South's Oldest Rivalry

North Carolina Tar Heels

Virginia Cavaliers

Sport

Football

First meeting

October 22, 1892
Virginia 30, North Carolina 18

Latest meeting

October 22, 2016
North Carolina 35, Virginia 14

Next meeting

2017

Statistics

Meetings total

121

All-time series

North Carolina leads 63-54-4

Largest victory

Virginia 66, North Carolina 0 (November 26, 1912)

Current win streak

North Carolina, 7 (2010–present)

The South's Oldest Rivalry is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Virginia Cavaliers football team of the University of Virginia and the North Carolina Tar Heels football team of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Both universities have been members of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1953 but the Cavaliers and Tar Heels played their first two football games in 1892 (Virginia won the first and North Carolina the second), over sixty years before the formation of the ACC.

Series history

Long being the most played game among all Football Bowl Subdivision series in the Southeastern United States, it has become known over the years simply as the South's Oldest Rivalry. It is also the oldest series in this highest division in the east. The 2014 meeting marked the 119th edition of this game (played continuously since 1919), five more than the Army–Navy Game (played continuously since 1930), and one more than the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry" (Georgia–Auburn, played continuously since 1944).

The game was first twice played in 1892 (Virginia won the first, and North Carolina the second, splitting the southern title). Virginia then claims a southern championship for every year of 1893–1897, with North Carolina gaining a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association title in 1895 (only loss to Virginia) and 1898. Both overshadowed by Sewanee in 1899, Virginia again went on a tear from the turn of the century until 1905 when North Carolina pulled the upset.^[1] It is the third most played rivalry game nationwide among college football's Automatic Qualifying conference schools, and soon to be the second-most played. Due to the 2010–13 NCAA conference realignment the UVA-UNC rivalry will surpass the Lone Star Showdown between Texas and Texas A&M as the third most played national rivalry on October 25, 2014 in Charlottesville. It will then surpass the now-defunct Border War between Kansas and Missouri in the fall of 2016, also in Charlottesville. Beginning in that year, it will be the second most-played national rivalry behind the Paul Bunyan's Axe rivalry between the Wisconsin Badgers and Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Virginia and North Carolina have faced each other 120 times. North Carolina leads the all-time series, 63–54–4.^a In 2010 UNC broke a long losing streak in Charlottesville, UNC's first road win in the series since 1981. It ended what many UNC fans mockingly described as the "Charlottesville Curse." UVA led the series from 1893 to 1944, and UNC has since led from 1945 onward. Virginia closed to within two games in 2009, but UNC has won seven in a row since. Even after the losing streak, Virginia is 20–13–1 in the rivalry since 1983, the year that UVA snapped a long losing spell to the Heels, during which Virginia only beat UNC once from 1969 to 1982.

Second-most played is 103 for North Carolina versus the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, and second-most played for Virginia is 95 against Virginia Tech for the Commonwealth Cup.

Nature of the Rivalry

There is considerable historical lineage and academic standing between the two universities involved. The University of Virginia was founded by third President of the United States and founding father Thomas Jefferson, whereas the University of North Carolina was the first operational state university in the United States. William Faulkner was Writer-in-Residence at UVA, and Peter Taylor was on the UVA faculty and retired in Charlottesville. UNC is the alma mater of Thomas Wolfe, Walker Percy, and Shelby Foote. President Woodrow Wilson attended the University of Virginia and was President of its Jefferson Literary and Debating Society, whereas President James K. Polk attended UNC and was a Senator in its Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies

When the 1985 Richard Moll book was published listing the original eight "Public Ivies," public colleges with rigorous academic standards, there were only two sharing a common athletic conference: the University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina. For at least nine consecutive years, U.S. News & World Report has ranked UVA second and UNC fifth among all public universities, and they are first and second in the east.^[2] The two were also the first future members of the Atlantic Coast Conference to be elected to the prestigious Association of American Universities: UVA was elected in 1904 and UNC in 1922. Only Duke University would join them, in 1938, before the ACC was formed in 1953.

