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Report: UNC GM Mike Lombardi took fundraising trip to Saudi Arabia two weeks before season opener

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Michael Lombardi, Bill Belichick
UNC football general manager Michael Lombardi and coach Bill Belichick. (Jim Hawkins / Inside Carolina)

On Thursday, Pablo Torre reported that multiple sources have told him North Carolina general manager Michael Lombardi left the team two weeks before their season-opener to seek fundraising in Saudi Arabia. Torre said he will provide further details on the development on his Friday edition of Pablo Torre Finds Out.

Torre was also a significant voice in the reporting on the involvement of Jordon Hudson, UNC head coach Bill Belichick‘s girlfriend, in the Tar Heels’ football program earlier this year. Specifically, Torre revealed how Hudson was acting as Belichick’s agent/manager.

Now, Torre is targeting another person close to the 73-year-old head coach: Michael Lombardi. Lombardi joined UNC as a general manager this offseason when Belichick took the reins of the program.

Lombardi has extensive experience at the NFL level. He’s served in the front office for the Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders and others. Evidently, Lombardi wasn’t afraid to search for new means of funding at the collegiate level.

Lombardi isn’t the first collegiate coach to look to Saudi Arabia for money. In August 2024, Sports Illustrated reported former Colorado special teams coach Trevor Reilly traveled to Saudi Arabia to lobby the country’s Public Investment Fund for NIL money.

Riley resigned before the 2024 season began. In his resignation letter, he discussed his ventures in Saudi Arabia.

“You paid me $90,000 a year and let me handle special teams. I did all this work in your name and was told to pursue it,” Reilly wrote. “I burned through all my contacts in my Mormon community, which is worth about $3 trillion. Now, I can’t get these people to answer my calls because I just found out today that none of my endeavors will happen.

“I even went to Saudi Arabia and got a meeting with the Saudis, who were interested in pursuing business. I have email receipts to prove it, and you guys let it fall flat on its face.”

Lombardi is still with UNC, but the program is struggling. The Tar Heels are 2-3 and 0-1 in ACC play. Most recently, North Carolina suffered a 38-10 blowout loss against Clemson.

Frustration in UNC’s fanbase only grew when WRAL News reported the program is a “mess” under Belichick and has “no culture, no organization.” On Monday, Lombardi addressed refuted this report.

“I don’t know about a WRAL report,” Lombardi said to 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck. “I’m not sure there’s been a lot of accuracy coming from that area, but our players are committed to getting better. I think everybody understands it’s a work in progress. Look, we just played one ACC game; we have seven games ahead of us. I don’t think anybody on our team has written off the season or written off anything that we can accomplish.

“We understand we have to get better and we understand we have to play more competitively in the ACC games, and I think our team wants to do that. I’m not sure there’s the disconnect that has been reported. No one’s been around our program with any accuracy to really understand that other than the coaches on our staff.”