Up through the 1970s, the archrivals of the North Carolina Tar Heels were the NC State Wolfpack. From the mid-1980s onward, it has been the Duke Blue Devils. But for a brief three-year period, from 1981 to 1983, the team that North Carolina had marked on their calendar was the Virginia Cavaliers. Not because of proximity or any intense feelings of hatred, but rather the mutual excellence of the two programs, both of whom were among the most dominant teams not only in the ACC, but in the country.
The arrival of Ralph Sampson in Charlottesville instantly transformed the Wahoos into a national powerhouse.