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Tobacco Road is a term used in college sports, mainly basketball, for the four rival universities of North Carolina that play in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).[1] The term refers to the area's history as a major tobacco producer. The Tobacco Road teams represent the following universities:
- North Carolina Tar Heels (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill)
- Duke Blue Devils (Duke University in Durham)
- NC State Wolfpack (North Carolina State University in Raleigh)
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem)
North Carolina, Duke, and NC State lie in the Research Triangle and are separated by no more than 25 miles (40 km). Before moving to Winston-Salem in 1956, Wake Forest University was located in the town of Wake Forest within the Triangle region, to the northeast of Raleigh. The schools are historical and present powerhouses among college sports, especially basketball. The universities' proximity and membership in the ACC, coupled with their reputation for academic prestige and as hubs for research and innovation, has created a natural rivalry among students, fans, and alumni.
- ^ Alwyn Featherston (2006). Tobacco Road: Duke, Carolina, N.C. State, Wake Forest, and the History of the Most Intense Backyard Rivalries in Sports. Lyons Press. p. vii. ISBN 978-1-59228-915-8.
...in a renewal of four-way rivalry that has made Tobacco Road famous far beyond the bounds of North Carolina or the ACC.