Sports in North Carolina
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
including NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, and the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
along with several colleges and universities in various conferences across an array of divisions.
Baseball
Though it has never been home to a Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
club, North Carolina is home to a vast collection of minor league
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
clubs most notably the Triple-A Charlotte Knights
Charlotte Knights
The Charlotte Knights are a minor league baseball team representing Charlotte, North Carolina. The team, which plays in the International League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox of the American League...
and Durham Bulls
Durham Bulls
The Durham Bulls are a minor league baseball team that currently plays in the International League. The Bulls play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park located in the downtown area of Durham, North Carolina. Durham Bulls Athletic Park is often called the "DBAP" or "D-Bap". The Bulls are...
, the top farm team
Farm team
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team or nursery club, is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point...
s for the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
and Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
, respectively.
Overall, North Carolina is home to 20 professional or semi-professional teams. Most colleges with athletic programs also field baseball teams.
Basketball
In 2004, the NBA added the Charlotte BobcatsCharlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...
franchise at the same time the city lost the Hornets to New Orleans. The Bobcats play their home games in Time Warner Cable Arena.
The first successful major professional sports team to be created in North Carolina were the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA)
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, which began play in the 1988–89 season.
Prior to that, the Carolina Cougars
Carolina Cougars
Carolina Cougars was a basketball franchise in the former American Basketball Association that existed from late 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Carolina in late 1969 after two unsuccessful...
of the American Basketball Association
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...
played in various North Carolina cites (playing in the ABA for five seasons, ending in the spring of 1974). Former Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...
coach Larry Brown started his coaching career as head coach of the Cougars.
Professional
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team was the American Basketball Association
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...
's Carolina Cougars
Carolina Cougars
Carolina Cougars was a basketball franchise in the former American Basketball Association that existed from late 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Carolina in late 1969 after two unsuccessful...
. The Cougars played in North Carolina between 1969 and 1974 and split their games between the Greensboro Coliseum
Greensboro Coliseum
The Greensboro Coliseum Complex is an entertainment complex located in College Hill neighborhood of Greensboro, North Carolina. Opening in 1959, the arena was one of the largest venues in the South, with a seating capacity of over 7,000...
, the original Charlotte Coliseum and Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
's Dorton Arena
Dorton Arena
The J.S. Dorton Arena is a 7,610-seat multi-purpose arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, on the grounds of the North Carolina State Fair...
.
Following the Cougars' move to St. Louis it would be fourteen years before professional basketball would return to the Old North State when Charlotte
CHARLOTTE
- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...
was awarded the NBA's 24th franchise, the Charlotte Hornets
Charlotte Hornets (NBA)
The Charlotte Hornets was a professional American basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They played in the Atlantic, Midwest, and Central divisions of the National Basketball Association. The Hornets began play during the 1988–89 NBA season as an expansion franchise, along with the...
. The Hornets played at the Charlotte Coliseum
Charlotte Coliseum
The Charlotte Coliseum was a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was operated by the Charlotte Coliseum Authority, which also oversees the operation of Bojangles' Coliseum, the Charlotte Convention Center, and Ovens Auditorium...
before moving to New Orleans following a bitter dispute between team ownership and the city over funding for a new arena. Two years after the Hornets decamped the Queen City was named as the home of the expansion Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...
who would play two seasons at the Coliseum before taking up residence at the new Time Warner Cable Arena in Uptown. North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina Tar Heels
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the athletic teams for 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 State...
legend Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
is the majority owner of the Bobcats.
College
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
and is home to some of the most successful and most popular teams in the nation in both the men's and women's game.
North Carolina is home to what some consider the best rivalry in American sports, North Carolina vs. Duke. Chapel Hill (UNC) and Durham (Duke) are only 8 miles apart. This rivalry reaches its climax in basketball but often spills over to other sports. North Carolina State and Wake Forest
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Originally, Wake Forest's athletic teams were known as the Fighting Baptists, due to its association with the Baptist Convention...
are also considered major rivals of the Blue Devils and Tar Heels, for more on the four-way rivalry see Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road refers to the tobacco-producing area of North Carolina and is often used when referring to sports played among rival North Carolina universities...
.
Other major college teams in the state include the Charlotte 49ers
Charlotte 49ers
The Charlotte 49ers represent the NCAA Division I sports teams of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Charlotte joined the Atlantic 10 in 2005. The 49ers field 16 teams, 8 men and 8 women....
, Davidson Wildcats, East Carolina Pirates
East Carolina Pirates
The East Carolina Pirates are the intercollegiate sports teams representing East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. All varsity-level sports teams sponsored by the university compete in NCAA Division I as a member of Conference USA...
, UNC Asheville Bulldogs, UNC Greensboro Spartans
UNC Greensboro Spartans
The intercollegiate athletics program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro reaches as far back as the late 1940s during the days of the WCUNC, with students participating in national golf tournaments in 1948 and the school hosting the national tournaments for women's golf and tennis...
, and UNC Wilmington Seahawks
UNC Wilmington Seahawks men's basketball
The UNCW Seahawks men's basketball team represents the University of North Carolina Wilmington. The team plays in the Colonial Athletic Association and is currently coached by Buzz Peterson...
.
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
. Since the formation of the Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
(ACC) in 1953, the conference's North Carolina member schools have excelled in conference play. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
(UNC), Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, and North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
are all located within 25 miles (40.2 km) of one another, creating fierce rivalries. Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...
, another ACC member, is located less than 100 miles (160.9 km) to the west of these schools in Winston-Salem. UNC has won five NCAA national championships in basketball: 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, and 2009. Duke has won four NCAA championships: 1991, 1992, 2001 and 2010. NC State has won two: 1974 and 1983. The Duke-UNC basketball rivalry has been called one of the best rivalries in sports and the two schools are often contenders for the national title. In addition to the ACC schools, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte , also known as UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte, is a public research university located in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States...
went to the NCAA's Final Four
Final four
Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...
in 1977, and Davidson College
Davidson College
Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. The college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently ranked in the top ten liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report magazine, although it has recently dropped to 11th in U.S. News...
near Charlotte went to the NCAA's "Elite Eight" in 1968, 1969, and 2008.
North Carolina schools have also won multiple NCAA Division II basketball national championships. In 1967, Winston-Salem State University
Winston-Salem State University
Winston-Salem State University , a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina, is a historically black public research university located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.Winston-Salem State has been...
