Fall is here, and so is college football season. Exuberant fans paint themselves in their team's colors, cheering crowds flood into massive stadiums, and football players walk out to the sound of an expertly drilled marching band. On other college campuses, this exciting season is in full swing, but UNC Wilmington remains quiet. While UNCW boasts many talented student athletes and championship-winning teams, football is one sport to have never graced our campus. Or has it?

Materials from University Archives reveal that UNC Wilmington once had a thriving football club. This group was not an official team; they weren't members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), nor were they recognized by the University's athletics department. Although the club may have been informal, student newspapers from our archives show that its members took things seriously. In their first year, the club celebrated a win streak and entered the North Carolina Club Football Association playoffs, according to a November 30, 1977, article in the Seahawk. In September 1985, another Seahawk article reported that the UNCW community needed a football team, stating that "Large crowds at home games show that the student body and community residents enjoy watching football on a fall afternoon."

UNC Wilmington's Student Government Association (SGA) was particularly invested in the Football Club, especially in the possibility of evolving it into something more. In 1979, the SGA conducted a detailed study to determine the feasibility of forming a Division III football team at UNCW, taking into consideration the demand for and cost of such a group. The study was authorized by the University's Board of Trustees, but a team was never approved. In a 1979 memorandum, the Trustees rejected the SGA's proposal due to the exceedingly high costs of creating an NCAA football team. The funding required for training facilities, scholarships, coach and assistant salaries, and insurance would have been immense. Nevertheless, the SGA and other supporters continued to assist the Football Club. In 1980, the club received $5,600 from the Student Senate, and another $2,500 from private donations, according to Board of Trustees meeting minutes. 

Despite these valiant efforts, UNC Wilmington has never had an official, NCAA-backed football team. Many football-loving students have accepted this absence with plenty of humor, however. This 1981 April Fools' edition of the Seahawk, for instance, includes an articles that jokes about the Football Club receiving an enthusiastic Division I invitation from the NCAA. If you ever find yourself dreaming of football players in teal uniforms, remember that our school already has much to offer. UNCW has a plethora of competitive sports teams, student-led sports clubs, and intramural sports (including a flag football group) for everyone to enjoy.

Many of the materials mentioned in this blog post are digitized, if they have a link, and available to view online in the Library's Digital Collections. More complete citation information is below. To view these materials and other non-digitized records in-person, visit the Center's Reading Room on the second floor of Discovery Hall during our open hours. Or, contact us to make an appointment.

Sources

• Club Football to Begin Season (1985 September 9). The Seahawk, page 5. https://digitalcollections.uncw.edu/digital/collection/p17190coll1/id/5076/rec/9.
• Club Nabs State Playoff Berth (1977 November 30). The Seahawk, page 6. https://digitalcollections.uncw.edu/digital/collection/p17190coll1/id/2376/rec/6.
• Committee: Student Affairs, 1978-1999, Box: 4, Folder: 16, University of North Carolina Wilmington Board of Trustees Records UA-RG-02, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History. https://archivesspace.uncw.edu/repositories/4/archival_objects/141133.
• Football Feasibility Study, 1979, Box: 15, Folder: 2, University of North Carolina Wilmington Student Affairs Records UA-RG-11, Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History, https://archivesspace.uncw.edu/repositories/4/archival_objects/135959.
• Football gets NCAA Division Invitation (1981 April 1). The Seahawk, page 5. https://digitalcollections.uncw.edu/digital/collection/p17190coll1/id/3667/rec/5.
• Minutes of the meeting, Board of Trustees, University of North Carolina Wilmington (1980 October 8). Board of Trustees, page 7. https://digitalcollections.uncw.edu/digital/collection/bot/id/368/rec/20.

Introduction

UNCW Library’s Special Collections unit is housed within the Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History, located on the second floor of Discovery Hall. Special Collections focuses on collecting cultural and historical materials pertaining to the eight-county region known as southeast North Carolina (SENC), including Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Duplin, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender, and Sampson counties. The Center is also home to federal and state government resources and records documenting the history of the University.

When thinking about archival materials, what comes to mind first is most likely old things – whether that’s rare books or letters and deeds from generations past – and it is true, we do collect those items; however, our collections especially reflect the contemporary growth of the SENC region during the 20th and 21st centuries. They trace economic development, environmental concerns and coastal area management, and politics at all levels of government, as well as the cultural output that uniquely defines the Cape Fear area. Special Collections staff curate, process, describe, and provide access to a wide variety of materials falling into two primary categories – Rare Books and Manuscripts Collections.  

Rare Books

There are four primary collections of published materials held in Special Collections. 

The Southeast North Carolina Collection consists of books and other published items pertaining to our eight-county region. From church histories and broadsides to county records and scientific reports, this collection contains a wide variety of rare and unique items that document all historical aspects of this region.

