It’s a quiet week for UNC sports… Until it isn’t.
Following a busy weekend, most of the UNC sports in action take a break until the weekend. Then during the weekend, you’ll have a lot of options for watching the Tar Heels play. This also includes a pretty big debut.
UNC Basketball
Yes, the regular season still doesn’t begin for a month, but teams are scheduling exhibitions against actual opponents, and that includes Michael Malone and his debut for the Tar Heels. Fans might as well get comfortable with the Greensboro
Colosseum — sorry, I know they pay a lot of money, but I’m not calling it by the corporate name — because after Malone opens the exhibition slate here, they’ll play NC State here in December, and then this will be home of the ACC Tournament in March. While it’s an exhibition, fans should note that the arena is going to have the curtains down, so this may be one of the more affordable chances you’ll have to see UNC Basketball up close.
- Friday, 10/9 — exhibition vs Southern California, Greensboro, NC — 7 PM, ACC Network
UNC Football
The Tar Heels hit the road to the Steel City and take on a Pitt team that is in a weird place. They are undefeated, but only barely thanks to a field goal that was ruled no good (when, depending on the angle, it can be argued it was). They also lost their starting quarterback for the year, but that just makes them more dangerous since they’ll have a full week to prep the new starter and there likely won’t be much film on him. We’ll see if Carolina can get back above .500 by pulling the upset.
- Saturday, 10/10 — at Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA — Noon, ESPN
UNC Men’s Golf
The men’s golf team finishes their last cold weather locale of the fall by playing in Day Two of the Fighting Irish Classic. It was apparently Notre Dame weekend, as the women’s soccer and football teams also played the Irish. The Tar Heels go into Day Two behind and in the middle of the pack, but we’ll see what they can do with some familiarity with the course.
- Monday, 10/4 — Fighting Irish Classic Day Two, South Bend, IN — All Day
UNC Softball
The fall tour for the softballers continues as more lower division programs come to Chapel Hill for some fall scrimmages. The Tar Heels, like the baseball team, are using the remaining good weather to train before the regular season kicks off next February. The bulk of their fall scrimmages happen this week, but they have one more before the month is over; all of the matches will be at the softball stadium.
- Tuesday, 10/5—vs Gaston, Chapel Hill, NC—5 PM
- Saturday, 10/10—vs UNC-Pembroke, Chapel Hill, NC—11 AM
- Saturday, 10/10—vs William Peace, Chapel Hill, NC—1:30 PM
- Sunday, 10/11-vs Barton, Chapel Hill, NC—2 PM & 4 PM
UNC Men’s Tennis
ITA competition continues as it typically does in the fall — NCAA competition happens mostly in the spring. Thus, the Tar Heels will be heading down South to play in the Carolina Regional as they continue their fall schedule.
- Thursday, 10/8 – Monday 10/12 — ITA Carolina Regional, Columbia, SC
UNC Fencing
Yes, it’s time for the fencers to step up and start dueling! The fencing team is going to be competing at the USA Fencing October North American Cup down in Orlando this weekend. The fall is mostly set up as invitationals and Cups, with one match next month against the Devils. When the calendar turns to 2027, that’s when the schedule really kicks into gear as the ACC will crown their champions in Stanford this season.
- Friday, 10/9 – Monday 10/12 — USA October North American Cup, Orlando, FL
UNC Women’s Lacrosse
The fall scrimmages continue for Jenny Levy and the Women’s Lacrosse team. On Friday up at the Finley North area they’ll welcome High Point before taking a couple of weeks off from competition, and then close it out with some bigger names coming to town at the end of the month. This team has revenge on its minds in trying to get back to the top, so every scrimmage helps.
- Friday, 10/9 — vs High Point, Chapel Hill, NC — 1 PM
UNC Field Hockey
It is amazing what adding players the caliber of Riley Heck and others will do for a squad. A young team that had some severe inconsistencies now looks like one of the best in the country, and that continued on Friday as they easily took down Louisville 3-0. They’ll continue on the road this week, starting in Philly before coming down to Lynchburg, VA. They’ll finally be back home during UNC’s Fall Break, meaning they could use the support when they do get back.
- Friday, 10/9 — at Saint Joseph’s, Philadelphia, PA — 3 PM, ESPN+ (Streaming only, must subscribe to ESPN+)
- Sunday, 10/11 — at Liberty, Lynchburg, VA — 1 PM, ESPN+ (Streaming only, must subscribe to ESPN+)
UNC Women’s Soccer
Talk about another team that’s rolling. They’ve been the number one team since their demolition of Duke and haven’t looked back, including a dominant 4-1 win over Notre Dame. Now, though, they are in for a real test as constant thorn Florida State plays hosts to the Tar Heels in what promises to be an epic match. The season is running out quickly as the postseason takes up most of November, so if you haven’t been paying attention now is the time to do so.
- Friday, 10/9 — at Florida State, Tallahassee, FL — 6 PM, ESPNU
UNC Volleyball
The volleyball team has shown that the tough stretch they subjected themselves to a couple weeks ago has paid dividends. They’ve won five straight, including a full five set match against Georgia Tech in Chapel Hill on Sunday. Now, it’s time to hop back on the road for a pair of conference matchups this weekend.
- Friday, 10/9 — at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA — 6 PM, ACCNX (Streaming only)
- Sunday, 10/11 — at Virginia, Charlottesville, VA — 1 PM, ACC Network
UNC Women’s Tennis
Belated congratulations to Susanna Maltby and Maddy Zampardo who took home the ITA All-American Doubles Champions at the event last weekend. The string of strong performances by UNC women’s tennis continues, and they’ll continue in ITA play up in Williamsburg, VA starting this weekend.
- Saturday, 10/10 – Sunday 10/11 — ITA Hall of Fame Classic, Williamsburg, VA
UNC Men’s Soccer
The men’s team is rolling along now at 5-2-3 after a strong 3-1 win over BC up in the Boston area on Saturday. Now they get a week to soak it in before it’s their turn to play the Fighting Irish — apparently they weren’t allowed to play them when every other team was this past weekend.
- Saturday, 10/10 — vs Notre Dame, Chapel Hill, NC — 7 PM, ACCNX (Streaming only)