, led by future NBA star Earl Monroe and coached by the legendary Clarence "Big House" Gaines, was the first school in the state to win the Division II championship. In 1989, North Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central University is a public historically black university in the University of North Carolina system, located in Durham, North Carolina, offering programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, professional and doctoral levels....
brought the title to the state a second time; winning the championship game by 27 points, which remains the largest margin of victory in its history. And in 2007, Barton College
Barton College
Barton College is a private liberal arts college located in Wilson, North Carolina. Barton College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, The NC Association of Colleges and Universities; the NC Department of Public Instruction; the NC Board of Nursing; and the Committee...
in Wilson returned the title to the state a third time.
Although basketball remains the dominant college sport in North Carolina, several schools have also enjoyed success in football and other sports. Wake Forest University has also enjoyed substantial success in football; in 2007 they won the ACC football championship and participated in the 2007 Orange Bowl
2007 Orange Bowl
The 2007 FedEx Orange Bowl game is a college football bowl game. It is part of the 2006-2007 Bowl Championship Series of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Orange Bowl was first played in 1935. The 2007 game was played on January 2, 2007, at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens,...
in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
. This was the first major bowl berth for a North Carolina–based ACC team since Duke defeated Arkansas in the 1961 Cotton Bowl Classic. East Carolina University
East Carolina University
East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...
also enjoys much success in football. Located in Greenville
Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina...
the Pirates have won both the 2008 and 2009 Conference USA Football Championship
Conference USA Football Championship
The Conference USA Football Championship Game is an annual postseason college football game played to determine the champion of Conference USA. From 1996–2004, the champion of Conference USA was determined by regular season record...
and have large passionate fan base. The East Carolina Pirates were the first back-to-back C-USA champions since divisional play was started in 2005. The Pirates played in the Auto Zone Liberty Bowl for a second consecutive year on January 2, 2010. Elon University
Elon University
Elon University is a private liberal arts university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Formerly known as Elon College, it became Elon University on June 1, 2001. The campus is a botanical garden and features oak trees, brick sidewalks, fountains, and lakes...
made 4 trips to the NAIA National Championship in football game winning back to back championships in 1980 and 1981. Lenoir-Rhyne University won the 1960 NAIA National Championship in football. Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University is a comprehensive , public, coeducational university located in Boone, North Carolina, United States. Appalachian State, also referred to as Appalachian, App State, or simply App, is the sixth largest institution in the University of North Carolina system...
, Elon University
Elon University
Elon University is a private liberal arts university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Formerly known as Elon College, it became Elon University on June 1, 2001. The campus is a botanical garden and features oak trees, brick sidewalks, fountains, and lakes...
, Western Carolina University
Western Carolina University
Western Carolina University is a coeducational public university located in Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States. The university is a constituent campus of the University of North Carolina system....
and North Carolina A&T State University have all made trips to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision championship playoffs. Western Carolina University
Western Carolina University
Western Carolina University is a coeducational public university located in Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States. The university is a constituent campus of the University of North Carolina system....
has made one trip to this championship game, while Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University is a comprehensive , public, coeducational university located in Boone, North Carolina, United States. Appalachian State, also referred to as Appalachian, App State, or simply App, is the sixth largest institution in the University of North Carolina system...
became the first school to win the championship three years in a row from 2005 to 2007.
University of North Carolina at Greensboro has won five NCAA Division III soccer national championships: 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986 and 1987.
Football
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
of the NFL who play their home games at the 74,500-seat Bank of America Stadium
Bank of America Stadium
Bank of America Stadium is a 73,778-seat football stadium located on of land in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. It is the home facility of the Carolina Panthers NFL franchise. It also hosts the annual Belk Bowl which features teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big East...
in Uptown Charlotte. The Panthers played their first season in 1995 at Memorial Stadium
Memorial Stadium, Clemson
Frank Howard Field at Memorial Stadium, popularly known as Death Valley, is home to the Clemson University Tigers, a NCAA Division I-A football team, located in Clemson, South Carolina...
on the campus of Clemson University
Clemson University
Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....
in neighboring South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. On February 1, 2004 the Panthers played in Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game played on February 1, 2004 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas to decide the National Football League champion following the 2003 regular season....
.
The Panthers were not North Carolina's first foray into professional football though, in the mid-1970s the Hornets
Charlotte Hornets (WFL)
The Charlotte Hornets were an American football team in the short-lived World Football League. They were relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina, from New York City in the middle of the 1974 season.-History:...
of the World Football League
World Football League
The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...
called American Legion Memorial Stadium
American Legion Memorial Stadium
American Legion Memorial Stadium is 21,000-capacity stadium located on 7th Street in the Elizabeth community of Charlotte, North Carolina. Memorial Stadium is mainly used for high school sporting events and also serves as a public venue...
in Charlotte home.
College football is also very popular in North Carolina with most major colleges fielding teams and UNC Charlotte preparing to do so in 2013. Notably North Carolina is home to the Appalachian State Mountaineers
Appalachian State Mountaineers
The Appalachian State Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, United States. The Mountaineers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and have been a member of the Southern Conference since 1972....
from Boone
Boone, North Carolina
Boone is a town located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, United States. Boone's population was reported as 17,122, as of 2010...
, App State has won national titles at the Division I-FBS level in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Charlotte is home to the Belk Bowl.
History of North Carolina football
Despite having over nine million people, North Carolina's population being spread out over three major metropolitan areas precluded attracting any major professional sports league teams until 1974, when the New York StarsCharlotte Hornets (WFL)
The Charlotte Hornets were an American football team in the short-lived World Football League. They were relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina, from New York City in the middle of the 1974 season.-History:...
of the World Football League
World Football League
The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...
was relocated to Charlotte in the middle of the season and renamed the Charlotte Hornets (although the team was referred to as the Charlotte Stars for the first game in Charlotte). The National Football League (NFL)
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
is represented by the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
, who began play in 1995, and call Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium
Bank of America Stadium
Bank of America Stadium is a 73,778-seat football stadium located on of land in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. It is the home facility of the Carolina Panthers NFL franchise. It also hosts the annual Belk Bowl which features teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big East...
home. The Carolina RailHawks
Carolina RailHawks FC
Carolina RailHawks FC is an American professional soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in the North American Soccer League , the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid....
are a men's professional soccer team in the United Soccer Leagues
USL First Division
The United Soccer Leagues First Division was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico....
, and their home field is the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary
Cary, North Carolina
Cary is a large town and suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina in Wake and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located almost entirely in Wake County, it is the second largest municipality in that county and the third largest municipality in The Triangle after Raleigh and Durham...
