Challenge of Maintaining Tobacco Road Rivalries - Today's Take

Inside Carolina senior reporter Greg Barnes on the challenges of maintaining rivalries along Tobacco Road in the new era of college athletics.

“It really starts at the program level. What North Carolina experienced two months ago was a legitimate concern for a lot of the old school diehard Carolina fans. And for good reason. Dean Smith built the program and Roy Williams continued that connection to the past and prestige and tradition. When Hubert Davis was let go, there was legitimate concern about what a hire outside the family would look like. Michael Malone made it very clear the Carolina Family was important and we’ve seen that with his coaching staff and the ties there.

“Duke did the same thing with John Scheyer and he’s expanded on that because you have to prepare and adapt for the future. So the rivalry between Duke and Carolina will continue on because it all originates from success. There’s a reason people tune in to Duke/Carolina games. If they weren’t any good, you wouldn’t see the ratings bonanza.

“Wake Forest and NC State are not in the same breath in terms of what they’ve been able to do. Now, State has brought in Justin Gainey and he played for NC State, so he has some ties there. But there are a lot of questions about Wolfpack basketball these days and it’s not what it once was 40 years ago – a generation ago – and that’s tough to recover. Some fans may remember those days, but nobody really within the program now has a feel for what it was like. Wake Forest is the same way.

“So rivalries begin with success. Sustained success with ties to the past. It’s easier said than done especially in the current era where you have so much movement year to year. You don’t have those ties to what the programs are all about, even three or four years ago. That makes it challenging when you try to keep tradition and rivalries afloat, which is what made college athletics what it has been for so long.”