The rivalry is often called a "Gentlemen's Rivalry." One reason for this moniker is the prestigious image, both academically and socially, of both universities in their states and throughout the region. The institutions' student bodies also tend to somewhat mirror one another from a social and academic standpoint. As for today and recent decades, the rivalry itself has been lackluster and less heated despite a few recent historical wins by UNC. Neither program has finished at the top of the ACC since the 1990s, nor has UVA yet played in the ACC Championship Game.

Contributing factors

"Benedict Ronald"

Often considered the best high school football player of all time from the state of Virginia,^[3] and the only junior ever to be named the nation's top high school quarterback by USA Today, Ronald Curry announced a verbal commitment to George Welsh's Virginia program on September 4, 1997 during ESPN coverage of that night's game between Virginia and Auburn.^[4] With the commitment from Curry, Welsh declined to recruit Michael Vick, whose own stellar career in the same high school district was largely overshadowed by Curry's. While Curry's high school football coach, 12-time state champion Mike Smith, was happy that Curry would attend Virginia, Curry's AAU basketball coach Boo Williams told Curry he should decommit and go to a "basketball school" like North Carolina to get a better shot at the NBA.^[5]

Curry decommitted from UVA on signing day, causing him to be called "Benedict Ronald" and "Benedict Curry" by the Virginia faithful who blamed him not only for the program losing out on his own services, but for losing out on the unrecruited Vick. Curry was lampooned in the media, earning the title "Sports Jerk of the Year" in the nationally syndicated Tank McNamara comic strip. At North Carolina, Curry set many records including most career passing yards and most career total yards. He was twice named the most valuable player of post-season bowl games, doing so at the 1998 Las Vegas Bowl and the 2001 Peach Bowl. He also played basketball for two years, along with now-Green Bay Packers' defensive end Julius Peppers. After an inspired combine, the physically impressive Curry spent seven seasons in the NFL as a wide receiver. The Cavaliers defeated UNC during Curry's freshman year (when he played behind starter Oscar Davenport), and he went 0–2 against UVA the next two season as a starting quarterback. The Tar Heels did finally beat Virginia when he was a senior and shared time under center with freshman Darian Durant.

Famous Spectators

President Calvin Coolidge attended the 1928 game held on Thanksgiving Day in Charlottesville.

Probably the most famous spectator of this rivalry was present on Thanksgiving Day 1928. United States President Calvin Coolidge and First Lady Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge were among the 20,000 spectators watching the game at Charlottesville to see North Carolina win 24–20 over Virginia.^[6]

Game results

North Carolina victories	Virginia victories	Forfeits

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
1	1892	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	30–18
2	1892	Atlanta, GA	North Carolina	26–0
3	1893	Richmond, VA	Virginia	16–0
4	1894	Richmond, VA	Virginia	34–0
5	1895	Richmond, VA	Virginia	6–0
6	1896	Richmond, VA	Virginia	46–0
7	1897	Richmond, VA	Virginia	12–0
8	1898	Richmond, VA	North Carolina	6–2
9	1900	Norfolk, VA	Virginia	17–0
10	1901	Norfolk, VA	Virginia	23–6
11	1902	Richmond, VA	Tie	12–12
12	1903	Richmond, VA	North Carolina	16–0
13	1904	Richmond, VA	Virginia	12–11
14	1905	Norfolk, VA	North Carolina	17–0
15	1907	Richmond, VA	Virginia	9–4
16	1908	Richmond, VA	Virginia	31–0
17	1910	Richmond, VA	Virginia	7–0
18	1911	Richmond, VA	Virginia	28–0
19	1912	Richmond, VA	Virginia	66–0
20	1913	Richmond, VA	Virginia	26–7
21	1914	Richmond, VA	Virginia	20–3
22	1915	Richmond, VA	Virginia	14–0
23	1916	Richmond, VA	North Carolina	7–0
24	1919	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	6–0
25	1920	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	14–0
26	1921	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	7–3
27	1922	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	10–7
28	1923	Chapel Hill, NC	Tie	0–0
29	1924	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	7–0
30	1925	Chapel Hill, NC	Tie	3–3
31	1926	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	3–0
32	1927	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	14–13
33	1928	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	24–20
34	1929	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	41–7
35	1930	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	41–0
36	1931	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	13–6
37	1932	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	14–7
38	1933	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	14–0
39	1934	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	25–6
40	1935	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	61–0
41	1936	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	59–14
42	1937	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	40–0
43	1938	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	20–0
44	1939	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	19–0
45	1940	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	10–7
46	1941	Chapel Hill, NC	Virginia	28–7
47	1942	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	28–13
48	1943	Norfolk, VA	North Carolina	54–7
49	1944	Norfolk, VA	Virginia	26–7
50	1945	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	27–18
51	1946	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	49–14
52	1947	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	40–7
53	1948	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	34–12
54	1949	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	14–7
55	1950	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	44–13
56	1951	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	34–14
57	1952	Chapel Hill, NC	Virginia	34–7
58	1953	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	33–7
59	1954	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	26–14
60	1955	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	26–14
61	1956 ^*	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	21–7

