Tobacco Road is a term used in college sports, mainly basketball, for the four rival universities of North Carolina that play in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The term refers to the area's history as a major tobacco producer. The Tobacco Road teams represent the following universities:
Donnell Woolford is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Chicago Bears. He was selected by the Bears in the first round of the 1989 NFL draft. Woolford played 10 seasons for the Bears from 1989 to 1997, the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1997 to 1998 and Carolina Panthers from 1998 to 1999. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 1994. Woolford was surpassed by Charles Tillman for the most interceptions by a Bears cornerback, although Donnell achieved the goal 18 games faster than Tillman. Woolford was a graduate of Douglas Byrd High School in Fayetteville, NC and Clemson University.
Timothy Paul Stoddard is an American former professional baseball pitcher. A right-handed pitcher, he played for six different teams in Major League Baseball between 1975 and 1989, and was a member of the 1983 Baltimore Orioles championship team. He is currently the pitching coach for the baseball team at North Central College. Stoddard is one of only two men to have played in both a World Series and a Final Four of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, along with fellow East Chicago Washington High School alumnus Kenny Lofton.
The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for all sports since the 1953–54 season. The athletic teams of the Wolfpack compete in 22 intercollegiate varsity sports. NC State is a founding member of the ACC and has won eleven national championships: five NCAA championships, two AIAW championships, and four titles under other sanctioning bodies. Most NC State fans and athletes recognize the rivalry with the North Carolina Tar Heels as their biggest.
The NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team represents North Carolina State University in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. NC State is one of the seven founding members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Prior to joining the ACC in 1954, the Wolfpack were members of the Southern Conference, where they won seven conference championships. As a member of the ACC, the Wolfpack has won eleven conference championships, as well as two national championships in 1974 and 1983.
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the Tar Heel State. The campus at Chapel Hill is referred to as the University of North Carolina for the purposes of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Since the school fostered the oldest collegiate team in the Carolinas, the school took on the nickname Carolina, especially in athletics. The Tar Heels are also referred to as UNC or The Heels.
The 2007 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball tournament took place from March 8 to 11 in Tampa, Florida, at the St. Pete Times Forum, the first time the tournament was held in Florida. The quarterfinal games were televised nationwide on ESPN2. Semifinals and the championship game were televised on ESPN. The tournament was also televised by Raycom Sports in ACC markets. For the first time ever, Raycom broadcast the tournament in high definition.
John Harding Lucas II is an American professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played basketball and tennis at the University of Maryland, College Park and was an All-American in both.
J. Allen Morris Jr. was a tennis player and coach. In 1956 he was a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon where he defeated Ashley Cooper. Morris won the New York State Championships in both 1959 and 1960. He also won the Eastern Clay Court Championships in 1959.
James McGee is an Irish former professional tennis player. He was born in Castleknock, Ireland. He attended Belvedere College in Dublin, County Dublin.
José Hernández-Fernández is a tennis coach and a former professional player from the Dominican Republic. He reached his highest singles ranking on the ATP Tour of World No. 179 in August 2015 and his highest doubles ranking of No. 206 in 2016.
The Clemson Tigers women's tennis team represents Clemson University in NCAA Division I college tennis. The Tigers are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The team is currently coached by Nancy Harris, who is on her 15th season in Clemson. Home games are played in the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center in Clemson, South Carolina. The team has won 9 ACC championships since the program started and earned 18 NCAA Tournament bids. The Tigers finished a season among the top 25 teams in the nation 24 times.
Noah Rubin is an American professional tennis player. He is a former Wimbledon junior singles champion, and a former USTA junior national champion in both singles and doubles. After turning pro in 2015, he won four ATP Challenger titles.
Jamie Loeb is an American tennis player.
Christopher Eubanks is an American professional tennis player. He played college tennis for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. There, he was a two-time All-American and twice named ACC Player of the Year. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 29, achieved on 31 July 2023. In doubles, he achieved a career-high ranking of No. 142 on 12 August 2024.
William Blumberg is an American professional tennis player. A former college player at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Blumberg has a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 74 achieved on September 12, 2022. He reached a career-high of World No. 438 in singles on February 18, 2019.
Tziarra Lanae King is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club Seattle Reign. She played college soccer for the NC State Wolfpack and was drafted by the Utah Royals in 2020.
Diana Maximovna Shnaider is a Russian professional tennis player. She has career-high rankings of world No. 12 in singles, achieved on 4 November 2024 and No. 48 in doubles, set on 7 October 2024.
Matthew McDonald is an American former professional tennis player.
Fiona Maeve Crawley is an American tennis player. She played college tennis for the North Carolina Tar Heels, where she ranked as high as No. 1 nationally and won the NCAA team championship in 2023. She won the ITA National Fall Championships with Elizabeth Scotty in 2021 and the NCAA doubles title with Carson Tanguilig in 2023.
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