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Fox News
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
North Carolina GM says 'noise' surrounding Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson has 'no relevancy'
Print Close By Ryan Canfield Published June 14, 2025 University of North Carolina football general manager Michael Lombardi is adamant about making sure reports about Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson's relationship don't become a distraction. Hudson shut down a question about how the couple met from Tony Dokoupil during Belichick's interview with "CBS News Sunday Morning" in April, and the interview generated widespread criticism. "I mean, a lot of it is just noise," Lombardi said during an appearance on ESPN Radio's "Marty & McGee." CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON "And for us to be distracted by something that has no bearing, that has no relevance whatsoever, that is a complete falsehood, in terms of what people are saying or what they're writing. It's comical. And, for me, to really even attack anybody who's saying it, gives them credibility. Which I don't, because it's a completely false narrative." Lombardi pointed to the success the program has had this offseason avoiding the "noise." "And the noise out there comes from a direction of people trying to be disruptive within our program. We're not going to allow it. We're not going to acknowledge it. We're gonna move on," Lombardi said. BILL BELICHICK INSISTS GIRLFRIEND HAS NO UNC FOOTBALL ROLE, WON'T BE ON SIDELINES "And, look, let's face it, the proof's in the pudding. We're having a tremendous recruiting class. We had a tremendous portal, and we're going to continue to get better every day." Lombardi said when the interview first aired, there was no reason for concern. He said his concern stems from North Carolina's football schedule, not the Belichick-Hudson drama. "Everybody looked at each other and was like in complete amazement. I mean, so, we didn't have any reason to circle the wagons. The reason we had was to focus on what we're going to do, as Bill said in a lot of the interviews — and I don't want to speak for Coach Belichick — but he said, 'Look, Jordon does stuff in his business outside of North Carolina football, not here.' I mean, it's just completely a story that was generated from — basically, made up," Lombardi said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "I mean, it's a tremendous, you know, you could be a great novelist, some of the people that report this stuff. So, we had no, there's no reason to circle any wagons. Look, when we play Clemson, we're gonna have to circle the wagons. But we play TCU on the opening game, we're going to have to circle the wagons. Those are competition. This is just noise." Belichick's coaching debut with North Carolina will come against TCU Sept. 1 at 8 p.m. ET. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter. Print Close URL
New York Times
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Bill Belichick Was Always in Control. Then He Met His Gen Z Girlfriend.
When Bill Belichick appeared on ABC's 'Good Morning America' last week to promote his new book, 'The Art of Winning,' the most revealing moment of the interview had nothing to do with his storied N.F.L. coaching career or his new job leading the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's football program. In fact, it was not about Mr. Belichick or his book at all. It was about the 73-year-old football coach's 24-year-old girlfriend. 'A lot has been made about your relationship with Jordon Hudson,' said the host, Michael Strahan, himself a former N.F.L. star. 'It's been getting a lot of attention.' Then he paused to note: 'She isn't here this morning.' In the five months since the University of North Carolina announced it had hired Mr. Belichick as its new head football coach, giving him a five-year-contract that could be worth more than $50 million, Ms. Hudson has been there, standing not behind her man, but more often next to him — if not in front. She was at the U.N.C. news conference announcing Mr. Belichick's hire, at the Super Bowl in New Orleans, at the sidelines of U.N.C. football offseason events and courtside at a U.N.C. basketball game. Most notably, she was on set at a 'CBS Sunday Morning' interview of Mr. Belichick, informing the reporter in a moment captured on camera that he would not be answering a question about how the two had met. Mr. Belichick shows up for her too. When Ms. Hudson competed this month in the Miss Maine USA pageant in a dimly lit Holiday Inn ballroom, Mr. Belichick was there, keeping his eye fixed on her every evening-gown-and-bikinied strut. When she was announced as the second runner-up, a disappointing showing