CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Details are murky, but local legend is that former Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden was the first to label the University of North Carolina a “sleeping giant,” in the 1980s or early 1990s.
The phrase has since become a punchline for UNC, which hasn’t won an ACC football title since 1980, let alone compete for a national championship.
“That’s what Duke and N.C. State fans mock Carolina with,” said Adam Smith, a reporter for the website Inside Carolina. “ ‘Oh yeah, they’re a sleeping giant — haven’t woke up yet!’ ”
Rise and shine, UNC. It’s finally your moment.
For the first time in, maybe, ever, the UNC football season isn’t just something to pass the time until basketball season.
There’s a reason that annual giving to the Rams Club reached an all-time high in 2024-25. Why UNC’s season tickets sold out by May. Why Hulu has invested in a season-long documentary into the team. Why Chapel Hill bars expect to double their business this fall. And why the Tar Heels, 6-7 last season and unranked to start 2025, are opening their season as ESPN’s national broadcast Monday night against Texas Christian, also unranked.
It has little to do with the players in helmets and shoulder pads. Instead, it traces to a certain 73-year-old coach with eight Super Bowl rings, six of them from his time with the Patriots.
“There’s so much excitement and attention on Carolina football, and that’s obviously because of Bill Belichick being here,” said Rick Barakat, chief revenue officer of Carolina Athletics. “All of it is anticipation and excitement that is building up to a fever pitch.”
Big business
Fired by the Patriots after the 2023 season, and snubbed by the NFL the last two years, Belichick signed a five-year, $50 million deal with UNC in December.
Belichick’s impact was immediate. Carolina Athletics officials can’t remember the last time season tickets sold out, but this year it happened on May 22. UNC has added hospitality suites, and sold those out by July. Football ticket revenue is projected to climb from $12 million last year to $19 million.
The Rams Club reported record membership and a 37 percent increase in giving. The biggest concern this year for UNC’s stadium operations is that the stands might be full for the entire four quarters.
“We have to be prepared for a sold-out stadium every game, ensure that food and beverage, merchandise sales are ready to go,” Barakat said.
Carolina officials are bracing for a season of prime-time kickoffs, national TV, and, they hope, the first-ever arrival of ESPN’s “College GameDay” when Clemson visits on Oct. 4.
UNC received 183 media requests for Monday’s game against TCU, and can accommodate about 100.
“We think we’re going to have a huge television number right out of the chute that may exceed our combined television numbers from all of last year,” Barakat said.
All of which present new opportunities. The field will now be brandished with sponsor logos. A corporate jersey patch is likely coming soon. UNC is exploring how to sell naming rights to Chris Smith Field at Kenan Stadium while keeping the family names.
“We’ve historically been on the more conservative side of sponsorship,” Barakat said. “Over time we’re going to be looking at every piece and part of the sponsorship wheel to make sure we’re maximizing the opportunity.”
Big excitement
When pulling off the interstate into Chapel Hill, the first sign you see on Highway 54 reads, “Nantucket Grill welcomes a fellow Nantucketer — Bill Belichick.” The university bookstore, and stores up and down Franklin Street, are stocked with “Chapel Bill” T-shirts, hats, and cut-off hoodies.
“Chapel Hill’s been great,” Belichick said. “It’s nice to feel welcome.”
Whereas pregame tailgating has often been spread across the town and campus, Carolina officials are turning the school’s main, scenic quad into a “Chapel Thrill” tailgating scene with a beer garden and pregame concert series. They are hoping that “College GameDay” will be enticed by the new centralized setting.
Zachary Yukio Kerr, an associate professor in the department of exercise and sport science, said his colleagues plan to come to campus even if they don’t have tickets to the game.
“In my department, they’re using it as a pivot to get people to do community building, which is a cool thing,” he said.
Fleming Fuller, a second-generation UNC graduate and manager at local watering hole He’s Not Here, is expecting a big boost in business.
“We’re planning for revenue to be double what we’ve seen in previous years,” Fuller said. “Say it’s a 3 p.m. game and the rush usually comes at 1. I think it’ll be at 11 a.m.”
Belichick helped drum up school spirit this spring by delivering pizzas to fraternities and sororities. Barakat said Belichick has been engaged in forming UNC’s new game-day experience.
“I’ve been pretty taken aback, not knowing him, just the attention to detail across the board,” Barakat said. “Everything from music to in-game entertainment to the pregame, Coach is really helping us with the marketing and promotion with that. He’s not just a football coach, he believes in the entire experience, not only for the athletes, but for the fans, donors, sponsors.”
