Michael Malone didn’t need long at North Carolina to understand what he’d walked into. He dug into the Tar Heels’ history with NC State, and one detail jumped out immediately: last season was the first since 1919 that UNC and NC State did not play a home-and-home series.
That backdrop helps explain why Malone was so eager to lock in more meetings with the Wolfpack. With UNC originally set to host NC State only once in conference play, the schools instead agreed to a two-year neutral-site, non-conference series at First Horizon Coliseum, the building formerly known as Greensboro Coliseum. The first game in the “Tobacco Road Classic” will be played Dec. 15, giving Malone his first real taste of one of college basketball’s most familiar grudges.
“The fans have spoken, the administrators have spoken, the legislators have spoken. This game matters,” Malone said Wednesday at the official announcement in Greensboro. “This game means something to everyone in this room, and I'm just excited to be a part of it.”
The ACC’s switch to an 18-game conference schedule a year ago created the opening. Each team was paired with one rival, and that left UNC and NC State without a guaranteed home-and-home series last season for the first time in more than a century. UNC still owns the edge in the rivalry, leading 168-82 overall and 121-52 in ACC play.
Malone said the response he got from people around the program and around the state made the decision feel obvious.
“Talking to people around the program and around the state, you realize that this game matters,” Malone said. “There are certain matchups, certain teams within the conference - every game matters - but some matter a little bit more, and this is one of those games. I think it's great we have a chance to play them twice and hopefully that'll keep our fans happy as well.”
For Malone, the rivalry won’t arrive right away. The former NBA coach spent 25 years in the league, including a championship with the Denver Nuggets in 2023, and now he’ll wait nearly four more months before getting his first crack at NC State. Still, he’s already taken the measure of what it all means.
“All of this is new to me, but it's not lost on me - what this means,” Malone said. “We have amazing fans and such a rich history within this city and in this coliseum; I'm anxious to be a part of that and get my feet wet.”
UNC’s game against NC State will be the second of what could be as many as six games at First Horizon Coliseum for the Tar Heels this season. UNC opens with an exhibition against Southern California on Oct. 9 in Greensboro, and the Tar Heels will also return there for the 2027 ACC Tournament.
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