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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 55.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 13500 items) |
| Abstract | Dean Smith (1931-2015) was the white coach of the men's basketball team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1961 to 1997. The Dean Smith Papers document his youth in Emporia, Kan.; his coaching career and UNC-Chapel Hill basketball; and his retirement activities, including receiving awards, speaking engagements, writing books, and serving on NCAA working groups to study basketball reforms. The collection also includes materials about the coaching career of his father, Alfred Dillon Smith. Materials include correspondence, practice plans and diagrams from the 1992-1993 championship season, student newspapers and newspaper clippings, school work, scrapbooks, photographs, and audio recordings of interviews that Dean Smith recorded with co-authors Sally Jenkins and John Kilgo in preparation for his memoir A Coach's Life: My 40 Years in College Basketball. |
| Creator | Smith, Dean, 1931-2015. |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Processing Information
Processed by: Amy Morgan, Jackie Dean, and John Blythe, October 2017
Encoded by: Laura Smith, October 2017
Revisions by: Nancy Kaiser, February 2018, April 2019, and July 2019; Dawne Howard Lucas, January 2022
Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Biographical Information
Dean Smith (1931-2015) was head coach of the men's basketball team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1961 to 1997, and led two teams to national championship titles, and 11 teams to Final Fours. He also coached a gold-medal winning United States basketball team in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Smith was born in Emporia, Kan., played basketball for the University of Kansas, and served as an assistant men's basketball coach there for the 1953-1954 season.
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Scope and Content
Series 1. Papers: primarily newspapers, programs, and magazines documenting Dean Smith's coaching career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There are also school newspapers and school work from Smith's teenage years in Emporia, Kan.; a file of receipts for the 1976 Olympic men’s basketball team's meals, lodging, and travel; and a few Michael Jordan related items including the 1988 Wheaties box depicting Jordan.
Series 2. Scrapbooks: many complied by Dean Smith's parents, containing newspaper clippings about the UNC-Chapel Hill men’s basketball teams coached by Smith and Smith's coaching career.
Series 3. Retirement Office Files: compiled and maintained after Dean Smith's retirement in 1997 from coaching men’s basketball at the UNC-Chapel Hill. Files include correspondence about awards received and speaking engagements; articles and readings on basketball and faith; and materials relating to books authored by Smith.
Series 4. Photographs: includes snapshots taken at the 1979 UNC-Duke men's basketball game in Carmichael Stadium on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus; team portraits of the 1981-1982 and 1985-1986 UNC-Chapel Hill men's basketball team; publicity photographs of Dean Smith and photographs of Smith at dinners, receiving awards, or posing with others at events.
Series 5. Dean Smith Interviews: audio recordings of interviews that Dean Smith recorded with co-authors Sally Jenkins and John Kilgo in preparation for his memoir A Coach's Life: My 40 Years in College Basketball.
Series 6A (Addition of February 2018). Bob Young Correspondence: letters discuss general congratulatory news following the 1982 NCAA championship win and the 1957 ring ceremony held in 1995. Bob Young played under Coach Frank McGuire as a member of the 1957 NCAA championship team.
7A. Office Files and Personal Papers (Additions of April and June 2019): The addition chiefly documents Dean Smith's athletic roots at Emporia High School in Kansas and the end of his career at UNC-Chapel Hill. Materials include correspondence following his 877th win in March 1997 and his retirement in August 1997; newspaper clippings about UNC-Chapel Hill basketball and related topics; practice plans, diagrams, and statistics on players from the 1992-1993 championship season; correspondence and reports relating to the NCAA Division 1 Working Group to Study Basketball Issues and earlier NCAA committees concerned with basketball reforms; and photographs of Emporia High School athletics teams and UNC-Chapel Hill basketball players and coaches. Also included are materials relating to Smith's receipt of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013; an inventory of Smith's books with inscriptions by the authors; and the athletic and coaching career of his father, Alfred Dillon Smith. Photographs depict Dean Smith and Alfred Dillon Smith's Emporia High School teams, UNC-Chapel Hill basketball games, and a golfing reunion of former players and coaching staff.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Papers, 1946-2006.
Original file titles are in quotation marks.