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
62	1957	Chapel Hill, NC	Virginia	20–13
63	1958	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	42–0
64	1959	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	41–0
65	1960	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	35–8
66	1961	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	24–0
67	1962	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	11–7
68	1963	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	11–7
69	1964	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	31–27
70	1965	Chapel Hill, NC	Virginia	21–17
71	1966	Chapel Hill, NC	Virginia	21–14
72	1967	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	40–17
73	1968	Chapel Hill, NC	Virginia	41–6
74	1969	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	12–0
75	1970	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	30–15
76	1971	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	32–20
77	1972	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	23–3
78	1973	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	44–40
79	1974	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	24–10
80	1975	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	31–28
81	1976	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	31–6
82	1977	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	35–14
83	1978	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	38–20
84	1979	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	13–7
85	1980	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	26–3
86	1981	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	17–14
87	1982	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	27–14
88	1983	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	17–14
89	1984	Chapel Hill, NC	Tie	24–24
90	1985	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	24–22
91	1986	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	27–7
92	1987	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	20–17
93	1988	Chapel Hill, NC	Virginia	27–24
94	1989	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	50–17
95	1990	Chapel Hill, NC	Virginia	24–10
96	1991	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	14–9
97	1992	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	27–7
98	1993	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	17–10
99	1994	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	34–10
100	1995	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	22–17
101	1996	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	20–17
102	1997	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	48–20
103	1998	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	30–13
104	1999	Chapel Hill, NC	Virginia	20–17
105	2000	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	17–6
106	2001	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	30–24
107	2002	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	37–27
108	2003	Chapel Hill, NC	Virginia	38–13
109	2004	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	56–24
110	2005	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	7–5
111	2006	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	23–0
112	2007	Chapel Hill, NC	Virginia	22–20
113	2008	Charlottesville, VA	Virginia	16–13
114	2009	Chapel Hill, NC	Virginia	16–3
115	2010	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	44–10
116	2011	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	28–17
117	2012	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	37–13
118	2013	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	45–14
119	2014	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	28–27
120	2015	Chapel Hill, NC	North Carolina	26–13
121	2016	Charlottesville, VA	North Carolina	35–14
Series: North Carolina leads 63–54–4

^{^*}North Carolina forfeits due to using an ineligible player

Other sports

Basketball

Carolina currently leads the series 127–50.

The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry

The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry (Auburn-Georgia) may eventually surpass "South's Oldest Rivalry" (UNC-Virginia) in number of games played due to the conference expansion of the SEC and ACC conferences. With the possibility of a same-season rematch in the SEC Championship, Auburn and Georgia can play a second game in the same season; North Carolina and Virginia, however, are in the same division of the ACC, making a similar North Carolina vs. Virginia ACC Championship matchup impossible. Currently the UVA-UNC series leads the AUB-UGA series by one game. However, the UVA-UNC series has played far more consecutive years, as AUB-UGA was suspended during World War II.

Notes

^a North Carolina forfeited the 1956 game to Virginia for using an ineligible player.^[7]^[8]^[9] The UNC athletic department does not acknowledge the forfeit when reporting on the result, and chooses to count the game as a UNC win in its marketing materials.^[10]

¹Virginia won the first game played in 1892.
²North Carolina won the second game played in 1892.

