Athletes and sports teams fromNorth Carolina compete across an array of professional and amateur levels of competition, along with athletes who compete at the World andOlympic levels in their respective sport. Major league professional teams based in North Carolina include teams that compete in theNational Basketball Association (NBA),National Football League (NFL),National Hockey League (NHL),Major League Soccer (MLS), andNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The state is also home toNASCAR Cup Series races. At the collegiate and university level, there are several North Carolina schools in various conferences across an array of divisions. North Carolina also has manyminor league baseball teams. There are also a number of indoor football, indoor soccer, minor league basketball, and minor league ice hockey teams based throughout the state.

Though it has never been home to aMajor League Baseball club, North Carolina is home to numerousminor league andcollegiate summer league teams. Many colleges with athletic programs also field baseball teams.

The first successful major professional sports team to be created in North Carolina were theCharlotte Hornets of theNational Basketball Association (NBA), which began play in the 1988–89 season.

In 2004, the NBA added the Charlotte Bobcats franchise, two years after the city lost the Hornets to New Orleans. The Charlotte team plays its home games at theSpectrum Center. The Bobcats assumed the Hornets nickname after the conclusion of the 2013–14 season; the New Orleans team had changed its name to theNew Orleans Pelicans at the start of that season. By agreement between the NBA, Hornets, and Pelicans, the history and records of the 1988–2002 Hornets were assumed by the current Hornets franchise.

Prior to that, theCarolina Cougars of theAmerican Basketball Association (ABA) played in various North Carolina cites (playing in the ABA for five seasons, 1969–1974). Former Charlotte Bobcats coachLarry Brown started his coaching career as head coach of the Cougars.

North Carolina's first professionalbasketball team was theAmerican Basketball Association'sCarolina Cougars. The Cougars played in North Carolina between 1969 and 1974 and split their games between theGreensboro Coliseum, the originalCharlotte Coliseum andRaleigh'sDorton Arena.

Following the Cougars' move to St. Louis it would be fourteen years before professional basketball would return to the Old North State whenCharlotte was awarded the NBA's 24th franchise, theCharlotte Hornets. The Hornets played at theCharlotte Coliseum beforemoving to New Orleans following a bitter dispute between team ownership and the city over funding for a new arena. Two years after the Hornets decamped the Queen City was named as the home of the expansion Charlotte Bobcats who would play two seasons at the Coliseum before taking up residence at a new venue now known asSpectrum Center inUptown. After the 2012–13 NBA season, New Orleans changed their franchise name to the New Orleans Pelicans. The franchise rights to the Hornets name and logo, plus the history of the original Charlotte Hornets, were given back to the city of Charlotte after the 2013–14 NBA season, at the same time the Charlotte Bobcats became the Charlotte Hornets.North Carolina Tar Heels legendMichael Jordan is the majority owner of the Hornets.

In 2016, Greensboro was awarded the Hornets'NBA G League team, theGreensboro Swarm.

North Carolina is home to what some consider the best rivalry in American sports,North Carolina vs. Duke.Chapel Hill (UNC) andDurham (Duke) are only 8 miles apart. This rivalry reaches its climax in basketball but often spills over to other sports.North Carolina State andWake Forest are also considered major rivals of the Blue Devils and Tar Heels, for more on the four-way rivalry seeTobacco Road.

Other Division I teams in the state include theAppalachian State Mountaineers,Campbell Fighting Camels,Charlotte 49ers,Davidson Wildcats,East Carolina Pirates,Elon Phoenix,Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs,High Point Panthers,North Carolina A&T Aggies,North Carolina Central Eagles,Queens Royals,UNC Asheville Bulldogs,UNC Greensboro Spartans,UNC Wilmington Seahawks, andWestern Carolina Catamounts.

