The Daily Triangle

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By Harold

Last night I got to do something no one had done in 24 years — watch the UNC men’s basketball team in Carmichael Auditorium, where it played until 1986.

Not that long ago, but before college basketball was about making as much money as possible, all the ACC teams had intimate, loud on-campus arenas like Cameron, Carmichael, Cole Field House (Maryland) and Reynolds (N.C. State).

Duke has stayed put, but the three state schools all moved to behemoth buildings that, in the case of NC State and Maryland, are even named after random companies. While those decisions resulted in more money, it sapped the energy and character that you get from the more intimate arenas.

As a reward for its 16-16 record, UNC was of course given a home game in the NIT and a spot on national television. Not wanting the image of 20,000 empty seats on ESPN, UNC wisely moved the game from the Dean Dome to Carmichael (capacity: 8,000). It’s stated reason: offices at the DD were being renovated (um, were they located on the court?). And not wanting 6,000 empty seats at Carmichael, UNC then cut ticket prices in half from $40 to $20 for the public, and offered students the chance to buy tickets for $5.

Considering some people just wanted the season to be over, I wasn’t expecting much of an atmosphere, but I was surprised. The students were given the entire baseline opposite the bench, just like in Cameron, where they could easily start cheers and get everyone involved. And the sight lines were so poor that you couldn’t see anything from your seat, so everyone basically had to stand the entire game and that helped too. The place was loud and energized for the NIT, so you could imagine what it must have been like for an actual game.

The experience reminded me how lucky Duke students are that their administration didn’t just grab the money. While much of being a sports fan is better than 20 years ago — ESPN, fantasy sports, instant scores/stats — tickets are way more expensive and attending games just isn’t as fun because of bigger stadiums (I’m thinking RFK to FedEx).

UNC should schedule at least one game a year at Carmichael (this season I would have chosen Gardner-Webb, Presbyterian, N.C. Central or Florida International). Of course, it won’t do it for the same reason that last night’s game didn’t tip off until 9:40 p.m. on a Tuesday night. UNC has cents, but no sense.