Spotted at last night's NCAA championship game in Detroit:

Gov. Beverly Perdue
U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre
UNC President Erskine Bowles
UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp
State Sen. Don Vaughan
Former UNC Board Chairman Jim Phillips
Lobbyist Johnny Tillett
Former Treasurer candidate Michael Weisel 

See any other political types at the game? E-mail dome@newsobserver.com. 

The Barack Obama campaign Wednesday released a list of 50 former North Carolina supporters of John Edwards who are backing the Illinois senator in the May 6th primary.

Rob Christensen reports that the list included Congressmen David Price, and G.K Butterfield, former state House Majoirty leader Phil Baddour of Goldsboro, attorney Wade Byrd of Fayetteville, former state Democratic party chairs Libba Evans and Wade Smith, former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt, former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Henry Frye, and Jim Phillips, the chairman of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors.

"We are going to be in the trenches helping him to do well," said Ed Turlington, a Raleigh attorney who was general chairman of Edwards’ 2004 presidential campaign.

Turlington and state Rep. Pricey Harrison said that Obama shared many of the ideas of Edwards on such issues as fighting poverty, and changing the culture of Washington.

Edwards, a former North Carolina senator who dropped out of the presidential race in January, has suggested that he and his wife Elizabeth were unlikely to endorse.

The late Ben Ruffin, former chairman of the UNC Board of Governors, was honored last night with the University Award, the highest honor given by the university system board.

The posthumous award, which recognizes illustrious service to higher education in North Carolina, was presented to Ruffin's widow, Avon, and daughters, April and Benita, during a banquet at UNC-Chapel Hill, Jane Stancill reports.

Ruffin, a Durham native, civil rights activist, businessman and civic leader, was the first African-American chairman of the UNC board. He died unexpectedly last December at the age of 64.

"His spirit is here today," current Board of Governors Chairman Jim Phillips said this morning at the board's meeting.

Tributes to Ruffin were offered last night by former Gov. Jim Hunt and former N.C. Central University Chancellor Julius Chambers. Earlier this year, a dormitory was named for Ruffin at his alma mater, NCCU.

Ruffin was a special assistant to Hunt and later a vice president at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. He led the UNC board during the successful  2000 campaign for a $3.1 billion bond referendum for campus construction.

He is remembered as an advocate for higher education affordability for North Carolina students.

After weeks of uncomfortable negotiations, Cole Jones, an East Carolina University graduate student, has resigned his position as president of the UNC Association of Student Governments — giving up his seat on the UNC Board of Governors.

Jones was never sworn in to the UNC board because of controversy surrounding his conviction in August of a misdemeanor assault in Craven County. He is appealing and has said the allegation was false. The charge stemmed from a domestic situation involving relatives of his son, Jones has said.

Jones submitted his resignation letter, dated Oct. 8, to UNC President Erskine Bowles and UNC Board of Governors Chairman Jim Phillips, reports Jane Stancill.

Another student will be sworn in Friday. Cody Grasty, a graduate student at Appalachian State University, will take the student seat on the UNC board.

The new student representative elected to the UNC Board of Governors will not take his seat pending the outcome of a criminal matter.

M. Cole Jones, 24, an East Carolina University graduate student and president of the UNC Association of Student Governments, was supposed to be sworn in Friday morning to begin his term on the UNC systemwide board, Jane Stancill reports.

He was found guilty of a misdemeanor assault in Craven County on Aug. 1 and has appealed. Two other related charges have been dropped.

Jones said the charges resulted from a domestic situation involving relatives of his 2-year-old son. "It's all a false allegation," he said Thursday. "I stand by that 100 percent."

The student leader said he has the support of other UNC system student body presidents. His appeal will be heard this month. Then, he said, he plans to be sworn in to the UNC board in October.

UNC Board Chairman Jim Phillips said he agreed with Jones' decision "to try to deal with these matters before he officially takes a seat on the board."

John Edwards is bringing in the big guns for one last push before the second quarter ends.

The former North Carolina senator is calling together some of his biggest supporters, including former Gov. Jim Hunt, Raleigh attorney David Kirby and former UNC-Chapel Hill basketball coach Dean Smith, for one final push to raise money, Rob Christensen reports.

Edwards has scheduled a high dollar fund raiser for Saturday, June 30, at the home of Steve and Louise Coggins, neighbors of his summer homat on Figure 8 Island. The event will cost $2,300 for hosts, $1,000 for sponsors and $500 for patrons.

His campaign raised $14 million in the first quarter, but reportedly may have trouble matching that figure for the second quarter as it seeks to stay competitive with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

A list of the major attendees after the jump.

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