CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) – A longtime favorite establishment in Chapel Hill is being recognized as one of the best “college bars” in America.
The college football staff for The Athletic – a sports journalism publication under the New York Times’ umbrella – voted for He’s Not Here on West Franklin Street as part of its rankings for the top 10 college bars in 2025.
The iconic Chapel Hill bar located near the UNC-Chapel Hill campus first opened its doors in November 1972, garnering its well-known title as the home of the iconic Blue Cup.
“An unforgettable moniker for a place known for Blue Cups — 32 ounces of beer, cider or seltzer at $5 a pop,” The Athletic wrote about the bar. “No liquor, no food, just an enormous outdoor patio teeming with Carolina Blue, popular bands, students, alumni and celebrities.”
The fabled tale behind the “He’s Not Here” name has become quite the legend over the years. As noted in The Athletic report, one popular story involves people repeatedly calling the bar asking for the whereabouts of Michael Jordan. This resulted in a phone call greeting that evolved into “He’s not here,” despite the fact that Jordan didn’t arrive on campus until nearly a decade following the bar’s opening.
However, the actual origin story for the name was that the original owners were both going through divorces in the early days of the business, and they would utter that frequent phrase whenever their spouses called.
The publication described this list as historic bars that cater to a wide range of ages and offer more than cheap drinks and sticky tables.
“The point of doing a list of the 10 best college bars is to give the reader a guide of places to check out if he or she ends up in one of these college towns,” The Athletic report notes. “It is not to identify the places in those towns that pack in the most college students.”
“These are the places the college kids can bring their parents, grandparents and younger siblings,” The publication added. “These are the places they pop in for a drink before standing in line to cram into a meat market with 500 other kids and try to talk over thumping bass that leaves them with headaches. These are the places they hit the next morning to nurse the headaches.”
Another establishment in the Carolinas found itself on the list, with The Esso Club near the campus of Clemson University, a fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member.
See the full list of college bars below:
Top 10 college bars in 2025, according to The Athletic
| Ranking | Bar | Location | School |
| 1. | The Airliner | Iowa City, IA | University of Iowa |
| 2. | The Boot | New Orleans, LA | Tulane University |
| 3. | Crunchy’s | East Lansing, MI | Michigan State University |
| 4. | The Esso Club | Clemson, SC | Clemson University |
| 5. | He’s Not Here | Chapel Hill, NC | University of North Carolina |
| 6. | Jack and Dan’s | Spokane, WA | Gonzaga University |
| 7. | The Library | Oxford, MS | University of Mississippi |
| 8. | Linebacker Lounge | South Bend, IN | University of Notre Dame |
| 9. | Nick’s English Hut | Bloomington, IN | Indiana University |
| 10. | Wando’s | Madison, WI | University of Wisconsin |