Brian Murphy

QB Max Johnson almost lost his leg due to injury. Now he’s battling to be UNC’s starter. North Carolina quarterback Max Johnson suffered a season-ending injury in the first game of the 2024 season. After months of rehab, Johnson is back practicing with the Tar Heels.

Max Johnson needed five surgeries, weeks of bedrest -- including help changing his clothes -- and months of rehab to recover from a broken femur suffered in last year's opener. At one point, he thought he might lose his leg. Now the UNC QB is fighting for a starting job. www.wral.com/sports/unc-m...

NC Central football coach accuses ACC school of tampering with player on sideline NC Central’s Trei Oliver said a Virginia Tech staff member tried to recruit a star running back before a game last season.

A lot of coaches make vague comments about tampering. Rare that a coach names names, but check this out from NC Central football coach Trei Oliver. www.wral.com/sports/nc-ce...

ACC football coaches want a bigger playoff. How to choose the teams is the hard part The College Football Playoff will be 12 teams for the 2025 football season. But leaders in the sport are debating what to do for 2026 and beyond. That could include expansion to 14 or 16 teams.

Everyone, it seems, wants a bigger playoff. Everyone, it seems, has a different idea on how to select teams for the bigger playoff. ACC coaches are no different. www.wral.com/sports/colle...

Pitt's Pat Narduzzi on Belichick/UNC: "“I expect him to be in the championship game against Pitt this year. You got Bill Belichick, you better be, right?" Story: www.wral.com/sports/pitt-... (video credit: @primetimeMitch on X)

UNC sells out every football ticket for Belichick’s first season It makes the earliest point at which UNC has sold out its football season in program history. The Tar Heels open the season on Sept. 1 against TCU in Chapel Hill.

UNC hired Bill Belichick to bring more attention to the football program. He's done that in all kinds of ways. But no doubt interest is up: UNC sold out of its tickets for all six home games -- earlier than ever. www.wral.com/sports/unc-f...

Player injury reports coming to ACC due to worries about gambling The ACC joins several other conferences, including the SEC and the Big Ten, in requiring teams to release availability reports leading up to football and basketball games.

NFL-style injury reports are coming to the ACC, a nod to sports gambling and the need for information which can put coaches, players and others in awkward situations.
www.wral.com/sports/sport...

The Filipowski rule? ACC to fine schools for field, court storming ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips announced Tuesday a new policy to deal with field or court storming issues in football and men's and women's basketball.

The ACC will fine schools for court/field storms. But the ACC's fine schedule ($50K for first, $100K for second and $200K for third) seems low. SEC went to flat $500K penalty. www.wral.com/sports/phill...

ACC Kickoff storylines: 'Eat what you kill' era, Belichick's task, transfer QBs, Clemson's dominance The league’s annual football preview event begins Tuesday in Charlotte with an address from Commissioner Jim Phillips. Duke, North Carolina and NC State coaches and players meet with the media Thursda...

The ACC is now in its "eat what you kill" era. Gone are the days of equal revenue distribution. That and other storylines (like Belihick) from this week's #ACCKickoff. www.wral.com/sports/acc-k...

Crackdown on collectives? College Sports Commission says deals must serve ‘valid business purpose’ The College Sports Commission is the new entity tasked with enforcing the details of the House settlement, which allows for schools to directly pay athletes.

NIL collectives sprung up soon after the NCAA allowed athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness in July 2021. Four years later, are collectives being pushed out by the new College Sports Commission? Will they have to adapt? Or will they sue? www.wral.com/sports/colle...

In-state opponents, building NCAA Tournament resume key to Wade’s first schedule at NC State NC State men’s basketball coach Will Wade said he put together the Wolfpack’s non-conference schedule with fans and an NCAA Tournament resume in mind.

Earlier in the week wrote about how Wade approached building a non-conference schedule. Cool of him to be so open about the process. ACC schedule (probably) gives Pack 7 Quad 1 games, average NCAA Tournament team has 12 Q1 games, so he had to find five more: www.wral.com/sports/ncsta...

The ‘Wade stat’: How NC State uses analytics to revamp its men’s basketball roster The Wolfpack’s coaching staff relies on metrics and stats to help find undervalued players for its roster in new coach Will Wade’s first season in Raleigh.

Talked to NC State's Will Wade and members of his coaching staff about building a whole new roster in a few weeks. On the "Wade stat": www.wral.com/sports/ncsta...

House v. NCAA settlement will forever change college sports. What it is, what it means, how it works A federal judge in California gave final approval to the $2.8 billion settlement between the NCAA, major conferences and former players. As a result, schools will be able to directly pay athletes.

Been a few weeks since the House settlement, but this -- which was posted the night it got final approval -- is a look at how it might impact schools in North Carolina and what it all might mean. www.wral.com/sports/house...

UNC chancellor: ‘Delighted about all the attention being paid to Carolina football’ Chancellor Lee Roberts pointed to the increase in season-ticket sales since the school hired NFL coaching legend Bill Belichick to lead its program. Belichick and his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, have a...

UNC hired Bill Belichick to "to bring Carolina football to another level." All the attention, well, the Tar Heels are delighted with it. www.wral.com/sports/unc-c...

Hurricanes vs. Panthers: Eastern Conference Final Game 2 news and updates :: WRALSportsFan.com Florida scored less than 80 seconds into the game and crushed the Carolina Hurricanes 5-0 to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Final.

About last night's "ass whooping" put on the Canes by Florida. www.wralsportsfan.com/hurricanes-p...

ACC sets record for money earned and distributed, but league knows it needs more The Atlantic Coast Conference earned more than $711 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year, according to its latest tax documents.

