Bill Belichick’s Bold Gamble: Revitalizing UNC Football

Bill Belichick’s arrival at the University of North Carolina has sparked a seismic shift within the Tar Heels’ football program. Known for his unparalleled success in the NFL, Belichick’s move to Chapel Hill has not only captured the attention of the sports world but also initiated a transformative era for the team.

A Surge in NIL Funding

Under Belichick’s leadership, the Tar Heels have witnessed an unprecedented increase in Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) funding. The program’s financial backing skyrocketed from a modest $4 million to an impressive $20 million. This substantial boost in resources has allowed UNC to compete more aggressively in attracting top talent and retaining promising athletes, aligning with the evolving landscape of college sports.

An Influx of Talent

Belichick’s influence extends beyond financial gains. The program has welcomed over 60 new transfers, each bringing fresh energy and potential to the team. This influx of talent is a testament to Belichick’s magnetic appeal and his ability to draw players eager to learn from one of football’s most strategic minds. The new recruits, combined with the existing roster, have created a dynamic and competitive environment that promises to elevate the Tar Heels to new heights.

The Strategic Vision

Belichick’s strategic acumen is evident in his approach to rebuilding the team. By leveraging his extensive experience and keen understanding of the game, he is crafting a blueprint for success that blends seasoned expertise with youthful enthusiasm. His vision is not just about immediate wins but also about establishing a sustainable foundation for long-term success.

A New Era for UNC Football

The changes underway at UNC signal a new era for the Tar Heels. With Belichick at the helm, the program is poised to challenge traditional powerhouses and redefine its place in college football. His presence has already instilled a sense of belief and ambition within the team, inspiring players and fans alike to dream bigger.

Reflecting on the Transformation

As UNC embraces this transformative journey, the broader implications for college football are profound. Belichick’s gamble could serve as a blueprint for other programs seeking to revitalize their fortunes. The combination of increased funding, strategic recruitment, and experienced leadership may well become the new standard for success in collegiate athletics.

In the end, Bill Belichick’s venture into college football is more than just a gamble; it’s a calculated move that could reshape the landscape of the sport. As the Tar Heels continue to evolve under his guidance, the future looks brighter than ever for UNC football.

• Name: Drew Nash
• Position: Quarterback
• College: Western Colorado University 
• Height: 6’2
• Weight: 220 lbs
• Twitter: @DrewNash16
• Instagram: @nashdrew11

What makes you a top prospect at your position in the 2026 NFL Draft?

What makes me a top prospect is my deep understanding of the game and my relentless commitment to preparation. I pride myself on being a student of the game while constantly being in the film room studying defenses, learning tendencies, and staying ahead of the evolving game. I can make every throw on the field from sideline to sideline and I’m confident in my ability to move within the pocket, avoid pressure, and deliver accurate passes. I believe my combination of football IQ, physical tools, and leadership makes me one of the most complete quarterbacks in this draft class.

What is one thing NFL teams should know about you?

NFL teams should know that I’m the hardest workers in any room I step into. Whether it’s film study, lifting, or working on the field, I attack each day with purpose. I hold myself to the highest standard because I know that as a quarterback and a leader, others are watching and I’m here to be the best I can be not only for me but for my team. My goal is to set the tone for any team I’m part of with my work ethic, attention to detail, and consistent commitment to excellence.

If you could donate to one cause in the world, what would it be?

If I could donate to one cause, it would be the fight against world hunger. Everyone deserves access to basic nutrition, yet millions go without it daily due to poverty and inequality. What stands out to me is that we already produce enough food; we just need to distribute it better. Supporting this cause can break cycles of poverty, improve health, and give children the strength to grow and learn. It’s about creating opportunity through something as simple and essential as a meal.

Who was your role model?

My dad is my biggest role model. He’s always been the provider, protector, and leader in our family, and I admire the way he handles responsibility with humility and strength. He’s taught me countless life lessons about hard work, character, and integrity. If I can become half the man he is, I’ll know I’ve done something right.

Who is your favorite NFL team?

My favorite NFL team is the Los Angeles Rams. Being from the LA area, I have fallen in love with watching the offense of Sean McVay. His offense is based on a wide zone run scheme and does a lot of play action off those runs. Coach McVay also loves to move guys around and use motion to create stacks and bunches to create leverage on their passing concepts, to get free releases for his receivers, and to get the matchups that will help them be successful on that play.

