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Afternoon Edition

December 12, 2024

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North Carolina’s stunning hire of Bill Belichick shocked the sports world Wednesday night. The legendary coach wasted no time, holding his first press conference Thursday afternoon. He did not mince words about his ambitions and commitment. How much has UNC changed to take advantage of Belichick’s arrival, and what sort of job is he taking on?

— David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], and Colin Salao [[link removed]]

Belichick Makes UNC Intentions Clear: ‘I Didn’t Come Here to Leave’ [[link removed]]

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Bill Belichick was formally introduced as North Carolina’s new football coach Thursday afternoon, and the six-time Super Bowl–winning head coach made his intentions for the job clear.

“I didn’t come here to leave,” he told the media gathered in Chapel Hill less than 24 hours after his surprising move to college became official [[link removed]].

Belichick was asked whether he would consider returning to the NFL if he had success coaching in college—something he called a “dream come true.” Still, Belichick admitted transitioning from the professional ranks wasn’t initially on his mind. “College kind of came to me this year,” he said. “I didn’t necessarily go and seek it out.”

But despite already spending nearly 50 years in football, Belichick, who will turn 73 before next season begins, reiterated he still loves coaching. “I feel like doing it for a long time,” he said. UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham said Belichick is an “absolute perfect fit for us at this time.”

Game Time

Belichick said Cunningham and UNC chancellor Lee Roberts “made a great commitment” to the football program. His contract is for five years, reported to be worth $10 million annually [[link removed]], and UNC’s yearly NIL (name, image, and likeness) budget is said to be increasing from $4 million to $20 million, according to multiple reports.

UNC run game coordinator and tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens, who was already set to lead the Tar Heels as interim head coach in the Fenway Bowl against UConn on Dec. 28, will also be the first hire of Belichick’s new staff, which Belichick said will have “a strong presence of NFL people.” Kitchens has coached for four NFL teams, including one year as the Browns head coach. Belichick’s son, Steve, who coached under his father in New England, was Washington’s defensive coordinator this season.

Belichick touted the abilities of Michael Lombardi, who he has worked with in the NFL, and is becoming UNC football’s GM. “He has a great knowledge of the general manager role in this type of position … as well as dealing with some version of the salary cap,” Belichick said.

The Belichick Effect

At UNC, Belichick has a chance to have a Deion Sanders–like impact on the program off the field, too.

In 2024, UNC’s average home game attendance of 47,686 [[link removed]] ranked 47th among FBS teams and eighth in the 17-team ACC. Kenan Memorial Stadium has a capacity of 50,500.

Season tickets did not sell out this year as they did in 2023—although it is unclear how many UNC made available. Last season, the Tar Heels nearly averaged a sellout, drawing 50,095 fans per game.

On TV, only one of UNC’s games this season drew more than one million viewers [[link removed]]—the season opener against Minnesota, which had an audience of 1.83 million on Fox. The Tar Heels were not sought after by networks this season. No games appeared on ESPN—the ACC’s primary network partner—with just two ending up on ESPN2, three on The CW, and five on ACC Network, which is not Nielsen-rated.

Army-Navy Is Always Big. This Year’s Game Holds Special Significance [[link removed]]

Danny Wild-Imagn Images

The annual Army-Navy game has always been a special outlier in the world of college football, but this year’s edition is carrying quite a bit more competitive juice—for not only the two military academies but also broadcaster CBS Sports and the entirety of college football.

The 125th edition of what is colloquially known as America’s Game, set for Saturday afternoon at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., will mark the first meeting in seven years with each holding winning records, and both programs are also bowl-bound. The on-field success defining this year’s game, however, goes much further.

Army is currently ranked No. 19 nationally, its highest placement since 2018. The 11–1 Black Knights were previously in the mix for a slot in the College Football Playoff, and their only loss this year is to Notre Dame, the CFP’s No. 7 seed. Navy, meanwhile, carries an 8–3 record and also is still finding a way to compete strongly in a sport rapidly being transformed by unprecedented financial scale and ambition.

