Op-ed: The Belichick hire could redefine athletes’ academics in a way nobody is talking about

No story about UNC sports has sparked more hot takes than the hiring of football coach Bill Belichick. Most point toward yet another tectonic shift for college sports away from amateurism and toward professionalization, along with the transfer portal, NIL deals, the impending revenue sharing model and more.

But this big-time athletics hire might also be an opportunity to redefine academics, at least in one way. How? By treating Belichick and his staff not just as coaches, but also teachers. And by treating the sports they coach as academic subjects.

Belichick doesn’t seem to disagree. In his introductory press conference, the consummate pro coach referred to his new role as teacher. 

Still, coaches are paid to win games, not teach. Plus, academics and athletics have and always should remain separate, right? Wrong. It’s time we move past this old line of thinking and see participation in college sports not as extracurricular, but as an invaluable part of a UNC education. 

We already accept this to be true for the many students who will use their degrees to pursue careers in the lucrative sports industry. Why do we still view the athletes as living outside the norm of academic pursuits? Aren’t these future pros among the next generation of leaders to come out of UNC? 

Belichick can change this. He’s already talked about his holistic approach to player development as a pipeline to the NFL. That’s a great start. But most of his players likely won’t ever play in the NFL, and those who do will average about three years of play. 

Belichick gets this. He’s one of the most successful people in the sport, yet he never played a single down of pro football. He and his staff can turn playing football at UNC into a pathway for one of the many jobs in football other than running back or linebacker: coaches, analysts, scouts and numerous front office roles.

UNC players will learn many of the skills needed for these jobs through the 40 or so hours a week they commit to football. Why not structure and codify their time into actual classes, complete with papers, exams and grades? What if their coursework could all roll up into a professional sports studies major, which they could apply in a variety of professional roles? 

In fact, why not collaborate with other departments to provide real world learning opportunities for a broader group of students studying law, marketing, journalism, nutrition, physical fitness, sports psychology, business and more? 

That all sure sounds like the “fascinating laboratory” that The Wall Street Journal’s Andrew Beaton said UNC will become in the Belichick era. And I bet employers would be very interested in the experiments and graduates that come out of it. To some this will sound too silly to consider. But don’t innovative ideas usually sound silly at first? Like, say, investing tens of millions of dollars to hire an NFL legend who’s never coached college football. 

— Walt Barron, local communications professional who has helped lead marketing and advertising strategy for brands like ESPN’s College Football Playoff, ACC Network and SEC Network.