Tobacco Road

For the novel, see the article on Tobacco Road (novel).

Tobacco Road is a term that refers to the tobacco producing area of North Carolina, and is often used when referring to sports (particularly basketball) played between rival North Carolina universities. In recent years, it is most often used by the media in other regions; local media and area residents use the more common name "The Triangle", as in referring to "The Triangle schools."

The usual universities referred to by the moniker "Tobacco Road" include:

• Duke University
• North Carolina State University
• University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

None of these three schools is separated by more than 25 miles from any of the others. The proximity of these schools to one another, as well as the membership of each school in the Atlantic Coast Conference, has created a natural rivalry between the current students and alumni of these universities.

Less commonly, Wake Forest University is sometimes included in the group of Tobacco Road universities. Wake Forest University used to be located in Wake Forest, North Carolina, just a few miles north of Raleigh, until it relocated to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, about 2 hours west of the Triangle area. Since Wake Forest University is still in North Carolina, and still in relative proximity to the other 3 schools, others may still include WFU in the "Tobacco Road" grouping.