Fansided

Picking the Sports Mount Rushmore for all 50 states

By Dave Stevenson

PHOENIX, AZ - APRIL 02: Detail of baseballs during batting practice to the MLB opening day game between the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on April 2, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ - APRIL 02: Detail of baseballs during batting practice to the MLB opening day game between the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on April 2, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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North Carolina

North Carolina’s Mount Rushmore includes two head coaches and arguably the best women’s soccer player of all time.

Dean Smith coached the University of North Carolina Tarheels for 36 years. He won two national titles, 13 ACC Tournament titles, and 17 regular season ACC titles. Smith coached a number of elite players, such as Michael Jordan and James Worthy. He also led the men’s basketball to a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

Mike Krzyzewski is the head coach for the Duke University Blue Devils. A close friend of Smith, Coach K  has won five national titles while at Duke. He has made it to 12 Final Fours and has won 13 ACC tournaments. With Duke, Coach K has a 970-262 record. Krzyzewski has served as the head coach for the United States’ men’s basketball team since 2006.

Dale Earnhardt earns a spot on this Mount Rushmore because of how much he did to help NASCAR become one of the most popular sports in the United States. Earnhardt won six Winston Cup Series Championships and finished first in the Sprint Cup Series seven times. Over 27 years, he raced in 676 races. He won 76 of those and placed in the top 10 428 times. Earnhardt tragically died in a car crash at the Daytona 500 in 2001.

Mia Hamm led the United States to two World Cup titles and won two Olympic gold medals. She led the Tarheels to four consecutive national titles in women’s soccer. Abby Wambach eventually topped her 151 international goals, but Hamm paved the way for the United States to dominate women’s international soccer for years to come.

Next: North Dakota