Although North Carolina did not have a major-league professional sports franchise until the 1980s, the state has long been known as a hotbed ofcollege basketball. Since the formation of theAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 1953, the conference's North Carolina member schools have excelled in conference play. TheUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC),Duke University, andNorth Carolina State University are all located within 25 miles (40 km) of one another, creating fierce rivalries.Wake Forest University, another ACC member, was located in the town ofWake Forest, also within the Raleigh–Durham area, until its 1956 move toWinston-Salem, less than 100 miles (160 km) to the west of these schools. UNC has won sixNCAA national championships in men's basketball (1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2017) and one in women's basketball (1994). Duke has won five NCAA men's championships (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015), and NC State has won two (1974 and 1983). TheDuke-UNC basketball rivalry has been called one of the best rivalries in sports and the two schools are often contenders for the national title. In addition to the ACC schools, theUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte went to the NCAA'sFinal Four in 1977, andDavidson College near Charlotte went to the NCAA's "Elite Eight" in 1968, 1969, and 2008.

North Carolina schools have also won multiple NCAA Division II basketball national championships. In 1967,Winston-Salem State University, led by future NBA star Earl Monroe and coached by the legendary Clarence "Big House" Gaines, was the first school in the state to win the Division II championship. In 1989,North Carolina Central University, which is now a Division I member, brought the title to the state a second time; winning the championship game by 27 points, which remains the largest margin of victory in its history. And in 2007,Barton College in Wilson returned the title to the state a third time.

North Carolina has a large number ofhistorically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) with long athletic traditions and deep fan bases as well. Ten HBCUs participate in NCAA college sports in North Carolina, with all butNorth Carolina A&T State University (the largest HBCU in the U.S.) playing in either the Division IICentral Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) or the Division IMid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). A&T had long been a MEAC member, but changed conferences twice in the 2020s, first to theBig South Conference in 2021 and then theCoastal Athletic Association in 2022 (though the football team did not jointhe CAA's football conference^[a] until 2023). Both the CIAA Men's Basketball Tournament andMEAC men's basketball tournament have been held numerous times in cities across North Carolina. TheAggie-Eagle rivalry between A&T andNorth Carolina Central University (the state's second-largest HBCU) remains a fierce rivalry across numerous sports and has followed the teams through many decades and across several league moves.

The firstmajor professional sports league football team in North Carolina came in 1974, when theNew York Stars of theWorld Football League was relocated toCharlotte in the middle of the season and renamed to the Charlotte Hornets (although the team was referred to as the Charlotte Stars for the first game in Charlotte). TheNational Football League (NFL) is represented by theCarolina Panthers, who began play in 1995, and call Charlotte'sBank of America Stadium home. North Carolina was also home to theCharlotte Rage and theCarolina Cobras of theArena Football League.

College football is very popular in North Carolina, with many colleges fielding teams. Only two states have more universities fielding teams at the NCAA's highest level,Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). North Carolina has seven FBS teams in all—theNorth Carolina Tar Heels,NC State Wolfpack,Duke Blue Devils,Wake Forest Demon Deacons,East Carolina Pirates,Appalachian State Mountaineers, andCharlotte 49ers. An additional seven field teams inDivision I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), as well as many schools at the Division II and III levels. Before moving to FBS and theSun Belt Conference in 2014, Appalachian State won FCS national titles in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Although basketball remains the dominant college sport in North Carolina, several schools have also enjoyed success in football and other sports. Wake Forest has also enjoyed substantial success in football; in 2006 they won theAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) football championship and participated in the2007 Orange Bowl inMiami. This was the first major bowl berth for a North Carolina–based ACC team since Duke defeated Arkansas in the1961 Cotton Bowl Classic.East Carolina University also enjoys much success in football. Located inGreenville the Pirates won both the 2008 and 2009Conference USA Football Championship and have a large and passionate fan base. The East Carolina Pirates were the first back-to-back C-USA champions since divisional play was started in 2005. The Pirates played in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl for a second consecutive year on January 2, 2010. As part of theearly-2010s NCAA conference realignment, East Carolina joined theAmerican Athletic Conference in 2014.Elon University made 4 trips to the NAIA National Championship in football game winning back to back championships in 1980 and 1981, and has since moved to the NCAA's second-tierDivision I FCS and theColonial Athletic Association.Lenoir-Rhyne University won the 1960 NAIA National Championship in football, and were losing finalists in theNCAA Division IIchampionship in 2013. TheCharlotte 49ers, which are the sports teams affiliated with theUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte, first fielded a football team and joinedDivision I FBS forConference USA in 2015, participated in their first bowl game in 2019. Charlotte will join East Carolina in The American in 2023.Appalachian State University, Elon University,Western Carolina University andNorth Carolina A&T State University have all made trips to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision championship playoffs. Appalachian Statehas since moved to Division I FBS and the Sun Belt Conference. Western Carolina has made one trip to this championship game, while Appalachian State became the first school to win the championship three years in a row (2005–2007). After moving to FBS, Appalachian State won bowl games in each of its first six seasons of bowl eligibility (2015–2020), the most successful such run by any ream that made the jump from FCS to FBS.

Charlotte is also host to theACC Championship Game and theDuke's Mayo Bowl; both are FBS postseason games.

North Carolina is home to theCarolina Panthers of theNational Football League (NFL) who play their home games at the 75,000-seatBank of America Stadium inUptown Charlotte. The Panthers played their first season in 1995 atMemorial Stadium on the campus ofClemson University in neighboringSouth Carolina. On February 1, 2004, the Panthers played inSuper Bowl XXXVIII, and on February 7, 2016, they played inSuper Bowl 50. The Panthers were not North Carolina's first foray into professional football though; in the mid-1970s, theHornets of theWorld Football League calledAmerican Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte home.

Bank of America Stadium, home stadium for the NFL's Carolina Panthers, opened in 1996 and has been the home site for the Panthers since. Since the Panthers first season in 1995, they have won six division championships, twoNational Football Conference championships and made twoSuper Bowl appearances. In 2015, quarterbackCam Newton became the first Carolina Panther to win theNFL Most Valuable Player Award. Along with theNew England Patriots, it is one of two NFL teams to represent multiple states.

Pinehurst Resort, a world-famous golf resort, is located in theSandhills and has played host to several major golf championships including theUnited States Open Championship, thePGA Championship, and theRyder Cup Matches. In 2014 Pinehurst's most famous course, No. 2, made history by becoming the first course to host both the men's andwomen's U.S. Opens in the same year.

Several professional tours make stops in North Carolina every year, including theEGolf Professional Tour (formerly the Tarheel Tour) which is based in Charlotte. AnnualPGA Tour stops in the state are theWells Fargo Championship at theQuail Hollow Club in Charlotte, and theWyndham Championship which has alternated between several course in Greensboro. The second-tierKorn Ferry Tour visits Raleigh every year for theRex Hospital Open.

In 1997, theCarolina Hurricanes of theNational Hockey League (NHL) moved fromHartford, Connecticut (as theHartford Whalers) to the state. The team played their games at theGreensboro Coliseum for their first two seasons in North Carolina before moving to their current home at the Entertainment and Sports Arena, later RBC Center, then PNC Arena, and nowLenovo Center, in Raleigh. The Hurricanes won the2006 Stanley Cup, becoming the first major professional sports team from North Carolina to win their sport's highest championship. After a decade without post-season appearances, and a lack of success, the Hurricanes began to turn around under new ownership. The franchise, working with the NHL, will host the team's first outdoor game in Carter-Finley Stadium on February 18, 2023, as a part of theNHL Stadium Series.

In 2010, theAlbany River Rats, theAmerican Hockey League affiliate of the Hurricanes, relocated toCharlotte and became theCharlotte Checkers, assuming the name from the formerECHL team that had played in the city since 1995. The Charlotte Checkers play their home games atBojangles' Coliseum in uptown Charlotte. The Checkers' affiliation with the Hurricanes ended in 2020, and the team became the affiliate of theFlorida Panthers.

