Tobacco Road
refers to the tobacco-producing area of North Carolina and is often used when referring to sports (particularly basketball) played among rival North Carolina universities. The phrase actually originated as the title of a novel set in Georgia, but it naturally migrated to North Carolina because of the state's primacy in tobacco production.
The usual universities referred to by the moniker "Tobacco Road" are the following:
- Duke University (Blue Devils), located in Durham, North Carolina
- North Carolina State University (Wolfpack), located in Raleigh, North Carolina
- University of North Carolina (Tar Heels), located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Wake Forest University (Demon Deacons), located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Three of the schools (Duke, UNC, and NC State) are separated by no more than and Wake Forest lies about west of the other three. It was formerly much closer to the other three, having originally been located in the town of Wake Forest, North Carolina until 1946. All four are no more than from Interstate 40; the road is sometimes informally known as the "Tobacco Road". The proximity of these schools to one another and the membership of each school in the Atlantic Coast Conference have created a natural rivalry among students and alumni.
These four universities are also known in the state as the "Big Four" and competed in the Dixie Classic tournament from 1949-1961 and the Big Four Tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina, from 1971-1981.
North Carolina State University's Red and White Song mentions each of the four universities in its lyrics.
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TOBACCO ROAD TICKETS
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