In North Carolina, we are lucky to live in a state where we have SEVEN FBS football programs. North Carolina actually has as many FBS programs as California and Florida, among others.
One unique thing about the state of NC is they have 18 programs that play Division 1-A basketball. This ranks only behind Texas and California. We know that Tobacco Road basically is the heartbeat of college basketball. But let’s talk about the eleven other programs in the state that provide us with great basketball when our in-state ACC schools aren’t playing.
These schools live for their chance to go dancing in March and we need to do all we can to support these teams. We get a chance to take a trip to the mountains and see the Catamounts in Cullowhee. In the middle we get UNC-Greensboro and Elon. We love our team “by the sea” at UNC-Wilmington. You literally can’t go anywhere in this state and not find great Division 1 basketball.
We love the natural rivalries we have in the state in Big South conference play with High Point, UNC-Asheville, Campbell and Gardner Webb.
We get excited when we get to host conference tournaments from time to time, such as the MEAC, Southern, and Colonial that live on ESPN in early March.
We are thankful for the Aggie-Eagle rivalry on the hardcourt between NCCU and NC A&T. We are thankful that Coach Levelle Moton has put the Eagles on the map. We wish his teams weren’t so good, so ACC schools in the state would want to schedule them more frequently.
Last, but not least, we are thankful for Davidson. We are thankful for all the Southern Conference championships. The Wildcats won the league so much they had to join a new one. We are also thankful for that 2008 Elite 8 run which helped the entire country learn to appreciate a guy we had known about, Stephen Curry. Yea that Stephen Curry. The best player in the NBA and NBA champion Stephen Curry.
We are so blessed with all the ACC schools, ECU, Appalachian State and Charlotte. Don’t forget about the awesome Division 1 basketball schools that are probably no more than 30 minutes from where you live.