Report: UNC misspelled Bill Belichick's name in email responding to Jordon Hudson, CBS feud

On April 27, CBS Sunday Morning released an interview with North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick, that has since become infamous. In the awkward interview, Belichick’s 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, could be seen interrupting CBS reporter Tony Doukopil when he veered away from questions about Belichick’s book, “The Art of Winning – Lessons from My Life in Football.”

After the interview aired, mild interest surrounding Belichick and Hudson’s relationship transformed into a media storm, with reporters sending in dozens of open records requests to UNC. While some of those requests have been answered, other reporters, such as Pablo Torre, have claimed that UNC hasn’t responded as swiftly as the law demands.

On Friday, Brian Murphy and Ashley Foster of WRAL News released new information gained from open records requests that sheds light on Belichick and North Carolina’s reaction to the now notorious interview. The records revealed communications sent between Belichick and UNC administrators, discussing how they should respond to the interview.

“I’m still working thru the situation with the publisher/Inkwell,” Belichick wrote in a text to Beth Keith, a senior associate vice chancellor in the Office of University Communications. I apologize for the delays here – I don’t want to make a wrong move.”

Belichick eventually released a statement on the interview on April 30, three days after it aired. In the statement, Belichick claimed that CBS Sunday Morning had agreed to only ask him questions pertaining to his book. CBS released its own statement, refuting Belichick’s claim.

In another communication revealed by WRAL News, Belichick claimed that Tony Doukopil had asked him questions about the book for 35 minutes before drifting toward Belichick’s personal life. Despite Belichick’s best efforts to resolve the issue, many North Carolina fans weren’t happy with the attention the interview brought to the school.

In fact, Keith reportedly wrote to Brigitta Shouppe, an associate director of issues management and media relations at UNC, about creating a template for an email to respond to frustrated fans. Shouppe responded to Keith with a proposed response that was four paragraphs long and notably misspelled Belichick’s name multiple times.

“Thank you for reaching out, for sharing your views, and for your continued engagement and interest in Carolina,” the proposed statement read. “Coach Belichik [sic] brings a wealth of experience in coaching and football at the highest levels. The news media has demonstrated an ongoing interest in those previous experiences and activities outside of Kenan Stadium.”

In the wake of the potentially negative attention that Belichick has brought to UNC, the program is poised for a lucrative season. UNC sold out of its allotment of 20,000 season tickets for 2025 despite raising prices approximately 25% across the board.

The Bill Belichick era will officially begin on Sept. 1, when North Carolina squares off against TCU at 8 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN.