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ESPN Megacast , formerly known as ESPN Full Circle , is a multi-network simulcast of a single sporting event across multiple ESPN networks and services—with each feed providing a different version of the telecast making use of different features, functions or perspectives. These simulcasts typically involve ESPN's linear television channels and internet streaming platforms, and may occasionally incorporate other Walt Disney Television networks at once.

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134-530: ESPN Full Circle debuted with ESPN Full Circle: North Carolina at Duke on March 4, 2006, on the one-year anniversary of ESPNU. The game was the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Duke Blue Devils in college basketball . Five further Full Circle broadcasts were produced (one NBA playoff game, one NASCAR race and three more college basketball games) before the format was discontinued in 2007. After

268-632: A "homer" broadcast with Dan Dakich , Adnan Virk , and Joe Tessitore , while ESPN Goal Line carried Command Center. ESPNU also carried Field Pass , a pre-game show hosted from inside Memorial Stadium . "DataCenter", all-22, and skycam views were available on the ESPN App. For the December 2017 Cotton Bowl Classic , ESPN carried the main game while the ESPN App offered All-22, Command Center and Skycam views. ESPN's other linear channels did not participate for that game because of college basketball commitments. For

402-532: A 0.7 rating, 40% higher than the network's per-game season average. Brad Nessler called the game along with Dick Vitale and Erin Andrews . This game is significant since it was the last time to date that Nessler called a Saturday Primetime game. The sixth installment of ESPN Full Circle was on April 3, 2007, in Cleveland, Ohio . The official name of the telecast was ESPN Full Circle: NCAA Women's Championship and

536-515: A 103–99 win at Clemson . On February 24, 1956, Rosenbluth had 31 points in a 73–65 win over Duke to clinch UNC's first-ever ACC regular-season title (shared with N.C. State). The following season, in 1956–57 , Lennie Rosenbluth scored 40 in a Tar Heel win at Duke to finish with a perfect 24–0 regular season record (14–0 in ACC). Rosenbluth was named 1957 Helms Foundation Player of the Year. Furthermore, in 1957,

670-457: A 29–8 record. The 2011–2012 Tar Heels season started on November 11, 2011, as top-ranked Carolina beat Michigan State , 67–55, on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in San Diego. The Tar Heels finished the season with a record of 32–6, including a 14–2 ACC record to win the conference regular-season championship outright. The team fell to Florida State in the championship game of

804-464: A 45% increase when compared to the equivalent NBA playoff telecast the previous year. In addition, ESPN.com's ESPN Motion received nearly 600,000 video streams for Bulls/Heat content. Mike Tirico called the game along with Bill Walton and Steve "Snapper" Jones and Jim Gray as the sideline reporter. Before, ESPN's NBA Megacasts have usually seen a streaming platform air the game in different ways. On April 14, 2021, ESPN+ teamed up with ESPN to air

938-406: A 7.7 rating for Florida State at Miami on ESPN October 8, 1994). The telecast was television's most-viewed program of the night across key male 18-to-34 (1,687,000 average), 18-to-49 (3,466,000) and 25-to-54 (3,453,000) demographics and fourth most-viewed program in households. Mike Patrick called the game along with analysis from Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe reporting from the sideline. This

1072-605: A 70–50 win over The Citadel . In 1953, North Carolina split from the Southern Conference and became a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference . On December 12, 1953, UNC beat South Carolina , 82–56, in their first ACC game ever. On December 14, 1955, UNC routed then-No. 5 Alabama 99–77. It was UNC's first defeat of a nonconference opponent ranked in the top 10 of a major media poll. On January 14, 1956, All-American Lennie Rosenbluth scored 45 points in

1206-598: A Daily Wager broadcast of the Brooklyn Nets - Philadelphia 76ers game with betting stats popping up during the game, and the Daily Wager crew and Kendrick Perkins providing commentary. This was available for ESPN+ subscribers, but, this telecast was also simulcast on ESPN2 for people watching on TV and streaming via their cable providers on the ESPN app. For the first time ever, on May 3, 2021, Marvel Studios teamed up with ESPN on

1340-588: A Final Four appearance. Guthridge retired in 2000 and North Carolina turned to Matt Doherty , the head coach at Notre Dame and a player on the 1982 championship team, to lead the Tar Heels. Doherty had little success while at North Carolina. In his first season, the Heels were ranked No. 1 in the polls in the middle of the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule and finished with a 26–7 record. The bottom fell out

1474-592: A Megacast of an NBA game, as Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors faced Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans for a special "Marvel Arena of Heroes" interactive telecast where select players (Curry, Andrew Wiggins , and Draymond Green for Golden State, Williamson, Lonzo Ball , and Brandon Ingram for New Orleans), gained or lost points based on stats, e.g. 1 point for each point scored, -1 point for every basket missed. The team that had

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1608-663: A deal to join ESPN in a multi-platform role, and Tim Legler . The trio provided their own commentary and talked with numerous special guests including Julius Erving and Magic Johnson . The broadcast also special graphics and footage from the NBA’s 75 year history. Due to ESPN holding commitments to the 2022 Women's College World Series , this broadcast aired on ESPN2, alongside the ABC broadcast. In partnership with Peyton Manning 's production company, Omaha Productions, ESPN created an alternate broadcast for NBA games hosted by Stephen A. Smith . In

1742-479: A disappointing 20–13 record and declining an NIT bid. Because of this, they became the first preseason #1 team to miss the tournament since it expanded to 64 teams in 1985. After Caleb Love and others decided to transfer after the season, Davis looked to the transfer portal to improve the team's fortunes. They landed Harrison Ingram from Stanford University , and Cormac Ryan, a graduate transfer student from Notre Dame University , while also landing Elliot Cadeau, who

1876-409: A fan base used to winning; in 1965 some of them even hanged him in effigy. Smith would go on to take the Tar Heels to a reign of championships and national dominance. On March 17, 1967, North Carolina beat Princeton for Dean Smith's first NCAA Tournament win. Later, in the 1967 NCAA tournament , UNC beat Boston College to advance to Dean Smith's first Final Four, where they would lose to Dayton in

2010-455: A head coach against Florida State , becoming the fastest coach to reach that mark, over the fewest number of games. The Tar Heels finished with a record of 18–11, losing to Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA tournament. On April 1, 2021, Roy Williams announced his retirement as the head coach of the Tar Heels after 48 years in coaching and 33 years as a collegiate head coach, 18 of which came at

2144-557: A number). In 1939, the Tar Heels relocated their home arena to the Woollen Gymnasium , where they would play until 1965. On March 21, 1946, under Hall of Fame coach Ben Carnevale and All-Americans Hook Dillon and Jim Jordan , North Carolina beat NYU , 57–49, for their first win in the NCAA Tournament ever. Later in the 1946 NCAA tournament , UNC advanced to their first ever Final Four, losing to Oklahoma A&M , 43–40, in

2278-594: A record 21 NCAA Tournament Final Fours. The Tar Heels have been selected to the NCAA Tournament 53 times (second-most all-time), and have amassed 133 victories (most all-time). North Carolina won the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in 1971, and has appeared in two NIT Finals with six appearances in the NIT Tournament. Additionally, the team has been the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament eighteen times,

2412-475: A search for the next head coach would begin immediately, with the search being headed up by Cunningham and UNC-Chapel Hill chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz . Four days after Williams retired, assistant coach and former Tar Heel player Hubert Davis was hired as his successor. Davis, the nephew of Tar Heel and NBA great Walter Davis , became the first African-American to lead the program. After an up-and-down start to

2546-515: A seven-year hiatus, full-circle broadcasts resumed under the Megacast branding in 2014. To date, the feature has primarily been used for the College Football Playoff and National Championship . ESPN has occasionally provided smaller-scale slates of alternate feeds during other broadcasts, although these have not always used the "Megacast" branding. The first Full Circle telecast covered

2680-558: A similar approach to the Manningcast, Smith would watch the game and talk to various guests. Eight broadcasts were produced, five of them during the playoffs, and each aired on ESPN2 and ESPN+, alongside the main ESPN/ABC broadcast. ESPN once again teamed up with Omaha Productions to create an alternate broadcast for NBA games, this time being hosted by comedian Kevin Hart . In a similar approach to

2814-541: A simulcast of ESPN Deportes' Spanish-language coverage, and home and away radio broadcast feeds were carried on WatchESPN. Owing to the participation of Alabama , the Cotton Bowl broadcast additionally featured the return of the Finebaum Film Room on SEC Network, as previously featured during the 2014 Iron Bowl. ESPN provided enhanced feeds during the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship ; In Canada,

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2948-478: A single opponent). The Tar Heels' all-time home winning streak against Clemson lasted until the 2019–2020 season where Clemson stunned the Tar Heels in overtime, 79–76. Until the 2010 ACC tournament , North Carolina was the only program to have never played a Thursday game in the ACC tournament since it expanded to a four-day format. The Tar Heels have three stretches of being ranked for more than 100 consecutive weeks in

3082-485: A sound education and turning into good citizens than he did about winning." "The Carolina Way" was evident in many practices the players would implement, including pointing to the player who assisted in a basket, giving him credit as an act of selflessness. This "Thank the Passer" practice is used throughout basketball today. The Tar Heels own several notable streaks in the history of college basketball. They appeared in either

3216-478: A special simulcast on SEC Network , the Finebaum Film Room, where Paul Finebaum , Cole Cubelic and Greg McElroy analyzed the game and took viewer calls. The Megacast returned for the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship ; For 2016, enhanced feeds were expanded to the College Football Playoff semi-final bowl games, the 2015 Orange Bowl and 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic . ESPN2 aired

3350-640: A top 5 Kansas team and going on to win the Preseason NIT and returning to the AP top 25. North Carolina went on to finish the season 17–15, but a 6–10 record in ACC play kept them out of the NCAA Tournament. Doherty led the Tar Heels to the third round of the NIT , where they ended their season with a loss to Georgetown . Despite the turnaround from the year before and the NIT appearance, at

3484-536: A total of 10 minutes out of 240 through the entire tournament. Wayne Ellington was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player , the fourth Tar Heel so honored. The 2009–2010 Tar Heels struggled throughout the regular season finishing with a 16–15 record, and dropped to No. 3 in Division I in all-time wins. They later lost in the first round of the ACC Tournament, playing in the first "play-in" Thursday game for

3618-446: A variety of special guests which included: Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson , Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , and Bill Walton , and legendary broadcasters Marv Albert , Bob Costas , Dick Stockton , and Hubie Brown , who was also working the main broadcast with Ryan Ruocco and Cassidy Hubbarth on ESPN. The broadcast also incorporated the style of graphics used in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, based on three respective networks: ABC for

3752-442: A young Michael Jordan. The 1993 national championship team starred Donald Williams, George Lynch and Eric Montross . While at North Carolina, Smith helped promote desegregation by recruiting the university's first African American scholarship basketball player, Charlie Scott. Smith unexpectedly retired before the start of practice for the 1997–98 season. He was succeeded by Bill Guthridge , who had been an assistant coach at

3886-480: Is a college basketball team of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . The Tar Heels have won six NCAA championships ( 1957 , 1982 , 1993 , 2005 , 2009 , and 2017 ) in addition to a 1924 Helms Athletic Foundation title (retroactive). North Carolina has won a record 133 NCAA tournament matchups while advancing to 31 Sweet Sixteen berths (since 1975), a record 21 Final Fours , and 12 title games . It

4020-666: Is that the regional rounds (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) are being held at two sites, instead of the four used in past tournaments. Two regionals will be held in Greenville, South Carolina and the other two will be held in Seattle . Specific regional names will be announced by the NCAA committee on or before selections are announced on March 12, 2023. First Four Subregionals (first and second rounds) Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) This

4154-483: Is the only school to have an active streak of reaching the National Championship game for nine straight decades (no other school has done it in more than six straight) and at least two Final Fours for six straight decades, all while averaging more wins per season played (20.7) than any other program in college basketball. In 2012, ESPN ranked North Carolina No. 1 on its list of the 50 most successful programs of

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4288-638: Is the second time the women's Final Four will be played in Dallas ( 2017 ). The following teams automatically qualified for the 2023 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament. The tournament seeds and regions were determined through the NCAA basketball tournament selection process . *See First Four Source: All times are listed in Eastern Daylight Time ( UTC−4 ) * denotes overtime period The First Four games involve eight teams:

4422-408: The 2005–06 season saw the arrival of freshman Tyler Hansbrough and Williams was named Coach of the Year. The Tar Heels swept the ACC regular season and tournament titles in 2007 and 2008 . The 2008 ACC tournament was the first time North Carolina had ever won the ACC Tournament without defeating at least one in-state rival during the tournament. North Carolina lost in the national semifinals of

4556-497: The 2008 NCAA tournament to Williams' former program Kansas. On December 18, 2008, Tyler Hansbrough scored his 2,292nd career point, breaking Phil Ford's UNC career scoring record. In the 2008–09 season , the Tar Heels won their fifth NCAA title by defeating Michigan State in the championship of the 2009 NCAA men's basketball tournament . The Tar Heels won all six of that year's tournament games by at least 12 points, for an average victory margin of 20.2 points, and only trailed for

4690-584: The 2012 ACC tournament and was a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional of the 2012 NCAA tournament ; the team reached the Elite Eight and was defeated by Kansas 80–67. Before the Kansas game, the Tar Heels won their previous three games in the NCAA Tournament by an average of 13.7 points. In the second-round game versus Creighton, starting UNC point guard Kendall Marshall broke his right wrist with 10:56 remaining in

4824-689: The 2018 Outback Bowl , ESPN2 carried the main game while the ESPN App offered only the SkyCam view. ESPN was airing the 2018 Peach Bowl at the same time so therefore the Outback Bowl was moved to ESPN2. For the semifinal games—the 2018 Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl , ESPNews offered the Film Room (featuring Syracuse 's Dino Barbers, North Carolina 's Larry Fedora , West Virginia 's Dana Holgorsen , Ole Miss ' Matt Luke , TCU 's Gary Patterson , and former Arkansas and Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema ), as well as

4958-571: The Coaches' Poll 53 times. Furthermore, the Tar Heels have finished the season ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll six times and ranked No. 1 in Coaches' Poll seven times. In 2008, the Tar Heels received the first unanimous preseason No. 1 ranking in the history of either the Coaches' Poll or the AP Poll. North Carolina played its first game on January 27, 1911, beating Virginia Christian 42–21 at Bynum Gymnasium ,

5092-527: The NCAA tournament and upset the defending champions and 1 seeded Baylor 93-86 in the second round, despite the ejection of UNC forward Brady Manek due to a flagrant-2 foul. The Tar Heels defeated UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen and Saint Peter's in the Elite Eight to earn a trip to the 2022 Final Four in New Orleans. In a rematch of the regular season finale against Duke, the Tar Heels defeated Duke 81–77 in

5226-545: The NIT . On March 18, 1972, Carolina beat Penn , 73–59, to advance to their 4th Final Four in 6 years. All-American Bob McAdoo had 24 points and 15 rebounds, but fouled out with 13 minutes to play, as UNC lost to Florida State in the national semifinal. On March 26, 1977, the Tar Heels, back in the Final Four, edged UNLV , 84–83, in the national semifinal. Carolina, in the championship two days later, lost to Marquette , 67–59. On February 25, 1978, co-consensus National Player of

5360-536: The Premo-Porretta Power Poll . In North Carolina's first five seasons in the SoCon (from 1921–22 to 1925–26 ), they went 96–17, won four SoCon regular season championships, and four SoCon tournament championships. Their fast style of play and stingy defense earned these teams the nickname "White Phantoms", coined by sportswriter Oscar Bane Keeler of The Atlanta Journal , used as an alternative nickname for

5494-633: The Southern Conference tournament 8 times. In 1924, the Tar Heels moved to the Tin Can for home games. From 1924 to 1938, UNC would go 130–20 (.867 winning percentage) at the Tin Can. Rudimentarily built of steel, attempts to heat the Tin Can failed, with ice often forming inside: The Tin Can was always freezing [...] they had icicles in the corners. To stay warm the electricians put those big-wattage bulbs under

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5628-519: The college basketball game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils , to honor the one-year anniversary of the launch of ESPN's college sports network ESPNU . ESPN aired the game's traditional coverage (along with live "look-ins" to the other views, simulcast in 120 countries through ESPN International), ESPN2 featured an "Above the Rim" camera, and ESPNU featured a split-screen with

5762-479: The " Cameron Crazy Cam ". ESPN360 offered additional stats, hosted by ESPN Radio 's Jeff Rickard , Mobile ESPN featured game alerts, live updates and in-game polling for a replay of a classic Duke-North Carolina game, and ESPN.com featured live chats, in-game polling and highlights. The ESPN and ESPN2 broadcasts were also available in HD. The game was seen by an average of 3.78 million households on ESPN and ESPN2 making it

5896-586: The 2023 tournament, consisting of the 32 conference champions, and 36 "at-large" bids to be extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. The last four at-large teams and teams seeded 65 through 68 overall played in First Four games, whose winners advanced to the 64-team first round. The first two rounds, also referred to as the subregionals, were played at the sites of the top 16 seeds, as was done from 2016 to 2019. A dramatic change from past tournaments

6030-758: The 60s, CBS for the 70s and 80s, and NBC for the 90s (which also included the " Roundball Rock " theme), and special ABC Sports gold jackets were made and worn by the announcers. This broadcast aired on ESPN2. Continuing the celebration of the NBA’s 75th anniversary, for the first time ever, ESPN put together a Megacast option for Game 1 the NBA Finals . This broadcast resembled the NBA75 Celebration Game in April. SportsCenter ’s Michael Eaves , who also hosts NBA Countdown on Wednesdays, hosted this broadcast alongside New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum , who signed

6164-418: The ACC's inception in 1953 to 2001, the Tar Heels did not finish worse than a tie for fourth place in ACC play. By comparison, all of the ACC's other charter members finished last at least once in that time. From 1965 to 2001, they did not finish worse than a tie for third, and for the first 21 of those years they did not finish worse than a tie for second. All of these streaks ended in the 2001–02 season, when

6298-570: The AP Poll. They spent 172 consecutive weeks in the rankings from the start of the 1990–91 season until early in the 1999–2000 season, the second-longest streak in college basketball history at the time behind only UCLA's run of 231 consecutive weeks from 1966 to 1980. That streak has since been passed by Duke's run of 200 consecutive weeks from 1997 to 2007 and Kansas' 231 consecutive weeks from 2009 to 2021. They were also ranked for 171 consecutive weeks from 1973 to 1983, and for 106 consecutive weeks from 2014 to 2020. North Carolina has 14 victories over

6432-472: The AP number one ranked team. Eight players (including Jack Cobb, whose jersey did not have a number) have had their numbers retired. Tyler Hansbrough 's number 50 is the eighth to be retired, after he won all six major player of the year awards during the 2007–08 season . 51 former North Carolina men's basketball players are honored in the Smith Center with banners representing their numbers hung from

6566-407: The AP preseason poll, having lost Paige and Johnson but retaining 2016 ACC Tournament MVP Joel Berry II as well as forwards Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks . After early season losses to Indiana and Kentucky, the Tar Heels won their 31st ACC regular season title. Despite never being ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll and losing to Duke in the semifinals of the ACC tournament, the Heels earned a No. 1 seed in

6700-486: The Command Center (ESPN2), Finebaum Film Room (SEC Network), DataCenter (ESPN Goal Line) and other feeds on the ESPN App. In addition to these feeds, the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship added the "Homer Telecast" (ESPN2) with then New York Giants cornerback Landon Collins representing Alabama and former Georgia quarterback and current CBS Sports analyst Aaron Murray representing Georgia. For

6834-453: The Elite Eight. With the departures of several stars from the 2012 team, The Tar Heels would begin a slow climb back to the top following the Elite Eight loss. The 2012–13 season ended with a loss to Kansas in the tournament for the second year in a row. In 2013–14 , the Tar Heels became the only team in men's college basketball history to beat every team ranked in the top 4 in the preseason. The Tar Heels would finish 24–10 that year, ending

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6968-545: The Film Room feed was carried by TSN2 (a sister network to the ESPN-affiliated TSN , which simulcast the ESPN broadcast across its main regional channels), while the TSN website carried ESPN Voices , Homer Telecast and Finebaum Film Room online. RDS carried a French language broadcast. The Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl semi-final games were broadcast with Command Center on ESPN2, and Skycam, DataCenter (a simulcast of

7102-501: The Film Room moving to ESPNews, and the SkyCast moving to ESPNU. SEC Network took Alabama's radio feed, with Ohio State's radio broadcast, as well as the Command Center, Datacenter, Refcast, High SkyCam, and All-22 exclusive to streaming. A 4K SkyCam feed sponsored by Samsung was also offered via selected television providers. This was the last year that Sounds of the Game aired on ESPN Classic, as

7236-653: The Film Room with Dusty Dvoracek joined by Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher and his crew providing analysis, ESPNU carried Command Center, while SkyCast moved to ESPNEWS with Anish Shroff and Kelly Stouffer . Also part of the presentation is the Spanish-language telecast on ESPN Deportes and SEC Network carrying the local radio feed (Alabama in the first half and Georgia in the second half), with full coverage of Hometown Radio, as well as High Skycast, All-22 and halftime bands available digitally. As part of his agreement to join ESPN for College GameDay , Pat McAfee

7370-595: The Finebaum Film Room, ESPNews carried the Coaches Film Room (hosted by Brian Griese , featuring discussion of the game with Dino Babers , Steve Addazio , Kalani Sitake , Dave Doeren , Mike MacIntrye , and Matt Rhule ), and ESPN Goal Line carried Command Center. WatchESPN carried the Mock Replay Booth, DataCenter, as well as Skycam, Pylon Cam, Taco Bell Student Section , and simulcasts with audio from

7504-532: The Manningcast, Hart, along with the Plastic Cup Boyz , analyze the games in their own unique way and hold conversations with various guests. Three broadcasts were produced, with its debut during the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament championship game . Each one aired on ESPN2, alongside the main ESPN/ABC broadcast. ESPN brought The Bird and Taurasi Show over to the NBA for a special Christmas Day alternate broadcast during

7638-494: The Mavericks-Nets game on Wednesday March 16, and called by Drew Carter and Tim Legler , this broadcast was made available on ESPN+, as well as ESPNEWS , due to ESPN2’s coverage of the NIT . Continuing the celebration of the NBA’s 75th anniversary, ESPN put together a special “RetroCast” of their Nets-Knicks NBA Wednesday broadcast. ESPN’s lead team of Mike Breen , Mark Jackson , Jeff Van Gundy , and Lisa Salters talked to

7772-493: The MegaCast for Duke’s final home game of the 2021-22 regular season against North Carolina . ESPN also had live, onsite reports from Duke starting Thursday, March 3. Various studio shows, halftime of men’s college games from Thursday through Saturday made their presence on campus as well. ESPN also had live on-site coverage all day that Saturday, which began with the 7 a.m. SportsCenter , leading into GameDay. Every presentation

7906-588: The Milwaukee Bucks-New York Knicks game. Unlike the Women's Final Four, Bird and Taurasi both hosted the show from home, and were joined by multiple special guests throughout. This broadcast aired on ESPN2 and ESPN+, alongside the main ESPN broadcast. The fifth installment of ESPN Full Circle aired on March 4, 2007, a NASCAR Busch Series race held at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City . This

8040-448: The NCAA Tournament and ended the season 26–11 after being eliminated by Texas A&M in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. In the 2018–19 season, the Tar Heels were led by freshman point guard Coby White , and seniors Luke Maye and Cameron Johnson . The Tar Heels were co-ACC regular season champions with Virginia , earned another Number 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and made it to

8174-472: The NCAA Tournament or National Invitation Tournament (NIT) every year from 1967 to 2001. This includes 27 straight appearances in the NCAA tourney from 1975 (the first year that more than one team in each conference was assured of a tournament bid) to 2001—the longest such streak in tournament history until it was broken by Kansas in March 2017. The Tar Heels also notched 37 straight winning seasons from 1964 to 2001,

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8308-414: The NCAA tournament. On March 26, 2017, Luke Maye hit a jump shot with 0.3 seconds left to beat second-seed Kentucky , 75–73, to advance to Carolina's record 20th Final Four. On April 3, 2017, Final Four MOP Joel Berry II scored 22 points as UNC beat Gonzaga , 71–65, to give Williams his 3rd national championship, surpassing mentor Dean Smith for NCAA Tournament championships. Just as in the previous year,

8442-420: The NCAA, "Upsets are defined as when the winner of the game was seeded five or more places lower than the team it defeated." The 2023 tournament saw a total of six upsets, with three in the first round, two in the second round, and one in the Sweet Sixteen. Stanford 's loss to Ole Miss marked the first time a No. 1 seed failed to make the Sweet Sixteen since 2009 . With Indiana 's loss to Miami , this marked

8576-477: The NIT, losing to Dayton in the final game finishing with a 20–17 record. The 2010–2011 Tar Heels , with the addition of Harrison Barnes , Kendall Marshall , and Reggie Bullock , eighth in the preseason polls, struggled out the gates, starting with a 2–2 record, the worst start since the 2001–02 season. After losses to Illinois and Texas, the Tar Heels fell out of the rankings. The losses of senior Will Graves, to dismissal, and Larry Drew II , to transfer and also

8710-547: The SAIAA. On January 24, 1920, North Carolina beat Trinity College (Duke), 36–25, in the first-ever game of the Carolina-Duke rivalry . In 1921, the school joined the Southern Conference . Overall, the Tar Heels played 32 seasons in the Southern Conference from 1921 to 1953. During that period, they won 304 games and lost 111 for a winning percentage of 73.3%. The Tar Heels won the Southern Conference regular season title 9 times and

8844-459: The September 3, 2018 ( Labor Day ) contest between Florida State and Virginia Tech , ESPN aired a six-channel megacast, with Coaches Film Room on ESPNEWS, Command Center on ESPNU, and Data Center and Skycam on ESPN3, in addition to the traditional telecast on ESPN. ESPN also planned to have a "BlimpCast" with Marty Smith and Ryan McGee calling the game from the world famous Goodyear Blimp . That

8978-444: The Sweet Sixteen round before being eliminated by the Auburn Tigers . 2019–20 was an unusually down year for the Tar Heels, only winning 14 games and being swept by arch-rival Duke in the regular season. Freshman point guard Cole Anthony 's knee injury and a lack of depth on the bench proved devastating for the Tar Heels, as they were unable to carry momentum through ACC play, losing several games on last second shots after starting

