It's been a year since Bill Belichick stepped into North Carolina as the head coach, but he will not be able to be a part of the historic rivalry. On Friday, May 22, another prominent college football rivalry got cancelled.

As reported by On3, North Carolina Athletics announced that the home-and-home series between rivals North Carolina and South Carolina has been cancelled. The 2028 game was scheduled for Columbia, and the 2029 game was slated for Chapel Hill.

The last time the Tar Heels and the Gamecocks faced off was on September 2, 2023, during the Duke's Mayo Classic, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte

North Carolina defeated South Carolina 31-17, while they lead the series 36-20-4. However, when it comes to the last six meetings, the Tar Heels have won only two games.

"The upcoming North Carolina and South Carolina home-and-home football series, slated for 2028 in Columbia and 2029 in Chapel Hill, has been canceled," the team said in an official statement. "Last year, the SEC and ACC announced the move to a nine-game conference schedule, resulting in changes to future nonconference schedules."

Because the SEC and ACC are expanding to nine conference games, South Carolina has dropped future series with Power-4 opponents outside of Clemson, including Miami, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, North Carolina State, and now the Tar Heels.

The origin of their rivalry goes back to October 10th, 1903, when North Carolina defeated South Carolina 17-0 in Columbia. Since then, UNC has won the first five meetings.

UNC's 48-0 victory came back in 1914, which is still their biggest by margin. However, the conference realignment has limited their face-off to six games since 1991.

Meanwhile, South Carolina has already lined up a new opponent after its historic rivalry matchup against North Carolina was canceled.

South Carolina Adds New Opponent To Calendar

South Carolina will open the 2028 season at Williams-Brice Stadium against Bowling Green. They would be filling out the 2028 non-conference slate in place of their state rivals.

The Falcons have never played in South Carolina or faced a team from the state before, making their upcoming trip to Williams-Brice Stadium a historic first.

The Falcons will face their eighth different active SEC opponent when they take on the University of South Carolina. Their latest SEC clash came in 2024, when BGSU nearly upset Texas A&M University before falling 26-20 at Kyle Field.

South Carolina also plays Clemson annually, and that rivalry commitment probably led to this rivalry getting cancelled. Their updated non-conference slate now includes games against Furman, Wofford College, Appalachian State, East Carolina, and Bowling Green.

So, as the century-old tradition now comes to an end, share your thoughts.

Read more at Michigan Football Community.

Written by

Sourav Ganguly

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar