10 Tar Heel Things To Watch In 2023-24

You wouldn't know it based on temperature or humidity in most parts of the United States, but summer is beginning to near its end.

Carolina's first day of classes is around the corner, and training camps and exhibition games have begun. The regular season arrives this week when the women's soccer team visits Penn State on Thursday and hosts California on Sunday at Dorrance Field.

Next weekend, Erin Matson and Mike Schall will make their head coaching debuts with field hockey and volleyball, respectively, while Carlos Somoano will begin his 13th year as UNC's men's soccer head coach. Mack Brown's football team and a cross country program on the rise nationally will debut during Labor Day weekend, led by junior Parker Wolfe (a first-team All-America in three different sports in 2022-23!).

An anticipatory buzz has returned to the UNC campus. There's plenty of reason to be excited about Carolina Athletics. While far from a complete list, here are 10 things for Tar Heel fans to look forward to entering the 2023-24 academic year.

New Head Coaches

New head coaches will lead three Tar Heel programs, including two this fall, seeking to build on the legacies of a trio of UNC coaching legends.

Matson was one of the most decorated players in field hockey history, and now she replaces Karen Shelton, who won the most games and national titles in NCAA history, as the Tar Heel head coach. Former Carolina assistant Schall has replaced Joe Sagula, who won more volleyball matches than any coach in Atlantic Coast Conference history in his 33 seasons in Chapel Hill. And Megan Smith Lyon, who played for Donna J. Papa at Carolina from 1996-99, looks to continue the success of the only coach in ACC history with 1,000 or more wins.

I See the Light

Upgrades courtesy of generous Rams Club donors will improve the lighting in several facilities on campus. For example, improvements in Carmichael Arena ensure a high-quality gameday experience for fans and teams alike. The lighting updates and new LED video boards will significantly brighten and enliven women's basketball, volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling events. And check back soon—there's more to come.

"We want to make our game day experience as energetic, memorable and as fun as it can be for our student-athletes, coaches and community, and these upgrades are a huge step forward," says athletic director Bubba Cunningham. "Our staff is already planning creative ways to use the new lighting systems and video displays, and as we will continue to evaluate the in-game experience at Carmichael Arena to draw new visitors and keep our fans coming back.''

Star Gazing

There will be no shortage of outstanding individual achievers dotting Tar Heel rosters this year. Whether it's Heisman Trophy hopeful Drake Maye, two-time NCAA champion diver Aranza Vazquez or returning women's tennis national player of the year Fiona Crawley, some of the top talents in college sports will showcase their skills in Chapel Hill in 2023-24.

Don't forget standouts like Armando Bacot (in the fifth season of his assault on the men's basketball record books), Deja Kelly (a first-team All-ACC pick in each of the past two seasons), a star-studded men's golf roster, including 2023 ACC Player of the Year and U.S. Walker Cup member David Ford, the All-Americas on the women's lacrosse team and more. These are just a handful of Carolina's 800-plus student-athletes, and it's clear this could be a fun year for Tar Heel fans.

Title Chasing

Once again, Carolina boasts several teams with legitimate shots at winning ACC and NCAA championships. Field hockey and women's tennis are both coming off storybook national title seasons and return plenty of talent this year. Seeking Anson Dorrance's 23rd national crown, the women's soccer team tops the preseason ACC poll and enters the season ranked No. 2 nationally in the United Soccer Coaches rankings. And football, of course, is coming off a berth in the Holiday Bowl and is ranked nationally entering the season.

Courtney Banghart returns three starters from last year's top-20 women's basketball squad, and the men's squad features Bacot, RJ Davis and a slew of talented newcomers. The men's golf team has posted three consecutive top-five finishes at the NCAA Championships and returns four All-Americas. Jenny Levy's women's lacrosse Tar Heels have been a top-five seed in the NCAA Tournament 14 consecutive times and should contend again for their fourth national title next spring.

Finley Reopening

UNC officials tentatively plan to reopen Finley Golf Course in October after nearly a year of closure for renovations. The men's and women's golf teams look forward to an updated course layout, new practice area and new team building (in phase two of the project). The improvements will ensure Finley is one the best golf facilities in college golf and a site for future NCAA Regionals and Championships starting this year.

Golfing at St Andrews

Both golf teams will compete this October at one of the world's most celebrated courses, St Andrews in Scotland. The UNC men's and women's golf squads will take part in a four-team tournament in the inaugural St Andrews Links Collegiate along with Georgetown, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt. The teams will play two rounds of stroke play at the Jubilee Course and one day of match play at the Old Course, all with live coverage on GOLF Channel and Peacock in the United States.

Marquee Hoops Matchups

Both Tar Heel basketball teams will be playing schedules filled with top-notch non-conference opponents in 2023-24. The Atlantic Coast Conference should be releasing full schedules for both in September, but it's already clear that neither program is afraid to play the sort of tough slate that could steel them for ACC competition and the NCAA Tournament in March.

On the men's side, Hubert Davis' third squad will fly to Paradise Island for the Battle 4 Atlantis, where it will play tough mid-major Northern Iowa and either Villanova or Texas Tech. Arkansas, Memphis, Michigan and Stanford await on the other side of the Bahamas bracket.

The inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge will follow, with Tennessee making just its second appearance in Chapel Hill in 75 years. Carolina also will play defending NCAA champion Connecticut in Madison Square Garden and Kentucky in Atlanta.

The Tar Heel women will host South Carolina in the ACC/SEC Challenge and travel to play UConn in Connecticut, as well as face a field at the Gulf Coast Showcase that includes NCAA runnerup Iowa and two other 2023 NCAA Tournament participants. Both the men's and women's basketball teams will play Oklahoma in Charlotte in the Jumpman Invitational.

Gymnastics Competing in the ACC for the First Time

With Clemson adding gymnastics at the varsity level this year, the ACC will sponsor the sport for the first time since 1984. After years in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League, the Tar Heels will join fellow EAGL schools NC State and Pitt with Clemson in the ACC. The conference now sponsors 15 women's and 13 men's sports with the most women's sports offerings of any Power 5 conference and tied for the most sponsored sports overall.

Title Town?

UNC is slated to host least four NCAA Championships or Regionals in the 2023-24 academic year, and that doesn't include the possibility of hosting NCAA women's basketball first- and second-round games at Carmichael Arena should the team be in position to host early-round games.

Karen Shelton Stadium will showcase the NCAA field hockey national championship on November 17 and 19. Two weeks later, Carolina will serve as the host school for the women's soccer College Cup at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. In the spring, the new Finley Golf Course will make its national debut with an NCAA men's regional on May 13-15. And to close the year, the Tar Heels will host the NCAA women's lacrosse national championship at WakeMed in Cary for the second year in a row.

Who Knows?

One of the most exciting prospects for Tar Heel fans this year could be the unknown. Sports can be too business-like, especially with conference realignment dominating the news in recent weeks, but what can make them irresistible is their inevitable ability to surprise.

Can Maye lead the football team to new heights while achieving personal accolades? How will the women's basketball squad continue to showcase itself as a resurgent national power? Can the field hockey and women's tennis teams repeat as national champions? What other teams will step up and make their own late-season runs this year? What will be the can't-miss moments Carolina fans will be discussing years from now?

The potential outcomes are endless, which is why the Tar Heels can't wait to get started. It's bound to be another entertaining Carolina year in 2023-24. The fun begins this week.

University of North Carolina Athletics

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