North Carolina is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and South Carolina to the south, and Tennessee to the west. In the 2020 census, the state had a population of 10,439,388. Raleigh is the state's capital and Charlotte is its largest city. The Charlotte metropolitan area, with a population of 2,595,027 in 2020, is the most-populous metropolitan area in North Carolina, the 21st-most populous in the United States, and the largest banking center in the nation after New York City. The Raleigh-Durham-Cary combined statistical area is the second-largest metropolitan area in the state and 32nd-most populous in the United States, with a population of 2,043,867 in 2020, and is home to the largest research park in the United States, Research Triangle Park.
North Carolina State University is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university forms one of the corners of the Research Triangle together with Duke University in Durham and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".
Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 238,267. Its county seat is Monroe. Union County is included in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina in the United States, anchored by the cities of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, and home to three major research universities: North Carolina State University, Duke University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, respectively. The "Triangle" name originated in the 1950s with the creation of Research Triangle Park located between the three anchor cities, which is the largest research park in the United States and home to numerous high tech companies.
North Carolina Highway 522 (NC 522) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The highway runs north–south from the South Carolina state line, near Sapps Crossroads to NC 200 in Roughedge, entirely in Union County.
North Carolina Highway 12 (NC 12) is a 148.0-mile-long (238.2 km) primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina, linking the peninsulas and islands of the northern Outer Banks. Most sections of NC 12 are two lanes wide, and there are also two North Carolina Ferry System routes which maintain continuity of the route as it traverses the Outer Banks region. NC 12 is part of the Outer Banks Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway. The first NC 12 appeared on the 1924 North Carolina Official Map and at its greatest length ran from NC 30 in Pollocksville to NC 48 near Murfreesboro. Over time it was replaced by both U.S. Route 258 (US 258) and NC 58 and ceased to exist in 1958. The current NC 12 first appeared on the 1964 state highway map running from US 158 in Nags Head to Ocracoke. In 1976 NC 12 was extended to US 70 on the mainland and in 1987 was extended north to Corolla.
North Carolina Highway 16 (NC 16) is a 143.8-mile primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Traveling in a north–south direction, it connects the cities and towns of Charlotte, Newton, Conover, Taylorsville, Wilkesboro and Jefferson, linking the Charlotte metropolitan area with the mountainous High Country. NC 16 is part of a three-state route 16 that connects the Charlotte region with northwestern West Virginia.
The North Carolina Highway System consists of a vast network of Interstate, United States, and state highways, managed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. North Carolina has the second largest state maintained highway network in the United States because all roads in North Carolina are maintained by either municipalities or the state. Since counties do not maintain roads, there is no such thing as a "county road" within the state.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is responsible for building, repairing, and operating highways, bridges, and other modes of transportation, including ferries in the U.S. state of North Carolina.
North Carolina Highway 11 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Traveling 193.2 miles (310.9 km) in a north–south alignment through Eastern North Carolina, it connects the towns and cities of Wallace, Kenansville, Kinston, Greenville and Murfreesboro.
North Carolina Highway 49 (NC 49) is a 177.8-mile primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It traverses much of the Piedmont region, connecting the cities of Charlotte, Asheboro, and Burlington.
North Carolina Highway 54 (NC 54) is a 55.0-mile-long (88.5 km) primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The highway serves the Research Triangle area, between Burlington and Raleigh, connecting the cities and towns of Chapel Hill, Durham, Morrisville and Cary. The highway also links the campuses of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University.
The North Carolina–NC State rivalry, also known as the Carolina–State Game, North Carolina–NC State game, NCSU–UNC game, and other similar permutations, is an ongoing series of athletic competitions between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels and North Carolina State University Wolfpack. The intensity of the game is driven by the universities' similar sizes, the fact the schools are separated by only 25 miles, and the large number of alumni that live within the state's borders. Both are charter members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and are part of the Tobacco Road schools. The most popular games between the two are in football, basketball, and baseball.
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that travels 2,556.61 miles (4,114.46 km) from Barstow, California, to Wilmington, North Carolina. In North Carolina, I-40 travels 420.21 miles (676.26 km) across the entirety of the state from the Tennessee state line along the Pigeon River Gorge to U.S. Route 117 (US 117) and North Carolina Highway 132 (NC 132) in Wilmington. I-40 is the longest Interstate Highway in North Carolina and is the only Interstate to completely span the state from west to east.
The NC State Wolfpack football team represents North Carolina State University in the sport of American football. The Wolfpack competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Prior to joining the ACC in 1953, the Wolfpack were a member of the Southern Conference. As a founding member of the ACC, the Wolfpack has won seven conference championships and participated in 34 bowl games, of which the team has won 17. NC State is coached by Dave Doeren.
The North Carolina Republican Party (NCGOP) is the affiliate of the Republican Party in North Carolina. Michael Whatley has been the chair since 2019. It is currently the state's favored party, controlling half of North Carolina's U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, and a 3/5 supermajority control of both chambers of the state legislature, as well as a majority on the state supreme court.
The East Carolina–NC State rivalry is a rivalry between East Carolina University and North Carolina State University. Both teams are located in North Carolina. The intensity of the rivalry is driven by the proximity and the size of the two schools.
The North Carolina–NC State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the North Carolina Tar Heels football team of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the NC State Wolfpack football team of North Carolina State University. Both universities are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and are permanent cross-division opponents. North Carolina leads the all-time series 68–38–6 (.634). The Wolfpack have won 5 of the last 7 and 11 of the last 16 in the series. NC State won the most recent contest, 30–27 in double overtime, on November 25, 2022. It is annually anticipated as the biggest college football game in the state of North Carolina. Only twice in the history of the rivalry has the game been contested anywhere beside Chapel Hill or Raleigh. The game has been played 60 times in Chapel Hill, 50 times in Raleigh, and twice in Charlotte, North Carolina. Played uninterrupted since 1953, the game since 1965 has alternated annually between the two respective campuses. Games in odd-numbered years are played in Raleigh at NC State, and even-numbered years in Chapel Hill at UNC.
The NC State–Wake Forest rivalry is a series of athletic contests between in-state rivals, the North Carolina State University Wolfpack and the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons. The first game was played in 1895 between the two institutions. Wake Forest was originally located in Wake Forest, North Carolina until it moved its campus across the state of North Carolina to Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1956. The two universities are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, where they meet every year in football due to being aligned in the Atlantic Division. The schools play each other twice in basketball every season, due to being primary partners.
