Jan 25, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis reacts in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Artacho’s Angle: Basketball Saves Tar Heel Fans From Football

Originally posted on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI
By Jeremiah Artacho | Last updated Oct 12, 2025 4:00 PM ET

Head coach Bill Belichick and the football team have gone way off track from the preseason expectations national media had placed on them. All of the hype has faded away, the support of the fanbase has continued to lose hope after every loss to Power 4 conference teams, and the Tar Heels are simply not good on the gridiron.

It has not been pretty, cute, or whatever you want to call it — the plan brought to the table by Chancellor Lee Roberts and the Board of Trustees is failing through the first five contests. UNC's three losses did not even look competitive.

But has UNC ever been a football school? No. Can it become one? Perhaps. But is it a basketball school? Absolutely. That's why: basketball is saving Tar Heel fans from football — no way around it.

Head coach Hubert Davis of the men's basketball and head coach Courtney Banghart of the women's basketball have revamped their rosters this past season — filling in gaps left by players exiting out of the program due to the transfer portal and exhausted eligibility.

Freshmen like Caleb Wilson and Nyla Brooks, to experienced veterans from Seth Trimble, Indya Nivar and Reniya Kelly, all make for a highly anticipated basketball season for both programs.

UNC: Forever a Basketball School

Football has continued to prove a point about UNC: it will forever be a basketball school. Not even a 73-year-old, six-time Super Bowl champion could make a difference, and to make matters worse — all of the drama off the field has made the public image of UNC has made thigns a whole lot worse — beyond the game itself. A suspended coach, preferential treatment and keeping incidents off the field (quarterback Gio Lopez's car crash) out of the news does not help either.

Davis and Banghart will have their first game of the season on Monday, November 3. As the women's team will square off with NCCU at 11 a.m. while the men's take on Central Arkansas at 7 p.m., both games will be in Chapel Hill to open the season. The two programs feature plenty of talented players, each in their own way, which should excite fans for what's to come this fall and going into the spring.

But one thing is for sure: it will definitely be a whole lot better than what football has produced — during the game and away from it, too.

Please

This article first appeared on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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