We’ve kept mum so far, but surely, you’ve gotten an earful from your Carolina friends: here comes Bill Belichick.
And as we all know, it didn’t come cheap. Belichick scored a five-year, $50 million contract – double that of his predecessor Mack Brown.
Still, there had been speculation that Belichick might swap his Carolina blue for another shot at the pros, perhaps not even coaching a single game for the Tar Heels.
Big name? Yes.
Big mistake? Time will tell.
Regardless of what he can or can’t do for Carolina’s football program, it makes you think about the dollars and cents of it all – and how we are quick to jump at the bright, shiny object when it comes to sports while repeatedly failing Carolina’s faculty and staff in funding commitments.
At the Coalition for Carolina, we recently highlighted how the University is plunging in the national rankings of faculty salaries. And of course, it only gets worse when you consider those who are not tenured but still work tirelessly to educate Carolina’s students.
We all love watching Carolina dominate on the field. But we can’t lose sight of what makes our University great, and that’s our top-notch academics.
Belichick’s here. But it’s Carolina’s amazing faculty and staff who could really use the cheerleaders.
P.S. We want to hear from you. What do you think of the Bill Belichick hire and the process that led to it? How do you feel about where Carolina stands on its priorities when it comes to sports versus academic funding? Please hit reply and share your thoughts with us. These conversations are what the Coalition for Carolina is all about.
I am supportive of the hiring of Coach Belichick and believe he will improve the quality of our football program. The football program has not been very successful for over 70 years and could benefit from an experienced and successful coach like Belichick. The future success of the football program will also enhance revenues to the university that provides funds for the other non-revenue sports for both men and women. This recognition will also increase the amount of donations from alumni and general supporters and improve the ability to attract students in the future. The fragility of the ACC is also at stake and could drastically impact UNC if the conference begins to lose participants and be catabolized by the SEC or Big 10.
However, that does not mean that the University can continue to under compensate our professors and teachers. The University should endeavor to improve its salaries ranges and continually encourage the best professors to come to Carolina with competitive salaries. The problem of interference from the GA and the Legislature is more problematic and must be reduced and eliminated. The GA Board should be made-up of a more representative proportion of the student populations of our universities and should not be interfered with by members of the GA, UNC Board or the Legislature.
Nothing more gross than adding another weird, rich, lecherous man to our administrative roster. Maybe he can bring his excellence off the field and date our amazing students as well.
UNC-CH has always been known for academic excellence so it is disappointing to see them spending so much money on an extracurricular activity. While sports are part of any college culture, academics not football has been the driving force attracting quality students and faculty so spending a rediculous amount on a football coach was not needed. As for those that say that football revenues bring in funds for other sports and activities, that has been proven false at multiple schools where football continues to (over)spend to keep and improve its status. Especially with the NIL portal now, spending will continue to grow and grow as college football teams compete to be the best minor league team for the NFL. I really hope that UNC-CH does not get caught up in the craziness and lose some of its luster.