University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

===Mascot and nickname===

[[File:Blue Devil and Rameses.jpg|right|thumb|Duke University's "Blue Devil" mascot and UNC's Rameses face off at the 1957 [[Victory Bell (Duke–North Carolina)|Victory Bell]] football game.|alt=A man dressed as a devil and a ram face each other.]]
The university's teams are nicknamed the "[[Tar Heel]]s," in reference to the state's eighteenth-century prominence as a [[tar]] and [[pitch (resin)|pitch]] producer.<ref name="heel">{{cite web|url=http://alumni.unc.edu/article.aspx?sid=3516|title=What's in a Name? Why We're All Called Tar Heels|last=Powell|first=William, S.|year=1982|publisher=UNC General Alumni Association|access-date=May 21, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609222223/http://alumni.unc.edu/article.aspx?sid=3516|archive-date=June 9, 2010}}</ref> The nickname's cultural relevance, however, has a complex history that includes anecdotal tales from both the [[American Civil War]] and the [[American Revolution]].<ref name="heel"/> The mascot is a live [[Dorset Horn|Dorset ram]] named [[Rameses (mascot)|Rameses]], a tradition that dates back to 1924, when the team manager brought a ram to the annual game against [[Virginia Military Institute]], inspired by the play of former football player Jack "[[Battering ram|The Battering Ram]]" Merrit. The kicker rubbed his head for good luck before a game-winning field goal, and the ram stayed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/trads/unc-trads-mascot.html |title=The Ram as Mascot |work=North Carolina Tar Heels Official Athletic Site |publisher=UNC Athletic Department |year=2006 |access-date=May 18, 2008  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413002723/http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/trads/unc-trads-mascot.html |archive-date=April 13, 2008  }}</ref> There is also an [[anthropomorphic]] ram mascot who appears at games.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/147395/|title=UNC Mascot "Rameses" Killed|date=February 25, 1996|location=Raleigh, NC|publisher=WRAL|access-date=May 21, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207065814/http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/147395/|archive-date=December 7, 2008}}</ref> The modern Rameses is depicted in a sailor's hat, a reference to a [[United States Navy]] flight training program that was attached to the university during World War II.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uncnrotcaa.org/history.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050218182401/http://www.uncnrotcaa.org/history.php  |archive-date=February 18, 2005 |title=History of NROTC at the University of North Carolina |year=2008 |publisher=UNC Naval ROTC Alumni Association |access-date=May 18, 2008 }}</ref>