Editing North Carolina (section)

==Sports==
{{Main|Sports in North Carolina}}

<gallery widths="220" heights="165" class="center" style="line-height:130%">
File:Bank of America Stadium.jpg|[[Bank of America Stadium]] in [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]], home of the [[Carolina Panthers]] and [[Charlotte FC]]
File:RBC Center Stanley Cup Championship.jpg|[[Carolina Hurricanes]] Stanley Cup awards ceremony at the RBC Center (now [[Lenovo Center]]) in [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]]
File:Spectrum Center 2018.jpg|The [[Spectrum Center (arena)|Spectrum Center]], home arena of the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]]'s [[Charlotte Hornets]]
</gallery>

North Carolina is home to four [[Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada|major league]] sports franchises: the [[Carolina Panthers]] of the [[National Football League]], the [[Charlotte Hornets]] of the [[National Basketball Association]], and [[Charlotte FC]] of [[Major League Soccer]] are based in Charlotte, while the Raleigh-based [[Carolina Hurricanes]] play in the [[National Hockey League]]. The Panthers and Hurricanes are the only two major professional sports teams that have the same geographical designation while playing in different metropolitan areas. The Hurricanes are the only major professional team from North Carolina to have won a league championship, [[2006 Stanley Cup Finals|having captured the Stanley Cup in 2006.]] North Carolina is also home to two other top-level professional teams — the Charlotte Hounds of [[Major League Lacrosse]] and the [[North Carolina Courage]] of the [[National Women's Soccer League]].

While North Carolina has no [[Major League Baseball]] team, it does have numerous [[Minor League Baseball]] teams, with the highest level of play coming from the [[Triple-A (baseball)|Triple-A]] [[Charlotte Knights]] and [[Durham Bulls]]. Additionally, North Carolina has minor league teams in other team sports including soccer and [[ice hockey]], most notably [[North Carolina FC]] and the [[Charlotte Checkers]], both of which play in the second tier of their respective sports.

In addition to professional team sports, North Carolina has a strong affiliation with [[NASCAR]] and stock-car racing, with [[Charlotte Motor Speedway]] in [[Concord, North Carolina|Concord]] hosting two [[NASCAR Cup Series|Cup Series]] races every year. Charlotte also hosts the [[NASCAR Hall of Fame]], while Concord is the home of several top-flight racing teams, including [[Hendrick Motorsports]], [[Roush Fenway Racing]], [[GMS Racing]], [[Stewart-Haas Racing]], and [[Chip Ganassi Racing]]. Numerous other tracks around North Carolina host races from low-tier NASCAR circuits as well.

Golf is a popular summertime leisure activity, and North Carolina has hosted several important professional golf tournaments. [[Pinehurst Resort]] in [[Pinehurst, North Carolina|Pinehurst]] has hosted a [[PGA Championship]], [[Ryder Cup]], two [[U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Opens]], and one [[United States Women's Open Championship (golf)|U.S. Women's Open]]. The [[Wells Fargo Championship]] is a regular stop on the [[PGA Tour]] and is held at [[Quail Hollow Club]] in Charlotte, and Quail Hollow has also played host to the PGA Championship. The [[Wyndham Championship]] is played annually in Greensboro at [[Sedgefield Country Club]].

[[College athletics in the United States|College sports]] are also popular in North Carolina, with 18 schools competing at the [[NCAA Division I|Division I]] level. The [[Atlantic Coast Conference]] (ACC) is headquartered in [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]], and both the [[ACC Championship Game|ACC Football Championship Game]] (Charlotte) and the [[ACC men's basketball tournament]] (Greensboro) were most recently held in North Carolina. Additionally, the city of [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]] is home to the [[National Junior College Athletic Association|National Junior College Athletics Association]]'s (NJCAA) headquarters.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://njcaa.org/about/Staff_Bio/NJCAA_National_Staff_Directory|title=NJCAA|website=NJCAA|access-date=August 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406140847/http://njcaa.org/about/Staff_Bio/NJCAA_National_Staff_Directory|archive-date=April 6, 2019}}</ref> [[College basketball]] is very popular in North Carolina, buoyed by the [[Tobacco Road (rivalry)|Tobacco Road]] rivalries between ACC members [[North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball|North Carolina]], [[Duke Blue Devils men's basketball|Duke]], [[NC State Wolfpack men's basketball|North Carolina State]], and [[Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball|Wake Forest]]. The [[ACC Championship Game]] and the [[Duke's Mayo Bowl]] are held annually in Charlotte's [[Bank of America Stadium]], featuring teams from the ACC and the [[Southeastern Conference]]. Additionally, the state has hosted the NCAA Men's Basketball [[Final Four (college basketball)|Final Four]] on two occasions, in Greensboro in 1974 and in Charlotte in 1994.