9112-424: The Tar Heels earned their 30th ACC regular season title, 18th ACC tournament title, and 19th Final Four. They also appeared in their 10th NCAA title game, in which they lost on a buzzer beater to Villanova, despite Marcus Paige's dramatic three-pointer to tie the game with 4.7 seconds left. The Tar Heels finished with a 33–7 overall record and a 14–4 ACC record. The following year, the Tar Heels were ranked No. 6 in

9246-412: The Tar Heels finished 19–11 and were ranked in a final media poll for the first time in three years. They returned to the NCAA tournament and were ousted in the second round by Texas . The following year , on April 4, 2005, the Tar Heels defeated Illinois , 75–70, to win their fourth NCAA title and Williams' first as a head coach. After winning the championship, Williams lost his top seven scorers, but

9380-413: The Tar Heels finished 8–20 on the season under coach Matt Doherty. They also finished tied for 7th in conference play, behind Florida State and Clemson —only their second losing conference record ever (the first being in the ACC's inaugural season). Additionally, the Tar Heels went 59–0 all-time in home games played against the Clemson Tigers (the NCAA record for the longest home winning streak against

9514-402: The Tar Heels finished with a 33–7 overall record and a 14–4 ACC record. In 2017–18 , the Tar Heels were ranked at No. 9 in the AP and Coaches poll. Forwards Isaiah Hicks , Kennedy Meeks , Tony Bradley , and Justin Jackson had left, while the team added Cameron Johnson . This season, the team did not win the ACC regular season or tournament title. However, the Heels earned a No. 2 seed in

9648-418: The Tar Heels had ever suffered in a single season of ACC play and placed them in a tie for 7th place—the program's first finish below fourth place ever. The season also saw the end of UNC's run of 31 straight 20-win seasons and 35 straight seasons of finishing third or higher in the ACC. After bringing in one of the top 5 incoming classes for the 2002–2003 season, the Tar Heels started the season by knocking off

9782-490: The Tar Heels through 1950. Cartwright Carmichael was the first Tar Heel to earn first-team All-America honors in any sport in 1923, and was again selected in 1924. Jack Cobb was UNC's first three-time All-America (1924, 1925, 1926), and was named Helms Foundation Player of the Year in 1926. George Glamack followed suit in 1940 and 1941, being named Helms Foundation Player of the Year also. Both Cobb and Glamack are honored with their numbers being retired (Cobb did not have

9916-641: The Tar Heels with an outside shooter that had been missing on the previous year's team. However, the Heels stumbled out of the starting block, beginning conference play with an 0–2 record in the ACC. However, the Tar Heels rebounded, and returned the favor to the Blue Devils, sweeping them in the two regular season matchups. Freshman guard Caleb Love scored 25 points and 7 assists against Duke in Durham, breaking an at-Duke assist record set by Ty Lawson in 2009. On February 27, 2021, Williams earned his 900th career victory as

10050-495: The Tar Heels won their first ACC Tournament and first NCAA Championship. On March 23, 1957, No. 1 North Carolina beat Wilt Chamberlain and No. 2 Kansas, 54–53, in triple overtime as Carolina capped off a perfect 32–0 season as national champions. C.D. Chesley, a Washington, D.C. television producer, piped the 1957 championship game in Kansas City to a hastily created network of five stations across North Carolina—the ancestor to

10184-400: The Tar Heels' first season in 1910–11 through the start of the 2021–22 season, the program has amassed a .735 all-time winning percentage (second highest all-time), winning 2,294 games and losing 829 games in 111-plus seasons. The Tar Heels also have the most consecutive 20-win seasons, with 31 from the 1970–71 season through the 2000–01 season. On March 2, 2010, North Carolina became

10318-520: The Year Phil Ford scored 34 points in his final game at Carmichael Auditorium, an 87–83 win over Duke. North Carolina returned to the Final Four in 1981. In the national semifinal, All-American Al Wood scored 39 in a win over Virginia . UNC would lose in the NCAA championship game to Indiana . The following year, North Carolina won their second NCAA championship. On March 29, 1982, Final Four MOP James Worthy scored 28 points and Michael Jordan hit

10452-543: The benches, and we had blankets and wore heavy sweat clothes. Later on they did get central heat in there, but it was never adequate. You couldn't dress there. On February 29, 1924, UNC beat Kentucky, 41–20, in the first-ever game of the Kentucky–North Carolina rivalry . The 1923–24 Tar Heels squad went 26–0, and was awarded a national championship by the Helms Athletic Foundation in 1943 and later by

10586-505: The championship game. For most of the first four decades of the program's history, North Carolina had very little consistency at the head coaching position, reflecting the lack of emphasis on the sport in much of the South at the time. The first coach, Cartmell, doubled as the track coach. From 1923 to 1926, three coaches led the program in as many years. Norman Shepard led the team to an undefeated season in 1923–24 while attending law school. He

10720-624: The channel is scheduled to shut down December 31, 2021. In addition to the semifinals (the Cotton Bowl and the Orange Bowl ), all New Year’s Six games ( Peach Bowl , Fiesta Bowl , Rose Bowl , and Sugar Bowl ), received the Megacast treatment. ESPN offered the Command Center, SkyCast, and All-22 for all games, with the home radio feeds, and halftime band performances for the semifinals. The national championship game’s Megacast featured ESPN2 carrying

10854-488: The commentary-free Sounds of the Game (which included the halftime performances) while ESPNU carried Command Center.. ESPN3 offered hometown radio broadcasts, two different angles of skycam , an angle from the Goodyear Blimp , a wider all-22 angle, and a combined "TechCast" that shows multiple camera angles. New to the Megacast for 2020 was a "Refcast," which featured a panel of former officials to analyze calls made by

10988-671: The end of the season Matt Doherty was replaced as head coach by Roy Williams . Williams had served as an assistant to Smith for 11 years before a successful 15-year tenure at Kansas , winning 9 conference regular season championships and taking his Jayhawk teams to four Final Fours. Smith himself convinced Williams to return home. Williams had also been courted by Smith for the UNC job when it had been open in 2000, but Williams had promised Nick Collison he would be at Kansas his entire college career and could not bring himself to leave Kansas at that time despite media speculation reporting Williams would take

11122-411: The first time since the ACC grew to 12 teams. The Tar Heels did not receive an NCAA tournament bid , and instead accepted a bid to the NIT . During the season, on March 2, 2010, Carolina beat Miami, 69–62, to become the second school in NCAA history to win its 2,000th game (North Carolina was in its 100th season of basketball at the time of this accomplishment). The Tar Heels made it to the final game of

11256-447: The first time two No. 1 seeds failed to make the Sweet Sixteen since 1998 . UConn 's loss to Ohio State in the Sweet 16 marked the first time since 2007 that UConn did not make it to the Women's Final Four. With Tennessee 's loss to Virginia Tech in the Sweet 16 this marked the first time since 2006 that the Women's Final Four did not feature either UConn or Tennessee. All games in

