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The Woollen Knights, a group of friends and UNC School of Medicine faculty and researchers, have taken to the court for more than four decades at UNC’s famed Woollen Gymnasium, where they become well-known winners among campus ballers.


The Woollen Knights, a group of friends and UNC School of Medicine faculty and researchers, have taken to the court for more than four decades at UNC’s famed Woollen Gymnasium, where they become well-known winners among campus ballers.

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An excerpt from The Well’s story:

It was a temple for Carolina’s basketball faithful from 1938 to 1965. Today, Woollen Gymnasium is still a temple of sorts, attracting hundreds of recreational players over the past four decades whose games created lifelong friendships.

They call themselves the Woollen Knights.

The Order of Woollen’s home, with its eight courts and original section numbers on the walls, has mostly kept its endearing quirks as it aged: stuffy, humid, with 12 large, arched windows diffusing daylight through panes covered by faded blue paint. Shoe squeaks and dribbling thuds continue to greet players before they enter through clicking turnstiles. Its once dark-stained floors are a lighter shade now, with pickup games racing up and down most afternoons.

Here, the Knights developed a code of honor with two main tenets. First, an admonition: “No rough or dangerous play. We all have to go to work tomorrow.” The second, mostly unspoken but often demonstrated: “Friends over wins.””

Read the full story here.