Among the various recent reports regarding the goings-on within UNC football under Bill Belichick, one stands out.
General Manager Mike Lombardi took a preseason trip to Saudi Arabia for the purposes of raising money for the program.
North Carolina confirmed in a statement that Lombardi made “an exploratory fundraising trip” with the school’s knowledge.
A separate quote from an unnamed source to TheAthletic.com indicated that Lombardi went there “to meet with high-ranking government officials to discuss potential partnership opportunities,” adding that the “Saudis love UNC because of Coach Belichick and Michael Jordan.”
Said a UNC spokesman in yet another comment: “Michael Lombardi did travel to Saudi Arabia at the request of a Saudi national who is a college football fan, interested in supporting Coach Belichick. Earlier reports of meeting with the PIF or investing in UNC are inaccurate.”
The meeting, per TheAthletic.com, reportedly did not result in any agreement or other financial support for the program, as of now.
After Friday night’s loss to Cal, Belichick was asked about the report.
“Yeah, I’ll just talk about the game here,” Belichick said, interrupting the question. “I’m just focused on the game. I’m not gonna deal with any of this — you know, whatever else. The university released a statement on that, so that should take care of it.”
It’s still a strange development, to say the least. But, hey, it sets up another potential source of revenue if/when UNC decides to activate its option to buy out a head coach who is now 0-4 against FBS schools — and who continues to be the epicenter of a variety of reports that are less than ideal for the school.