Two Great Student Newspapers Put Their Rivalry on the Line to Support Student Journalism

DTH vs. Chron fundraising Challenge. Hate Great Together

For the sixth year in a row, UNC-Chapel Hill’s The Daily Tar Heel and Duke’s The Chronicle will compete in the annual DTH vs. Chron Rivalry Challenge, where they leverage the historic rivalry between their two men’s basketball teams to raise the kinds of funds

necessary to keep their independent, student-led news organizations in the game.

Beginning today (Jan. 26), the rival media programs will collaborate on special basketball coverage and use newsletters, social media and old-fashioned ribbing to tease sore spots between the two schools and encourage supporters to donate to their nonprofit newsrooms.

Together, they’ll make a 32-page Rivalry Challenge special edition, which will be available on campus and mailed to each donor who gives at least $25 to the challenge. The team with the biggest score at tip-off on Feb. 3, 2024, is the year’s winner.

Both the DTH and the Chronicle publish news online daily, with the DTH in print one day a week. Neither organization receives funding from student fees or other university support. The news these organizations publish is free for everyone – for the students who read it daily, the local audiences and the fans flung far across the country who rely on these organizations for the most-local sports news.

College media is having a moment, says Chronicle General Manager Chrissy Murray. Readers from across the country trust the way these organizations serve their campuses and cover both the high-profile issues of higher education and these beloved nationally known sports teams.

“College media matters more than ever. Across the country, these papers are filling in the gaps in areas where newspapers have shut down or consolidated coverage. It’s not just for the colleges they cover, but the communities in surrounding areas. The Rivalry Challenge is one way we can make sure those audiences stay informed,” Murray says.

Courtney Mitchell, the general manager of the DTH, says college media is a lot like traditional local news, with highly trained journalists who just happen to be in college.

“Sports fans want to hear about the UNC-Duke rivalry from the students who cover it most closely and who understand the passion they feel for their teams. We need these papers to be there when a banner goes up, the way we need them to cover university governance or campus life,” she said.

Rivalry Challenge VI kicks off Jan. 26, and ends just before tip-off of the men’s basketball game on Feb. 3. The special edition comes out on both campuses on Friday, Feb. 2.

As of last year’s challenge, which raised a combined $84,589, the Chronicle is ahead with three wins (2023, 2022, 2021) and DTH trailing with two (2019, 2018). Together the programs have raised a combined $389,589 – a win for everyone.

Fans of both teams can track the fundraising and catch up on great Rivalry stories at the websites for the Daily Tar Heel and The Duke Chronicle.