Welcome, welcome, welcome one and all to the 2026-27 UNC Sports year! We made it! Students are back on the campus at Chapel Hill, the First Day of Class is today, and this time next week we’ll be talking about the start of the football season!
Whoah, whoah there, don’t get all excited at once there folks. Why do you have that bottle of Jameson in your hands?
Today we start a new weekly feature to help you keep an eye on all the UNC sports for the week ahead. By now, regular readers of this site know that all of the non-revenue sports on campus seek to win NCAA tittles, and a year doesn’t go by where several aren’t at least in a title game. Last year was the first in a while that didn’t see the Tar Heels win a title, yet multiple teams got the chance to win one and there’s every expectation that this year will be just as competitive.
So, following will be each team that’s playing a match, where there’ll be, and each sport will carry a link to their tickets if you want to grab a seat and see these wonderful teams play—or in some cases it’s a link to their schedule and you can just show up and enjoy without a ticket.
Let’s look at the week ahead:
UNC Women’s Soccer
The women’s soccer team has already started their season, as they compete in the last season where the championship will be played for in December. Next year, the NCAA has deemed that all soccer titles will be fought for in the spring, and the season itself will span, essentially, the whole calendar year in order to better align players with how soccer schedules work throughout the rest of the world. This move also is similar to what the MLS is doing, making it to where every level of soccer competing has a calendar that starts in the late summer and ends in the spring.
As for matches this week:
- Thursday, 8/20 At Arkansas, ESPNU, 7 PM
- Sunday, 8/23 hosting Michigan State, ACC Network, 1 PM
UNC Men’s Soccer
The men’s team opens their season on the road this week, looking to climb back up into ACC and national contention. Last season ended early in the NCAA Tournament, so we’ll see how they’ll respond to the challenge this year.
- Thursday, 8/20, At Georgetown, 7:30 PM
UNC Field Hockey
Another one of the crown jewels of UNC Athletics, the field hockey Tar Heels are looking to rebound from a disappointing—for them—ending last year that saw them lose to Northwestern in the the Final Four. The Tar Heels lost two games all season, and it took overtime for both of those loses. Head coach Erin Matson is trying to set different expectations for this year as the young roster is completely hers. Also, earlier this summer Matson was featured with Bonnie Bernstein on her series “The Champions’s Edge.” It should be fun Karen Shelton Stadium this season as usual
- Friday, 8/21 at Duke-scrimmage only
- Sunday, 8/23 vs. Wake Forest-scrimmage only
UNC Volleyball
Hopes continue to be high in Chapel Hill as Volleyball is ranked for the first time since 2017, and the sport that has seen amazing television growth each year should include some exciting action from Chapel Hill. Note that unlike some prior years, there is a cost to attend games in Chapel Hill. Still, it’s a very family-friendly event and price compared to other sports across campus, and in volleyball the action is always moving. It always helps when the team competing has expectations of doing well.
- Friday, 8/21, Blue vs White Scrimmage
- Saturday, 8/22, At High Point-Exhibition