Lawsuit Alleges UNC Used Secretive Meetings to Hire Bill Belichick

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A lawsuit filed by former UNC Provost Chris Clemens and attorney David McKenzie accuses the University of North Carolina and its Board of Trustees of violating open meetings laws through a pattern of secretive deliberations, including the high-profile hiring of Bill Belichick as head football coach.

The suit targets explicitly an emergency board meeting held in December of last year, where a 41-minute closed session allegedly covered substantive discussions on Belichick’s $10 million annual contract and the addition of his sons to the coaching staff.

The court filing alleges the “substantive deliberation occurred in secret” which was unnecessary since Belichick’s “compensation package and entire hiring was already public.”

Clemens and McKenzie also contend that UNC routinely hides public matters, such as conference realignment and athletics finances, behind closed doors. Other alleged violations include multiple sessions on potential moves to the SEC or Big Ten.

Was Bill Belichick’s hiring Illegal?

The lawsuit contends that UNC engaged in a “pattern and practice” to conceal “matters of grave public concern behind closed doors.”

Those include the conference discussions and the finances being used to hire Bill Belichick.

The lawsuit states:

December 2024: The Board called an emergency meeting (with “minimal notice,” the lawsuit asserts) and entered closed session to approve Belichick’s hiring. The lawsuit contends Belichick’s “compensation package and entire hiring was already public,” so there was not a proper subject for closed session.

If, as the suit contends, UNC hid deliberations on Belichick’s contract situation behind closed doors, it kind of makes sense. The university did, after all, sign him to a five-year, $50 million contract despite knowing full-well that he’ll be out the door first chance he gets should an NFL offer appear.

We’re not sure team supporters would have been too thrilled with the addition of Bill’s sons, Steve and Brian Belichick, onto his coaching staff during these meetings either.

The point is, according to the accusations made in the lawsuit, that some people didn’t have an opporutinity to push back not only on the ludicrous signing of their coach, but other significant matters that would affect the team or the school.

READ MORE: Another Team Takes Hilarious Swipe at Bill Belichick’s Girlfriend After Win

More disgruntled UNC Figures

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of some disgruntled figures within the UNC athletic program voicing their outrage over the hiring of Bill Belichick.

The school took significant backlash from donors, alumni, and faculty over the hiring of ‘The Hoodie’ as head football coach, primarily due to his relationship with Hudson.

Emails obtained through a public records request by the Daily Mail back in July revealed widespread anger with the hiring of Belichick, with one donor threatening to withdraw all financial support, calling the situation a “total embarrassment” to UNC.

Another complained that there isn’t “enough money to hire the numbers of professors we need, but paying a 73-year-old guy with no college football experience [sic] 10 millions is OK?”

UNC definitely went out on their own with this one. Was it as secretive as the lawsuit suggests?

Belichick’s college coaching career has gotten off to an underwhelming start, with the team just 2-2 and suffering a pair of blowout losses. They’ll try to right the ship when they take on Clemson next Saturday.

avatar Rusty Weiss is a lifelong NFL and MLB fan (Cowboys/Dodgers) and sometimes fan of college basketball (Xavier). Rusty is ... More about Rusty Weiss