By Doc Kennedy
As UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts and the Board of Trustees advance plans for the Carolina North campus expansion off MLK Drive, a familiar debate has resurfaced with new urgency: what should happen to the Dean E. Smith Center?
The question of whether to renovate the storied arena or build a new facility at Carolina North has been divisive, with prominent voices, including former coach Roy Williams and numerous program alumni, launching a passionate campaign to preserve and renovate the Smith Center rather than relocate.
While the decision involves complex practical considerations, the renewed intensity of this debate reveals something deeper: an existential crisis about what defines Carolina basketball as the program faces unprecedented change.
When the Smith Center opened in 1986, the arena represented the cutting edge of college sports facilities, innovative in both design and financing. However, many of the features that made it special have become liabilities. Its construction and location make meaningful adaptation nearly impossible. Renovation would be extraordinarily expensive. Rebuilding on the current site would require years of displacement. Moving to Carolina North would remove the connection to campus, though it’s not like the Smith Center’s present location is adjacent to the Old Well.
In recent days, Williams has been the most prominent voice among those advocating for renovation. Former players like Brice Johnson and Tyler Hansbrough have amplified the message on social media, joined by journalists and alumni expressing similar sentiments. The emotional appeal is powerful, rooted in decades of memories and tradition.
Yet beneath the surface nostalgia lies a more profound anxiety about the program’s future. Coach Hubert Davis’ return for a sixth season is uncertain, and his eventual successor will almost certainly come from outside the Carolina family, as there are no viable branches remaining on the Carolina coaching tree.
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Meanwhile, the modern college athletics landscape has fundamentally altered what the “Carolina family” means. The transfer portal and NIL era have created constant roster turnover, with players spending a year or two in Chapel Hill before moving on.
In this context, the Smith Center becomes the last tangible connection to Carolina basketball’s storied past. It bears Dean Smith’s name. It represents the only home that most players and fans under age 60 have known. It remains unique among on-campus arenas (renovation supporters often cite Kentucky’s Rupp Arena as a model for what to do in Chapel Hill, but Rupp is not on UK’s campus).
This begs an uncomfortable question: if a non-Smith-connected successor coaches a roster of transfer portal players in a new arena at Carolina North, is it Carolina basketball? Is the support for renovation actually about the building, or is it about clinging to a thread of tradition as everything else transforms?
If there were an ideal solution to the arena dilemma, UNC would be much further down the road on this issue. Much like a family having to decide what to do about a childhood home when the parents pass away, the impending departure of Davis (whenever that may be) will signal the end of Dean Smith’s 70-year reign over Carolina basketball, and a decision will have to be made about what to do with the homeplace.
Like many things with UNC athletics of late, this campaign to save the Smith Center is potentially messy and likely will leave hurt feelings, regardless of the outcome.
The nostalgia driving this effort is understandable. But UNC’s historical deference to tradition, particularly in basketball, has sometimes led to questionable decisions. As college athletics enters a new era, where Indiana — Indiana! — can win a football championship, Carolina must carefully weigh whether preserving the past serves the future.
The Smith Center debate ultimately asks Carolina basketball to define itself. Is the program’s identity inseparable from its physical home and coaching lineage, or can it evolve while honoring its heritage? Whatever choice emerges, university leaders must ensure it doesn’t handicap the program’s ability to compete in college sports’ rapidly changing landscape.
Tradition matters, but survival requires adaptation.
Doc Kennedy is an alum, longtime UNC fan, and former high school and college basketball coach who wrote this report for years on Tar Heel Blog.
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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