ESPN is officially diving headfirst into the Bill Belichick era at Chapel Hill. While sports media insiders like Puck’s John Ourand anticipated that the Worldwide Leader would turn the North Carolina head coach into its version of Deion Sanders, this expectation had yet to materialize, mainly because Belichick had just arrived on campus and hadn’t signed until Thursday, January 23. Coincidentally, this date also marked the official announcement of Belichick’s debut as a collegiate head coach. His Tar Heels will kick off their season in primetime, taking on TCU in a standalone game on 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
This move elevates the UNC-TCU matchup to a prime spot ahead of Labor Day, leading into a week that includes Monday Night Football. The game’s scheduling bumps it past a Saturday slate involving Syracuse-Tennessee (Aflac Kickoff), LSU-Clemson, Alabama-Florida State, and Notre Dame-Miami. Clearly, ESPN is giving this game full primetime treatment, solidifying 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, with Fox aggressively featuring the Buffs on Big Noon Kickoff. While some perceived this as excessive, the strategy paid off with strong ratings, and Colorado and Sanders proved worthy of attention in Year 2. Now, Ourand expects ESPN to “run this same playbook, albeit on steroids,” effectively turning Belichick’s debut into a media spectacle in hopes of replicating the same ratings success.
