UNC and Bojangles: An Unlikely Success

A 38 point victory is rarely remembered in college basketball nearly a decade after it happened – but UNC’s 102-64 win against Pennsylvania in 2007 is an exception.

With less than a minute left and Tar Heels already up by more than 30 points, little-known senior Dewey Burke hit two three pointers to cement his legacy among Carolina basketball fans.

In just two minutes of play Burke scored more points than current NBA players Ty Lawson and Danny Green.

“It kind of all came together around that game,” Burke said. “To come in at the end and hit a couple of shots that put us over 100, for sure that’s when the nickname started and it really took off.”

His second three pushed the Tar Heels over 100 points, and in so doing, he earned the nickname “Biscuits.”

Hear the entire conversation with Dewey Burke below

 

The nickname is a reference to a promotion that Bojanges has done with Carolina basketball since 2003. Whenever UNC scores more than 100 during a home game, the next day fans get a free biscuit from Bojangles.

“I really didn’t know what it was going to become,” Burke said. “I was just a kid in college that loved to play and was fortunate to be part of a great team and play for a great coach.”

Since the game against Penn, hearing the crowd chant “we want biscuits” has been a common occurrence, especially when the Tar Heels are close to 100.

“If my memory serves me correct, we were just trying to come up with something that was a little different than your usual sponsorship opportunities,” said UNC assistant athletic director for marketing Michael Beale.

Beale said he was involved with the creation of the promotion, but can’t remember exactly how it came about.

“I don’t think at the time anyone had any idea it would get to where it is,” Beale said. “I think at the time we all thought it was a good idea, but would it be 12, 13 years later and we’re still doing it? No, I don’t think anyone in their right mind during those discussions thought that was going to happen.”

Since the 2003-2004 season the Tar Heels have scored over 100 in a home game 37 times.

“Sometimes these are lopsided victories and that keeps people engaged for those last couple of minutes,” Beale said “There’s a lot technically on the line at that time because they’re playing for free biscuits, which is funny when you say it but that’s how a lot of people think about it.”

In recent years the promotion has changed from getting a free biscuit to getting two sausage biscuits for one dollar, but that has not changed customer interest.

“I think it speaks for itself when fans are yelling ‘biscuits, biscuits’ if UNC comes close to scoring 100 points that it’s something they’re very receptive too,” said Tommy Haddock, president of Tri-Arc Food Systems, the franchisee for Bojangles.

The Tar Heels went over 100 points twice last season, according to Bojangles the promotion was rang up 2,039 times across all of their locations.

“Carolina with Bojangles,” Haddock said. “Two very recognized brands within this market and the state, it was bound to be a success. I don’t see how it could have been anything other than a success from the beginning.”

All these years after the game against Penn, what has been remembered is not the fact that Reyshawn Terry and Tyler Hansbrough were the Tar Heels leading scorers with 19 points.

What has been remembered is the fact that Dewey Burke gave the fans free biscuits.

“You don’t really realize the impact necessarily of what you’re doing or what your ‘legacy’ would be, if that’s what I can refer to this as,” Burke said. “As I’ve gotten older and been able to reflect on my time there and my experiences with my teammates and staff and everything, it’s been a way to be remembered, which is something I’m very lucky to have.”