Bears Take Their Game — and Their Bond — Overseas

International trips, such as this trip to Portugal, can mean a once-in-a-lifetime experience for players and a unique bond-building opportunity for the team. They are also made possible entirely by donor generosity.  

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) allows teams to travel and compete abroad once every four years to provide student-athletes with an enriching international experience. Trips are taken during a designated academic break, and players are allowed 10 additional practices to prepare for the trip. Each trip is a culmination of four years of preparation and fundraising. These international experiences are funded by generous donors, with funds raised through UNC Athletics giving campaigns, like Building Champions, and other fundraising events and opportunities.  

“This trip was extremely beneficial to our program in so many ways, both on and off the court, and I feel like we’ve made huge progress with this new team,” UNC Men’s Basketball Head Coach Steve Smiley said. “It was not only a fun trip, but it was a crucial trip for the development of our team.”  

Coach Smiley has guided the Bears to four postseason appearances in his first five years as head coach, holding the record for most postseason wins in school history with eight. Last season, Smiley led the Bears to the Big Sky Conference regular season championship and the program’s first-ever appearance in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).  

This year marks Smiley’s 10th season with Bears basketball. He attended previous international trips with the team to Puerto Rico in 2021 and to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, to play in the Paradise Jam exhibition series in 2017, after which the Bears went on to win a program-best 26 games and the Collegeinsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) championship.  

“[International team travel] really helps move a team a little bit ahead of the curve with not only the team and culture but also with the systems,” Smiley said. “I feel like we’re further along because of it. It helped us iron some things out and be a little bit more fine-tuned.”  

While in Lisbon, the Bears played three games in three days against competitively matched home teams. They also held a camp for young local athletes and took in the area’s authentic food and sights.  

“The guys loved it,” Smiley said of the team’s experience. “We learned a ton. It really helped us cover some ground with the new guys, and just the opportunity for the guys to hang out and enjoy each other’s company made a really positive experience and a lot of growth for the team.”  

Both Coach Smiley and the team are keenly aware of the donor support that made trips like this possible.  

“We’re extremely grateful for all the people that provided funds for this over the last four years,” Smiley said. “They really made this happen, otherwise we couldn’t have done it.” 

More Bears Abroad

UNC Volleyball will be traveling to Japan this year, and the fundraising is well underway. While overseas, the team will immerse themselves in the culture, food, people, land — and of course, volleyball, when they get the chance to play against some of the best international teams and take their game to the next level.  

This is the UNC Volleyball team’s fifth international trip. Past trips have taken the team to Italy, Greece, Europe, Nicaragua and China.  

The UNC Women’s Basketball team last traveled to Taiwan in 2019, where they competed in the Buddha’s Light International Association’s (BLIA) Cup Tournament, playing five games during their visit to Kaohsiung.