11390-526: The following year, as the Tar Heels finished the season with a record of 8–20, the worst season in school history. They missed postseason play entirely for the first time since the 1965–66 season (including a record 27 straight NCAA Tournament appearances) and finished with a losing record for the first time since 1962 (Dean Smith's first year as coach). They also finished 4–12 in the ACC—only the program's second losing ACC record ever. The 12 losses were six more than

11524-535: The four overall lowest-ranked teams and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams. Caitlin Clark, Iowa's star player, made NCAA tournament history by becoming the first player to score a 40-point triple-double , with 41 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. The junior either scored or assisted on every field goal in the Hawkeyes' 25-point first quarter, which helped the Hawkeyes advance to their first Final Four since 1993 . Per

11658-518: The game along with analysis from Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe reporting from the sideline. In December 2013, ESPN announced that it would cover the 2014 BCS National Championship Game with what it branded as a Megacast : In November 2014, ESPN broadcast that season's edition of the Iron Bowl rivalry game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers . The game was accompanied by

11792-537: The game was a college football matchup between the Florida State Seminoles at the Miami Hurricanes . ESPN's coverage of the game averaged 6,330,000 households (a 6.9 rating), making it the network's most-viewed college football game (including regular season and bowl games) ever. It was then the network's second highest-rated college football game (including regular season and bowl games) ever (behind

11926-419: The game was between No. 1 Tennessee Lady Volunteers and No. 4 Rutgers Scarlet Knights . It was the first women's event presented as an ESPN Full Circle telecast. Mike Patrick called the game along with Doris Burke and reporters Holly Rowe and Mark Jones . Tennessee defeated Rutgers, 59–46, winning its seventh national title . For Mike Krzyzewski ’s last home game as Duke head coach, ESPN broke out

12060-894: The game-winning shot with 17 seconds to play as Carolina beat Georgetown, 63–62, to win Dean Smith's first national championship. On January 18, 1986, North Carolina beat Duke, 95–92, in the first game played in UNC's new arena, the Dean Smith Center. On March 24, 1991, Carolina beat Temple , 75–72, to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1982. In the national semifinal, Carolina fell to former UNC assistant coach Roy Williams and Kansas , 79–73. In 1993, UNC won their third NCAA title. On April 5, 1993, Final Four MOP Donald Williams scored 25 points as Carolina beat Michigan , 77–71, for Dean Smith's second NCAA championship. On March 25, 1995, North Carolina beat Kentucky , 74–61, to advance to another Final Four. UNC would fall to Arkansas in

12194-522: The helm of his alma mater. Williams ended his coaching career with 903 career wins, 485 of which came at Carolina, and three national championships, all as the Tar Heel head coach. At the time of his retirement, Williams was third all-time in NCAA Division I victories. Williams is the first coach to earn 400 or more wins at two different schools. Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham announced that evening that

12328-463: The in-game officials, and views from mobile cameras worn by the officials and chain crew . SEC Network and ACC Network picked up the radio broadcasts for LSU and Clemson respectively. Command Center moved to ESPNEWS while ESPNU revived the Coaches Film Room. The main telecast, Field Pass, Sounds of the Game, all-22, DataCenter and a single skycam angle were carried over as they were in 2019, with

12462-564: The job in 2000. Williams could not turn his mentor down a second time, so just two weeks after Doherty's resignation, Williams took the Carolina job. Williams was UNC's third coach in six years, the most turnover the program had faced since its early years. The previous two, McGuire and Smith, had covered a 45-year period. On November 22, 2003, Carolina beat Old Dominion , 90–64, in Roy Williams’ first game as head coach. In Williams' first season ,

12596-472: The lackluster, injury-filled performance of the season prior. Coming into the season with a talented freshman recruiting class, the Tar Heels looked to rebound from their 14–19 record. Senior Garrison Brooks was picked as the preseason ACC Player of the Year yet failed to live up to the preseason hype. Sophomore forward Armando Bacot led the Tar Heels in scoring, and the emergence of freshman Kerwin Walton provided

12730-473: The last losing season UNC would suffer for 40 years. On January 13, 1964, All-American Deakon Patrick scored 40 and had 28 rebounds in 97–88 win over Maryland . On December 4, 1965, UNC beat William and Mary , 82–68, in the first game played at UNC's new home, Carmichael Auditorium. On December 16, 1965, Bobby Lewis scored a current UNC-record 49 points in a 115–80 win over Florida State. Smith's first five teams never won more than 16 games. This grated on

12864-458: The latest being in 2024 (most No. 1 seeds all-time). North Carolina has been ranked in the top 25 of the AP Poll an all-time record 927 weeks, has beaten AP No. 1 ranked teams 14 times, has the most 25-win seasons with 38, and has the most consecutive top-three ACC regular season finishes with 37. North Carolina has ended the season ranked in the top 25 of the AP Poll 51 times and in the top 25 of

12998-540: The longstanding syndicated ACC football and basketball package from Raycom Sports —which helped prove pivotal in basketball becoming a craze in the state. The title game was the only triple overtime final game in championship history, which followed a triple overtime North Carolina defeat of Michigan State 74–70 the previous night. In 1961, the Tar Heels were placed on NCAA probation for a year for violating "provisions prohibiting excessive entertainment" of prospective players and providing "improper financial assistance" to

13132-588: The main broadcast on ESPN with additional statistic displays), and simulcasts with audio from the participating teams' radio networks on WatchESPN. During the Peach Bowl, played between Alabama and Washington, SEC Network featured the Finebaum Film Room. For the championship game , ESPN2 carried a reprise of the "homer" commentary featuring Joe Tessitore, Adam Amin, Tajh Boyd, and Barrett Jones, ESPN Voices (with Michelle Beadle , Keyshawn Johnson , Bill Walton , and Marcellus Wiley ) aired on ESPNU, SEC Network carried

13266-520: The most Arena of Heroes points are named the champions of the broadcast. Ryan Ruocco and Richard Jefferson provided commentary in a heavily-Marvel themed studio in ESPN's Bristol campus, with Marvel expert Angélique Roché providing special commentary. Like the Daily Wager Megacast, this Megacast was available on ESPN+ and ESPN2 . For the first time ever, ESPN presented one of their NBA broadcasts, completely in 3D technology. Debuting during

13400-434: The most ever for any NCAA Division I men's basketball coach (currently 5th all-time). During his tenure, North Carolina won or shared 17 ACC regular-season titles and won 13 ACC tournaments. They went to the NCAA tournament 27 times–including 23 in a row from 1975 to 1997–appeared in 11 Final Fours and won NCAA tournament titles in 1982 and 1993 . The 1982 national championship team was led by James Worthy, Sam Perkins , and

13534-463: The most-viewed men's college basketball game ever combining the networks. There were also two million page views on ESPN.com and one million video streams across ESPN.com and ESPN 360. ESPN's single network coverage garnered a 3.5 rating, the network's highest-rated men's college basketball game in more than four years (Maryland at Duke posted a 3.5 in January 2002). ESPN2's "Above the Rim" coverage generated

13668-447: The most-watched women's college basketball game of all-time. It was a 103% increase over the previous year's championship game, which was carried by ESPN in primetime. First Four First & second rounds Friday/Sunday (Subregionals) First & second rounds Saturday/Monday (Subregionals) Regionals (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight) Final Four and National Championship Westwood One will serve as radio broadcaster of

13802-595: The national semifinal in Mike Krzyzewski 's final game as a head coach. The Tar Heels faced the Kansas Jayhawks in the National Championship game , during which they were unable to capitalize on a double-digit halftime lead and were defeated by a final score of 72–69, finishing the season as National Runner-Up. The team was preseason #1 the following season but never could find much consistency finishing with

13936-451: The national semifinal. In 1968, Carolina appeared in their second consecutive Final Four. On March 23, 1968, they lost to Lew Alcindor and UCLA for the national title. On March 15, 1969, All-American Charlie Scott hit the game-winning jumper at the buzzer to beat Davidson , 87–85, to advance North Carolina to their third consecutive Final Four. On March 27, 1971, Bill Chamberlain scored 34 points as UNC beat Georgia Tech , 84–66, to win

14070-503: The national semifinal. On March 15, 1997, North Carolina beat Colorado, 73–56, in the NCAA tournament second round for Dean Smith's 877th win, breaking Adolph Rupp 's all-time record for coaches. On March 23, 1997, the Tar Heels beat Louisville , 97–74, for another Final Four appearance. Smith would coach his final game, a 66–58 loss to Arizona in the national semifinal, on March 29, 1997. After 36 years as head coach, Smith retired on October 9, 1997. When he retired, Smith's 879 wins were

14204-508: The parents of players. As a result, they were barred from the 1961 NCAA tournament and also withdrew from the 1961 ACC tournament . Following the season, Chancellor William Aycock forced McGuire to resign. As a replacement, Aycock selected one of McGuire's assistants, Kansas alumnus Dean Smith . On December 2, 1961, Carolina beat Virginia, 80–46, in Dean Smith's first game as head coach. Smith's early teams were not nearly as successful as McGuire's had been. His first team went only 8–9,

14338-468: The participating teams' radio networks. In Canada, the Homer Telecast, ESPN Voices, and the Coaches Film Room were available for streaming via TSN Go. On August 15, 2017, ESPN announced it would utilize its Megacast production on its August 31 college football season opener featuring Ohio State at Indiana . ESPNews carried the "Coaches' Film Room" (with the on-air debut of Les Miles ), ESPNU carried

14472-631: The past fifty years . North Carolina's six national championships are third-most all-time, behind UCLA (11) and Kentucky (8). UNC has also won eighteen Atlantic Coast Conference tournament (ACC) titles, and thirty-three ACC regular season titles. The program has produced many notable players who went on to play in the NBA , including four of ESPN's top 74 players of all-time: Michael Jordan , James Worthy , Vince Carter , and Bob McAdoo (tied for most with UCLA). Many Tar Heel assistant coaches and players have gone on to become head coaches elsewhere. From

14606-473: The program for six years from 1946 to 1952, but was pushed out in favor of Frank McGuire after two consecutive losing years. The modern era of Tar Heel basketball began in 1952, when Scott was pushed out after two consecutive losing seasons in favor of St. John's head coach Frank McGuire . School officials wanted a big-name coach to counter the rise of North Carolina State under Everett Case . On December 1, 1952, McGuire coached his first game at UNC with

14740-507: The rafters. Of the 51 honored jerseys, eight are retired. In addition to the eight retired jerseys, an additional 43 jerseys are honored . Joel Berry II , Justin Jackson , and RJ Davis most recently qualified to have their jerseys honored. To have his jersey honored, a player must have met one of the following criteria: 2023 NCAA Division I women%27s basketball tournament The 2023 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

14874-445: The regular season that included some blowout losses, Davis' Tar Heels turned a corner in the latter part of ACC conference play. With a 70–63 victory against Louisville on February 21, 2022, Davis reached 20 wins in his first season as head coach. The team coupled the renewed energy and intensity with a shock 94–81 upset victory over Duke in Mike Krzyzewski 's final home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Tar Heels earned an 8 seed in

15008-409: The remaining feeds dropped. For the 2021 Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl semi-final games, ESPN offered the Command Center, SkyCast, Datacenter, all-22, and home radio feeds across its television networks and digital. The national championship game featured most of the same options introduced for 2020, but with ESPN2 introducing the new "CFP Live" broadcast (hosted by the panel of ESPN's NFL Live ),

15142-478: The school for 30 years, the last 25 as Smith's top assistant. During Guthridge's three seasons as head coach, he posted an 80–28 record, making him tied for the then-NCAA record for most wins by a coach after three seasons. The Tar Heels reached the NCAA Final Four twice, in the 1998 tournament and again in the 2000 tournament . North Carolina reached the Final Four in 2000 as an 8-seed, their lowest seeding in

15276-478: The season 6–1. The Tar Heels made it to the second-round of the ACC tournament before losing to Syracuse in what would turn out to be the final ACC tournament game played before the cancellation of the rest of the 2019–20 season due to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic . Williams passed Smith's mark of 879 all-time wins in the COVID-shortened season. Heading into the 2020–21 season, expectations were high after

15410-437: The second college basketball program to reach 2,000 wins in its history. The Tar Heels are currently 3rd all-time in wins. The Tar Heels are one of only four Division I men's basketball programs to have achieved 2,000 victories. Kentucky, Kansas, and Duke are the other three. Carolina has played 182 games in the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels have appeared in the NCAA Tournament championship game twelve times, and have been in

15544-469: The second half with UNC leading 66–50. Marshall continued to play by dribbling primarily with his left hand and left the game with two minutes left with UNC leading 85–69. Williams announced the injury at the Creighton post-game press conference. Marshall did not play in UNC's two following games in the NCAA Tournament, a 73–65 overtime win over Ohio in the Sweet 16 and the aforementioned 80–67 loss to Kansas in

15678-450: The team's home from 1911 to 1923. The team's first coach was Nat Cartmell . Cartmell was charged with illegally playing dice with known gamblers and was fired after the 1913–14 season. He would be replaced by Charles Doak . In the 1914–15 season, UNC joined the SAIAA , and would compete in the conference through the 1920–21 season. The 1917–18 team went 9–3 (7–0 at home) to finish 3rd in