Who is the most underrated teammate on your team? 

The most underrated player on our team is Jaydon Young, a redshirt senior defensive end. He’s one of the smartest defenders I’ve played with and understands our system inside and out. Offenses have a real problem when he’s left one-on-one. He’s disruptive, relentless, and sets the tone for our defense. He doesn’t always get the spotlight, but he’s a big reason for our success.

What is your biggest pet peeve?

My biggest pet peeve is when people settle for being average. I believe everyone should push themselves to be the best version of who they can be. There’s always room to grow, and complacency holds people back from greatness. Whether it’s in football or in life, I want to surround myself with people who challenge themselves every day and work to their full potential and not for any reason other than for themselves.

Who is your favorite teacher ever?

My favorite teacher is Coach McMahill at Western Colorado University. He teaches coaching and sport psychology and also coaches wrestling. He’s helped me grow as both a future coach and an athlete by teaching me how to lead, communicate, and better understand the mental side of sports. His lessons have had a big impact on how I prepare and how I want to lead my own teams one day.

Overcoming adversity is what defines character, what was the hardest moment in your life to overcome?

The hardest moment in my life came during my freshman year of high school. I was in a police explorer academy when my best friend was tragically killed in a car accident. It shook me deeply and made it incredibly difficult to stay focused and finish the program. But I knew he would’ve wanted me to keep going, so I pushed through, finished at the top of my class, and gave a speech at graduation in his honor. That experience taught me about perseverance, purpose, and honoring those you love through action.

If you could have any franchise restaurant in your house, what would it be?

I’d choose The Cheesecake Factory. They’ve got a huge variety of food, so I wouldn’t be stuck eating the same thing every day. Whether I’m looking for something clean or something to indulge in after a big game, they’ve got options.

What is your favorite snack food?

Chocolate chip cookies are my go-to. Simple, classic, and always hits the spot.

What is your degree in?

I earned a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Sport Science with an emphasis in Health and Fitness. I also have a minor in Sociology/Criminal Justice and completed a Coaching Certificate. My academic background helps me understand athletic performance from a scientific and social standpoint, which adds value to how I train, lead, and eventually, how I want to coach.

If you could have dinner with three people, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

If I could have dinner with three people, it would be Nick Saban, Tom Brady, and my great-grandpa. I admire Coach Saban’s leadership, discipline, and ability to build championship cultures. Tom Brady represents everything about elite preparation, competitive drive, and mental toughness. I’d love to pick their brains about how they sustained greatness. Lastly, my great-grandpa passed when I was young.  What I remember of him was his unconditional love, but I’ve always been told how hard he worked and about the pride he had in family and values. That dinner would mean a lot—it would bring together greatness, legacy, and lessons for both football and life.

What is your biggest weakness?

I would say my biggest weakness is maybe being too driven on the field, especially when I’m focused on performance and/or solving problems. In life, I tend to put other people first but when it comes to football, I can be very task-driven, and that can make me unintentionally overlook how someone else is feeling. But I have become aware of this and have been working on slowing down, listening better and making sure I’m connecting with my teammates on the field. Leadership isn’t just about pushing people-it’s about understanding them too.  

The landmark antitrust settlement that approved a $2.8 billion payout for ex-NCAA athletes brought out objections from over a dozen groups of former players. Among them are eight women’s players who filed an appeal claiming that the fair share of the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) money was being taken from female athletes.

Former soccer, volleyball, and track players opposed the proposed settlement split, which was set to send up to 90% of the funds to men’s basketball and football players alone. The athletes include Vanderbilt’s Kacie Breeding, Virginia’s Kate Johnson, and College of Charleston’s Lexi Drumm, Emma Appleman, Emmie Wannamacher, Riley Hass, Savannah Baron, and Elizabeth Arnold.

The attorneys who filed on the athletes’ behalf in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals spoke out in defense of their clients and their case. The reasoning for the appeal came down to Title IX violations, which bans gender-based discrimination in schools in the U.S. and legally requires them to provide equitable opportunities to all on campuses.

“We support a settlement of the case, just not an inaccurate one that violates federal law,” the statement told ESPN. “The calculation of damages is based on an error to the tune of 1.1 billion dollars. Paying out the money as proposed would be a massive error that would cause irreparable harm to women’s sports.”

