Former UNC provost sues board, alleging illegal closed-door hiring of Bill Belichick
Lawsuit says UNC board violated Open Meetings and Public Records laws and concealed discussions about conference realignment and athletics finances
A former University of North Carolina executive filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court on Tuesday, alleging the school's board of trustees illegally hired head football coach Bill Belichick in a closed session last December.
Chris Clemens, a former provost at UNC, and his attorney David McKenzie argue that the board has a pattern and practice of concealing matters of grave public concern behind closed doors and that Clemens was punished for leaking closed-session information.
The lawsuit asserts that substantive deliberation over Belichick's employment occurred in secret on December 12, 2024, during an emergency meeting of the board. It notes that Belichick's compensation package and the hiring were already public and asks why a closed session was used if no statutory exemption applied. The document argues the board did not present any long-range cost analysis or invoke fiscal restraint to defer the decision for a single UNC employee.
In addition to Belichick, the filing describes closed sessions in November 2023 that discussed the Tar Heels' future in the Atlantic Coast Conference and compared potential financial outcomes if UNC joined the SEC or the Big Ten. A separate May 2024 session is mentioned as focusing on conference realignment. The filing contends there is no statutory exemption permitting closed discussion of institutional affiliations and budget planning, and it describes a recurring pattern: the board cites an exemption, enters closed session, then debates broad policy or budget matters publicly. The suit also links Belichick's hiring to broader governance issues, arguing that secrecy undermines accountability and transparency in line with state open-government requirements.
Belichick's first season in Chapel Hill has drawn attention for reasons beyond the on-field results. The Tar Heels opened with a loss to TCU, followed by victories over UNC Charlotte and Richmond, then suffered a 34-9 defeat at UCF in the latest game. North Carolina is on a bye week this week before traveling to face Clemson on October 4, a matchup that tests UNC's effort to stabilize a program under a controversial hire. The lawsuit estimates that Belichick's total compensation could reach tens of millions over five years when factoring in salaries and bonuses for his coaching staff, including his sons Steve and Brian. The filing argues that such costs should be disclosed and evaluated in a public forum consistent with open-government laws, not decided in closed session.