. The American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) is represented by the Fayetteville Guard
Fayetteville Guard
The Fayetteville Force is the former name of a professional indoor football team in the Southern Indoor Football League. They debuted the SIFL following the SIFL/AIFA merger and play home games at the Cumberland County Crown Coliseum....
who plays at Crown Coliseum
Cumberland County Crown Coliseum
Cumberland County Crown Coliseum is an 8,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Fayetteville, North Carolina that opened in 1997. It is currently home to the Fayetteville FireAntz ice hockey team, the Fayetteville Force indoor football team, and formerly home to the Fayetteville Patriots of the NBA...
. North Carolina was home to the Charlotte Rage
Charlotte Rage
The Charlotte Rage was a team in the Arena Football League.-History:They competed in the 1992-1996 seasons. They played their home games at the Charlotte Coliseum, then also home of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association....
and the Carolina Cobras
Carolina Cobras
Not to be confused with the Los Angeles Cobras, who played in the 1988 AFL season.The Carolina Cobras were an expansion franchise in the Arena Football League...
of the Arena Football League.
Golf
Pinehurst ResortPinehurst Resort
Pinehurst Resort is a historic upmarket golf resort at Pinehurst, North Carolina, USA. It has hosted a number of prestigious golf tournaments.-History:...
, a world famous golf resort, is located in the Sandhills
Sandhills (Carolina)
The Sandhills is a region in the interior of the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina. It is a strip of ancient beach dunes which generally divides the Piedmont from the coastal plain, and is the evidence of a former coastline when the ocean level was higher, or the land lower. The...
and has played host to several major golf championships including the United States Open Championship
U.S. Open (golf)
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
, the PGA Championship
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...
, and the Ryder Cup Matches. In 2014 Pinehurst will make history when it becomes the first course to host both the men's and women's
United States Women's Open Championship (golf)
The United States Women's Open Golf Championship, one of thirteen national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association , is one of the LPGA's major championships along with the LPGA Championship, the Women's British Open, and the Kraft Nabisco Championship...
U.S. Open in the same year.
Several professional tours make stops in North Carolina every year, including the EGolf Professional Tour (formerly the Tarheel Tour) which is based in Charlotte. Annual PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
stops in the state are the Quail Hollow Championship at the Quail Hollow Club
Quail Hollow Club
The Quail Hollow Club is a country club and golf course located in the Quail Hollow neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. It is a private member club, founded by James J. Harris on April 13, 1959...
in Charlotte, and the Greater Greensboro Open which has alternated between several course in Greensboro. The second-tier Nationwide Tour
Nationwide Tour
The Nationwide Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either failed to score well enough at that level's Qualifying School to earn their PGA Tour card, or who have done so but then failed to win enough money to stay at that level...
visits Raleigh every year for the Carolina Classic.
Ice Hockey
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League , and play their home games at the 18,680-seat RBC Center...
, a National Hockey League (NHL)
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
franchise based in Raleigh, won the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
. The Hurricanes, who call the RBC Center home, are the first major professional sports team from North Carolina to win their sport's highest championship. The team moved from Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
(as the Hartford Whalers) to the state in 1997 and played their games at the Greensboro Coliseum
Greensboro Coliseum
The Greensboro Coliseum Complex is an entertainment complex located in College Hill neighborhood of Greensboro, North Carolina. Opening in 1959, the arena was one of the largest venues in the South, with a seating capacity of over 7,000...
for their first 2 seasons in North Carolina before moving to their current home at the Entertainment and Sports Arena (later named the RBC Center) in Raleigh.
In 2010, the Albany River Rats
Albany River Rats
The Albany River Rats were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center.- Founding to 2010 :...
, the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League , and play their home games at the 18,680-seat RBC Center...
, relocated to Charlotte
CHARLOTTE
- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...
and became the Charlotte Checkers
Charlotte Checkers (2010–)
The Charlotte Checkers are a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the American Hockey League , and are the AHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League...
, assuming the name from the former ECHL
ECHL
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...
team that had played in the city since 1995. The Charlotte Checkers play their home games at Time Warner Cable Arena in uptown Charlotte.
Fayetteville also has an ice hockey team, the FireAntz
Fayetteville FireAntz
The Fayetteville FireAntz are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S. They currently play in the Southern Professional Hockey League . They play their home games in the Cumberland County Crown Coliseum....
of the Southern Professional Hockey League
Southern Professional Hockey League
The Southern Professional Hockey League is a low-level professional ice hockey league based in Charlotte, North Carolina, with teams located in the southeastern United States.- History :...
.
Motorsports
North Carolina is a center in American motorsports, with more than 80% of NASCARNASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
racing teams and related industries located in the Piedmont region. Stock car racing
Stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...
is the official sport of the state. The largest race track in North Carolina is Charlotte Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the Sprint All-Star Race...
in Concord
Concord, North Carolina
Concord is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. According to Census 2010, the city has a current population of 79,066. It is the largest city in Cabarrus County and is the county seat. In terms of population, the city of Concord is the second largest city in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area...
where the Sprint Cup Series holds three major races each year.
A new drag strip, called Zmax Dragway, has been built on the same grounds as the speedway. It is currently the only drag strip in the U.S. to hold 4-wide drag racing events (as opposed to the traditional 2-wide drag races held at other tracks). The NHRA holds one to two national events there each year. The NASCAR Hall of Fame
NASCAR Hall of Fame
The NASCAR Hall of Fame honors drivers who have shown exceptional skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs and owners, and other major contributors to competition within the sanctioning body. NASCAR committed itself to building a Hall of Fame and on March 6, 2006, the city of Charlotte,...
, located in Charlotte, opened on May 11, 2010. Many of NASCAR's most famous driver dynasties, the Pettys, Earnhardts, Allisons, Jarretts and Waltrips all live within an hour of Charlotte. NASCAR has held events at other race tracks in the state; most notably in Rockingham and North Wilkesboro
North Wilkesboro Speedway
North Wilkesboro Speedway was a short track that held races in NASCAR's top three series from NASCAR's inception in 1949 until its closure in 1996...
.
In off-road motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
racing, the Grand National Cross Country
Grand National Cross Country
The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series is America's premieroff-road racing series. Founded in 1979, the 13-round championship isproduced exclusively by Racer Productions. Cross country racing is oneof the most physically demanding sports in the world...
series makes three stops in North Carolina, Morganton
Morganton, North Carolina
Morganton is a city in Burke County, North Carolina, United States. Reader's Digest included Morganton in its list of top ten places to raise a family. The town was recently profiled in The 50 Best Small Southern Towns. The population was 17,310 at the 2000 census...
