The GAME is over – Duke wins on a long 3-pointer at the buzzer in the Dean Dome.

But a much more important game continues off the court – and in that contest Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill are partners.

The two schools took the opportunity of the international media attention focused on Wednesday night’s college basketball showdown to publicize how they are collaborating off the court.

“In the Game of Life, when the opponents in your tournament bracket include the greatest problems of our time, it takes strategy and teamwork to seek solutions,” says a blog post at UNC.

“And while UNC and Duke are rivals on the basketball court, the two schools’ faculty, staff and students often join forces to take on pressing global, national and local issues and challenges.This Tar Heel/Blue Devil “dream team” has great offense and defense, a strong roster, and it plays well both at home and on the road, as you can see in the [accompanying] graphic.

“Bottom line: Even if they don’t take the champion’s crown in this year’s Game of Life tournament, the Tar Heel/Blue Devil ‘dream team’ is a strong contender and will have a major influence on the outcome.

“However, this formidable alliance is sometimes put on hold: come tip off at the big UNC vs. Duke basketball game on Feb. 8, we’re pretty sure which shades of blue our respective students, faculty and staff will be wearing,” UNC said.

Game’s over.

Back to changing the world.

Here’s a list of collaborative projects:

  • Energy Frontier Research Center
  • Solar fuels: Leaving the wood for the trees
  • Shared Tables
  • The Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies
  • The Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations
  • Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center
  • Renaissance Computing Institute
  • Building New Newspaper Business Models
  • Grant to fund UNC journalism partnership with N.C. newspapers to create new business models around hyper-local news
  • DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy
  • The Robertson Scholars Program
  • Kenan-Biddle Partnership awards grants to enhance UNC-Duke collaborations

For more details and a large version of the partnership graphic, read here.

Get the latest news alerts: Follow WRAL Tech Wire at Twitter.