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By Adam Lucas

This marks the final installment of the 2008-09 Mailbag. Make sure you also saw yesterday's Part 1, which included information about the Tar Heel Monthly/TarHeelBlue.com internship and more. We're also looking for stories from folks who watched the title game in unusual/interesting places, so check out Part 1 for more details.

Now, on to today's questions.

As I've been looking forward to tonight's game, it occurred to me that it seems the two schools fates for National Championships are often intertwined. Obviously tonight the winner between the two will win the National Championship. In 2005 we had to beat MSU to ultimately win the National Championship. In 2000, MSU beat us in the regular season and then went on to win the National Championship. And of course there's the classic in 1957 that we had to win to ultimately win the National Championship. For two schools in different conferences it seems we play each other a lot the seasons we win it all. Did each school play a role in any of the other National Championships, or are these mentioned the only ones?
Chris Doan '00
Cincinnati, OH

We have ended the tournament for Michigan State and Villanova's every year that UNC has won the National Championship.

1957 -- Tar Heels beat MSU in 3 OT in the Final Four, Nova didn't make the field
1982 -- MSU didn't make the field, Tar Heels beat Nova in Elite 8
1993 -- neither team made the field
2005 -- beat MSU in Final Four, beat Nova in Sweet Sixteen
2009 -- beat MSU in Championship game, beat Nova in Final Four

That makes us 6-0 versus these 2 teams in 5 championship runs.

Given the vast array of teams that can be involved in an NCAA tournament, that's a pretty unusual statistic.

I went to the NCAA ticketing website the first 5 minutes they started selling the 2010 Final Four tickets. At that time, the seats available were all upper level. Is it because they sold out all the lower level seats in the first few minutes? If so, how many are there for the general public to purchase? Or is it because all of the lower level seats are not available to the general public lottery? In that case, how are they allocated?
Tony
Dayton, Ohio

Most of the lower level seats never go on sale to the public, because they're reserved for the four participating schools and corporate sponsors.

This would typically be the place to rant about the NCAA's over-commercialization of the Final Four, but they do need to be commended for one significant change they made for the 2009 event. Giving students from all four schools the end zone seats behind the baskets was a stroke of genius, and lowering the price to $20 was a decent move. Having the students close to the court made it feel more like a college basketball game and less like a trip to the theater. Of course, what the NCAA realized is because of the raised court, those aren't terrific seats anyway, but putting the students there was still a nice move.

I was wondering when the team will raise the 09 banner in the rafters of the Smith Center? I saw on the website where the team award ceremony will be celebrated on April 16. I live in Tennessee but try to make to Chapel Hill at least once a year and will definitely make an exception this year since the team won the national title.
Keith Ringley

Look for the 2009 banner around the time of Late Night with Roy Williams this coming fall. It definitely won't be ready in time for the awards ceremony. Astute visitors to the Carolina Basketball Museum also know that some changes will be required to that venue as well; look for those to be completed by the start of the 2009-10 season.

After nervously reading about the team over the last few weeks, trying to figure out how a game would go before it was played, I found myself at a loss to answer a question my son posed to me about the newest member of the Carolina family: the trophy. He wanted to know who got to keep the trophy Monday night. I was hoping that you could give us a quick "day in the life" of the trophy since we saw the team receive it Monday night. Who kept it over night? Did it ride in baggage on the plane home or was it strapped in next to Roy? Is it already on display in the basketball museum?
Dave Drake

After working for almost six months to earn the trophy, the actual award itself is largely forgotten on the night of the game. It's usually passed around the locker room from player to player, and that's what happened on Monday night, as a handful of players, coaches and managers took time to snap a photo with the trophy. It spent the night safely tucked away at the team hotel, and then it was time to make the trip home.

Here's rule number-one of winning a national title: Never, never, never put a national championship trophy in the baggage compartment of an airplane. Have you seen what they do to your suitcase? Now imagine what they'd do with a wood and glass trophy. No, the trophy rode home from Detroit--net safely draped on top--with the rest of the passengers. As you probably saw, Roy Williams carried it off the plane, where it was put on the team bus and then brought to the welcome home celebration. Right now, it's in the basketball office, but you can look for it to also make visits to the Carolina Basketball Museum and to the awards ceremony on Thursday night.

As part of the season's final mailbag can you provide the most up-to-date info on the 100th anniversary celebration for next year? I know you touched on this subject earlier in the season, I just need a refresher.
Chris Elledge
Goshen, IN

You'll be hearing more about the 100th anniversary of Carolina Basketball celebration over the summer. In the meantime, it seems like an appropriate way to close this season's Mailbag. To commemorate the 100th season, there are numerous activities planned. The centerpiece will be a home game weekend during the ACC schedule that will include a reunion of all available lettermen, a banquet for those lettermen, a game involving the former players who still want to play, and an event that will bring fans and former players together.

There will also be on-court celebrations of the first century, including retro uniforms--that might surprise you--for at least one game. A comprehensive book and extensive DVD are also in production and will be available after the 100th season (so as to include the 100th season festivities).

Also, by the way, you'll see a much-improved lighting and PA system at the Smith Center next season that will allow for modern player introductions and pregame festivities. Installation of that system is already underway.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Mailbag this year. Your questions are what makes this column worthwhile, and we look forward to starting again this fall.

Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of four books on Carolina basketball.