UAB with former UNC assistant and current Blazers' head coach Jerrod Haase has announced a three-year series with UNC starting in 2012-13. UAB will visit the Dean Dome on December 1st in the upcoming season with the Heels returning the favor next season in Birmingham. The series will conclude in 2014-15 with the Heels hosting UAB a second time.
The scheduling of former Tar Heels and Roy Williams' assistants has become commonplace in the program over the past few years. Last season it was Monmouth with former Heels King Rice, Brian Reese and Derrick Phelps as a part of the Hawks' coaching staff visiting Chapel Hill. UNC also hosted Elon where Jack Wooten is an assistant and Appalachian State with Jason Capel as the head coach.
The upcoming season will see more of the same. In addition to the game against UAB, the Heels will also host former UNC guard Jeff Lebo who is the head man at ECU. It stands to reason UNC will, at some point, schedule a game with UNC Greensboro since Wes Miller is the head coach and Jackie Manuel an assistant coach.
Also noteworthy in UNC's schedule is the willingness to play mid-major teams in true road games. The scheduled game at UAB in 2013 is the latest in a string of road games versus mid-major teams.
2009: at UC Santa Barbara
2010: at Charleston
2011: at Evansville
2012: at UNC Asheville
2013: at Long Beach St.
2014: at UAB
Most teams of UNC's caliber refuse these types of games since they are high risk/no reward propositions. Such wins are just that and a loss, like at Charleston in 2010, makes for an extremely embarrassing situation.
While the schedule is not anywhere close to official it appears the bulk of UNC's tough non-conference games will come on the road. The Heels will play in the Maui Invitational as well as face Texas, Indiana(ACC-B1G Challenge) and Long Beach State in true road games. To date, the toughest home opponent UNC will face is UNLV which is slated to come to Chapel Hill on December 29th. UNC also has Gardner-Webb scheduled for the home opener on November 10th.
The full schedule is expected to be released some time in mid or late August.