The Local Authors Collection contains the creative output of SENC writers, including works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and more. You might recognize names such as Clyde Edgerton, Philip Gerard, and Nina de Gramont.

Special Collections also collects locally published magazines, newsletters, newspapers, and other similar publications – a group of materials that libraries collectively call periodicals. This collection includes out-of-print titles such as Encore and Life Around Wilmington, as well as active titles, including current regional newspapers. The unit collaborates with the Library’s Digital Initiatives team and state and local partners to digitize and make available newspapers such as Carolina Beach’s Island Gazette and Columbus County’s News Reporter. 

Finally, the Special Books Collection contains publications that meet one or more of the following criteria: items pertaining to North Carolina history, items published before 1850, and rare items owned by less than 50 libraries. An additional (and very neat!) sub-collection within Special Books is a collection of miniature books measuring less than 5 inches by width or height.

Pictured here is a selection of rare books ranging in size from Mark Catesby’s 23-inch folio, Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, to the miniature book, Lute & Lyre and Other Musical Instruments of the 6th Century A.D., a generous 1 inch in height. 

Manuscripts and Archives

Manuscript collections differentiate the Center’s Special Collections unit from other libraries and archival repositories due to their inherently unique character; manuscript collections reflect their creators and owners and often contain materials that were not kept or organized by anyone else. As mentioned previously, the Special Collections unit collects and documents the cultural and historical output of the SENC region. Our collecting scope includes subjects such as the arts, business, development, education, environmental history, faculty research, local history, politics, religion, and war and military history. Researchers can discover physical items such as diaries, letters, and photographs, as well as digital items including electronic documents, audiovisual content, and more.

The Center's collections document the lives and careers of individuals such as Dr. Hubert Eaton, Sr., and Hannah Block, the operations of organizations such as the local USO chapter and the North Carolina Coastal Federation, and events such as the USS North Carolina battleship homecoming and the Southport 4th of July Festival.

Items pictured include a letter from James R. Womble to his father describing the fall of Fort Fisher during the Civil War; a button Wilmington citizens wore while advocating for funding for a new bridge over the Cape Fear River during the 1950s and prior to the construction of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge; and marines stationed at Camp Lejeune during the 1960s enjoying a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Access and Research

All of the materials mentioned here and more are available to be explored by researchers near and far. Visit the Center’s website to learn more about finding materials, planning a visit, or requesting research assistance. 

The history of North Carolina is interesting, varied, and far-reaching, insomuch as it dates to our initial ties with England, well before Independence was declared. As a native of “the Old North State,” I have come to appreciate that history. If any North Carolinian ever faced the need or desire to learn about the history of this great state, then The North Carolina Manual would be one of the best resources to use. Fortunately, here at the Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History, we have almost every edition of The North Carolina Manual in print, ranging from the years 1913-2008.

According to J.D. Lewis, from his site The North Carolina Manual, The Manual was first printed in 1874 as a result of post-Civil War Reconstruction “and the resulting total rework of the North Carolina State Constitution in 1868.”  During that time, many North Carolinians were elected to public office for the first time and had no real concept of how state government operated. These newly elected officials needed a resource to consult that would provide “essential information about all branches of government, of which they were now a part.” The provenance and subsequent publication of The Manual is interesting, and merits a brief retelling of its own, before highlighting the contents and specific editions of The Manual in future blog posts.

As stated earlier, The Manual was first published in 1874, but the appropriations that were needed to continue printing it were not reauthorized. Not until 1903 was its second iteration published. At that time, it was authorized to be printed on a biennial, or every other year, basis. Again, according to Lewis, the manual was to contain the Constitutions of the United States and North Carolina, and “the names of all the Governors and other executive officers of the State, Judges of the Supreme and Superior Courts, members and officers of the two Houses of the General Assembly, with such other chronological and statistical information as may be deemed useful.”

There were to be 1,000 copies printed of The Manual and each Senator and Representative were to receive four each. One copy would also go to each officer of both houses of the General Assembly. A copy would be given to each State officer, including Judges of the Supreme Court and Superior Courts, one to the Governor of each state, and the NC State Library would receive ten copies. Any remaining copies would “be equally distributed in the several counties of the State to such parties as the said Secretary may elect.” It was also resolved “that in no edition of said ‘Manual’ after the first shall any name be reprinted except the names of those actually in office.”

In 1913, with the printing of that edition of The Manual, the General Assembly appropriated funds allowing for a thorough researching of the history of North Carolina’s government “since the early colonial era.”  There was, however, one stipulation included with the appropriations needed for that research: that in subsequent printings, most of that history would not be reprinted. As Lewis shares, the early twentieth century saw many changes within North Carolina’s government, namely, the creation of new agencies, boards, and commissions to help support a rapidly growing population. As we will see in future posts about it on this blog, The Manual became a vital resource for those serving in public roles, at both state and local levels.