UNC football nonconference game contracts, money for 2026 season

UNC football will pay $450,000 and receive at least $200,000 with its 2026 nonconference schedule.

According to documents obtained by the Fayetteville Observer/USA TODAY Network through a public records request, the Tar Heels are only paying or receiving specified amounts against two of their four nonconference opponents in Bill Belichick ’s second season in Chapel Hill.

The ACC is transitioning to a nine-game league schedule in 2026, but UNC is one of five teams in the 17-squad conference set to play eight ACC games before full implementation in 2027. The Heels play TCU in Ireland before hosting East Tennessee State and Notre Dame, capping the nonconference slate with a trip to UConn.

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Here’s a breakdown of UNC’s nonconference matchups and the game contracts for each of them in the 2026 season.

UNC football, TCU agree to change with Ireland game

The Tar Heels and Horned Frogs will kick off the 2026 season in Week 0 on Saturday, Aug. 29 (Noon, ESPN) as part of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. After hosting TCU in 2025 at Kenan Stadium and paying out $200,000, UNC was set to make the trip to Forth Worth in 2026.

In April 2025, the teams agreed to move the game to Ireland. UNC agreed to compensate TCU an unspecified amount for the loss of a true home game. According to UNC’s contract with Irish American Events Limited, the organizer of the international game, IAEL will cover operating expenses for game-related events. That includes travel costs for the team, administrators, select staff members and at least 70 band members and cheerleaders. It also includes hotel rooms, food, on-site transportation and cultural activities.

Notre Dame visiting UNC football in 2026

Notre Dame is UNC’s third nonconference opponent and its most notable. Despite the Fighting Irish remaining an independent program, the university has an agreement with the ACC to schedule five league opponents each year and is not required to pay road teams or be paid by home teams from the ACC.

Under the scheduling partnership between the ACC and Notre Dame, games are treated as standard regular-season matchups within their rotational agreement, where each host school retains its own ticket sales, revenue, and stadium operations without payouts to the Irish. The Tar Heels host Notre Dame on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Kenan Stadium.

Tar Heels play East Tennessee State in home opener at Kenan Stadium

UNC will pay East Tennessee State $450,000 for making the trip to Chapel Hill for the Tar Heels’ home opener on Saturday, Sept. 12 (Noon, ACC Network), at Kenan Stadium. The contract was signed in 2020 and the game was originally scheduled for 2022.

Tar Heels traveling to UConn in November

According to a contract that was signed in 2020, UNC was set to host UConn in 2026 before a road trip to Hartford in 2027. The programs switched that up and next year's game could be in jeopardy. With the ACC going to nine league games for all 17 teams in 2027, a return game in Chapel Hill might be affected. The Tar Heels will receive a payout of $200,000 for their trip to UConn on Saturday, Nov. 7 (Noon, CBS Sports Network).

Rodd Baxley covers North Carolina Tar Heels athletics for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding UNC? Send them to [email protected] .

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC football nonconference game contracts, money for 2026 season

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