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A lawsuit accused the University of North Carolina and its board of directors to illegally hire Bill Belichick soccer coach behind closed doors in December.
The former Rector of the UNC Chris Clemens and the lawyer David McKenzie filed the claim in the Orange County Superior Court, and alleges that Belichick’s hiring is one of the many cases in which closed sessions occurred in the public university.
The demand points to an alleged “patron and practice” to the UNC to hide “matters of serious public concern behind closed doors.” One of those issues includes the realignment of the potential conference.
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North Carolina chief coach Bill Belichick observes from the barrier during the first half of an NCAA football match against Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 6. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Clemens also claims that he was punished after “filtering closed session information” to the members of the Faculty on a meeting with the postponement of tenure as the main theme of the demand.
“As Vice Chancellor and Executive Rector, [Clemens] The informed deans and the vice channels internally on the position of the policy of the Board after a closed session so that they can administer the expectations of the faculty, “the demand is read.” The subsequent effort of the Board to punish it for ‘filtering’ the closed session information only highlights the culture of secrets with the Law of Open Meetings and the Public Registry Law. “
As for the hiring of Belichick, the demand alleges that “the substantive deliberation occurred in secret” on December 12, 2024 at a meeting of the Emergency Board. The lawsuit accuses that, since the “Belichick compensation package and complete hiring was already public”, there was no need for the session closed.
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“The Board did not present any comparable analysis of thirty years ‘net cost’, nor invoked a fiscal restriction of long -lasting Horizon to defer that decision for a single UNC employee,” says the demand after explaining Belichick’s compensation for joining the tar.
Athletics beyond football were used as demand examples, including an alleged closed session of November 2023 to discuss a possible alignment of UNC ACC, comparing it with “potential financial results with the SEC or the Big Ten membership.”
The demand alleges that another closed session of realignment of the conference occurred in May 2024.
The new chief coach of Carolina de Carolina del Norte, Bill Belichick, talks to the media in Loudermilk Center for Excellence. (Images Jim Dedmon-Imagn)
“The Board once again used the closed session to discuss the strategy of realignment of the conference and finance of the Athletics Department,” says the demand. “There is no legal exemption that allows the closed discussion of institutional affiliations and budget planning.”
The lawsuit adds: “Each episode follows the same employer: the Board invokes a legal exemption, enters into a closed session, then discusses the matters of broad policies or budgets that must be discussed publicly. The Board aggravates these violations by maintaining inappropriate general accounts that prevent the public understanding of what happens.”
McKenzie has a history with litigation against UNC, after having left the top of a lawsuit against the university and its board of trustees after the Realineration session of the May 2024 conference.
On May 16, 2024, a temporary restriction order was granted, one day after McKenzie filed the demand, which prevented the Board from going to the session closed to discuss the finances of UNC Athletics, the budget, the deficit or the realignment of the current future conference and the related strategic planning. 2024 for demand.
Belichick’s hiring included a closed session, which lasted 41 minutes and finally led to his hiring, as well as the women’s football coach Damon Nahas in UNC. It was a shock for the world of football, since Belichick had not trained at the university during his illustrious career.
North Carolina’s chief coach Bill Belichick directs his team during the first half of a University Soccer match of the NCAA against Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday, September 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
As the demand says, Belichick was hired with a salary of $ 10 million per season with additional compensation for bringing their children Steve and Brian Belichick to his coaching staff.
The lawsuit states that the Belichick agreement placed the “total exposure well in tens of millions for five years.”
The debut of Belichick’s College Coaching has been pedestrian to begin, after having gone 2-2 in its first four games.