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The attorneys argued that the broadcast rights money would’ve had to be split equitably between men’s and women’s sports if it were being paid out during their college careers in the past under Title IX laws, and he maintains that the same standard should be followed now with the retroactive payments.

“Title IX was deliberately ignored,” they continued. “The parties and court acted like it was already addressed when it clearly was not. Complying with Title IX was a problem in this settlement, so they just chose to ignore it. That can’t stand.”

The appeal won’t halt payments to current NCAA athletes, which are set to begin on July 1. However, former players will have to wait for their share of the back pay until the case works its way through the legal system, which could take months, if not years, in the complex appeals court.

STILLWATER – Two-time NFCA All-Region honoree Melina Wilkison has signed with Oklahoma State Softball, head coach Kenny Gajewski announced today.
 
Wilkison will use her final year of eligibility in Stillwater after playing three years at Ohio State (including a medical redshirt her junior season) and one year at Indiana.
 
Across her four seasons at Ohio State and Indiana, Wilkison boasts a .347 career batting average with a 1.017 OPS in 518 at-bats to go with 134 runs, 36 doubles, 15 triples, 23 home runs and 102 RBI.
 
“Melina is the type of the player that our fans at OSU are going to love,” Gajewski said. “She brings speed, power and a toughness that will resonate in a big way with Oklahoma State fans. She’s had tremendous success at her previous stops, and we’re excited to welcome her to Oklahoma State.”
 
In her most recent season as a Hoosier, Wilkison started all 54 games in center field and batted .326 with a .589 slugging percentage in 175 at-bats. The Greensburg, Ind., native totaled 57 hits – including 11 doubles, seven triples and seven home runs – while driving in 41 runs and coming around to score 45 times.
 
A NFCA All-Region honoree in both of her full seasons at Ohio State, Wilkison enjoyed a breakout sophomore season in 2023 where she also collected first team All-Big Ten honors and was named an Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete. She led the Buckeyes in almost every offensive category – batting average (.373), runs scored (50), hits (66), RBI (44), home runs (11), slugging percentage (.718), on-base percentage (.439) and stolen bases (13) – and pieced together a 39-game on-base streak, the second-longest streak since 2013 in Ohio State history.
 
“I’m beyond excited to be a Cowgirl,” Wilkison said. “I’m so blessed to be able to be a part of this team and compete at the highest level. The Cowgirl name carries weight and tradition, and I can’t wait to get to work in Stillwater.”
 
As a freshman at Ohio State, Wilkison finished with the third-highest batting average on the team (.342) while tallying 34 runs scored, 11 doubles, four home runs and 13 RBI.
 
A graduate of Greensburg High School, Wilkison was named the Most Valuable Player of the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference as a senior after leading the Pirates in nearly every statistical category as a freshman and sophomore.
 
Wilkison is the second Division I transfer to choose Oklahoma State for the upcoming season, joining utility player Jayden Jones (Virginia Tech).
 
For season-long coverage of Oklahoma State Softball, visit okstate.com and follow @CowgirlSB on X and @osusoftball on Instagram.
 

The 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year state winners for boys’ soccer have already been announced. The Selection Committee chose one player from each state and the District of Columbia based on their athletic excellence, academic achievement, and exemplary character. Out of the state winners, the committee will select one national winner. Here are the victors of this prestigious award from each state.