Fayetteville also has an ice hockey team, theFayetteville Marksmen of theSouthern Professional Hockey League.

Winston-Salem became the home of a newCarolina Thunderbirds team in theFederal Prospects Hockey League in the 2017–18 season. The new team is named after the formerCarolina Thunderbirds of theECHL.

In 2024,Greensboro was awarded with anotherECHL team, theGreensboro Gargoyles for 2025–25 season.^[1]

North Carolina is a center in Americanmotorsports, with more than 80% ofNASCAR racing teams and related industries located in the Piedmont region.Stock car racing is the official sport of the state.^[2]

A new drag strip, called Zmax Dragway, has been built on the same grounds as the speedway. It is currently the only drag strip in the U.S. to hold 4-wide drag racing events (as opposed to the traditional 2-wide drag races held at other tracks). TheNHRA holds one to two national events there each year.

Inoff-roadmotorcycle racing, theGrand National Cross Country series makes three stops in North Carolina,Morganton,Wilkesboro andYadkinville; the only other state to host two GNCC events isOhio.

Although no races of this category are presently being held in North Carolina, it is home to the only current AmericanFormula One teamHaas F1 Team, founded and owned byGene Haas, based out ofKannapolis.

TheNASCAR Hall of Fame, located in Charlotte, opened on May 11, 2010. Many of NASCAR's most famous driver dynasties, the Pettys, Earnhardts, Allisons, Jarretts and Waltrips all live within an hour's drive of Charlotte.

Two families from North Carolina, the Pettys and the Earnhardts, have had several members that achieved varying levels of success in NASCAR competitions and are a source of pride for Carolinians andSoutherners in general.

Lee Petty ofRandleman started his family's association with the sport. His son,Richard of Level Cross holds the all time record for wins (200) in theNASCAR Cup Series and was the first person to win 7 Cup championships. Richard's sonKyle (born in Randleman) and grandsonAdam (born inHigh Point) were also drivers. Adam Petty was killed when his car crashed during a practice atNew Hampshire International Speedway inLoudon, New Hampshire.

The Earnhardt family ofKannapolis began its association with NASCAR withRalph Earnhardt. His sonDale would become a major star in the sport, winning 76 Cup series races and tying Richard Petty's record of 7 championships beforehis death on the final lap of the2001 Daytona 500. Dale's sonDale Jr. was also highly successful and was considered the face of NASCAR until his retirement from racing after the 2017 season.Kerry Earnhardt, another son of the elder Dale Earnhardt, and his sonsBobby andJeffrey have also competed in various NASCAR series.

Outside of the Earnhardt and Petty clans North Carolina is home to many other current and former NASCAR drivers such asJunior Johnson (Wilkes County),Richard Childress (Winston-Salem),Ned andDale Jarrett (bothNewton),Andy Petree (Hickory),Rick Hendrick (Warrenton),Brian Vickers (Thomasville), andScott Riggs (Durham)

Once a major part of the NASCAR circuit, North Carolina now only has one track on the schedule that hosts a points-paying race,Charlotte. The 167,000-seat Charlotte track is arguably the heart and soul of NASCAR. The track, actually inConcord, hosts three Cup Series events every season, including theNASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (formerlyThe Winston). Charlotte also hosts NASCAR's longest and most grueling race, theCoca-Cola 600, every May. The winner of the race earns tremendous respect among peers and fans due to the distance and the weather (North Carolina is known for extremelyhumid and hot summers). During race weeks Concord is said to balloon from its normal population of just under 56,000 to over 300,000.

Tracks that formerly hosted points-paying Cup Series events includeNorth Wilkesboro Speedway,Rockingham Speedway, andMetrolina Speedway. North Wilkesboro returned to the Cup Series schedule in 2023, although doing so with theNASCAR All-Star Race, an exhibition event that does not award points toward the Cup championship.