, Wilkesboro
Wilkesboro, North Carolina
Wilkesboro is a town in and the county seat of Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,159 at the 2000 census, and it is the second largest municipality in the county. The 2010 Census listed the town's population at 3,044. The town is located along the south bank of the...
and Yadkinville
Yadkinville, North Carolina
Yadkinville is a town in Yadkin County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,818 at the 2000 census. Located in the Piedmont Triad, it is the county seat and largest city of Yadkin County.-Geography:Yadkinville is located at ....
; the only other state to host two GNCC events is Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. For sport amateurs, the state holds the State Games of North Carolina
State Games of North Carolina
The Powerade State Games of North Carolina is an Olympic-style competition for residents of North Carolina, and a member of the State Games of America...
each year.
North Carolina has a proud history in motorsports and claims to be the home to 80% of American racing teams, mostly from NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
. The NASCAR Hall of Fame
NASCAR Hall of Fame
The NASCAR Hall of Fame honors drivers who have shown exceptional skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs and owners, and other major contributors to competition within the sanctioning body. NASCAR committed itself to building a Hall of Fame and on March 6, 2006, the city of Charlotte,...
is located in uptown Charlotte.
Stars
Richard PettyRichard Petty
Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...
(Level Cross) and Dale Earnhardt
Dale Earnhardt
Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was an American race car driver, best known for his involvement in stock car racing for NASCAR...
(Kannapolis
Kannapolis, North Carolina
Kannapolis is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte. The population was 42,625 at the 2010 census, which makes Kannapolis the 20th largest city in North Carolina...
) were both born in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and are a great source of pride for Carolinians (both North and South
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
) and Southerners
Southerners
Southerners may refer to:* Southerners Sports Club , an informal, non-commercial Bangkok-based club of expats and Thais.* Southerners, are a group of Mexican American street gangs with origins in the oldest barrios of Southern California....
in general. Both men won the Winston Cup a record 7-times.
Earnhardt's son, Dale Jr.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
* NOTE: References to "Earnhardt", "he", and "him" refer to the subject of this article, unless otherwise specified. References to his father will include "Sr."...
(also Kannapolis) has become the face of NASCAR and is a sports hero in the Carolinas
The Carolinas
The Carolinas is a term used in the United States to refer collectively to the states of North and South Carolina. Together, the two states + have a population of 13,942,126. "Carolina" would be the fifth most populous state behind California, Texas, New York, and Florida...
. Fellow current drivers Brian Vickers
Brian Vickers
Brian Lee Vickers is a American NASCAR driver. He was the 2003 Busch Series champion, and at age 20, became the youngest champion in any of NASCAR's three top-tier series...
(Thomasville
Thomasville, North Carolina
Thomasville is a city in Davidson County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,354 at the 2010 census. The city is notable for its furniture industry as are its neighbors of High Point and Lexington. This Piedmont Triad community was established in 1852 and hosts the state's...
), and Scott Riggs
Scott Riggs
Russell Scott Riggs is a NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #81 Dodge Charger for Whitney Motorsports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.-Early career:...
(Durham
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
) are also very popular with local fans.
Dale Sr. is the son of Ralph Earnhardt (now passed) and the father of Kerry Earnhardt (also both Kannapolis).
Petty's father Lee
Lee Petty
Lee Arnold Petty was an American stock car driver in the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR, and one of its first superstars. He was born near Randleman, North Carolina.-Career:...
(passed) and son Kyle
Kyle Petty
Kyle Eugene Petty is a former American NASCAR driver and is currently a co-host for NASCAR RaceDay and panel member for NASCAR Smarts which are both on SPEED. He also commentates for TNT in the summer. He is the son of racer Richard Petty, grandson of racer Lee Petty, and father of the late Adam...
(both Randleman
Randleman, North Carolina
Randleman is a city in Randolph County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,557 at the 2000 census. It is the home of NASCAR's Petty family, the Richard Petty Museum, and the Victory Junction Gang Camp.-Geography:...
) are also very popular. Kyle's son Adam
Adam Petty
Adam Kyler Petty was a professional racing driver. He was the first fourth-generation driver in NASCAR history.-Early life:...
(High Point
High Point, North Carolina
High Point is a city located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina. As of 2010 the city had a total population of 104,371, according to the US Census Bureau. High Point is currently the eighth-largest municipality in North Carolina....
) was killed when his car crashed during a practice at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire
Loudon, New Hampshire
Loudon is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,317 at the 2010 census. Loudon is the home of New Hampshire Motor Speedway....
.
Outside of the Earnhardt and Petty clans North Carolina is home to many other NASCAR legends such as Junior Johnson
Junior Johnson
Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr. , better known as Junior Johnson, is a retired moonshiner in the rural South who became one of the early superstars of NASCAR in the 1950s and 1960s. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966...
(Wilkes County
Wilkes County, North Carolina
Wilkes County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The 2000 U.S. Census listed the county's population at 65,632; the 2010 U.S. Census listed the population at 69,340...
), Richard Childress
Richard Childress
Richard Childress is a former NASCAR driver and the current team owner of Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. As a business entrepreneur, Childress became one of the wealthiest men in North Carolina...
(Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
), Ned
Ned Jarrett
Ned Jarrett is a retired race car driver and two-time NASCAR champion.Jarrett was best known for his calm demeanor, and he became known as "Gentleman Ned Jarrett", yet he was an intense competitor when he put his two hands on the steering wheel of a NASCAR Grand National stock car...
and Dale Jarrett
Dale Jarrett
Dale Arnold Jarrett is a former American race car driver and current sports commentator known for winning the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship...
(both Newton
Newton, North Carolina
Newton is a city located in Catawba County, North Carolina. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 12,560. It is the county seat of Catawba County.Newton is part of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area....
), Andy Petree
Andy Petree
Andy Petree , is a long-time fixture in NASCAR. After racing for years at local short track , Andy became part owner of the #32 Busch Series car for Dale Jarrett. By the age of 28, Andy was already a NASCAR Winston Cup crew chief on the Leo Jackson racing team...
(Hickory), and Rick Hendrick
Rick Hendrick
Joseph Riddick Hendrick III , better known as Rick Hendrick, is the current owner of the American NASCAR team, Hendrick Motorsports and founder of the Hendrick Automotive Group and Hendrick Marrow Program. He attended Park View High School in South Hill, Virginia, and began his career in auto...
