What is a Tar Heel? Explaining North Carolina basketball nickname ahead of March Madness Sweet 16

North Carolina is one of the bluebloods in college basketball.

The Tar Heels have been one of the most successful programs and again this season have returned to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. The 1-seeded UNC (29-7) will face off against 4 seed Alabama (23-11) at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles for a spot in the Elite Eight. The Tar Heels have the third-most NCAA Tournament championships with six, sitting behind only UCLA (11) and Kentucky (8).

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But what exactly is a Tar Heel some fans watching the Sweet 16 matchup might ask? Here's the history of Kansas' nickname:

What is a Tar Heel?

The expression "tar heel" has a more literal connection than some might expect. It refers to workers who accumulated tar on their heels while working barefoot distilling turpentine.

"To call someone a 'rosin heel' or a 'tar heel' was to imply that they worked in a lowly trade," the UNC alumni website states.

Slowly, the state of North Carolina turned the meaning of a tar heel into a positive one: Something to describe North Carolinians as an expression of state pride.

"During the Civil War, North Carolina soldiers flipped the meaning of the term and turned an epithet into an accolade," the alumni website states. "They called themselves 'tar heels'as an expression of state pride. Others adopted the term, and North Carolina became widely known as the 'Tar Heel State.'"

Why is North Carolina called the Tar Heels?

When UNC started participating in intercollegiate sports in the 1880s, naturally the term 'Tar Heel' was a candidate to be the team nickname. In fact, according to the UNC alumni website, it was a no-brainer.

"There does not appear to have been any debate over what to call the teams and how to express school spirit. They were then, and have always been, Tar Heels," the alumni website says.

What is the UNC mascot?

If Tar Heel is a term associated with the people from the state of North Carolina, then why is the UNC mascot a ram?

Cheerleader Vic Huggins is credited with the idea for the mascot, per the school museum. With the football struggling during the 1924 season, she had the idea of getting a live mascot, ala NC State's wolf or the Georgia bulldog. Fullback Jack Merritt, nicknamed the 'Battering Ram,' was the inspiration for using a ram for the school.

The school website says Huggins got $25 from the university for the mascot and ordered a live ram from Texas. It was subsequently given the name "Rameses." The live mascot debuted on Sept. 8, 1924, against VMI with the team sitting at 2-4. After the Tar Heels won the game, Rameses and his descendants have been fixtures at UNC football games ever since.

During the 1987-1988 basketball season, a costumed ram, also named Rameses was introduced. The student-worn costume has also become a staple of North Carolina sports.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: What is a Tar Heel? Explaining the history of North Carolina basketball nickname