Two North Carolina Universities The Only Schools In The Country To Accomplish This In College Athletics This Season
What do NC State and Duke have in common? It may surprise you. In North Carolina college rivalries run deep. Especially this time of year. And this March has been full of “madness”. Especially as an NC State fan. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of the unexpected but oh-so fun. Seriously if you aren’t an NC State fan you can’t even imagine how much fun it’s been.
After our men’s team notched its 7th straight win against Oakland on Saturday night they clinched a trip to the Sweet 16. Then yesterday afternoon our women’s team did the same. Another school in North Carolina also has both teams still dancing- The Duke Blue Devils. Nationally two other teams (UCONN and Gonzaga) accomplished this feat. But it is only the two schools in the North Carolina Triangle that accomplished this AND had their football team make a bowl game this athletic year. NC State played in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando while Duke traveled to the Birmingham Bowl.
NC State and Duke
NC State and Duke, two schools located only 27 miles from each other are the only two schools in the country to do this. That’s pretty damn good if you ask me. Both schools are members of the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference). But despite those two similarities, the schools couldn’t be much more different. Duke is a private university in Durham and NC State is a public institution in Raleigh.
The student body at NC State is approximately 4 times that of Duke’s. A large portion of Duke’s student body comes from out of state, particularly the Northeast. While NC State does attract out-of-state students, a much larger portion is from NC. I often joke that I don’t think I actually know anyone personally who went to Duke. And it’s true.
RELATED: Top Snacking Habits of College Basketball Fans
Even athletically NC State and Duke are fairly different. NC State thrives in the role of the underdog. Championships in the big 3 sports (football, men’s basketball, and baseball) had alluded the school for years. Despite that, there is a rich history, especially in men’s basketball with NC State being one of only 15 universities to have won multiple national titles. There are 351 universities with a Division 1 team to put that into perspective.
But that championship drought finally ended with this year’s men’s basketball team capturing the ACC title a little over a week ago. Football coach Dave Doeren preaches the culture of a blue-collar school and that work ethic. I think it’s fair to say Duke is very different in that regard. It’s much more of a white-collar program, and the men’s basketball team has seen sustained success in recent years much under now-retired Coach K.
Football at Duke has historically been more of a struggle, though they have put together solid teams in the last decade or so- reaching a bowl game 8 times since 2012. While NC State has had its fair share of up and down seasons and has yet to get over the 10-win or ACC Championship hunt they certainly expect to make a quality bowl game each year.
While (especially during basketball season) I certainly consider Duke a rival, I also think of them in a “your enemy’s enemy is your friend” sort of way. Both NC State and Duke strongly dislike the other team close to us which bonds us at least a few days of the year. But I’ll say it now. Congrats Duke! And congrats to my NC State Wolfpack. It’s great for the state and the conference to have these two schools be the only ones in the country with men’s and women’s Sweet 16 teams and a bowl game. Let’s keep dancing and having fun!
View the women’s bracket here.
March Madness: These Teams Could Screw Up Your Bracket