(Warrenton
Warrenton, North Carolina
Warrenton is a town in Warren County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 811 at the 2000 census. Founded in 1779, it is the county seat of Warren County. It is home to one of the campuses of Vance-Granville Community College....
).
Tracks
Once a major part of the NASCAR circuit North Carolina now only has one track on the schedule, CharlotteLowe's Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the Sprint All-Star Race...
. The 167,000-seat Charlotte track is arguably the heart and soul of NASCAR. The track, actually in Concord
Concord, North Carolina
Concord is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. According to Census 2010, the city has a current population of 79,066. It is the largest city in Cabarrus County and is the county seat. In terms of population, the city of Concord is the second largest city in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area...
, hosts three Sprint Cup events every season, including the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
The NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, formerly known as The Winston until 2004, then the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge from 2004 until 2007, is a race open to race winners from the previous season as well as the current season, plus the past ten event winners and past decade's Cup Series champions...
(formally The Winston). Charlotte also hosts NASCAR's longest and most grueling race, the Coca-Cola 600
Coca-Cola 600
The Coca-Cola 600, formerly known as the World 600, is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held each year at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina on Memorial Day weekend...
, every May. The winner of the race earns tremendous respect among peers and fans due to the distance (the longest on the circuit) and the weather (North Carolina is known for extremely humid and hot summers). During race weeks Concord is said to balloon from its normal population of just under 56,000 to over 300,000.
Tracks that formerly hosted Cup Series events include North Wilkesboro Speedway
North Wilkesboro Speedway
North Wilkesboro Speedway was a short track that held races in NASCAR's top three series from NASCAR's inception in 1949 until its closure in 1996...
, Rockingham Speedway, and Metrolina Speedway
Metrolina Speedway
Metrolina Speed and Sport Center is an auto racing track located in northeast Charlotte, North Carolina on the Metrolina Fairgrounds. The track currently is being rebuild with the 1/2 Mile now paved.The plans for the rebuild also adds a Go-Kart track,Outdoor RC racing track,A hotel,roof-top state...
.
Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
teams in North Carolina but the state is home to three professional teams, the Carolina RailHawks of the NASL
North American Soccer League (2010)
The North American Soccer League is a professional men's soccer league in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico which began league play on April 9, 2011. It has been provisionally sanctioned as the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, behind Major League Soccer in the...
play at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, along with the Charlotte Eagles
Charlotte Eagles
Charlotte Eagles is an American professional soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in the American Division of the new USL Professional Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid....
and Wilmington Hammerheads
Wilmington Hammerheads
Wilmington Hammerheads is an American professional soccer team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 1996, the team plays in the American Division of the new USL Professional Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid....
of the USL Professional Division. Additionally the Carolina Dynamo
Carolina Dynamo
Carolina Dynamo is an American soccer team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League , the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the South Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference.The team plays its home...
of Greensboro play in the national USL Premier Development League
USL Premier Development League
The USL Premier Development League is the amateur league of the United Soccer Leagues in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda, forming part of the American Soccer Pyramid...
and Charlotte
Charlotte Lady Eagles
Charlotte Lady Eagles is an American women’s soccer team, founded in 2003. The team is a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada...
and Greensboro both have women's teams in the USL W-League.
As with other sports, college soccer
College soccer
College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
is important in North Carolina. The Tar Heels
North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer
The North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I soccer...
have dominated women's college soccer on a national level, laying claim to the lion's share of all Division I national championships in the sport. The Heels have also been successful in men's soccer winning national and conference champions. Duke and Wake Forest have also won national soccer championships.
On June 9, 2011 Charlotte will host a group stage game during the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition and 21th CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's fifty years of existence...
.
Swimming
Over the last two decades, North Carolina has become a rising power in the world of professional and amateur swimming. As with many other components of North Carolina's sport culture, this rise began on the college campuses of the Old North State. North Carolina State UniversityNorth Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
, Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
all field varsity swimming and diving teams at the Division I level. The men's program at NC State has enjoyed the most success, bringing home 24 Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
Championships, more than any other ACC team.
NC State's men have also boasted 75 All-Americans and 9 Olympians, including Cullen Jones
Cullen Jones
Cullen Jones is an American freestyle sprint swimmer and Olympic gold medalist.-Early life:Born in the Bronx borough of New York City, Jones moved to Irvington, New Jersey while in elementary school...
, the first African-American world record holder in swimming and gold medalist at the 2008 Beijing Games in the men's 4x100 meter freestyle relay. The women's team has won two ACC Championships and sent one athlete to the Olympics. Recently, Wolfpack Diver Kristen Davies won the NCAA title in platform diving. The Tar Heels, meanwhile, have won several conference titles as well. The University of North Carolina at Wilmington
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
The University of North Carolina at Wilmington, sometimes referred to as UNC Wilmington, is a public, co-educational university located in Wilmington, North Carolina...
has won several Colonial Athletic Association
Colonial Athletic Association
The Colonial Athletic Association is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose full-time members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to Georgia. Most of its members are public universities, with five in Virginia alone, and the conference is headquartered in Richmond,...
titles.
The Greensboro Coliseum Complex is scheduled to open the 78,000 square-foot Greensboro Aquatic Center in August 2011, with seating for 2,500 people. The arena will host the 2012 U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championship.
Other sports
In recent years lacrosseLacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
has experienced a period of steady growth in North Carolina that has seen high schools in the three main metropolitan areas add the sport to their programs, this growth culminated in Charlotte being awarded a Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse, or MLL, is a professional men's field lacrosse league that is made up of five teams in the United States and one team in Canada.- History :...
expansion team named the Charlotte Hounds, the first professional outdoor lacrosse team in the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. In addition, an indoor lacrosse team will also begin play in 2012, the North American Lacrosse League
North American Lacrosse League
The North American Lacrosse League is a men's professional indoor lacrosse league based in the United States, set to begin play in January 2012. The league will be North America's third professional lacrosse league, after Major League Lacrosse and the National Lacrosse League...
's Charlotte Copperheads
Charlotte Copperheads
The Charlotte Copperheads is an American professional indoor lacrosse team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are a charter member of the North American Lacrosse League...
. Duke and North Carolina field lacrosse teams for both sexes and both of the schools' men's teams have won national championships—North Carolina is, interesting, the westernmost school to win the men's national championship—and North Carolina's women's team has appeared in a championship final. Division I High Point and five schools in the Division II Conference Carolinas
Conference Carolinas
Conference Carolinas, formerly known as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference , is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division II. Conference Carolinas reached its modern incarnation in 1994. Member institutions are located in the southeastern United States in...
also play lacrosse.
Softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
is popular at the collegiate, scholastic, and recreational levels.North Carolina and NC State field women's gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
teams in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League
East Atlantic Gymnastics League
The East Atlantic Gymnastics League is a collegiate women's gymnastics conference competing at the NCAA Division I level. Membership comprises eight universities:*George Washington University*University of Maryland*University of New Hampshire...
, which both have each won four times. The state is home to nine NCAA Women's Field Hockey Championship
NCAA Women's Field Hockey Championship
Twelve women's sports were added to the NCAA championship program for the 1981-82 school year. The first national championship events were staged November 21-November 22, 1981, in cross country and field hockey.-Division I:-Division II:-Division III:...
titles with North Carolina winning six and Wake Forest winning three.
From the 1930s to the early 1990s, the Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling professional wrestling promotion, under the Crockett family, operated almost entirely out of Charlotte. Mid Atlantic was a long-time member of the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
and many of their top stars appeared on national television on NWA and later WCW events. Many retired or still-current wrestlers live in the Charlotte/Lake Norman area, including Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
, Ricky Steamboat
Ricky Steamboat
Richard Henry Blood , better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is a retired American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He was one of the few wrestlers who stayed a babyface throughout his career...
, Matt and Jeff Hardy
Hardy Boyz
The Hardy Boyz are a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of real-life brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy...
, Stan Lane
Stan Lane
Wallace Stanfield "Stan" Lane is an American professional wrestler, trained by Ric Flair, who started wrestling in 1974 in Championship Wrestling from Florida. For a brief time in Florida, he was nicknamed Nature Boy...
, Shannon Moore
Shannon Moore
Shannon Moore is an American professional wrestler, who is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling between 1999 and 2001 and with World Wrestling Entertainment for several years in the 2000s.Moore befriended Matt and Jeff Hardy...
and R-Truth. Also, the chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
, Vincent K. McMahon was born in Pinehurst
Pinehurst, North Carolina
Pinehurst is a village in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 9,706 at the 2000 census. It is the location of the Pinehurst Resort, venue of the 1936 PGA Championship, the 1951 Ryder Cup. The host site for the 1999, 2005,& 2014 U.S. Open Golf Championships, the 2008 U.S....
, attended East Carolina University
East Carolina University
East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...
, and was married in New Bern.
North Carolina has become a hot bed for professional bull riding
Bull riding
Bull riding refers to rodeo sports that involve a rider getting on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal attempts to buck off the rider....
(PBR)
Professional Bull Riders, Inc.
Professional Bull Riders, Inc. is an international professional bull riding organization based in Pueblo, Colorado, USA. PBR events are televised on Versus, Fox, CBS and NBC...
. It is home to several professional stock contractor
Stock contractor
A Stock contractor is an individual or business that provides animals for rodeo competition. Stock contractors supply "rough stock" - Saddle bronc and bareback bronc horses and bull riding bulls, plus steers for steer wrestling and team roping, plus calves for calf roping events...
s and bull owners. The Southern Extreme Bull Riding Association SEBRA
SEBRA
The Southern Extreme Bull Riding Association was established in 1994 in Archdale, North Carolina. According to Humps N Horns magazine it is one of the oldest continuously operated bull riding associations in existence. SEBRA, although little known outside of the bull riding world; is a solid...
headquarters are located in Archdale
Archdale, North Carolina
Archdale is a city in Guilford and Randolph counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 9,014 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Archdale is located at ....
.
Miscellany
The North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame was established in February, 1963, with the support of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, "to honor those persons who by excellence of their activities in or connected with the world of sports have brought recognition and esteem to themselves and to the State of North Carolina." The Hall of Fame inducted its first five members in December of that year.List of Division I schools
| Institution | Location | Established | Conference | School type | Undergraduate Enrollment | Varsity sports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian State Appalachian State University Appalachian State University is a comprehensive , public, coeducational university located in Boone, North Carolina, United States. Appalachian State, also referred to as Appalachian, App State, or simply App, is the sixth largest institution in the University of North Carolina system... |
Boone Boone, North Carolina Boone is a town located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, United States. Boone's population was reported as 17,122, as of 2010... |
1899 | SoCon Southern Conference The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North... |
Public (UNC) | 13,447 | 18 |
| Campbell Campbell University Campbell University is a coeducational, church-related university in rural North Carolina, USA. Its main campus is located in the community of Buies Creek; its law school moved from Buies Creek to a new campus in the state capital of Raleigh in 2009. Campbell has an approximately equal number of... |
Buies Creek Buies Creek, North Carolina Buies Creek is a census-designated place located in the Neills Creek Township of Harnett County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,215 at the 2000 census.-Incorporation:... |
1887 | A-Sun Atlantic Sun Conference The Atlantic Sun Conference is a college athletic conference operating in the Southeastern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I; it does not sponsor football. The conference was established in 1978 as the Trans America Athletic Conference... |
Private (Baptist Baptist Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion... ) |
2,843 | 19 |
| Davidson Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. The college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently ranked in the top ten liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report magazine, although it has recently dropped to 11th in U.S. News... |
Davidson Davidson, North Carolina Davidson is a town in Mecklenburg County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 7,139 at the 2000 census. It is home to Davidson College... |
1837 | SoCon Southern Conference The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North... |
Private (Presbyterian) | 1,700 | 21 |
| Duke Duke University Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B... |
Durham Durham, North Carolina Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census... |
1838 | ACC Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities... |
Private | 6,244 | 26 |
| East Carolina East Carolina University East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in... |
Greenville Greenville, North Carolina Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina... |
1907 | C-USA Conference USA Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports... |
Public (UNC) | 17,728 | 19 |
| Elon Elon University Elon University is a private liberal arts university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Formerly known as Elon College, it became Elon University on June 1, 2001. The campus is a botanical garden and features oak trees, brick sidewalks, fountains, and lakes... |
Elon Elon, North Carolina Elon is a town in Alamance County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The current population estimate is 7,060. The town of Elon is home to Elon University. The town was called "Elon College" until the college known as Elon... |
1889 | SoCon Southern Conference The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North... |