Primarily newspapers, programs, and magazines documenting Dean Smith's coaching career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There are also school newspapers and school work from Smith's teenage years in Emporia, Kan.; a file of receipts for the 1976 Olympic men's basketball team's meals, lodging, and travel; and a few Michael Jordan related items including the 1988 Wheaties box depicting Jordan.
| Box 1 |
Junior high and high school materials, 1946-1949Includes "Report on Emporia" compiled by Dean Smith for a school assignment in 1946; newspapers from Smith's junior high and high school in Emporia, Kan., 1946-1949; a program from Smith's ninth grade class recognition service, 1946; and a souvenir baseball program, 1948. |
"Olympic expenses," 1976Notes and receipts from the 1976 Olympic men's basketball team's meals, lodging, and travel. |
|
"Dean's talk at Golden Fleece, 1982"Typescript, sent to his parents, of Dean Smith's address to the Order of the Golden Fleece. |
|
Box 1-3
Box 1Box 2Box 3 |
Newspapers, 1960-2006Contains batches of clippings about Dean Smith's coaching career compiled at the UNC-Chapel Hill Basketball office and sent to his parents in Kansas; Smith's father Alfred Smith's issues of Carolina Blue; issues of The Daily Tar Heel commemorating the UNC-Chapel Hill men's basketball team; issues of other sports newspapers; and assorted basketball-related clippings. Also included are programs and bulletins most likely belonging to Alfred Smith from churches in Topeka, Kan. |
Box 3-4
Box 3Box 4 |
Magazines and programs, 1953-2005Includes programs from regional and national basketball conferences; UNC-Chapel Hill men's basketball season programs; Dean Smith's issues of Sports Illustrated featuring Michael Jordan; and sports magazines commemorating UNC-Chapel Hill's national championships in men's basketball and Smith's coaching career. |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-5576/1 |
Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins materials, 1988 and undatedContains Michael Jordan Wheaties box; TBS Transponder magazine with Michael Jordan on the cover; and a poster for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Los Angeles featuring Sam Perkins, undated. |
| Box 27 |
BooksDean Smith's yearbooks, school books, and books about basketball. |
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Series 2. Scrapbooks, 1976-1997.
Arrangement: Chronological.
Scrapbooks, many complied by Dean Smith's parents Alfred and Vesta Smith, containing newspaper clippings about the UNC-Chapel Hill men's basketball teams coached by Smith and Smith's coaching career.
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Series 3. Retirement Office Files, 1965-2009.
Arrangement: Original arrangement has been maintained.
Files compiled and maintained after Dean Smith's retirement in 1997 from coaching men's basketball at the UNC-Chapel Hill. Files include correspondence about awards received, speaking engagements, his career at UNC-Chapel Hill, and Carolina basketball after his retirement; articles that Smith was reading on basketball and faith; and materials relating to books authored by Smith.
Original file titles have been retained.
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Series 4. Photographs, 1979-2000s.
Includes snapshots taken at the 1979 UNC-Duke men's basketball game in Carmichael Stadium on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus; team portraits of the 1981-1982 and 1985-1986 UNC-Chapel Hill men's basketball team; publicity photographs of Dean Smith and photographs of Smith at dinners, receiving awards, or posing with others at events.
| Image Folder PF-05576/1 |
UNC-Duke men's basketball game: Snapshots, 1979Candid shots taken during a game at Carmichael Stadium on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. Images depict Dean Smith and assistant coaches Eddie Fogler and Roy Williams; UNC-Chapel Hill players Dudley Bradley, Pete Chilcott, John Virgil, Al Wood, and Rich Yonaker; and Duke players Eugene Banks, Michael Gminski, and Jim Sparnakel. |
| Image Folder PF-05576/2 |
1981-1982 University of North Carolina men's basketball team portrait |
| Image Folder PF-05576/3 |
1985-1986 University of North Carolina men's basketball team portrait |
Image Folder PF-05576/4-5
PF-05576/4PF-05576/5 |
Publicity and group shots, 1970s-2000sPublicity photographs of Dean Smith and photographs depicting Dean Smith at dinners, receiving awards, or posing with others at events. |
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Series 4A. Photographs, 1934-2000s (Additions of April and June 2019).
