January 18, 1986: North Carolina's "Dean Dome" Opens

January 18, 1986: The Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center opens on the campus of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, the new home of UNC's basketball team, coached by Smith.

The night before the 1st game, a black-tie dinner was held in the building, to honor the University's Arts and Sciences Foundation. At the dinner, Chancellor Christopher C. Fordham III announced the building was to be named for Smith, because, "We are a better university and a better State because he is one of us."

In fact, Smith, a native of Kansas, where he had played at the University of Kansas under the great coach Forrest "Phog" Allen, for whom that school's famed Fieldhouse is named, didn't want his name on the arena. But he was told that it would increase fundraising, for all aspects of the University, not just the basketball program or the athletic department, and he relented.

In the 1st game, played before a sellout crowd of 21,444, and a national audience watching on CBS, the Tar Heels came in at 17-0 and ranked Number 1 in the country, to face their nearby arch-rivals, Duke, 16-0 and ranked Number 3. UNC won, 95-92.

UNC's unbeaten run ended at 21-0 on January 30, away to Virginia. They collapsed down the stretch, losing 3 of their last 4 games, including the finale, away to Duke. They crashed out of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in the 1st round, losing to Maryland; and were eliminated in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen by Louisville. It was Duke that went on to win the ACC and its Tournament, and make the Final Four, that season, before losing the Final, also to Louisville.

UNC began playing basketball in 1911, at Bynum Gymnasium, and remained there through 1923. William Preston Bynum, a Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, donated the funding for it, in memory of his grandson, a UNC student who had died of typhoid. It opened in 1904. While there, they won the Southern Conference Tournament in 1922, and its regular-season title in 1923. The building is now named Bynum Hall, and maintains an administrative purpose, including offices for the Dean of Graduate Studies and the university counsel.

In 1924, UNC basketball moved into the Indoor Athletic Court, a venue nicknamed the Tin Can. The 1923-24 Tar Heels went 26-0, and, in the days before there was an NCAA Tournament (founded in 1939) or an NIT (founded in 1938), were recognized as National Champions. They also won the Southern Conference regular-season and Tournament titles 6 times each while playing there. After serving as a dormitory, the Tin Can was demolished in 1977, and Fetzer Hall, a more modern sports venue, was built on the site.

The Tin Can (left) and Fetzer Hall

From 1939 to 1965, UNC played at Woollen Gymnasium, named for Graduate Manager of Athletics Charles T. Woollen. While playing there, they won 8 regular-season conference titles -- the Southern Conference until 1953, the Atlantic Coast Conference thereafter -- won 3 Conference Tournaments, and reached what would now be called the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament in 1957, winning the National Championship under head coach Frank McGuire. Smith took over from McGuire in 1961. Woollen Gym is now home to UNC's Exercise and Sports Science Department.

From 1965 to 1986. UNC played at Carmichael Auditorium, now named the William Donald Carmichael Jr. Arena. It was named for a popular former school vice-president. While playing there, they won the ACC's regular season 13 times and its Tournament 9 times, made 7 Final Fours, and won the 1982 National Championship, all under Smith. It is still home to UNC's women's basketball, volleyball, women's gymnastics and wrestling teams.

Since moving into the Dean Dome, UNC have won the ACC regular season 14 times, and the Tournament 8 times. They've reached the Final Four 11 times, and won the National Championship 4 times: 1993 under Smith, who retired in 1997; and in 2005, 2009 and 2017 under Roy Williams, a former assistant of Smith's who coached from 2003 to 2021. In 2018, the playing surface at the Dean Smith Center was named the Roy Williams Court.

UPDATE: UNC made the Final Four again in 2022, and won the ACC regular-season Championship in 2024. Overall, this gives them 43 regular-season Conference Championships, 27 Conference Tournament wins, 20 Final Fours, and 7 National Championships.

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January 18, 1986 was a Saturday. Baseball was out of season. The NFL was between its Conference Championships and Super Bowl XX, which the Chicago Bears would win over the New England Patriots. There were 7 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Houston Rockets, 104-95 at The Summit in Houston. (It's now the Central Campus of televangelist Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church.)

* The New Jersey Nets beat the Denver Nuggets, 124-113 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands. Alex English scored 36 in defeat. Mike Gminski led the Nets with 23.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Atlanta Hawks, 125-122 in overtime at The Omni in Atlanta. Larry Bird scored 41 points.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Indiana Pacers, 108-95 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio.

* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Utah Jazz, 131-97 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

* The Sacramento Kings beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 98-96 in overtime at the original ARCO Arena in Sacramento.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Phoenix Suns, 112-87 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.

There were 8 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Edmonton Oilers, 5-4 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Islanders, 3-0 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Hartford Whalers beat the Quebec Nordiques, 5-2 at the Colisée de Québec.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Minnesota North Stars beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Calgary Flames beat the Detroit Red Wings, 7-4 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the St. Louis Blues, 5-2 at the St. Louis Arena.

* The Los Angeles Kings and the Vancouver Canucks played to a tie, 4-4 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* And the New Jersey Devils, the Boston Bruins, the Chicago Black Hawks, the Buffalo Sabres and the Winnipeg Jets were not scheduled.

And in English soccer, Arsenal, the North London team I would one day support, went to the Midlands, and played Leicester City to a 2-2 draw, at Filbert Street in Leicester.