UNC Board of Trustees to hold emergency meeting Monday regarding 'athletics matter'

The North Carolina Board of Trustees will hold an emergency meeting at noon ET on Monday, according to the university website. The meeting is to “receive a legal update regarding an athletics matter.”

It’s unclear at this point exactly what “athletics matter” that refers to. We’ve previously seen Board of Trustees at other schools call meetings like this to discuss conference realignment.

Florida State held a Board of Trustees meeting last month where it spoke openly about the likelihood that it will eventually leave the ACC. The Seminoles cited the conference’s current media rights deal with ESPN, saying it creates an “insurmountable” revenue gap compared to that of other conferences.

The ACC’s current media rights deal with ESPN is dwarfed by the SEC, Big Ten and even Big 12, with schools in those conferences expected to make upwards of $30 million more annually than the ACC. The ACC schools are locked in until 2036 when the current deal expires, but there is an exit path for the Seminoles and potentially others.

It’s also possible the Tar Heels are looking to take the next step in the case of transfer receiver Tez Walker. The NCAA denied his waiver to play immediately, declaring him ineligible for this season as a player who has transferred multiple times in his career. North Carolina appealed that decision, but the NCAA denied the appeal on Thursday.

Walker’s situation was complicated from the very start of his collegiate career. He began at North Carolina Central back in 2020 but did not play due to the cancellation of their season amidst the pandemic. That led him to Kent State where he played two seasons with the Golden Flashes.

However, upon transferring to North Carolina this offseason, the NCAA’s rules for two-time transfers applied to him even though he never saw any games or action while with the Eagles. Because the rule change was made just two days after Walker made the decision to transfer to Chapel Hill, many believe he should receive an exception.

Under the NCAA’s new set of guidelines, a mental health condition is one of the exceptions that can grant players with multiple transfers immediate eligibility. The Tar Heels have argued that also applies in Walker’s case, as the Charlotte native transferred so his grandmother, who is battling an illness and had not seen him play in person during his previous two seasons of college ball.

Ultimately, we’ll have to wait and see what is discussed at the meeting, but this announcement sparks some interest nonetheless.