Alabama – Camren Thompson (Forward, Southside High School)
Alaska – Kai Ciambor (Midfielder, Juneau-Douglas High School)
Arizona – Leo Gutierrez (Forward, Salpointe Catholic High School)
Arkansas – Cade Shamblen (Midfielder, Russellville High School)
California – Jake Tatch (Forward, JSerra Catholic High School)
Colorado – Xander Sevian (Forward/Midfielder, Boulder High School)
Connecticut – Preston Alessio (Midfielder/Forward, Taft School)
Delaware – Tyler Cifa (Midfielder, Salesianum School)
District of Columbia – Ivan Hughes (Midfielder/Forward, Gonzaga College High School)
Florida – Logan Hall (Forward, Pembroke Pines Charter High School)
Georgia – Nolan McLure (Midfielder/Forward, River Ridge High School)
Hawaii – Devin Lee (Midfielder, Iolani School)
Idaho – Rylan McPherson (Forward, Rocky Mountain High School)
Illinois – Jaxon Stokes (Forward, Naperville North High School)
Indiana – Calvin Kurzawa (Forward, Cathedral High School)
Iowa – Alexander Poitan-Hernandez (Keeper, Valley High School)
Kansas – Crew Alvarez (Forward, Blue Valley Southwest High School)
Kentucky – Marco Messerli (Forward, Henry Clay High School)
Louisiana – Charlie Mader (Forward, Teurlings Catholic High School)
Maine – Colby Bennett (Forward, Camden Hills Regional High School)
Maryland – Dan Klink (Midfielder/Forward, Loyola Blakefield School)
Massachusetts – Josh Partal (Midfielder, Milton Academy)
Michigan – Alex Rosin (Forward, Adams High School)
Minnesota – Ronan Selbo (Midfielder, Washburn High School)
Mississippi – Aiden Boudro (Forward, Bay High School)
Missouri – Sam Leonard (Forward, Clayton High School)
Montana – Brady Reed (Forward, Hellgate High School)
Nebraska – Jordan Igwenma (Forward, Creighton Prep)
Nevada – Gavin Flickinger (Forward, Coronado High School)
New Hampshire – Otto Bourne (Midfielder, Lebanon High School)
New Jersey – Gianni Rosario (Defender, St. Benedict’s Preparatory School)
New Mexico – Evan Kraenzel (Forward, Centennial High School)
New York – Francis Bonsu (Forward/Midfielder, Millbrook High School)
North Carolina – Sean O’Laughlin (Forward, Holly Springs High School)
North Dakota – Kamden Kooiman (Midfielder/Forward, Legacy High School)
Ohio – Marty McLaughlin (Midfielder, St. Ignatius High School)
Oklahoma – Miguel Madrigal (Forward/Defender, Norman North High School)
Oregon – Vance Sheffield (Forward, La Salle Catholic College Preparatory)
Pennsylvania – Davin Millisock (Midfielder/Forward, Fleetwood Area High School)
Rhode Island – Brent Karpowich (Forward, Bishop Hendricken High School)
South Carolina – Smith Darby (Forward, J.L. Mann Academy)
South Dakota – Brady Stamp (Midfielder, Lincoln High School)
Tennessee – Terrance Reynolds (Midfielder, Ensworth School)
Texas – Mason Kutch (Midfielder, Walnut Grove High School)
Utah – Lewis Knecht (Forward, American Fork High School)
Vermont – Demunga Alfani (Defender/Forward, Colchester High School)
Virginia – Osi Onwudiwe (Midfielder, Episcopal High School)
Washington – Cooper Conley (Forward, Woodinville High School)
West Virginia – Tresz McLeod (Forward/Midfielder, Wheeling Park High School)
Wisconsin – Jimmy Murphy (Forward, Middleton High School)
Wyoming – Orion Ostheimer (Keeper, Buffalo High School)

Returning production is a key aspect in any team’s national championship aspirations. One-and-done schools like Kentucky dominated college basketball; athletes came to college to fulfill the one-year obligation imposed by the NBA. NIL changed that; athletes can stay in college and make more money than what the professional leagues offer now.

With NIL athletes staying and returning, production became an important metric. Bringing back productive players and pairing them with ready-to-play transfer players is the new blueprint for success and championship aspirations. Texas Tech has cornered the market in both of those phases of college basketball team building. Coupling a returning point guard in Christian Anderson and the Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin, Tech paired them with an elite transfer portal class. Production and addition have the Red Raiders in a great position to dominate college hoops in the 2025-26 season.

Big 12 returning scoring by percentage:

Iowa State 49.6%
Houston 49.4%
BYU 47.2%
Arizona 38.6%
Texas Tech 36.6%
Colorado 34.1%
Cincinnati 33.4%
TCU 28.1%
Kansas 16%
Utah 10.7%
Oklahoma State 9%
Kansas State 5.9%
Arizona State 1.7%
Baylor 0%
West Virginia 0%
UCF 0%

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 14, 2025

In a 16-team league, Texas Tech is returning the 8th most scoring production next season. Beyond the scoring metric, they are bringing back key veterans with experience that will matter when they clash with Big 12 basketball powerhouse Houston. The Red Raiders have the unenviable task of facing Houston twice in conference play. Anytime you face a national championship contender, it helps to have battle-tested players. Tech has those players, and with that experience, they can make waves in the Big 12 and wreck brackets in March.

– Enjoy more Texas Tech coverage on Texas Tech On SI –

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