Bill Belichick will make his official debut as the North Carolina Tar Heels head coach this season, and the expectations are immense.
There’s plenty of buzz around the multi-time Super Bowl champion coach, who ended his NFL coaching career with the New England Patriots two years ago after coaching them and superstar Tom Brady to six championships.
He’ll now attempt to lead a rebuilding Tar Heels football squad to success, something he’s quite familiar with from his time with the Patriots.
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It all begins with a home matchup against the TCU Horned Frogs, who are currently favored to defeat an underdog UNC team in Belichick’s big debut.
And with a debut this large, it’s unsurprising that sports legends, including NBA great Michael Jordan, are expected to attend the big game.
MJ initially rose to fame as a member of the Tar Heels in the early 1980s, before ultimately joining the NBA‘s Chicago Bulls, where he dominated opponents, broke records, and also won six championships.
His legendary professional basketball career extended from 1984 to 2003 and featured him retiring twice and returning. The latter of those returns to the sport he loved was to try to help the Washington Wizards succeed.
After two seasons with the Wizards, MJ officially called it a career in 2003 and went on to pursue other endeavors, including becoming an owner of the Charlotte NBA team.
He is currently a principal owner of the 23XI Racing team, which he co-founded with Denny Hamlin in 2020.
And Jordan is just one of several major sports stars who are either North Carolina alumni or have other connections to the state, reportedly attending tonight’s big game in Chapel Hill.
According to Pete Thamel, soccer superstar Mia Hamm, as well as NFL legends Lawrence Taylor and Julius Peppers, will also attend.
All of these aforementioned athletes attended UNC and represented the Heels in their respective sports.
Attendees expected tonight for Bill Belichick’s UNC debut against TCU, per ESPN sources, include Michael Jordan, Mia Hamm, Lawrence Taylor, Julius Peppers, Eric Church, Chase Rice and Blake Snell. Hard to quantify the buzz here in Chapel Hill. pic.twitter.com/S5Ot6O4BZt
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 1, 2025
As a member of the New York Giants, Taylor became a two-time Super Bowl champion, NFL MVP, and Pro Football Hall of Famer. Before that, he played college football at UNC from 1977 to 1980.
Peppers, also a Pro Football Hall of Famer, spent his college career there from 1998 to 2001.
Hamm, who won two Olympic gold medals and two FIFA Women’s World Cup championships, played her college soccer with North Carolina from 1989 to 1993.
Additionally, singers Eric Church and Chase Rice will reportedly be at the event.
Rice, now successful in the country music genre, previously played linebacker for North Carolina. Church, also successful in the genre, was born in North Carolina and released an album, Carolina, which is certified Platinum by the RIAA.
They’ll be among the many individuals cheering for Belichick to make a splash with an upset win in his UNC debut.
Read more: TCU vs. North Carolina betting odds, prediction: Belichick makes CFB debut
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