Charlotte was awarded aMajor League Soccer franchise in 2019, and the team began play asCharlotte FC in 2022.^[3] The state is also home to two top-level women's teams. The most established is theNorth Carolina Courage of theNational Women's Soccer League, which plays inCary.The owner ofNorth Carolina FC, then a member of the men's Division IINorth American Soccer League but now in the second-levelUSL Championship, bought the NWSL franchise rights of theWestern New York Flash after the 2016 season. The NWSL team was then relocated fromRochester, New York, to Cary, moving to NCFC's home ofWakeMed Soccer Park. The Courage won the2022 NWSL Challenge Cup. A competing top-level women's league, theUSL Super League, began play in 2024 withCarolina Ascent FC from Charlotte as one of its eight inaugural teams. Ascent is the successor to theCharlotte Independence women's team, which played in theUSL W League in 2022 and 2023.^[4]

North Carolina is also home to several lower-division professional teams.North Carolina FC (formerly the Carolina RailHawks)^[5] plays in the USL Championship, having returned to that league in 2024 after having voluntarily dropped toUSL League One (USL1) prior to the 2021 season. TheCharlotte Independence had played in the USL Championship through the 2021 season, but dropped to USL1 due to the impending launch of Charlotte FC. Two North Carolina-based teams now play inMLS Next Pro.Crown Legacy FC started play in 2023 as the reserve side for Charlotte FC, and the High Point-basedCarolina Core FC, one of Next Pro's few clubs without an MLS affiliation, began play in 2024.Asheville City SC plays in theNational Premier Soccer League. Additionally theCharlotte Eagles, theNorth Carolina Fusion U23 of Greensboro, andTobacco Road FC of Durham play inUSL League Two (formerly the Premier Development League, or PDL). The Eagles played in the USL Championship when it was called the USL Professional Division, but chose to relegate themselves to the PDL after the 2014 season, transferring their franchise rights to local interests that launched the Independence for the 2015 season. The Hammerheads relegated themselves from the USL to the PDL after the 2016 season.Charlotte and Greensboro both have women's teams in theUSL W-League.

As with other sports,college soccer is important in North Carolina. TheNorth Carolina Tar Heels have dominated women's college soccer on a national level, laying claim to the lion's share of all Division I national championships in the sport.^{[citation needed]} The Heels have also been successful in men's soccer, winning national and conference champions. Duke and Wake Forest have also won national soccer championships. In2011, UNC topped theCharlotte 49ers in an all-North Carolina affair to claim the men's national championship.

Charlotte has also hosted severalCONCACAF Gold Cup matches at Bank of America Stadium.

Over the last two decades, North Carolina has become a rising power in the world of professional and amateur swimming. As with many other components of North Carolina's sport culture, this rise began on the college campuses of the Old North State.North Carolina State University,Duke University, and theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill all field varsity swimming and diving teams at the Division I level. The men's program at NC State has enjoyed the most success, bringing home 25Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, more than any other ACC team.

NC State's men have also boasted 75 All-Americans and 9 Olympians, includingCullen Jones, the first African-American world record holder in swimming and gold medalist at the 2008 Beijing Games in the men's 4 × 100 meter freestyle relay. The women's team has won two ACC Championships and sent one athlete to the Olympics. Recently, Wolfpack Diver Kristen Davies won the NCAA title in platform diving. The Wolfpack program did not perform as well as in the past during the 2000s; however, the arrival of new head coachBraden Holloway has made an immediate impact on the program. In two seasons, Holloway has guided the Pack back to top 25 national rankings and relevance in the ACC. TheTar Heels, meanwhile, have won several conference titles as well. TheUniversity of North Carolina at Wilmington has won severalColonial Athletic Association titles.