Private (United Church of Christ United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC... ) |
4,849 | 16 |
| Gardner–Webb | Boiling Springs Boiling Springs, North Carolina Boiling Springs is a town in Cleveland County, North Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 4,647. It is home to Gardner-Webb University. The Broad River runs along the south of the township, where the Broad River Greenway is located, providing recreational... |
1905 | A-Sun Atlantic Sun Conference The Atlantic Sun Conference is a college athletic conference operating in the Southeastern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I; it does not sponsor football. The conference was established in 1978 as the Trans America Athletic Conference... |
Private (Baptist Baptist Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion... ) |
~4,000 | 19 |
| High Point High Point University High Point University is a private liberal arts university in High Point, North Carolina, USA, affiliated with the United Methodist Church.- Beginnings :... |
High Point High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina. As of 2010 the city had a total population of 104,371, according to the US Census Bureau. High Point is currently the eighth-largest municipality in North Carolina.... |
1924 | Big South Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. The conference's football teams are part of the Football Championship Subdivision... |
Private (Methodist United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley... ) |
2,699 | 14 |
| North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States... |
Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care... |
1789 | ACC Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities... |
Public (UNC) | 16,764 | 28 |
| North Carolina A&T North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is a land-grant university located in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest publicly funded historically black college in the state of North Carolina.NC A&T is a constituent institution of the University of North... |
Greensboro Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S... |
1891 | MEAC Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is a collegiate athletic conference of historically black colleges and universities in the Southeastern United States... |
Public (UNC) | 9,735 | 11 |
| North Carolina Central North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University is a public historically black university in the University of North Carolina system, located in Durham, North Carolina, offering programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, professional and doctoral levels.... |
Durham Durham, North Carolina Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census... |
1910 | MEAC Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is a collegiate athletic conference of historically black colleges and universities in the Southeastern United States... |
Public (UNC) | 8,600 | 16 |
| North Carolina State North Carolina State University North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution... |
Raleigh Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh... |
1887 | ACC Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities... |
Public (UNC) | 23,730 | 26 |
| UNC Asheville University of North Carolina at Asheville The University of North Carolina at Asheville is a co-educational, four year, public liberal arts university. The university is also known as UNC Asheville. Located in Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina, UNCA is the only designated liberal arts institution in the University of North... |
Asheville Asheville, North Carolina Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active... |
1927 | Big South Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. The conference's football teams are part of the Football Championship Subdivision... |
Public (UNC) | 3,453 | 9 |
| UNC Charlotte University of North Carolina at Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte , also known as UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte, is a public research university located in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States... |
Charlotte Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009... |
1946 | A-10 | Public (UNC) | 16,584 | 12 |
| UNC Greensboro University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro , also known as UNC Greensboro, is a public university in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States and is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina system. The university offers more than 100 undergraduate, 61 master's and 26... |
Greensboro Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S... |
1891 | SoCon Southern Conference The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North... |
Public (UNC) | 12,291 | 16 |
| UNC Wilmington University of North Carolina at Wilmington The University of North Carolina at Wilmington, sometimes referred to as UNC Wilmington, is a public, co-educational university located in Wilmington, North Carolina... |
Wilmington Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina... |
1947 | CAA Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose full-time members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to Georgia. Most of its members are public universities, with five in Virginia alone, and the conference is headquartered in Richmond,... |
Public (UNC) | 10,581 | 19 |
| Wake Forest Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is... |
Winston-Salem Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to... |
1834 | ACC Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities... |
Private (Baptist Baptist Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion... ) |
4,231 | 18 |
| Western Carolina Western Carolina University Western Carolina University is a coeducational public university located in Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States. The university is a constituent campus of the University of North Carolina system.... |
Cullowhee Cullowhee, North Carolina Cullowhee is a census-designated place in Jackson County, North Carolina, United States. Cullowhee is best known for being the home of Western Carolina University . The population was 9,428 as of the 2010 census. The area known as Cullowhee has Western Carolina University, part of the UNC... |
1889 | SoCon Southern Conference The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North... |
Public (UNC) | 8,891 | 13 |
Notes:
- Campbell will join the Big South in the summer of 2011 for all sports except for football (Pioneer Football LeaguePioneer Football LeagueThe Pioneer Football League is a college athletic conference which operates in the East, Midwest, and California of the United States. It has member schools that range from New York, North Carolina, and Florida in the east to California in the west. The conference participates in the NCAA's...
), swimming (Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association), and wrestling. - Davidson competes in the Pioneer Football League for football, the Colonial Athletic AssociationColonial Athletic AssociationThe Colonial Athletic Association is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose full-time members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to Georgia. Most of its members are public universities, with five in Virginia alone, and the conference is headquartered in Richmond,...
for women's swimming & diving, the NORPAC conference for field hockey, and the American Lacrosse ConferenceAmerican Lacrosse ConferenceThe American Lacrosse Conference is a NCAA Division I women's lacrosse-only college athletic conference whose members are located in the Midwest, on the East Coast, and increasingly in the Southeastern states from Illinois to Florida....
for lacrosse. - Gardner-Webb is a member of the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association for swimming
- North Carolina is a member of the ACC for all sports except fencing and gymnastics (East Atlantic Gymnastics LeagueEast Atlantic Gymnastics LeagueThe East Atlantic Gymnastics League is a collegiate women's gymnastics conference competing at the NCAA Division I level. Membership comprises eight universities:*George Washington University*University of Maryland*University of New Hampshire...
). - NC A&T is a member of the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association for swimming.
- NC State is a member of the ACC for all sports except gymnastics (East Atlantic Gymnastics League), and rifle (SEARC).