after having been first runner-up last year, she blew kisses at the audience and placed her hands over her heart, not unlike Taylor Swift might at the end of an Eras Tour concert. Her boyfriend did not clap — that is not The Belichick Way — but he took her hand after the competition and whisked her away in a Mercedes. Mr. Belichick should be the most famous person in their relationship. But right now he is a side-player in a spectacle that is built on the public's fascination with young women who date much older, wealthier men and a provocative Instagram account in which Ms. Hudson has asserted herself as a partner in full to one of the most successful leaders in the world of professional sports. Ms. Hudson has taken control of the management of his personal brand and used her new status to her own audacious advantage. She has torpedoed an HBO series and attempted to trademark Mr. Belichick's famous catchphrases. On social media, she has posted a steady stream of photos highlighting their romance. She has hobnobbed with celebrities, promoted political causes and somehow amassed a real estate portfolio worth more than $8 million — all to the bewilderment of the coach's fans and those close to him, many of whom consider her a distraction or worse. And Ms. Hudson has told at least one person that she and Mr. Belichick are engaged to be married. At a moment when the world is contending with issues of worrisome consequence, the romantic saga of a famously grumpy N.F.L. coach and a recent college cheerleader is catnip for much of the public and, let's be honest, reporters too. Certainly, many people have questions. Is she only after his money? Is everyone just jealous that a man who happens to be a grandfather has an attractive, young girlfriend? Has Mr. Belichick strategically put her on the front line of his own ambition? Or is it, as the podcaster Megyn Kelly suggested, 'elder abuse'? It is unclear what Ms. Hudson's family thinks. But her father, who is 49, sat next to her boyfriend at the pageant. Mr. Belichick has built a career based on principles of discipline and ignoring media hype, so the current drama has particularly roiled the worlds of professional and collegiate athletics. Just as Mr. Belichick is trying to restart his career after a bitter breakup with the N.F.L.'s New England Patriots, social media scrollers, football fans and the press are focused on how exactly he became so smitten that he has staked his reputation on a woman 49 years his junior. 'I think it's ironic that a man who really controlled everything — and I mean everything — now is being controlled by some other person,' said Upton Bell, a former general manager of the Patriots. 'You can't just point at the woman here and say, 'She is being controlling,'' he added. 'That only happens if you let yourself be controlled.' 'Permissibility of Non-Conformity' The day before Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans in February, dozens of celebrities lined up to walk the red carpet at the annual party hosted by Fanatics, the sports merchandise and trading card company. There was Gayle King, Pete Davidson, Kevin Costner, Martha Stewart and Eli Manning. Mr. Belichick arrived with his date, Ms. Hudson. Dressed in a Carolina T-shirt, he was asked to pose for the phalanx of photographers but declined. Ms. Hudson, however, was game. 'I will!' she said, according to a person who attended the party. She stood before the flashbulbs, wearing a long Patriots hoodie as a minidress, paired with knee-high white boots. Neither Ms. Hudson nor Mr. Belichick agreed to be interviewed for this story, and spokesmen for the Patriots, the N.F.L. and the U.N.C.'s athletic department declined to comment. But on social media, Ms. Hudson has been less restrained. Since she hard-launched their romance on Instagram last year, she has continued to show off their relationship, regardless of the tsunami of public mockery and criticism it has generated. 'I will not be cyber-bullied into submission,' she wrote online, after posting a photograph of herself dressed like a mermaid with Mr. Belichick as a fisherman reeling her in. 