In 2008, former Auburn University head swim coachDavid Marsh arrived to take the helm of USA Swimming's first center of excellence at SwimMAC Carolina (formerly Mecklenburg Aquatic Club) in Charlotte. Under his guidance, SwimMAC has been named USA Swimming's club of the year and is widely regarded as one of the best programs in the country. In 2012, SwimMAC's "Team Elite", personally coached by Marsh, produced five Olympians:Nick Thoman,Micah Lawrence,Kara Lynn Joyce,Davis Tarwater, andCullen Jones. Many other Team Elite members have made the US National team.Winston-Salem nativeKathleen Baker won silver in theWomen's 100 meter backstroke and gold in theWomen's 4 × 100 meter medley relay at the2016 Summer Olympics inRio de Janeiro.^[6]

TheGreensboro Coliseum Complex opened the 78,000 square-footGreensboro Aquatic Center in August 2011, with seating for 2,500 people.^[7][8][9] The venue hosted the 2012 U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championship.^[10]

In addition to the Greensboro Aquatic Center, North Carolina boasts a large variety of competition swimming & diving centers. This includes the Triangle Aquatic Center, Koury Natatorium, Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion, Mecklenberg County Aquatic Center, and the Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center. In 2014, USA swimming ranked Raleigh & Durham as the 3rd best swimming city in the United States.^[11]

In recent yearslacrosse has experienced a period of steady growth in North Carolina that has seen high schools in the three main metropolitan areas add the sport to their programs, this growth culminated in Charlotte being awarded aMajor League Lacrosse expansion team named theCharlotte Hounds, the first professional outdoor lacrosse team in theSouth. An indoor lacrosse team,Charlotte Copperheads, played in theProfessional Lacrosse League's only season in 2012. Duke and North Carolina field lacrosse teams for both sexes; both of the schools' men's teams have won national championships—North Carolina had been the westernmost school to win the men's national championship untilDenver won the 2015 title—and the North Carolina women have also won national championships. The Tar Heels won both the men's and women's titles in 2016. Full Division I memberHigh Point, transitional D-I memberQueens, and five schools in the Division IIConference Carolinas also play lacrosse.

Rugby union is seeing a major increase in popularity in North Carolina and the Southeastern United States, with the NCYRU's JV and Varsity all-star squads winning the regional southeast RAST (Rugby All Star Tournament) in 2014, with both teams undefeated in the tournament.

Softball is popular at the collegiate, scholastic, and recreational levels. North Carolina and NC State field women'sgymnastics teams in theEast Atlantic Gymnastics League, which both have each won four times. The state is home to nineNCAA Women's Field Hockey Championship titles with North Carolina winning six and Wake Forest winning three.

From the 1930s to the early 1990s, the Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling professional wrestling promotion, under the Crockett family, operated almost entirely out of Charlotte. Mid Atlantic was a long-time member of theNational Wrestling Alliance and many of their top stars appeared on national television on NWA and later WCW events. Many retired or still-current wrestlers live in the Charlotte/Lake Norman area, includingRic Flair, his daughter Ashley (who performs asCharlotte Flair),Ricky Steamboat,MattandJeff Hardy,Stan Lane,Shannon Moore andR-Truth. Also, the formerchairman ofWWE,Vince McMahon, was born inPinehurst, attendedEast Carolina University, and was married inNew Bern.

North Carolina has become a hotbed for professionalbull riding(PBR). It is home to several professionalstock contractors and bull owners. The Southern Extreme Bull Riding AssociationSEBRA headquarters are located inArchdale.

Volleyball is a very popular sport at the recreational level and most colleges field women's teams while a few, notably schools in Conference Carolinas, field men's teams.

Ultimate in North Carolina is increasingly popular with youth, collegiate, club, and professional teams all competitive at the national level.

TheNorth Carolina Sports Hall of Fame was established in February 1963, with the support of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, "to honor those persons who by excellence of their activities in or connected with the world of sports have brought recognition and esteem to themselves and to the State of North Carolina." The Hall of Fame inducted its first five members in December of that year.

Notes:

SeeList of sports venues in North Carolina

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSports in North Carolina.

• North Carolina's Soccer Academy
• North Carolina Tarheels Website

• Sports in North Carolina

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