Team list
| Sport | Team | League |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Rules Football Australian rules football Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either... |
North Carolina Tigers | USAFL/EAFL |
| Baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond... |
Asheville Tourists Asheville Tourists The Asheville Tourists are a minor league baseball team based in Asheville, North Carolina, USA. They play in the Class A South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Colorado Rockies since 1994.... |
Minor League Baseball Minor league baseball Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses... (A); South Atlantic League South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League is a minor league baseball league based chiefly in the Southeastern United States, with the exception of three teams in the Mid-Atlantic States... |
| Burlington Royals Burlington Royals The Burlington Royals are a minor league baseball team in Burlington, North Carolina, USA. They are a Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League and have been a farm team of the Kansas City Royals since September 1, 2006. For the previous 21 years, the team had been affiliated with the Cleveland... |
Minor League Baseball (R); Appalachian League Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Rookie-class minor league that began play in 1937 with one year of inactivity in 1956. From 1937 to 1962, it was a Class D League. Teams are located in the Appalachian regions of Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee... |
|
| Carolina Mudcats Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a minor league baseball team based in the eastern suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina. The team, which plays in the Carolina League, are the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians major-league club beginning in 2012.-History:... |
Minor League Baseball (AA); Southern League Southern League (baseball) The Southern League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the Southern United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The original league was formed in , and shut down in . A new league, the Southern Association, was formed in , consisting of twelve teams... |
|
| Charlotte Knights Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a minor league baseball team representing Charlotte, North Carolina. The team, which plays in the International League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox of the American League... |
Minor League Baseball (AAA); International League International League The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States... |
|
| Durham Bulls Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a minor league baseball team that currently plays in the International League. The Bulls play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park located in the downtown area of Durham, North Carolina. Durham Bulls Athletic Park is often called the "DBAP" or "D-Bap". The Bulls are... |
Minor League Baseball (AAA); International League | |
| Greensboro Grasshoppers Greensboro Grasshoppers The Greensboro Grasshoppers are a minor league baseball team in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA... |
Minor League Baseball (A); South Atlantic League | |
| Hickory Crawdads Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team in Hickory, North Carolina, USA. They are a Class A team in the South Atlantic League, and have been a farm team of the Texas Rangers since 2009. Previously, they were a Class A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Crawdads play home games... |
Minor League Baseball (A); South Atlantic League | |
| Kannapolis Intimidators Kannapolis Intimidators The Kannapolis Intimidators are a minor league baseball team in Kannapolis, North Carolina. The team is a Class Low-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and has played in the South Atlantic League under various names and team affiliations since its inception in 1995.-Team history:The Intimidators... |
Minor League Baseball (A); South Atlantic League | |
| Kinston Indians Kinston Indians The Kinston Indians were a minor league baseball team of the Carolina League , and the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. They were located in Kinston, North Carolina, and were named for their parent club... |
Minor League Baseball (A); Carolina League Carolina League The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth... |
|
| Winston-Salem Dash | Minor League Baseball (A); Carolina League | |
| Basketball Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules... |
Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte Bobcats The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA... |
National Basketball Association National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada... |
| Wilmington Sea Dawgs Wilmington Sea Dawgs The Wilmington Sea Dawgs are a team of the Tobacco Road Basketball League in Wilmington, North Carolina. The Sea Dawgs began play in 2006 as a member of the American Basketball Association and later played as a founding member of the Premier Basketball League and a founding member of the... |
Premier Basketball League Premier Basketball League The Premier Basketball League, often abbreviated to the PBL, is a men's professional basketball minor league in the United States that began play in January 2008. The league had ten teams for the 2008 season and thirteen teams for the 2009 season. Nine teams from Canada and the United States... |
|
| Football American football American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by... |
Carolina Panthers Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion... |
National Football League National Football League The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing... |
| Ice hockey Ice hockey Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take... |
Carolina Hurricanes Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League , and play their home games at the 18,680-seat RBC Center... |
National Hockey League National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
| Charlotte Checkers | Minor league hockey; ECHL ECHL The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States... (AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... team in 2011) |
|
| Fayetteville FireAntz Fayetteville FireAntz The Fayetteville FireAntz are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S. They currently play in the Southern Professional Hockey League . They play their home games in the Cumberland County Crown Coliseum.... |
Minor League Hockey; Southern Professional Hockey League Southern Professional Hockey League The Southern Professional Hockey League is a low-level professional ice hockey league based in Charlotte, North Carolina, with teams located in the southeastern United States.- History :... |
|
| Lacrosse Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh... |
Charlotte Hounds | Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse, or MLL, is a professional men's field lacrosse league that is made up of five teams in the United States and one team in Canada.- History :... |
| Charlotte Copperheads Charlotte Copperheads The Charlotte Copperheads is an American professional indoor lacrosse team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are a charter member of the North American Lacrosse League... |
North American Lacrosse League North American Lacrosse League The North American Lacrosse League is a men's professional indoor lacrosse league based in the United States, set to begin play in January 2012. The league will be North America's third professional lacrosse league, after Major League Lacrosse and the National Lacrosse League... |
|
| Roller Derby Roller derby Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team... |
Carolina Rollergirls Carolina Rollergirls Founded in January 2004, the Carolina Rollergirls, known as CRG or Carolina Roller Derby, Inc. is an all-women, flat-track roller derby league with a stated mission to foster an alternative sport in North Carolina while training for national competition. Operating as a 501 non-profit organization,... |
WFTDA |
| Rugby Union Rugby union Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand... |
Asheville RFC | |
| Cape Fear RFC | ||
| Charlotte Royals | ||
| Charlotte RFC Charlotte RFC Charlotte Rugby Club, nicknamed the "Old Originals", are a rugby union team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They currently play in USA Rugby Division I, and are members of the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union , the organizational body for rugby in the Mid-Atlantic States, though they are in... |
Rugby Super League Rugby Super League The Rugby Super League, usually referred to as simply the Super League, formerly the Michelob Super League, is a national rugby union competition currently contested by 11 clubs in the United States... |
|
| Eno River RFC | ||
| Gastonia RFC | ||
| Raleigh RFC | ||
| Triad RFC | ||
| Soccer | Carolina Dynamo Carolina Dynamo Carolina Dynamo is an American soccer team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League , the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the South Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference.The team plays its home... |
USL Premier Development League USL Premier Development League The USL Premier Development League is the amateur league of the United Soccer Leagues in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda, forming part of the American Soccer Pyramid... |
| Carolina Lady Dynamo | W-League W-League The USL W-League is a national women's soccer league in the United States on the 2nd level of women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, alongside the Women's Premier Soccer League and below Women's Professional Soccer.... |
|
| Carolina RailHawks | North American Soccer League North American Soccer League (2010) The North American Soccer League is a professional men's soccer league in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico which began league play on April 9, 2011. It has been provisionally sanctioned as the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, behind Major League Soccer in the... |
|
| Charlotte Eagles Charlotte Eagles Charlotte Eagles is an American professional soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in the American Division of the new USL Professional Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.... |
USL Pro USL Pro The USL Professional Division, commonly known as USL Pro , is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011.... |
|
| Charlotte Lady Eagles Charlotte Lady Eagles Charlotte Lady Eagles is an American women’s soccer team, founded in 2003. The team is a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada... |
W-League W-League The USL W-League is a national women's soccer league in the United States on the 2nd level of women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, alongside the Women's Premier Soccer League and below Women's Professional Soccer.... |
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| Wilmington Hammerheads Wilmington Hammerheads Wilmington Hammerheads is an American professional soccer team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 1996, the team plays in the American Division of the new USL Professional Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.... |
USL Pro | |