With the significant number of universities and colleges in the area and the relative absence of major league professional sports, NCAA sports are very popular, particularly those sports in which the Atlantic Coast Conference participates, most notably basketball.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University Wolfpack in Raleigh, and the Duke University Blue Devils in Durham are all members of the ACC. Rivalries among these schools are very strong, fueled by proximity to each other, with annual competitions in every sport. Adding to the rivalries is the large number of graduates that high schools in the region send to each of the local universities. It is very common for students at one university to know many students attending the other local universities, which increases the opportunities for "bragging" among the schools. The four ACC schools in the state, Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Wake Forest University are referred to as Tobacco Road by sportscasters, particularly in basketball. All four teams consistently produce high-caliber teams. Each of the Triangle-based universities listed have won at least two NCAA Basketball National Championships.
Three historically black colleges, including new Division I member North Carolina Central University and Division II members St. Augustine College and Shaw University also boost the popularity of college sports in the region.
Professional sports Stanley Cup awards ceremony at the RBC CenterThe region has only one professional team of the four major sports, the Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL, based in Raleigh. Since moving to the Research Triangle region from Hartford, Connecticut, they have enjoyed great success, including winning a Stanley Cup and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. With only one top level professional sports option, minor league baseball and other sports are quite popular in the region. The Durham Bulls in Downtown Durham are a AAA Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Carolina Mudcats, based in Zebulon, 10 miles east of Raleigh, are the Advanced-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. In Cary, the Carolina RailHawks play in the second-level North American Soccer League (not to be confused with the former league of the same name).
The area also had a team in the fledgling World League of American Football - however, the Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks, coached by Roman Gabriel, didn't exactly cover themselves in glory; they lost all ten games of their inaugural (and only) season in 1991. The team folded after that, being replaced in the league by the Ohio Glory, who fared little better at 1-9, ultimately suffering the same fate - along with the other 6 teams based in North America - when the league took a 2-year hiatus, returning as a 6-team all-European league in 1995.
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