Acquisitions Information: Accession 103580, 103633
The Addition of April 2019 includes photographs depicting Dean Smith and Alfred Dillon Smith's Emporia High School teams, UNC Chapel Hill basketball games, and a golfing reunion of former players and coaching staff. The Addition of June 2019 consists of official White House photographs from the Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony, 20 November 2013. Photographs depict members of the Smith family accepting the award on Dean Smith's behalf from President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, and with other award recipients.
| Image Folder PF-05576/6 |
Topeka, Kan. |
| Image Folder PF-05576/7 |
Emporia High SchoolDean Smith's 9th grade team, his father's 1934 state champion basketball team, Dean Smith's football and tracks teams at Emporia High School. |
| Image Folder PF-05576/8 |
Golf |
| Image Folder PF-05576/9 |
University of North Carolina basketballPhotographs by Hugh Morton and Tommy Estridge. |
| Image Folder PF-05576/10 |
Presidential Medal of Freedom Award, 2013Official White House photographs by Lawrence Jackson and Chuck Kennedy. |
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Series 5. Dean Smith Interviews, circa 2000.
Audio recordings of interviews that Dean Smith recorded with co-authors Sally Jenkins and John Kilgo in preparation for his memoir A Coach's Life: My 40 Years in College Basketball.
Original audiocassette titles have been retained.
| Audiocassette C-05576/1 |
"Dean Smith on Emporia, World War II, Mom and Dad, personal beliefs vs coaching profession" |
| Audiocassette C-05576/2 |
"Dean Smith on philosophy" |
| Audiocassette C-05576/3 |
"Dean Smith on 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and on activism" |
| Digital Folder DF-05576/1 |
Dean Smith interviews, circa 2000Digitized versions of the audiocassettes C-05576/1-3. |
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Series 6A. Bob Young Correspondence, 1984, 1994-1995 (Addition of February 2018).
Acquisitions Information: Accession 103319
The Addition of February 2018 consists of five letters donated by Bob Young, who played under Coach Frank McGuire as a member of the 1957 NCAA championship team. Letters discuss general congratulatory news following the 1982 NCAA championship win and the 1957 ring ceremony held in 1995.
Letters have been deframed.
| Folder 275 |
Bob Young correspondence, 1984, 1994-1995Includes a photograph of Young and John Swofford, then UNC-Chapel Hill athletic director, at the ring ceremony. |
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Series 7A. Office Files and Personal Papers, 1915-2013 (Additions of April and June 2019)
Acquisitions Information: Accession 103580, 103633
The addition chiefly documents Dean Smith's athletic roots at Emporia High School in Kansas and the end of his career at UNC Chapel Hill. Materials include correspondence following his 877th win in March 1997 and his retirement in August 1997; newspaper clippings about UNC-Chapel Hill basketball and related topics; a scrapbook of the 1993 Final Four; practice plans, diagrams, and statistics on players from the 1992-1993 championship season; and correspondence and reports relating to the NCAA Division 1 Working Group to Study Basketball Issues and earlier NCAA committees concerned with basketball reforms. Also included are materials relating to Smith's receipt of the 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom; an inventory of Smith's books with inscriptions by the authors; and the athletic and coaching career of his father, Alfred Dillon Smith.
| Box 28 |
Retirement correspondence, 1998Letters received and unsigned responses never sent. |
| Box 29 |
Correspondence, 1997Regarding 877th win and A Coach's Life. |
Awards and travel |
|
"Recent dictation"1992-1993 practice plans, diagrams, statistics on players |
|
| Box 30 |
NCAA Division 1 Working Group to Study Basketball IssuesAlso includes materials relating to earlier NCAA committees relating to basketball reforms. Topics include freshman eligibility, leaving early for the NBA, alcohol sales, gambling, agents. Smith's thoughts are recorded in his correspondence and in his annotations on clippings and reports. |
Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2013Invitation from the White House, program, certificate, and photographs from the event, which also was the 50th anniversary celebration, including past winners, Dr. Linnea Smith and her daughters with President Barak Obama and Michelle Obama and of Dr. Smith receiving the medal of freedom on Dean Smith’s behalf. |
|
| Oversize Box OB-05576/1 |
Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2013Certificate in cover. |
| Box 30 |
Photocopied scrapbooks of articles in The Emporia Gazette for 28 February 1931; 1944-1946 |
Scrapbook of Alfred Dillon Smith at Huntington College, 1915-1917 |
|
Miscellaneous papers relating to Topeka |
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Inventory of books with inscriptions by authors |
|
| Oversize Volume SV-05576/21 |
Final Four, 1993 |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-05576/2 |
"The Dean" |
Commemorative section of Raleigh News and Observer for 877th win |
|
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-05576/3 |
Topeka Daily Capital sports pages, 1947-1949 |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-05576/4 |
Topeka Daily Capital sports pages, 1947-1949 |
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Items Separated