aloha Bowl1986ArizonaAloha StadiumHonolulu26,74317Peach Bowl1992Mississippi StateGeorgia DomeGeorgia69,12518Gator Bowl1993AlabamaGator Bowl StadiumJacksonville67,20519Sun Bowl1994TexasSun Bowl StadiumEl Paso50,61220CarQuest Bowl1995ArkansasJoe Robbie StadiumMiami34,42821Gator Bowl1996West VirginiaJacksonville Municipal StadiumJacksonville45,20222Gator Bowl1997Virginia TechAlltel StadiumJacksonville54,11623Las Vegas Bowl1998San Diego StateSam Boyd StadiumWhitney21,42924Peach Bowl2001AuburnGeorgia DomeAtlanta71,82725Continental Tire Bowl2004Boston CollegeBank of America StadiumCharlotte70,41226Meineke Car Care Bowl2008West VirginiaBank of America StadiumCharlotte73,71227Meineke Car Care Bowl2009PittsburghBank of America StadiumCharlotte50,38928Music City Bowl2010TennesseeLP FieldNashville69,14329Independence Bowl2011MissouriIndependence StadiumShreveport41,72830Belk Bowl2013CincinnatiBank of America StadiumCharlotte45,21131Quick Lane Bowl2014RutgersFord FieldDetroit23,87632Russell Athletic BowlDecember 29, 20152015BaylorOrlando Citrus Bowl StadiumOrlando40.41833Sun Bowl2016StanfordSun Bowl StadiumEl Paso42,16634Military Bowl2019TempleNavy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis24,24235Orange Bowl2020Texas A&MHard Rock StadiumMiami Gardens13,73736Duke's Mayo Bowl2021South CarolinaBank of America StadiumCharlotte45,520Mack Brown37Holiday Bowl2022OregonPetco ParkSan Diego36,242Mack Brown38Duke's Mayo Bowl2023West VirginiaBank of America StadiumCharlotte42,925Mack Brown39Fenway Bowl2024ConnecticutFenway ParkBoston27,900†Freddie Kitchens
Notes
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