As confirmed by Smith, if the Tar Heels were to attempt to leave the ACC any year before 2030, the exit fees would range from $93 million to $165 million. The fees drop to $75 million from 2030-36.

Coaches from Duke, North Carolina Central, N.C. State, ECU and UNC gathered at the Hilton Raleigh North Hills hotel for the 22nd annual Bill Dooley Pigskin Preview Friday. The event takes place ahead of fall camps beginning.

The Atlantic Coast Conference has three former NFL head coaches leading its football programs this fall for the most of any league.

“It’s a pro program,” Belichick said. “Practice, training, food, schemes, terminology, it’s all a pro program. Not to the extent that we did it in the NFL — there will be fewer plays, fewer adjustments — but it will be along those lines.”

College football is buzzing over Bill Belichick ’s leap from the NFL to the ACC, where he’s now leading the North Carolina Tar Heels into a new era. But not everyone is sold just yet—especially former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy.

There's plenty of intrigue and skepticism about whether Belichick's NFL success will translate to the college game

"The great thing about working with the college players is just the growth and the development that we’ve seen," Belichick said at ACC media day Thursday.

The North Carolina Tar Heels have been targeted many different prospects in a plethora of different states, including some of the primary states from the south.