References

↑ "Carolina Athletic Record Over 37 Year Period High". The Tar Heel. January 7, 1926. Retrieved March 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ Ranked above both is the University of California, Berkeley and UVA is tied with UCLA. UNC then trails only the University of Michigan for fourth nationwide.
↑ "The Amazing Ronald Curry". Dave Sez. 2004-08-12. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
↑ "Virginia Won Big Before It Took The Field"; Richmond Times – Dispatch – Richmond, Va.; Bob Lipper; Sep 5, 1997; Page D1
↑ Ronald Curry Has All the Moves; The Washington Post – Washington, D.C.; Angie Watts; Apr 8, 1998; page C1
↑ O'Neals (1968) Pictorial History of the University of Virginia. Charlottesville, Virginia: University Press of Virginia (p. 154)
↑ "Wahoos Play Host to No. 18/22 UNC Saturday – University of Virginia Cavaliers Official Athletic Site". VirginiaSports.com. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
↑ Jon Blau, Penn State Daily Collegian, "Forfeits uncommon in realm of college sports" Archived February 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Sports Illustrated, 1957 Football Issue, September 23, 1957
↑ Archived October 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.

North Carolina Tar Heels football
Venues	Emerson Field (1916–26) Kenan Memorial Stadium (1927–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Duke: (Victory Bell) NC State South Carolina Virginia: South's Oldest Rivalry Wake Forest
Culture & lore	First forward pass Rameses The Marching Tar Heels Statistical leaders
People	Head coaches All-Americans NFL draftees
Seasons	1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Virginia Cavaliers football
Venues	Madison Hall Field (1888–1912) Lambeth Field (1913–1930) Scott Stadium (1931–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Florida State (Jefferson–Eppes Trophy) Maryland North Carolina (South's Oldest Rivalry) Virginia Tech (Commonwealth Cup)
Culture & lore	CavMan "The Cavalier Song" "The Good Old Song" Cavalier Marching Band Georgia Tech vs. Virginia 1990
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders W. A. Lambeth
Seasons	1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Rivalries of the Atlantic Coast Conference
Conference	O'Rourke–McFadden Trophy (Boston College–Clemson) Boston College–Notre Dame Boston College–Syracuse Boston College–Virginia Tech Clemson–Florida State Clemson–Georgia Tech Textile Bowl (Clemson–NC State) Duke–North Carolina basketball/overall Victory Bell (Duke–North Carolina football) Duke–NC State Duke–Wake Forest Florida State–Miami Florida State–Virginia Georgia Tech–Virginia Tech Miami–Virginia Tech North Carolina–NC State overall North Carolina–NC State North Carolina–Wake Forest NC State–Wake Forest South's Oldest Rivalry (North Carolina–Virginia) Pittsburgh–Syracuse Virginia–Virginia Tech Commonwealth Cup (Virginia–Virginia Tech football)
Non-conference	Auburn–Clemson Auburn–Georgia Tech Beanpot (Boston College–Boston U–Harvard–Northeastern ice hockey) Boston College–Holy Cross Boston College–Harvard (basketball) Commonwealth Classic (Boston College–UMass basketball) Boston College–UMass Clemson–Georgia Clemson–South Carolina Colgate–Syracuse Connecticut–Notre Dame (women's basketball) Duke–Maryland (basketball) Duke–Michigan (basketball) Florida–Florida State Green Line Rivalry (Boston College–Boston U) The Keg of Nails (Cincinnati–Louisville) Kentucky–Louisville overall Governor's Cup (Kentucky–Louisville football) Louisville–Memphis Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate (Georgia–Georgia Tech) Georgia Tech–Tennessee Georgia Tech–Tulane Maryland–Virginia Florida–Miami Miami–Nebraska NC State–South Carolina North Carolina–South Carolina NC State–East Carolina Notre Dame–UCLA basketball River City Rivalry (Cincinnati–Pittsburgh) City Game (Pittsburgh–Duquesne) Penn State–Pittsburgh Backyard Brawl (Pittsburgh–West Virginia) Georgetown–Syracuse Penn State–Syracuse Syracuse–West Virginia Virginia Tech–West Virginia VMI–Virginia Tech
Notre Dame football rivalries	Georgia Tech–Notre Dame Miami–Notre Dame Notre Dame–Pittsburgh

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