The Marching Tar Heels


The Marching Tar Heels is the athletics pep band for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Known as "The Pride of the ACC", the Marching Tar Heels is one of the largest organizations at UNC with over 290 students. The band plays at all home football games as well as travels to away games, usually as a small pep band. However, the entire band travels to one away football game each year, usually staying close to home. These have included trips to universities such as NC State and East Carolina but have also included some longer trips to venues such as Notre Dame in 2006 and 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. 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 Marching Tar Heels regularly play these songs at athletic events.
Other songs that may be heard on gameday by the Marching Tar Heels are as follows.
The Marching Tar Heels have covered many different genres of music during their halftime performances. 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: