1888 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

The 1888 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina in the 1888 college football season. They played four games with a final record of 1–3. This was the first season the University fielded a football team. The team captains for the 1888 season were Bob Bingham and Steve Bragaw. The game against Wake Forest was the first in the state, and the first against Trinity the first "scientific" game in the state. Ergo, one or the other is the first intercollegiate game in North Carolina. Princeton star Hector Cowan traveled south and trained the team.