Both Army and Navy, as military academies, do not allow their players to accept NIL (name, image, and likeness) money [[link removed]], nor do they participate in the transfer portal. While Army is headed to the Dec. 28 Independence Bowl against Marshall, and Navy will face Oklahoma in the Dec. 27 Armed Forces Bowl, the upcoming rivalry game arguably means more, and it’s the single-biggest revenue driver for each football program.

“It’s a game and a season really all of its own,” said Army coach Jeff Monken. “We’ve had a good year. You make it a great year by winning this game.”

Media Matters

The Army-Navy game has averaged more than seven million viewers over the past decade, a figure that compares favorably to some recent title games in major conferences [[link removed]]. Part of that robust standing owes to the contest typically holding an unchallenged slot on the college football calendar after most other conferences finish their regular-season schedules. The heightened national standing for both teams could further fuel an even higher figure for this year.

CBS Sports, which has exclusively shown the Army-Navy game since 1996, this week completed a 10-year rights extension that will continue the deal through at least 2038.

“America’s Game is special, and has always been about more than football,” said CBS Sports president and CEO David Berson.

Plenty of Pageantry

Saturday’s event, meanwhile, has been preceded by a full week of ancillary events, including a fan fest and a football camp for military children with former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III, the son of two Army sergeants [[link removed]]. President-elect Donald Trump, meanwhile, is scheduled to attend the game.

“Given all the changes that have happened [in college football] this year, the fact that Army and Navy had such a significant and positive performance this year, it gives us a really good feeling on how both teams, and academy athletics broadly, can remain relevant in however college sports shapes up to be,” USAA chief marketing officer Francesco Lagutaine tells Front Office Sports. The financial services company is the presenting sponsor of the Army-Navy game.

The ticket resale market for the game is hovering around $200 each for low-end, get-in seats. That figure is more than twice the comparable level for the upcoming Armed Forces Bowl, and more than 10 times the level for the Independence Bowl.

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NBA Cup Schedule May Benefit Losing Teams, League Exec Defends Format [[link removed]]

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

In its debut season, the NBA needed to educate fans, teams, and players about the NBA Cup’s tournament’s format and purpose. There were ups and downs, but a viewership bump [[link removed]] and buy-in from players enamored with the $500,000 grand prize silenced some of the doubts in Year 1.

The league has made tweaks entering Year 2, such as scheduling both semifinal games for the same day to give finalists equal rest entering the finals. But a new wrinkle makes the tournament arguably more valuable for teams not qualifying for the Final Four in Las Vegas.

A Potential Schedule Issue

The NBA Cup quarterfinals and semifinals count as two games on each team’s 82-game schedule. Teams that don’t qualify have two games finalized after group play. But on the four days of the knockout rounds, only the NBA Cup games are scheduled.

While teams that miss the knockout rounds may not win any money—players from the quarterfinals’ losing teams still take home about $50,000—most will play only two games between Dec. 8 and Dec. 19. Additionally, their two games are, generally, chosen from a weaker pool given the teams that qualify for the NBA Cup knockout rounds tend to be stronger teams. This year, all eight quarterfinalists are above .500.

The Ringer’s Kirk Goldsberry said Wednesday on The Bill Simmons Podcast that a Western Conference executive told him he’d rather his team have “time off” [[link removed]] and play “lesser opponents” than compete in Vegas.

The League’s Perspective

Evan Wasch, the NBA’s executive vice president for basketball strategy and analytics, told Front Office Sports that the league discussed the schedule with all stakeholders, who agreed this was the best format. He said teams that lose in the quarterfinals and semifinals will also have breaks of three to five days following their NBA Cup games—with two exceptions.

“We don’t really think there’s a key differentiator in terms of the rest benefit of advancing or not advancing. The only difference is for the two teams that do make the championship. But at that point, the sense was that you’re playing for the Cup, for that incremental money, and that’s a trade-off that was viewed as a strong net positive,” Wasch said.

