ESPN is officially diving headfirst into the Bill Belichick era at Chapel Hill.
While sports media insiders like Puck’s John Ourand anticipated the Worldwide Leader would turn the North Carolina head coach into its version of Deion Sanders, that hadn’t yet borne fruit. Not for any reason other than his just arriving on campus, but Belichick had yet to put pen to paper until Thursday, January 23.
It’s probably just a coincidence, but Thursday also marked the official announcement of Belichick’s debut as a collegiate head coach. His Tar Heels will kick off their season in primetime, with the UNC vs. TCU game now set for a standalone slot: Monday, September 1, at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Sept. 1. All 👀 on Chapel Hill #GoHeels pic.twitter.com/pGKLFX236T
— Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) January 23, 2025
The move shifts the UNC -TCU matchup to a prime spot ahead of Labor Day and a week before Monday Night Football, bumping it past a Saturday slate that includes Syracuse-Tennessee (Aflac Kickoff), LSU-Clemson, Alabama-Florida State and Notre Dame-Miami.
And if it wasn’t already clear, ESPN is giving this game full primetime treatment — cementing its place in a coveted Monday night slot.
Bill Belichick’s head coaching debut will be at home vs. TCU on Aug. 30.
Other notable ABC/ESPN-controlled games that day:
Syracuse-Tennessee (Aflac Kickoff)
LSU-Clemson
Alabama-Florida State
Notre Dame-Miami*
* = can be flexed to any day Thursday-Monday— Sports TV News & Updates (@TVSportsUpdates) December 11, 2024
Both Fox and ESPN/ABC have spotlighted Colorado under Coach Prime. Fox has been particularly aggressive, frequently showcasing the Buffs for Big Noon Kickoff. While some saw this as overkill, the strategy paid off with strong ratings, and Colorado and Sanders proved worthy of attention in Year 2.
Now, Ourand expects ESPN, which controls most ACC games, to “run this same playbook, albeit on steroids.” This will effectively turn Belichick’s debut into a media spectacle, which they hope can deliver the same ratings success.
