North Carolina Tar Heels Bowl Game History (Wins, Appearances and All-Time Record)

Updated: Sep 10, 5:00pm UTC

Bowl game season is an exciting time in college football. Schools across the nation will battle it out for postseason glory and a chance to end their year on a high note.

One team that's no stranger to playing in bowl games is the North Carolina Tar Heels. Here's everything you need to know about UNC's bowl history before making its next appearance.

North Carolina Bowl Game History

College football fans shouldn't be surprised to learn that North Carolina has built a storied bowl history. The Tar Heels have racked up a total of 37 all-time bowl appearances.

North Carolina's first bowl appearance came in the 1947 Sugar Bowl under head coach Carl Snavely. The Tar Heels fell short in a 20-10 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs and their first bowl win didn't come until 16 years later. They were able to take down the Air Force Falcons, 35-0, in the 1963 Gator Bowl.

The Tar Heels' most recent bowl appearance came in the 2022 Holiday Bowl. UNC was defeated narrowly 28-27 by Oregon in that one.

North Carolina Bowl Game Wins and Appearances

North Carolina owns a 15-22 all-time record in bowl games. Check out the school's full bowl results below.

Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1, 1947): Georgia 20, North Carolina 10
Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1, 1949): Oklahoma 14, North Carolina 6
Cotton Bowl Classic (Jan. 2, 1950): Rice 27, North Carolina 13
Gator Bowl (Dec. 28, 1963): North Carolina 35, Air Force 0
Peach Bowl (Dec. 30, 1970): Arizona State 48, North Carolina 26
Gator Bowl (Dec. 31, 1971): Georgia 7, North Carolina 3
Sun Bowl (Dec. 30, 1972): North Carolina 32, Texas Tech 28
Sun Bowl (Dec. 28, 1974): Mississippi State 26, North Carolina 24
Peach Bowl (Dec. 31, 1976): Kentucky 21, North Carolina 0
Liberty Bowl (Dec. 19, 1977): Nebraska 21, North Carolina 17
Gator Bowl (Dec. 28, 1979): North Carolina 17, Michigan 15
Bluebonnet Bowl (Dec. 31, 1980): North Carolina 16, Texas 7
Gator Bowl (Dec. 28, 1981): North Carolina 31, Arkansas 27
Sun Bowl (Dec. 25, 1982): North Carolina 26, Texas 10
Peach Bowl (Dec. 30, 1983): Florida State 28, North Carolina 3
Aloha Bowl (Dec. 27, 1986): Arizona 30, North Carolina 21
Peach Bowl (Jan. 2, 1993): North Carolina 21, Mississippi State 17
Gator Bowl (Dec. 31, 1993): Alabama 24, North Carolina 10
Sun Bowl (Dec. 29, 1994): Texas 35, North Carolina 31
CarQuest Bowl (Dec. 30, 1995): North Carolina 20, Arkansas 10
Gator Bowl (Jan. 1, 1997): North Carolina 20, West Virginia 13
Gator Bowl (Jan. 1, 1998): North Carolina 42, Virginia Tech 3
Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 19, 1998): North Carolina 20, San Diego State 13
Peach Bowl (Dec. 31, 2001): North Carolina 16, Auburn 10
Continental Tire Bowl (Dec. 30, 2004): Boston College 37, North Carolina 24
Meineke Car Care Bowl (Dec. 27, 2008): West Virginia 31, North Carolina 30
Meineke Care Care Bowl (Dec. 26, 2009): Pittsburgh 19, North Carolina 17
Music City Bowl (Dec. 31, 2010): North Carolina 30, Tennessee 27 (2OT)
Independence Bowl (Dec. 26, 2011): Missouri 41, North Carolina 24
Belk Bowl (Dec. 28, 2013): North Carolina 39, Cincinnati 17
QuickLane Bowl (Dec. 26, 2014): Rutgers 40, North Carolina 21
Russell Athletic Bowl (Dec. 29, 2015): Baylor 49, North Carolina 38
Sun Bowl (Dec. 30, 2016): Stanford 25, North Carolina 23
Military Bowl (Dec. 27, 2019): North Carolina 55, Temple 13
Orange Bowl (Jan. 2, 2021): Texas A&M 41, North Carolina 27
Duke's Mayo Bowl (Dec. 30, 2021): South Carolina 38, North Carolina 21
Holiday Bowl (Dec. 28, 2022): North Carolina 27, Oregon 28

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.