UNC History
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What is a Tar Heel?
The University not only uses the nickname "Tar Heels," but the entire state does as well. One version of the nickname's origin has the name first being applied to North Carolinians during the Civil War. One record talks of a battle in Virginia, where their supporting column retreated, but North Carolina troops fought alone. The victorious troops were asked in a condescending tone by some Virginians, who had retreated, "Any more tar down in the Old North State, boys?" The response came quickly: "No, not a bit; old Jeff's bought it all up." The Virginians asked: "Is that so? What is he going to do with it?" The reply: "He is going to put it on you'ns heels to make you stick better in the next fight."
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Origin of the University Colors
As symbols of unity among Carolina students, alumni, and fans, the school colors of light blue and white were first used around 1800 to distinguish between members of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Literary Societies. Throughout the nineteenth century, students were required to be members of either the Di or the Phi. The Di's color was light blue, and the Phi's was white. At University commencements, balls, and other social events, the student officials, managers, and marshals wore the color of their society, blue or white. Because the Chief Marshal or Chief Ball Manager represented the whole student body, not just his society, he wore both colors. When the University fielded its first intercollegiate athletic teams in 1888, the question of what colors to wear had already been answered. Light blue and white had come to symbolize membership in the University, not in a single society. Light blue and white have been considered the University's colors for more than a century. With the tradition so firmly established, a popular bumper sticker states that God must be a Tar Heel because he made the sky Carolina Blue!
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Origin of the University Colors
In 1924 Vic Huggins, UNC's head cheerleader, decided that Carolina needed a mascot like N.C. State's Wolf and Georgia's Bulldog. At the time, Jack Merrit, known to his fans as the "Battering Ram," was a popular member of UNC's football team. Making use of this nickname, Huggins hit upon the idea of a ram as the Carolina mascot. The cheerleader went to Charles T. Woollen, the University's Business Manager, and asked him to find twenty-five dollars to buy a ram. They ordered UNC's first mascot from Texas. The 1924 team had been in a slump and Carolina fans were looking for something to break the jinx. The Tar Heel sports staff joined the campus in hoping that the new mascot would bring the much-needed luck. The mascot, who was named Ramses, arrived in time for the UNC-VMI game on 8 November 1924. The fans saw a defensive struggle. No one scored until late in the fourth quarter when a UNC player executed a perfect dropkick for a 30 victory. Carolina fans credited the first Ramses' presence for pulling Carolina past VMI, and giving birth to the long line of rams who have witnessed Tar Heel games.
by William Starr Myers, class of 1897
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