ACC is a clear No. 3 in revenue. But the league knows it needs more. www.wral.com/sports/acc-r...

Check out the differences in what UNC System school athletic departments would get from sports wagering tax revenue in the House's proposed budget and the Senate's passed budget in North Carolina. #ncpol

Asked NC State coach Dave Doeren for a player that fans may not have heard about that is going to have an important impact this season.

His answer: TE Cody Hardy, an Elon transfer.

"Cody brings another element to that (TE) room that we haven't had," Doeren said.

Wade on NC State’s roster rebuild: ‘Need another piece or two’ The NC State men's basketball team has added eight players since Will Wade was hired as head coach. The Wolfpack have just two holdovers from last year's team, which missed the ACC Tournament.

Will Wade has done much of the "heavy lifting" on NC State's roster rebuild. But he says he needs another piece or two to put the Wolfpack where he wants/expects to be: the NCAA Tournament. www.wral.com/sports/will-...

Bill Belichick: ‘I appreciate every day at Carolina’ UNC football coach Bill Belichick has encountered plenty of turbulence in Chapel Hill well before the start of his first college football season. He talked with WRAL's Brian Murphy about transitioning...

Interviewed UNC football coach Bill Belichick at ACC spring meetings in Amelia Island on why he's still coaching, if the interest in him has surprised him and what success looks like? (Didn't talk Jordon Hudson) www.wral.com/sports/bill-...

Fans sent death threats to UNC’s Cunningham after West Virginia’s NCAA Tournament snub Bubba Cunningham, the Tar Heels’ athletic director, was the chairman of the selection committee. Fans accused him of impropriety in emails obtained by WRAL News.

Read through hundreds of emails -- threatening, profane, insulting, disturbing -- sent to UNC's Bubba Cunningham, chair of the NCAA Tournament selection committee, in the days after the field was set with the Tar Heels in and West Virginia out. www.wral.com/sports/unc-d...

North Carolina football coach Bill Belichick’s girlfriend: Who is Jordon Hudson? North Carolina wanted buzz when it hired legendary football coach Bill Belichick. The Tar Heels have gotten it, largely due to the 73-year-old Belichick's very public relationship with 24-year-old Jor...

From a Feb. 2021 flight to the cold open of Saturday Night Live, here's what we know about Jordon Hudson and Bill Belichick. www.wral.com/sports/unc-f...

Defensive coordinator Steve Belichick tops UNC assistants in salary :: WRALSportsFan.com North Carolina coach Bill Belichick had a $10 million salary pool for his assistant coaches.

UNC has released contracts for some of its football assistant coaches. We already knew the salaries for assistants. The contracts include a second year in each case and raises of differing amounts. www.wralsportsfan.com/defensive-co...

South Alabama quarterback Gio Lopez commits to UNC, could be starter in Belichick's first year :: WRALSportsFan.com South Alabama QB Gio Lopez adds a new wrinkle to Carolina's quarterback competition for the 2025 season.

Did North Carolina and Bill Belichick just land their 2025 starting quarterback? Kind of feels like it. www.wralsportsfan.com/south-alabam...

Raleigh City Council approves rezoning for Hurricanes' $1B plan to develop around Lenovo Center The development project is expected to begin later this year and will include residential, office and retail space along with a small concert venue and entertainment options.

Raleigh City Council approves rezoning plan for area around Lenovo Center, clearing way for Hurricanes to redevelop 80 acres with residential, office, retail and entertainment spaces.
www.wral.com/news/local/r...

Senate budget mandates UNC, NC State play in-state teams, doubles sports betting tax UNC and NC State would be required to play more in-state games in basketball under the budget proposal released by Senate Republicans.

NC Senate's proposed budget includes lots of sports: required basketball games for NC State and UNC vs. other in-state schools, more betting tax revenue for athletic departments (including UNC, NC State) and a doubling of the sports betting tax rate paid by operators.
www.wral.com/nccapitol/21...

Here's what NC State must pay App State for moving its scheduled 2025 football game :: WRALSportsFan.com The teams are now scheduled to play in 2026 in Raleigh and 2028 in Boone.

NC State is paying a "reschedule fee" to App State for moving its 2025 game to 2028. Details from the new home-and-home contract: www.wralsportsfan.com/here-s-what-...

Defensive coordinator Steve Belichick tops UNC assistants in salary :: WRALSportsFan.com North Carolina coach Bill Belichick had a $10 million salary pool for his assistant coaches.

Bill Belichick had a salary pool of $10M for his assistant coaches, per his term sheet with UNC. He spent just under $7M with defensive coordinator Steve Belichick earning the largest salary among assistants. www.wralsportsfan.com/defensive-co...

Lawmakers seek to ban prop bets on college sports in North Carolina The NCAA supports limits on prop bets on college games due to harassment of athletes on social media.

Lawmakers file bill to ban prop bets on college sports in North Carolina. www.wral.com/story/lawmak...

Duke basketball moms make a tattoo pledge if the Blue Devils win a title :: WRALSportsFan.com Duke star freshman Cooper Flagg's mom, Kelly, revealed on Friday there's a plan to get tattoos "when we win the whole thing."

Duke's "motherhood" makes a tattoo vow ... "when we win the whole thing."

Krzyzewski's succession plan pays off as Scheyer leads Duke to Final Four :: WRALSportsFan.com Just three years after replacing legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski, Duke coach Jon Scheyer has got the Blue Devils back in the Final Four.

Duke's succession plan has worked out spectacularly. Scheyer and Coach K deserve credit.