1961 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

1961 North Carolina Tar Heels football
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Record	5–5 (4–3 ACC)
Head coach	Jim Hickey (3rd season)
Home stadium	Kenan Memorial Stadium

1961 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 20 Duke $		5	–	1					7	–	3
North Carolina		4	–	3					5	–	5
Maryland		3	–	3					7	–	3
Clemson		3	–	3					5	–	5
NC State		3	–	4					4	–	6
South Carolina		3	–	4					4	–	6
Wake Forest		3	–	4					4	–	6
Virginia		2	–	4					4	–	6
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1961 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 1961 NCAA University Division football season. The Tar Heels were led by third-year head coach Jim Hickey and played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium. The team competed as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, finishing in second.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 30	NC State	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)	W 27–22
October 7	Clemson	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	L 0–27
October 14	at No. 10 Maryland	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD	W 14–8
October 21	at South Carolina	Carolina Stadium Columbia, SC (rivalry)	W 17–0
October 27	at Miami (FL)*	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	L 0–10
November 4	Tennessee*	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	W 22–21
November 11	No. 4 LSU*	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	L 0–30
November 18	at Duke	Duke Stadium Durham, NC (Victory Bell)	L 3–6
November 25	at Wake Forest	Bowman Gray Stadium Winston-Salem, NC (rivalry)	L 14–17
December 2	Virginia	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (South's Oldest Rivalry)	W 24–0
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game time

Source: