UNC Football Salutes Military by Dedicating Display on Veterans Day

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — In conjunction with Veterans Day, North Carolina unveiled a wall display on Tuesday afternoon at Kenan Football Center saluting alums of the football program who have served in the military.

The “Honoring Our Military” wall lists the name of each person, their branch and years of military service, along with their football position and years with the Tar Heels. The aim is for the wall to provide a historical record and a place of reflection.

Sixty-one names were displayed on the wall as part of Tuesday’s dedication ceremony at UNC’s home base of football operations, which is adjacent to Kenan Stadium. The UNC football program intends to expand as more alums from the past are identified, and as more alums complete military service in the future.

From Bill Belichick’s current coaching staff, special teams coordinator Mike Priefer and assistant director of sports performance Trent Baker are among the Tar Heels recognized on the wall. Baker served with US Navy SEAL Teams from 2001-2023.

“I’m very proud to be part of the recognition that we’re going to put up here in the in the football building as we commemorate Veterans Day here,” Belichick said Tuesday. “(Veterans Day) is something that we’ve spent time working with our players on. We’ve had people from the military, and we have a couple on our staff, talk about what Veterans Day means. What the right thing to do is when you see or interact with a veteran, really at any time, but especially on this day of recognition. And obviously how important they are to our freedom. They give us the opportunity to do what we do, which is coach, football, play football and go to school.”

Priefer joined Carolina with 20 years of NFL coaching experience, after making stops with the Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1989, where he played quarterback and receiver for the Midshipmen. He served as a naval officer until 1994, piloting helicopters abroad, including tours in Somalia, Bosnia and the Persian Gulf. Then, Preifer returned to the Naval Academy to work as a flight instructor, while breaking into coaching football as a graduate assistant for the Midshipmen.

Belichick said his father, the former UNC assistant football coach from 1953-55, enlisted in the Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. On Tuesday, Belichick stood beside Staff Sergeant Veneta Wheeler of the UNC Army ROTC, as the military wall was unveiled at Kenan Football Center. School chancellor Lee Roberts, Lieutenant Colonel Lisa Klekowski of the UNC Army ROTC and Rob Palermo, director of the Carolina Veterans Resource Center, also were among those who attended the dedication ceremony.

“When I met with Chancellor Roberts in the process of coming here, and soon after I got here, we talked about a lot of things that involved supporting the student-athletes and recognizing people who have contributed to this football program through the years,” Belichick said Tuesday. “And honoring them traditionally in many different ways. And so this is one of the things that we talked about, honoring the people in our program who have served.”