Question: Where is North Carolina located in the United States?

Context paragraphs:
Conference USA: Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States.  The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports.  C-USA's offices are located in the Las Colinas business district of the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

North Carolina Biotechnology Center: The North Carolina Biotechnology Center is a private, non-profit organization located in Research Triangle Park (North Carolina, United States).  Founded in 1984 by the North Carolina General Assembly, it was the first state-sponsored biotechnology initiative in the United States, merging the interests of the academic private and public sectors.  The North Carolina Biotechnology Center's mission is to provide long-term economic and societal benefits to North Carolina through support of biotechnology research, business, education and strategic policy.  It receives nearly all of its funding from the North Carolina General Assembly.

Frank I. Osborne: Francis "Frank" Irwin Osborne (1853–1920) was the Attorney General of North Carolina from 1893 to 1896.  Osborne was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and attended the University of Virginia before reading law for 2 years in the offices of Richmond Mumford Pearson, Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.  Osborne was admitted to the North Carolina Bar in 1875.  At age 25, he was elected mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina and served in the office from 1879-1880.  He was elected Attorney General of North Carolina in 1893, but, defeated for reelection to the same office in 1896.  Osborne served a term as a state senator from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina in the North Carolina General Assembly from 1898-1899.  He served on 9 standing Senate Committees.  After 1899, Osborne resumed his legal practice at the law firm of Osborne, Maxwell & Kearn.  Though, himself, a Democrat, in 1901 Osborne defended both North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice David M. Furches and North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert Martin Douglas during their impeachment hearings.  Osborne was of the opinion that the Republican judges’ impeachments were unwarranted and an attempted political purge.  Osborne’s brilliant speech before the North Carolina General Assembly in closing defense of the justices caused both to be acquitted.  As reward for his successful defense of the justices, Theodore Roosevelt in the same year appointed Osborne an associate justice of the United States Court of Private Land Claims.

Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations, S.A. v. Brown: Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations, S. A. v. Brown, 564 U.S. 915 (2011) , was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the connection between Goodyear and its subsidiaries with the state of North Carolina was not strong enough to establish general personal jurisdiction over the companies.  Two 13-year-old boys from North Carolina died as a result of a bus accident outside of Paris.  The parents of the boys believed the accident was due to a defective tire manufactured by a foreign subsidiary of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and sued for damages in a North Carolina state court.  The foreign subsidiaries asserted that the North Carolina courts lacked jurisdiction over them and moved to dismiss.  The North Carolina trial court denied the motion and the North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed.  The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the foreign subsidiaries lacked a significant connection to North Carolina to warrant general personal jurisdiction.

Oak Island (North Carolina): Oak Island is on the Atlantic Ocean coast in Brunswick County, North Carolina located just north of the South Carolina border.  A barrier island, it contains the towns of Oak Island and Caswell Beach, Fort Caswell (since 1949 home to the North Carolina Baptist Assembly) and a United States Coast Guard station co-located with the Oak Island Lighthouse.  Roughly 12 miles long, the island averages about one mile wide, Approximately 7000 people live on it year-round, a number which can balloon to over 40,000 during the summer.

Woodrow W. Jones: Woodrow Wilson Jones (January 26, 1914 in Green Hill, North Carolina – November 25, 2002 in Rutherfordton, North Carolina) was a United States Representative and a federal judge from North Carolina.  He was born in Green Hill Township, Rutherford County, North Carolina and attended the public schools of Rutherford County.  He graduated from Mars Hill College in Mars Hill, NC in 1934 and graduated from Wake Forest University Law School, Wake Forest, North Carolina, in 1937.  After being admitted to the bar, Jones practiced law and served as city attorney for Rutherfordton from 1940 to 1943 and was a prosecuting attorney of Rutherford County, in the Recorder’s Court, from 1941 to 1943.  After returning from three years in the United States Navy during World War II, he was elected as a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1946 and served two years.

2012–13 Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team: The 2012–13 Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Charlotte during the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.  The 49ers, led by head coach Alan Major, played their home games at the Dale F. Halton Arena and were members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.  This was their final year in the Atlantic 10 Conference as they move to Conference USA in 2014.  They finished the season 21–12, 8–8 in A-10 play to finish in a three way tie for eighth place.  They lost in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament to Saint Louis.  They were invited to the 2013 NIT where they lost in the first round to Providence.

Culture of North Carolina: The Culture of North Carolina is a subculture in the United States.  As a coastal state, North Carolina culture has been greatly influenced by the southeastern United States and early settlers from England.  More recently, North Carolina has a seen an influx of immigrants from New England as well as Hispanic immigrants.  Many of these recent transplants aggregate in one of several urban centers on cat Carolina, such as the Research Triangle Park area.  Rural North Carolina has a rich culture with roots in colonial and Confederate times.  Agriculture is a major component of the economy in rural North Carolina, and thus many local traditions are centered on the lifestyles associated with farming.  Some of these traditions are reflected in pop culture in North Carolina, for instance North Carolinians may refer to the state as "the Tar Heel state".  This is a point of pride for some local North Carolinians.

Francis Osborne (North Carolina politician): Francis “Frank” Osborne (1853-1920) was the Attorney General of North Carolina from 1893-1896.  Osborne was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and attended the University of Virginia before reading law for 2 years in the offices of Richmond Mumford Pearson, Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.  Osborne was admitted to the North Carolina Bar in 1875.  At age 25, he was elected mayor of the city of Charlotte.  He was elected Attorney General of North Carolina in 1893, but, defeated for reelection to the same office in 1896.  Osborne served a term as a State Senator from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina in the North Carolina General Assembly from 1898-1899.  He served on 9 standing Senate Committees.  After 1899, Osborne resumed his legal practice at the law firm of Osborne, Maxwell & Kearn.  Though, himself, a Democrat, in 1901 Osborne defended both North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice David M. Furches and North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert Martin Douglas during their impeachment hearings.  Osborne was of the opinion that the Republican judges’ impeachments were unwarranted and an attempted political purge.  Osborne’s brilliant speech before the North Carolina General Assembly in closing defense of the justices caused both to be acquitted.  As reward for his successful defense of the justices, Theodore Roosevelt upon assuming office as President of the United States appointed Osborne a United States District Judge.

Ray's Splash Planet: Ray's Splash Planet (often referred to as Ray's) is a Mecklenburg County, North Carolina funded water park located in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States.  The aquatic facility is operated by the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation department.  Ray's Splash Planet is considered one of the largest indoor water parks in both of the Carolinas and is the largest water park in Charlotte, North Carolina, with over 29,000 square feet of space and using over 117,000 gallons of water at 87 degrees.  The water is cleaned and sanitized through the use of chlorine, filtration and an ultraviolet germicidal irradiation system.  There are multiple attractions including the Blue Comet, a three story figure 8 slide, and other family friendly attractions like the Orbiter, Saturation Station, the Vortex, Meteor Showers, Moon Beach and the Sea of Tranquility.  The water park also features a fitness center and gymnasium shared with the Irwin Academic Center, an educational center of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools system.  The first floor of the facility includes the pool area, locker rooms, birthday party classrooms and concessions stand.  The second story includes the fitness center with an aerobics/dance studio.  Access to the indoor gymnasium is also located on the second floor.  Ray's Splash Planet is located on North Sycamore Street near Johnson & Wales University and is just off Interstate 77 in North Carolina in the Third Ward section of Uptown Charlotte.  The water park opened on October 15, 2002 with help from Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation's partnership with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.  Major competitors are Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina, Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, North Carolina and Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Supporting paragraphs: 2012–13 Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team Conference USA
Answer: within the Southern United States