University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Stories: Inspiring Through Team IMPACT
December 22, 2025 | General, Student-Athlete Development
In 2011, eight former college classmates and student-athletes came together in Boston to celebrate something at the core of their friendship: the power of team. On Mother’s Day of 2011, this group of friends launched Team IMPACT — now a national nonprofit that connects children with serious illnesses or disabilities with college athletic teams.
One year later, then new athletics director Bubba Cunningham spearheaded a strategic plan for University of North Carolina Athletics with the mission statement that read “We educate and inspire through athletics.”
In 2014, beginning with the Diamond Heels baseball team, UNC Athletics partnered with Team IMPACT, and the results have been truly inspiring.
“We partnered with Team Impact four or five years ago now,” Wrestling associate head coach Tony Ramos said. “It’s awesome for us because we have athletes that are going through a daily grind every day and we wanted to give them an outlook of what someone else is going through. You might have it hard, you might have it tough, but there are people out there that have it even harder, that are going through real life struggles.”
The Carolina wrestling team is one of eight programs that currently work with a Team IMPACT child. Men’s Lacrosse, Volleyball, Men’s Tennis, Swimming & Diving, Baseball, and Fencing are also currently involved in the program.
In fact, the men’s lacrosse team recently won an award for their lasting impression on the program.
Owen Duffy, Grant Pierce, and their Team IMPACT teammate Noah Clifton won the Teammates of the Year award from the organization in spring of 2025.
“Our teammate Noah, his smile and his laugh light up any room,” Duffy said. “I always tell Noah’s mom that they’ve done more for us than we could ever do for them. Seeing how they all put a smile on every day no matter what’s going on really does give you perspective.”
“For us, it’s an outlet for Noah,” Noah’s mother Amy said. “It’s a safe environment where he can be who he is. They accept him and let him be as goofy as he wants to be. It means the world to us. They’re his big brothers.”
“What I hope Noah takes away from being a part of our team is that he’s got a whole family now within Carolina Lacrosse,” Duffy said. “I hope he knows that he always has a place here and he always has a network of people who love him and will always be there for him.”
Many of the Carolina teams have held “signing day” events for their young teammates and invite them to attend games and join in on team activities throughout the year.
“I’ll never forget one of the first days that (Team IMPACT teammate Abbie Flynn) was there,” head volleyball coach Mike Schall said. “We were walking down the hallway together and we had this uniform for her and she was like ‘a real uniform?!’ She’s probably never had one before, and that was a pretty special moment.
“I’m so grateful that we get to do what we do and also be a really good example not just for Abbie, but for a lot of young people who look at our players,” Schall continued. “It amazes me every day the impact that our players have on young people in the community, on the volleyball community, on the campus community. It’s a constant reminder of all that we have to be grateful for.”
This past weekend, all of UNC’s Team IMPACT teammates were invited to a special event where they were able to build gingerbread houses, get acknowledged on the court of the Dean Smith Center before a Tar Heels men’s basketball game, and watch UNC defeat USC Upstate in impressive fashion.
“I think when we get to this stage of sports and athleticism you can sometimes forget the love of the sport that you have,” said Shelby Barbee of the softball team. “It’s an incredible reminder for all of us to have fun because that’s why we started playing the sport in the first place.”
“We’ve been so thankful for this experience,” said Ashley James, whose son Wyatt has been with the UNC Swimming & Diving team for two years. “The relationship is unlike anything we’ve experienced. It’s amazing to watch him interact with the swimmers. They’re role models for him.”
For the young teammates involved, for their parents, for the UNC coaches and student-athletes, it truly is inspiring.
