UNC envisions student tailgates, on-campus beer garden as Belichick debut nears
As Bill Belichick’s on-field debut as the head coach of UNC football nears, university and athletic officials are taking steps to enhance the game day experience for fans and students — and generate lots of revenue in the process.
Among the proposals being considered are adding a concert series, accompanied by a beer garden and student tailgates, at the heart of campus ahead of games this fall. That’s according to Rick Barakat, chief revenue officer for the athletic department, who spoke to the university’s Board of Trustees on Wednesday as part of a larger presentation on UNC athletics.
The concert, garden and tailgates would ideally be set up in front of Wilson Library on Polk Place, Barakat said. Athletic officials and staff in Chancellor Lee Roberts’ office are attempting to make the plan a reality, gathering permits and other “necessary approvals” ahead of the season kicking off this fall, he said.
The proposal, if it comes to fruition, would mark the first time that the university has offered officially sanctioned student tailgates, Barakat said. Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham added that Vice Chancellor Amy Johnson, who oversees student affairs, and her office have played a key role in the planning process.
“Trying to do a student tailgate is not something that every school is anxious to do,” Cunningham said.
Barakat estimated the additions could “hopefully” bring more than 3,000 students to the campus quad on game days and build off the “positive momentum” that has been generated among fans over the past few years by a similar block-party style event at the university’s Bell Tower. Additional tailgating sites under the new proposal could spread north on Polk Place to South Building, which houses the chancellor’s office.
“Ideally, that whole run is full on game day, very populated, boisterous concert going on, food trucks, beer garden all night,” Barakat said. “So hopefully we can pull that off.”
If officials are not able to obtain the necessary permits and approvals to host the events on Polk Place, they will continue to host it at the Bell Tower, Barakat said.
Aside from generating a positive experience for fans, though, the tailgating proposals have a more significant purpose: bringing in additional revenue as the landscape of college athletics continues to change at a rapid rate.
To further that goal, UNC is also looking to add a commercial sponsor to the longstanding Kenan Stadium, taking a page from other universities including NC State.
Looking for revenue ahead of House settlement
Among other significant changes to athletics, universities and athletic departments are awaiting the final ruling on the House settlement, a class action lawsuit brought against the NCAA.
Part of the settlement would implement new roster sizes for teams participating in revenue sharing. Cunningham said Wednesday that UNC expects to field 735 athletes under the settlement, down from its current total of 850. But the university would be able to offer full scholarships to all 735 athletes, instead of the current cap of 320 athletes.
The settlement includes $2.8 billion in back pay for athletes who competed between 2016 and 2024 and were fully or partially unable to benefit from NIL, or name, image and likeness revenue. The money would be paid over 10 years from the NCAA and from the schools, most of which comes major event revenue.
Additionally, schools would pay student-athletes directly through media rights deals, ticket sales and other sponsorships.
Cunningham told trustees that athletes at UNC will be eligible to receive a share of $20.5 million of the university’s athletic revenue under the terms of the settlement.
The settlement comes from previous lawsuits — combined into one case — argued that the NCAA’s power conferences violated antitrust laws by not providing benefits and financial compensation to student-athletes, and prohibiting them from profiting off their name, image and likeness.
Since 2021, third parties — such as university collectives and businesses — have been allowed to pay student-athletes in NIL deals but schools were prohibited from doing it directly.
Federal Judge Claudia Wilken was expected to rule on the settlement in April, but the case remains open due to concerns about the roster size changes. Last month, Wilken did not find any other areas of concern with the proposal.
Adding commercial sponsor to Kenan Stadium
Amid the House settlement and other considerations, “creating revenue is one of the most important things that we’re trying to do as we move forward,” Cunningham said Wednesday.
As part of the efforts to raise additional revenue, officials are also partnering with Independent Sports and Entertainment (ISE), an outside agency, to explore offering new naming rights at Kenan Stadium.
The Kenan name would remain on the stadium under the proposal, but a “commercial brand” would be brought in “around” that name, Barakat said.
“We’re going to be looking to be pretty creative with this,” Barakat said. “Of course, we need to preserve the Kenan name within the stadium identification, and we’re going to work through the best way to do that with the family.”
NC State is pursuing a similar plan with Carter-Finley Stadium, also citing revenue sharing and other financial obligations as the impetus for doing so.
“The courts say that you gotta come up with X amount of dollars,” head football coach Dave Doeren said in November, when NC State announced its plans for the stadium. “They don’t give you the dollars. You gotta go find them.”
NC State is also using ISE to find a sponsor for its stadium. The agency specializes in venue naming rights and “revenue generation opportunities” in collegiate athletics. The organization assisted on eight different projects in the past two years to help universities secure more than $180 million.
NC State consulted both the Carter and Finley families ahead of pursuing new sponsors.
In 2018, UNC changed the name listed on a plaque outside of Kenan Stadium, removing a reference to the original Kenan it honored — William Rand Kenan Sr. — who was a captain in the Wilmington massacre of 1898, in which white supremacists killed dozens of Black city residents.
The Tar Heels are set to kick off their 2025 football season Monday, Sept. 1, at 8 p.m. against TCU.
This story was originally published May 21, 2025 at 5:35 PM.