15812-543: The third-longest such streak in NCAA history, behind UCLA 's streak of 54 consecutive winning seasons from 1948 to 2001, and Syracuse 's streak of 46 seasons. They also finished .500 or better for 39 years in a row from 1962 (Dean Smith's second year) to 2001, the third-longest such streak in NCAA history, behind Kentucky 's streak of 61 consecutive seasons from 1926 to 1988 (the Wildcats were barred from playing in 1952–53 due to NCAA violations) and UCLA's 54-season streak. From

15946-488: The tournament was up by 42% year-over-year. With significant attention towards Iowa player Caitlin Clark , the Iowa/South Carolina semi-final game was seen by an average of 5.5 million viewers—making it the highest-rated Women's Final Four telecast in ESPN history. These numbers would be surpassed by the national championship game, which was seen by an average of 9.9 million viewers, and peaked at 12.6 million—making it

16080-465: The tournament were televised by ESPN networks or ABC ; this was the second-to-last year of its current contract to air NCAA tournaments, which lasts through the 2023–24 season. On August 23, 2022, ESPN announced that the national championship game would be broadcast by ABC for the first time, with a Sunday afternoon scheduling. This marked the first time the women's championship game would be carried on broadcast television since 1995 . Viewership of

16214-423: The unexpected off-season transfers of David and Travis Wear did not help matters. However, the Tar Heels improved greatly during the conference season, finishing first in the ACC regular season with a 14–2 record. Williams was named Conference Coach of the Year for his efforts of getting his team to work through the adversity to finish strong in the regular season. Also during the season, the term Tar Heel Blue Steel

16348-558: The weekend of April 7 featured the same viewing options as the previous years. All broadcasts were made available on ESPN+ and the ESPN App. This was the second installment of ESPN Full Circle , which aired on April 22, 2006. The official name of this one was ESPN Full Circle: Bulls-Heat NBA Playoffs and the game was the Chicago Bulls vs. the Miami Heat . The game was seen by an average of 2,648,000 households on ESPN and ESPN2, marking

16482-509: The year by losing to Iowa State in the final seconds of the Round of 32. The 2014–15 team would improve, finishing the year 4th in the ACC and a Sweet 16 appearance, where they would lose to the Wisconsin . It was also the year that North Carolina would add Joel Berry II and Justin Jackson to the roster, who were both key contributors to the 2017 National Championship squad . In 2015–16 , led by seniors Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson ,

16616-508: Was "Field Pass," where Adam Amin and Steve Levy covered the game from the sidelines with guests. ESPNews carried the " Monday Night Football Film Room", which featured analysis and discussion by the MNF commentary crew of Joe Tessitore , Jason Witten , and Booger McFarland , joined by Todd McShay . SEC Network carried a feed hosted by the panel of Thinking Out Loud ( Marcus Spears , Greg McElroy and Alyssa Lang). ESPN Classic again carried

16750-886: Was a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season . The 41st edition of the tournament began on March 15, 2023, and concluded on April 2 with the championship game at the American Airlines Center in Dallas . Big Sky champion Sacramento State , Atlantic 10 champion Saint Louis , Southland champion Southeastern Louisiana and WAC champion Southern Utah made their NCAA debuts, while CAA champions Monmouth made its first NCAA appearance since 1983. A total of 68 teams participated in

16884-466: Was available on the ESPN app. ESPN’s MegaCast series continued the weekend of April 3 for the 2022 Women's Final Four . All broadcasts were made available on the ESPN App. ESPN brought back their MegaCast series during the weekend of April 2 for the 2023 Women's Final Four . All broadcasts were made available on ESPN+ and the ESPN App. The 2024 edition of the Women's Final Four Megacast on ESPN during

17018-482: Was coined, referencing the Tar Heel men's basketball walk-ons. The term was started by one of the players, Stewart Cooper, in hopes that it would be a replacement for "walk-ons" and similar names, and soon enough Roy Williams caught on. North Carolina lost to Duke in the ACC Tournament Final and made a significant run in the NCAA Tournament until they were eliminated in the Elite Eight by Kentucky, finishing with

17152-409: Was considered the top point guard in the class of 2024. The changes in personnel definitely helped as the Tar Heels finished the regular season 25-6 and atop the ACC standings at 17-3 for their 33rd conference title in school history. Along with sweeping their archrivals, Duke Blue Devils Hubert Davis was voted ACC coach of the year while senior RJ Davis was voted ACC player of the year. Dean Smith

17286-506: Was given the rights to his own Megacast coverage for select college football games. In another partnership with Omaha Productions, McAfee and his showmates, along with special guests, analyze the game while also partaking in fun activities and fan engagement throughout each broadcast. This Megacast airs on ESPN2, and concurrently airs during ESPN or ABC’s primetime game of the week. North Carolina Tar Heels men%27s basketball The North Carolina Tar Heels Men's basketball program

17420-464: Was succeeded by one of his players, medical student Monk McDonald , who in turn gave way to Harlan Sanborn . Other early coaches included baseball coaches Charles Doak and James Ashmore and assistant football coach Bill Lange . All told, from 1910 to 1946, no coach stayed in Chapel Hill longer than five years. Carnevale, who led UNC to its first Final Four, left after only two years. Tom Scott ran

17554-440: Was the first NASCAR race on Full Circle . ESPN's regular NASCAR announce team of Dr. Jerry Punch called the race along with analysis from Rusty Wallace and Andy Petree . Allen Bestwick , Mike Massaro , Jamie Little , and Dave Burns reported from pit lane. This was the third installment of ESPN Full Circle , which aired on September 4, 2006. The official name of this one was ESPN Full Circle: Florida State at Miami and

17688-623: Was the fourth installment of ESPN Full Circle , which aired on October 14, 2006. The official name of this one was ESPN Full Circle delivered by The New AT&T: Florida vs. Auburn and the game was a college football matchup between the Florida Gators at the Auburn Tigers . It generated the lowest ratings of any of the Full Circle telecasts with a 3.3 rating. This was also the second college football game on Full Circle . Mike Patrick called

17822-453: Was to be seen on the ESPN app. However, the "BlimpCast" was canceled at the last minute due to severe weather in the Tallahassee area. Instead, Marty and McGee did their own Megacast production from the sidelines, which was seen on the app. For the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship , ESPN dramatically reorganized the Megacast offerings. On ESPN2, replacing the Homer Telecast

17956-434: Was widely known for his idea of "The Carolina Way", in which he challenged his players to "Play hard, play smart, play together". "The Carolina Way" was an idea of excellence in the classroom, as well as on the court. In Coach Smith's book The Carolina Way , former player Scott Williams said, regarding Dean Smith: "Winning was very important at Carolina, and there was much pressure to win, but Coach cared more about our getting

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