University of North Carolina Athletics
Pregame Options Continue Expansion With Victory Village
October 4, 2007 | Football
Oct. 4, 2007
By Turner Walston
Tar Heel Town is growing. The pregame festival on the UNC campus will annex the area near the Bell Tower on Saturday, creating "Victory Village." It's one more step in creating a big-time football atmosphere in Chapel Hill.
Rick Steinbacher, Associate Athletic Director for Marketing and Promotions and a Tar Heel letterman, said the expansion of Tar Heel Town is a natural progression in building the culture of a program. "Tar Heel Town has long been a great tradition on Carolina football gamedays, and we are excited about testing ways we can expand Tar Heel Town to offer more pregame activities on campus," he said. "Tar Heel Town will continue to have all the same attractions, and for the Miami game will expand to include Victory Village at the Bell Tower."
Steinbacher said the opening of Victory Village is the result of research. "We talked to other schools (Georgia, Auburn, Alabama) and to other events (the ACC Football Championship, the ACC Basketball tournaments) to understand what types of pregame activities have been most successful for them and most enjoyable for their fans," he said.
Victory Village opens at 9 a.m., three hours prior to the noon kickoff. At 9:45, Butch Davis will lead the Tar Heels through Victory Village for the Old Well Walk. Beginning at 10 a.m., "Countdown to Kickoff," the pregame radio show featuring Brad Heller and Deems May, will broadcast live from Victory Village. Fans can also view televisions showing ESPN College Gameday. Admission to Victory Village is free, and McCall's Bar-B-Que will be available for $8.
Perhaps the most exciting feature of Victory Village will be the presence of Tar Heel legends Bill Dooley, William Fuller, Don McCauley, Natrone Means and Jason Stanicek.
Dooley coached Carolina for 11 seasons, from 1967 to 1977, earning nine bowl bids and three ACC titles. He moved on to coach at Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
McCauley played for Dooley from 1968 to 1970 and currently sits fifth on the career rushing list with 3,172 yards and 29 rushing touchdowns. He was twice named ACC Player of the Year and was first-team All-America in 1970.
Fuller, a defensive lineman from 1980-83, is one of only six Tar Heels to be named first-team All America twice. He is one of only three defensive linemen to be named All-ACC three times.
Running back Means ended his Carolina career with 3,074 yards and 34 touchdowns in just three seasons, as he entered the NFL Draft following his junior year in 1993. Means is currently tied for sixth on the career rushing yards list. Means was twice named All-ACC and was offensive MVP of the 1993 Peach Bowl.
Quarterback Stanicek graduated in 1995 as Carolina's all-time leader in total offense, a record that has since been surpassed by Ronald Curry and Darian Durant. Stanicek recorded nearly 5,500 yards of total offense and 26 passing touchdowns.
Fuller, a season ticket holder and close follower of Carolina football since his playing days, says he is looking forward to seeing what Butch Davis can do for the program. "Of course I want to see the big time atmosphere come back," he said.
Fuller says that football season shouldn't just be something to do until basketball practice begins, and that Carolina can field national powers in both sports. "When I was at Carolina, we had just that," he said. "With Dick Crum we had a perennial top ten program. At that same time, we had obviously a perennial top five, top ten basketball program, even winning the national championship in 1982. So what leads me to believe that something has changed, whereas we can't have a nationally ranked program in both sports? Nothing. It's a wonderful university, wonderful facilities, great location, you've got great weather, you've got obviously the history of the program and the prestige of Carolina."
Victory Village will be an opportunity for Tar Heel fans to gather and gear up for the game against Miami. Steinbacher said the gameday atmosphere at Carolina will continue to evolve. "We hope our fans will enjoy this new part of Tar Heel Town as we continue to try new things to enhance our football gameday traditions and atmosphere," he said.
