What still felt surreal a few months ago is finally coming to fruition on the football field—Bill Belichick really is coaching the North Carolina Tar Heels this year.
At ACC media days this week, Belichick was unsurprisingly a popular character, with the college football world eager to hear what one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time had to say about his plans for the new gig.
Expectations are understandably high for the Tar Heels—Belichick has so many Super Bowl rings he needs both hands to wear them. But it’s not just football fans who are holding North Carolina to a high standard this year.
ESPN is also clearly betting big on Belichick. According to a report from Front Office Sports, between eight and 10 of the Tar Heels' games this year will be shown on ESPN networks. That includes a special pregame show ahead of Belichick’s collegiate coaching debut on Monday, September 1, vs. TCU. Per FOS, UNC did not appear on ESPN’s flagship network in a single game last year—but the team is already slated for at least two matchups on the worldwide leader in 2025, and will likely get more.
While just a few years ago it might have seemed wild to think of a coach as a ratings draw, a star that shines bright can bring a whole lot of attention, as Deion Sanders has already proven at Colorado. ESPN believes it’s possible that the Tar Heels are this year’s Colorado Buffs.
“We have to wait and see. The potential is there,” ESPN senior director of programming and acquisitions Kurt Dargis told FOS. “There’s definitely interest in him outside the typical college football fan. Deion was such a phenomenon. I still can’t believe some of the numbers we got that first year he was there. It’s too early to say.”
Sanders’s first game as Colorado head coach was also against TCU. He led the Buffs to an impressive 45–42 upset win over the No. 17 Horned Frogs, who had reached the national championship game just a few months earlier.
This year, Belichick will look to recreate a similar debut with the Tar Heels. The sports world will be watching.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ESPN Is Betting Big on Bill Belichick’s UNC Tar Heels Being a Television Hit.
