North Carolina State Sports Information
- College basketball is king in North Carolina. Perennial basketball powerhouses Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), located less than an hour's drive from each other, are perhaps the nation's top college basketball rivalry. Duke, located in Durham, is the fourth most successful men's basketball program in history and the 2010 men's basketball NCAA champion. UNC claims four championships including the 2009 NCAA championship. Mix in college teams like Wake Forest and North Carolina State and it's easy to see why college basketball is king. North Carolina also has the Charlotte Bobcats of the NBA, owed by its favorite basketball son, Michael Jordan, who played at UNC.
- The Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL) played its first game in 1995, as part of a two-team expansion of the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars. It took the Panthers only nine years to reach the Super Bowl on Feb. 1, 2004. In addition to professional football, the college teams also compete at the highest national levels in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
- Raleigh is home of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Hurricanes relocated from Hartford, Connecticut, where they were named the Whalers. Although renamed as the Hurricanes, the team embraces the legacy of its entire history going back to November 1971. On June 19, 2006, the Hurricanes won game seven of the Stanley Cup finals and earned the first professional sports championship North Carolina enjoyed.
- In 2010, the NASCAR Hall of Fame opened its doors in Charlotte as it inducted five members, including legends Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. The Charlotte Motor Speedway is home to NASCAR and hosts many races all year long including the Sprint Cup, Coca-Cola 600 and the Bank of America 500.
- Although North Carolina does not have Major League Baseball (MLB) it does boast one rather famous minor league team. Made famous by the movie "Bull Durham" starring Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon, the Durham Bulls play in the International League, and are the Triple A team of the Tampa Bay Rays. Other minor league teams include the Carolina Mudcats, the Double A team for the Cincinnati Reds, and the Asheville Tourists, the Single A team for the Colorado Rockies.
