When Carolina began calling itself the Tar Heels, the idea was that the nickname would not only represent the students from UNC-Chapel Hill competing in athletics but evoke pride among people across North Carolina, the Tar Heel State.

A similar connection exists with Carolina’s famous interlocking NC logo, long associated with Tar Heel sports but in fact one of the University’s earliest marks. It dates to at least the 1870s when used in Commencement invitations and was later adopted by athletics teams in the 1890s, first by the baseball team.

“When UNC teams started competing in intercollegiate sports, they were looking for something to wear to say where they came from,” said University Archivist Nicholas Graham. “They adopted the symbol, that may have been in use by the state of North Carolina, because they would have seen themselves as representing all of North Carolina.”

More than a century later, the interlocking NC logo remains largely unchanged and is instantly recognizable by millions across the globe.

Now, in conjunction with a new marketing campaign, the entire University is adopting the interlocking NC as its official logo. The symbol of the world-class Tar Heel athletics program (63 national championships and counting) will mark Carolina’s full range of achievements: the nation’s No. 4 public university, the perennial top best-value school, a research powerhouse and the Tar Heel State’s flagship institution.

“We’re fortunate to have a logo that carries worldwide recognition while also representing the great state of North Carolina, which the University serves through our research, teaching, work and studies,” said Adrienne King, associate vice chancellor for marketing. “It’s only right that this symbol with so much history should serve as a unifying mark for the birthplace of public higher education.”

The earliest appearances of the NC logo came on Commencement invitations in the 1870s and 80s. (Nick Graham/University Libraries)

A historical constant

While many university logos change with time, Carolina’s interlocking NC looks remarkably similar in 2025 to the one from the 1800s. “It’s been pretty standard — that block sans-serif font,” Graham said.

One of his favorite captures of its early use is a photo from 1892 that would cause no modern Tar Heel to bat an eye. In it, several students gather at the Old Well, one donning a shirt and hat with the iconic mark.

“He was probably an athlete just wearing his baseball jersey,” Graham said.

UNC-Chapel Hill students gathering at the Old Well in 1892. (Kemp Plummer Battle Photograph Album, #P0100, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, Wilson Library, UNC-Chapel Hill)

The logo was adopted by other sports teams, like football and men’s basketball, including the 1924 hoops national champions.

But the logo’s reach extends beyond the University.

Take license plates, for instance. A 1930 plate issued in Davie County — named after William Richardson Davie, like our beloved poplar tree  — included the interlocking NC associated with Carolina. The mark is also seen in a State Board of Health license from the 1890s.

The NC logo has in the past been used as a mark throughout the state, including this 1930 license plate in Mocksville, North Carolina. (North Carolina Digital Heritage Center)

Graham sees the logo’s longevity and evolution as an example of how “statewide symbols became more associated with the University.”

Now as the interlocking NC becomes Carolina’s primary logo, it’ll serve as a visual reminder of how interwoven UNC-Chapel Hill is with the state it serves.

“People from all across North Carolina see it and know what it represents,” King said. “This is where students from all corners of the state come to learn and become the state’s doctors and teachers. This is where national championships are won, where North Carolinians receive lifesaving medical care and where research breakthroughs and innovations influencing everyday life and the economy are made. That’s what those two letters capture.”

Carolina’s campus is filled with endless plants, bushes and trees kept beautiful by Carolina’s busiest pollinators — bees.

“For me, bees remind me of the wonder that it is to be alive, which is a big statement to make,” said Ben Diasio, junior and vice president of the Carolina Beekeeping Club. “It really helps me connect with my sort of sense of wonder and nature.”

The Carolina Beekeeping Club is a student-led organization hoping to inspire students through the world of honeybees. Students learn how to protect the environment, focus on sustainability and see how pollinators support plants. Since 2016, the club’s goal has been to educate the Carolina community about beekeeping.

“Our beekeeping club beehives are important to have on our campus as I think it makes UNC one of the most beautiful campuses in the country,” said Nathan Halsey, junior and president of the club. “Bees help pollinate different trees and flowers around campus, helping with biodiversity. They pollinate areas of campus all the way from the Dean Dome to Carolina North to Carrboro. Bees have a huge impact, even though you might not see them daily.”

Any undergraduate or graduate students can join the club and work at the beehives, located at Battle Grove.

“Battle Grove is nice because it’s a place where the University has a long-dedicated effort around sustainability, and it’s now become a collective area where lots of different things are going on. It’s designated as a bird habitat, and now it has wildly successful beehives from the beekeeping club,” said Michael Piehler, director of the Institute for the Environment and Carolina Beekeeping Club faculty adviser. “It really stands out as a sustainability landmark for the University.”

Students in the club take care of the inner hive, check on the queen bee to make sure she’s healthy and laying eggs, ensure pests and pathogens aren’t affecting the bees and provide a healthy environment to pollinate flowers on campus.

“Taking care of bees involves sort of being a detective. You need to see what the state of the bees is currently,” said Diasio. “Do they need more food? Are they low on nectar? Should you feed them sugar water? It’s like being a landlord and their doctor rolled into one.”

Students also lead or attend hive tours, paint pollinator boxes around campus with bee facts, put plants around campus for honeybees to pollinate, harvest honey and protect and inspire people about honeybees and other pollinators.

“Any club at Carolina is important because it gives students a perspective on the world they’re entering after getting their education. The Carolina Beekeeping Club is a great example of that — they’re taking a challenge that sits within a broader suite of opportunities around sustainability, and they’re making it their own,” said Piehler.

This past summer, the club harvested over 200 pounds of honey — 500 jars — in their first ever harvest for the club. The club plans to sell the jars to buy food for the Carolina Cupboard pantry, a student-run food pantry on campus, as part of the new “Honey for Hunger” initiative focusing on combatting food insecurity.

Bees pollinate one-third of all the food people eat. “Having them is great for the environment and is a great example of how the environment brings value to people,” said Piehler.

“Honeybees have taught me about the meaning of life. They rely on each other; one bee can’t survive by themselves in a beehive. It’s taught me that collective action community and everybody pitching in really can make a difference in the world,” said Halsey.