Gametime set for Belichick’s opener at UNC September 1

SPORTS

By: Daniel Forcella

Provided with permission by GoHeels.com

CHAPEL HILL – The first North Carolina football game under the leadership of head coach Bill Belichick is officially set. The Tar Heels will host visiting TCU on Monday, Sept. 1, at 8 p.m. on ESPN inside Kenan Stadium.

The first Monday night regular-season game in Carolina history will also mark the fourth matchup on the gridiron between the Tar Heels and the Horned Frogs, having played in 1940, 1994, and 1997.

TCU is led by Sonny Dykes, who enters his fourth season in Fort Worth. The Horned Frogs made the College Football Playoff in 2022 and advanced to the National Championship Game after defeating Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal.

The Tar Heels’ most recent contest played on a Monday was the 2011 Independence Bowl against Missouri on Monday, Dec. 26. The Heels have played four bowl games on Monday; the 2011 Independence Bowl, the 2001 Peach Bowl, the 1981 Gator Bowl, and the 1977 Liberty Bowl.

The game against TCU will also mark Carolina’s first non-Saturday season opener at home since Monday, Sept. 21, 1941, and be the fourth such game ever, having opened the 1902 season on Wednesday, Sept. 24 and the 1894 season on Friday, Oct. 12.