The two eventual finalists will play a game that will not be included in their regular-season count—meaning each will play 83 games. Last season, the Lakers [[link removed]] and Pacers [[link removed]], the two finalists, won just one of their next five regular-season games after the tournament. “Oh my god, I’m tired,” Lakers star LeBron James said while icing his knees in the locker room after the tournament, a moment featured on the Netflix series Starting 5 [[link removed]].

While Wasch seemed confident in the current schedule and incentives of the NBA Cup, he didn’t rule out the possibility of changes coming in the future.

“We’re constantly evaluating and assessing the tournament. Because there’s always going to be unexpected outcomes and things that we learn each year, we’re very open to considering tweaks and format changes, big and small,” Wasch told FOS.

NIL WATCH Three-Stripe Hunter

Adidas

Front Office Sports keeps you updated on the latest NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals shaping college sports. Here’s who is cashing in now:

Athlete: Travis Hunter Sport: Football School: Colorado Brand: Adidas

The deal: The hybrid position player, a Heisman Trophy finalist who plays wide receiver and cornerback, is signing with the Germany-based brand. He joins Miami quarterback Cam Ward, who signed an NIL deal with Adidas in the fall. Adidas dropped a limited-edition apparel collection for Hunter on Thursday.

Hunter’s deal comes even though the Buffaloes are sponsored by Nike, similar to how top NCAA men’s basketball prospect Cooper Flagg signed with New Balance [[link removed]] despite Duke’s deal with the Swoosh.

Hunter is active on social media and has nearly 450,000 YouTube subscribers. He is also widely expected to be a top-five selection in the 2025 NFL Draft.

STATUS REPORT Two Up, One Down

Christopher Gooley-Imagn Images

West Virginia ⬆ North Carolina isn’t the only school making a big coaching hire this week. The Mountaineers have brought back Rich Rodriguez, who had a 60–26 record between 2001 and 2007 and led WVU to the 2006 Sugar and 2008 Fiesta bowls. Rodriguez has held head coaching positions at Michigan, Arizona, and Jacksonville State since then. The fan and alumni base appears to be mostly excited (despite an ugly breakup that included a lawsuit and got the governor involved)—Pat McAfee is taking his daily sports talk show to Morgantown [[link removed]] on Friday to celebrate.

Duke ⬆ Just three days after the Blue Devils lost quarterback Maalik Murphy [[link removed]], who threw for a school-record 26 touchdowns this season, to the transfer portal, the program landed former Tulane signal-caller Darian Mensah. The freshman is one of the top quarterbacks on the move this year.

Chiefs ⬇ Patrick Mahomes is not excited about Kansas City’s upcoming stretch of playing three games in 11 days. “It’s not a good feeling,” the quarterback said [[link removed]]. “You never want to play this amount of games in this short of time. It’s not great for your body.” The Chiefs play the Browns on Sunday, host the Steelers on Saturday, Dec. 21, and then play at the Texans the following Wednesday, Christmas Day.

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Have No Fear: The Mushrooms Are Here

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Try [[link removed]] the new Mushroom Bacon Cheeseburger with a Dr Pepper today.

Conversation Starters Nike Golf released ads to announce Nelly Korda and Scottie Scheffler as its Players of the Year. Take a look [[link removed]]. Juan Soto’s $765 million contract with the Mets includes several interesting perks [[link removed]], like wearing the No. 22 jersey and a luxury suite at Citi Field, according to the New York Post. Zach Leonsis, president of media and new enterprises at Monumental Sports & Entertainment, joined The FOS Interview to discuss the future of sports in D.C. Watch it here [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks YouTube TV Jacks Up Prices Again Before NFL Playoffs [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]The Google product has more than doubled in price over seven years. Tom Brady to Have ‘Huge’ Impact on Raiders, Says Mark Davis [[link removed]]by A.J. Perez [[link removed]]“His role is undefined right now,” Davis said of Brady. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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