The North Carolina Tar Heels men's lacrosse team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's lacrosse. North Carolina currently competes as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and plays its home games at Fetzer Field and Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Their main rivalry series is with fellow ACC member Duke.
Overview
A club team was established at the school in 1937, but didn't play until 1938. That team played until the start of World War II until another club team was established for the 1944 season. When lacrosse returned to campus in 1949, it was elevated to varsity status. Carolina rose to national prominence in the late 1970s under Hall of Fame coach and former Johns Hopkins Blue Jay Willie Scroggs. The program's first 1st-team All-American in Division I was defenseman Ralph "Rip" Davy in 1979. Between 1980 and 1996, the UNC lacrosse team qualified for the NCAA tournament 14 of the 16 years. During that span, Carolina also won 11 ACC titles. In 1981, the Tar Heels began a 26-game winning streak, and won the national championship in 1981, 1982 and 1986.
The UNC lacrosse program won its fifth national title in 2016, beating Maryland 14-13 in an overtime thriller. At 12-6 on the season, UNC entered the NCAA tournament unseeded at 8-6. They became the first unseeded national champion in the last 45 years. This is the first title since 1991, when they won their fourth national title, going undefeated on the season at 16-0. Since then, UNC won four of five ACC championship games between 1992 and 1996.
History
1937–1954
The first lacrosse team was formed in 1937 at the club level. At the time, they used old equipment from the football team and competed in the Dixie Lacrosse League against Duke, Virginia, Washington & Lee, Loyola, and the Washington Lacrosse Club. The Tar Heels were the Dixie Lacrosse League champions for 1941. In 1949, the university conferred varsity status on the team, and in 1950, North Carolina became a member of the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA). The following season, goalie Nick Sowell became the Tar Heels' first All-American when he was named to the USILA Honorable Mention team.
In 1954, after compiling a combined 14-43-1 record in its first six seasons, the varsity team was disbanded by the administration to focus on other sports.
1964–1974
Lacrosse returned as a varsity sport in 1964. In 1974, Paul Doty took over as head coach. That year, the school started awarding scholarships for the sport and was promoted from the small college level (now Division II and Division III) to Division I.
1979–1990
In 1979, William Scroggs became the head coach at North Carolina and led the Tar Heels to six ACC titles, three NCAA championships, and 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament during a 12-year career. He compiled a record of 120-37 (.764) as the head coach at North Carolina, with NCAA titles in 1981, 1982, and 1986. Scroggs would retire after a loss to Syracuse University in the Semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. From 1986 to 1990, Scroggs coached Joe Breschi, who later became the coach of the UNC Men's Lacrosse team.
1991–2000
In 1991, first-year head coach Dave Klarmann replaced Willie Scroggs and led the Tar Heels through an undefeated regular season. Carolina extended its winning streak throughout the postseason, first winning the ACC tournament, and then defeating Loyola, Syracuse, and Towson succeeding to post a perfect 16–0 mark and capture the NCAA national championship. Klarmann's teams repeated as ACC tournament champions in 1992 before advancing to the NCAA Championship semifinal, where they fell to third-seeded Princeton, 16-14. In 1993 and 1994, Carolina again captured the ACC title, but fell to Syracuse in the NCAA Championship 13-12 in 1993 and suffered an early exit in the 1994 NCAA tournament. In the late 1990s, the Tar Heels struggled, alternately, to qualify for or advance in the NCAA tournament.
At the end of the head coach's Dave Klarmann's time at UNC (10 years, one national championship, five ACC tournament championships) there were a series of off-the-field incidences between 1995 and 1999. One player died of a gunshot wound, another from asphyxiation, another was injured from a stabbing in a nightclub and a fourth had a serious illness.