The Marching Tar Heels

The Marching Tar Heels is the marching band of the

Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game

in 2010 and 2016.

The UNC band was formed in 1903 and had their first performance at a UNC baseball game in 1904.^[2] The band first started traveling to away athletic events in 1905. The band continues to play for multiple sports including men's and women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's lacrosse, women's basketball and field hockey. The band also divides into two smaller bands and plays at all men's basketball home games, as well as sending a pep band to tournament games.

The band is currently under the direction of Jeffrey Fuchs.

Traditions

Several traditions have amassed over the years which include:

The Blue and White Warm-Up Chorale is played before every performance by the Marching Tar Heels. It was written by former band members, Joshua Potter and Ryan Ripperton.^[3]
On football gameday, it has become tradition for the drumline to warm-up (usually in or near The Pit, in the center of campus) before joining the rest of the band for the march to the stadium. The drumline goes through warm-ups, show music, and cadences. It has become a crowd favorite, attracting large crowds at Tar Heel Town.^[3]
Also on football gameday, the trumpets and tubas perform "Carolina Victory" on the steps of Dey Hall one hour and five minutes before kickoff.^[3]
Directly before the march to
Kenan Stadium, the band has a "throwdown" about that day's opponent. Seniors re-write the words to the military cadence of "I don't know, but I've been told" and the band recites the verses as a build-up to the drumline cadence.^[3]

The march to the stadium is a parade route that begins in front of Wilson Library, and ends with the march into the stadium. During the march, the drumline plays through their cadences as the rest of the band does choreographed dances to each cadence.[3]
It has become tradition that the drumline finish each rehearsal with a final beat of each drum in unison. The drum captain gives 4 clicks on his rim and the rest of the drumline responds with a beat.
After the football team makes a defensive stop on 3rd down, the band plays Raise Up.

Traditional songs

The Marching Tar Heels regularly play these songs at athletic events.

Alma Mater
)
Here Comes Carolina
I'm a Tar Heel Born (Tag)
Carolina Victory
Tar Heels On Hand
Carolina Fight Song (
Fight Song
)
UNC Vamp
Carolina in My Mind
Sweet Caroline
Aye! Zigga Zoomba
4-C (Carolina Spell Out)
Visitor's Fight Song 2.0

Other music

Other songs that may be heard on gameday by the Marching Tar Heels are as follows.

Halftime music

The Marching Tar Heels have covered many different genres of music during their halftime performances.^[4] Generally, a new halftime show is presented at each home game, requiring that some shows be learned in their entirety in one week of practice. Some of these shows have included:

Queen (2005, 2013)
The Who (2015)
Classical Masterworks
(2018)
Latin Jazz
(2008)
Journey (2019)
Katy Perry (2022)
Nirvana (2013, 2021)
Lynyrd Skynyrd (2005)
Stevie Wonder (2014)
Elvis Presley (2015)
Michael Jackson (2008, 2019)
Earth, Wind, & Fire
(2013)
Beach music (2019)
Swing music (2007, 2012)
The Greatest Showman (2018)
Leonard Bernstein (2019)
Circus music (2008, 2018)
Saturday Morning Cartoons
(2015)
Hollywood Blockbusters (2011, 2013, 2017, 2023)

Directors

Charles T. Woollen 1903-1919 ^[5]
T. Smith McCorkle 1920-1932 ^[5]
Earl Slocum 1933-1956 ^[5]
Herb Fred 1956-1963 ^[5]
Major John F. Yesulaitis 1964-1989 ^[6]
James Hile 1990-1996 ^[6]
Jeffrey Fuchs 1997–Present ^[6]

References

^ "UNC Bands". Archived from the original on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
^ "UNC Bands". Archived from the original on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Tradition". UNC Bands. 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
^ "University of North Carolina Bands". Archived from the original on 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "UNC Bands". Archived from the original on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
^ ^a ^b ^c "UNC Bands". Archived from the original on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2010-11-24.

External links

UNC Bands on
Facebook
UNC Bands on
X

[1] "UNC Bands". Archived from the original on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2008-04-05.

[history-2] "UNC Bands". Archived from the original on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2010-11-23.

[tradition-3] "Tradition". UNC Bands. 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2011.

[4] "University of North Carolina Bands". Archived from the original on 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2010-11-23.

[1903-1963-5] "UNC Bands". Archived from the original on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2010-11-24.

[1963-present-6] "UNC Bands". Archived from the original on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2010-11-24.

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

v t e University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Located in: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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History	Alumni Presidents and chancellors William Richardson Davie UNC system Speaker ban Academics-athletics scandal Silent Sam Killing of Zijie Yan
Founded: 1789

v t e North Carolina Tar Heels football
Venues	Emerson Field (1916–1926) Kenan Memorial Stadium (1927–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Duke: Victory Bell NC State South Carolina Virginia: South's Oldest Rivalry Wake Forest
Culture & lore	First forward pass Rameses The Marching Tar Heels 2010 football scandal 2011 academic-athletic scandal
People	Head coaches All-Americans NFL draftees Statistical leaders
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v t e North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
Venues	Bynum Gymnasium (1910–1923) Tin Can (1924–1938) Woollen Gymnasium (1938–1965) Carmichael Auditorium (1965–1986) Dean Smith Center (1986–present)
Rivalries	Duke (Carlyle Cup) Kentucky NC State Wake Forest
Culture & lore	Rameses The Marching Tar Heels Junior varsity team Inside Carolina Four corners offense Blue blood status Dixie Classic/Big Four Jumpman Invitational Tobacco Road Academic-athletic scandal Gambling scandal
People	Head coaches Honorees Honored players NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics

v t e North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer
Venues	Fetzer Field WakeMed Soccer Park Dorrance Field
Rivalries	Duke NC State Virginia Tobacco Road
Culture & lore	Rameses The Marching Tar Heels
People	Elmar Bolowich Carlos Somoano
Seasons	1987 2001 2008 2009 2010 2011 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2020 2021 2022 2023
NCAA/ISFA/NSCAA national championships in bold; NCAA College Cup appearances in italics

v t e North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer
Venues	Fetzer Field (1979–2017) Dorrance Field (2017–)
Rivalries	Duke NC State Tobacco Road
Culture & lore	Rameses The Marching Tar Heels
Seasons	2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
College Cup finals	2018 2019 2022
NCAA national championships in bold