Revenue stream
Carolina Athletics is an NCAA powerhouse, supporting 28 programs, boasting 52 national titles, and generating $190 million in revenue in 2023, according to CNBC. Its six-time champion men’s basketball program is world famous, thanks to alums such as Michael Jordan and Vince Carter.
But a blue-chip football program has remained elusive. The basketball team, despite its success, doesn’t drive revenue the way football does. Ohio State, by comparison, generated $280 million in 2023. And the college landscape has changed drastically in recent years. In 2025-26, schools will be allowed to spend up to $20.5 million on direct payments to players.
“I think every school out there today wants to be a football school,” Barakat said, “because you need to be.”
The arrangement is transparently transactional. UNC wants more revenue and a higher profile. Belichick wants to coach with near-total control.
As Belichick would say, it is what it is.
“If we didn’t do it, no one’s going to pat us on the back and say we’re taking the high ground,” Fuller said. “We offered a pretty solid opportunity, we have the backing and national recognition, and it gives him an opportunity to throw a middle finger at the NFL.”
Yes, the tabloid drama involving Belichick’s relationship with partner Jordon Hudson only adds to the intrigue.
“Hey, it’s that TMZ mentality — any attention is good,” Fuller said.
Stamp on the program
In exchange for bringing extra attention and revenue to UNC, Belichick got three years and $30 million fully guaranteed, and about as close to full control over the football operation as can be had.
That means hiring several of his former reports from the Patriots, such as general manager Mike Lombardi, linebackers coach Jamie Collins, director of sports performance Moses Cabrera, and Belichick’s sons, Steve and Brian, the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach.
“Just more direct vision,” Belichick said, comparing his UNC staff to his last few years in New England. “I don’t think it matters how many people you have, as long as the vision is the same. It’s hard to satisfy multiple visions.”
Belichick’s vision has been implemented across the football program. That means skipping radio row at ACC Media Days, and handing off the weekly in-season coach’s show to Lombardi. Previous UNC coach Mack Brown gave reporters free reign to watch full practices from the sidelines and go anywhere they wanted in the football facility. Belichick now allows reporters to watch 15 minutes of practice from the far corner. Security guards ensure media don’t peer through the windows, and the facility now has retina scanners to get inside.
It’s also harder for the public to run stairs at Kenan Stadium, with most of the sections now padlocked. When asked what he noticed the most about the football program, Kerr said, “There’s more fences.”
Belichick had natural grass installed at Kenan Stadium, which is better for the players. But it also means the public can’t go on to the field anymore. Brown would let fans play catch and take pictures pretty much any time it wasn’t being used.
“I hope we don’t lose our soul,” Kerr said. “I think that’s the biggest concern — we’re losing our soul for money.”
There’s also the question of whether Carolina Athletics should spend $30 million on a coach at a time when the university has to slash $70 million from its budget over the next three years. But the hope is that more football attention begets more money for everyone.
“It’s a struggle when outside funding sources are providing money to athletics, and people are saying that should really go to academics,” Kerr said. “You hope it’s a symbiotic relationship, where when more attention is given, you’re going to have more resources provided.”
Great expectations
Of course, there’s one large question to be answered — will this work? College football is not the NFL. The X’s and O’s are different. The players aren’t nearly as talented or engaged. Players have to go to class (stop laughing), and they get distracted by things 19-year-olds get distracted by.
Some fans seem to understand that Belichick isn’t a miracle worker. It’s still a team that went 6-7 last year, and has 70 new players from a year ago.
“I don’t want to jump on that train too fast, because I’ve seen some not great seasons in the past,” said Jacob Edmonds, a senior statistics major from Mount Airy, N.C. who wore a “Chapel Bill” T-shirt.
But a winning record and a bowl game are still baseline achievements.
“If we’re 8-4 and beat State and Duke? I’m over the moon,” Fuller said. “If we’re 6-6 and beat State, I’m still pretty freaking happy.”
But this being college sports, a healthy portion of fans have immediate expectations.
“I called him ‘Football Yoda’ the other day,” said Smith of Inside Carolina. “There’s this belief that, ‘We’ve got Belichick, he’ll figure it out. He’s smarter than everyone, they’ll just stay up all night watching film.’ ”
If the Belichick effect is real, and the big donations combine with his big persona to turn UNC into a football destination, it’s not unrealistic for the Tar Heels to compete for an ACC title and spot in the national playoffs in 2026.
Good or bad, Chapel Bill will dominate the conversation this fall.
“For me, it’s the most fascinating subject all season long, and it doesn’t matter if they win or not,” said Adam Gold, midday host on 99.9 FM The Fan in Raleigh. “I think this will be the single-most attention ever paid to a college football program where it doesn’t matter if they’re good or not. I would argue if they’re not good, it might garner more attention.”
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com.