'I will continue to stand for love, authenticity and permissibility of nonconformity. They can burn me at the stake, but they cannot burn out my light!!' She has been equally persistent in availing herself of professional opportunities created by Mr. Belichick's career — and in making herself a character on the Chapel Hill stage. In January, she posted a photo meant to invoke U.N.C.'s greatest athlete, the basketball luminary Michael Jordan, and seemingly inviting Nike to reach out to her for a brand partnership. She appears in a Carolina sweatshirt, with a caption that reads: 'Air JordOn 1 coming Fall of 2025. Consider this a formal pitch.' On LinkedIn, she lists her job titles as chief operating officer of Belichick Productions and chief executive officer of Trouble Cub Enterprises. As a producer, she is not off to a strong start. This winter, producers at N.F.L. Films decided that a new season of its sports docuseries, 'Hard Knocks,' would focus on Mr. Belichick's efforts to build the U.N.C. football program ahead of the 2025 season. HBO agreed to air it. But days before they were set to announce the series, Ms. Hudson demanded she be granted content approval and partial ownership of the show, according to a person familiar with the deal who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized by producers to speak to a reporter. N.F.L. Films pulled the plug. The producers later learned that Ms. Hudson was also in negotiations with another production company, EverWonder, to make a similar series, according to the person familiar with the situation. Ian Orefice, the chief executive of EverWonder, declined to comment. By the spring, Ms. Hudson was focused on applying for a slew of trademarks for phrases associated with Mr. Belichick's leadership of the Patriots, including 'No Days Off,' and 'Do Your Job' — presumably to parlay them into content and merchandising opportunities. Trouble is, the Patriots have held the trademarks on these phrases for years. So Ms. Hudson took a page from Ms. Swift, who rerecorded some of her albums as '(Taylor's Version)' after her original recordings were sold without her involvement or financial participation. Ms. Hudson applied for trademarks on 'No Days Off (Bill's Version),' and 'Do Your Job (Bill's Version),' among several others. Ms. Hudson's role in Mr. Belichick's affairs truly exploded into public view last month, when CBS News aired its interview with Mr. Belichick. 'We're not talking about this,' she interjected sternly when the reporter Tony Dokoupil asked him how the romance began. It was a public relations debacle that continues to reverberate. As the press circled, a podcaster, Pablo Torre, reported that U.N.C. would 'ban' Ms. Hudson from its football facilities. The university denied this. 'While Jordon Hudson is not an employee at the University or Carolina Athletics, she is welcome to the Carolina Football facilities,' the school said in a statement. 'Jordon will continue to manage all activities related to Coach Belichick's personal brand outside of his responsibilities for Carolina Football and the University.' Mr. Belichick defends Ms. Hudson's involvement. 'She's been terrific through the whole process, and she's been very helpful to me,' he said in his ABC interview. 'She does the business things that don't relate to North Carolina that come up in my life so I can concentrate on football.' But her assertive tactics are ruffling feathers in Chapel Hill. Soon after the university announced to great hoopla that it had hired Mr. Belichick, some local T-shirt companies and large athletic wear labels began to sell merchandise with the catchphrase 'Chapel Bill.' Within days, at least one local business leader received an email from Ms. Hudson warning that 'Chapel Bill' was intellectual property, according to a person familiar with the correspondence. Months later, Ms. Hudson applied for trademarks on 'Chapel Bill' and 'Chapel Bill (Bill's Version).' Jordon's Version Hancock, Maine, is a fishing community along a highway that has a small market, a post office and a few roadside seafood shacks. It is where Ms. Hudson spent her early days, as her parents tried to keep their mussel and seaweed harvesting company going. By the time Ms. Hudson was in high school, the family business had faltered and they moved to Provincetown, Mass. Her freshman year — a year after Mr. Belichick won his fourth Super Bowl as head coach — she made the varsity cheerleading team, according to the Nauset Regional High School yearbook. In her senior year, according to an Instagram post, she was simultaneously enrolled in a cosmetology degree program at New England Hair Academy. By the end of her first semester of college at Bridgewater State University, where she studied philosophy and criminal justice, she had earned her cosmetology degree. 'I have BIG plans for this upcoming year,' she wrote on Instagram. Ms. Hudson was in college during the Covid-19 pandemic, but by February 2021 she was traveling, and making friends as she did. That month, she and Mr. Belichick have said, they met on a JetBlue flight to West Palm Beach, Fla. — she calls Feb. 11 their 'meetiversary' — and he signed one of her college philosophy books, 'Deductive Logic.' Mr. Belichick wrote an inscription: 'Jordon, Thanks for giving me a course on logic! Safe travels!' His signature included an accounting of his Super Bowl victories with the Patriots: 'Bill Belichick SB 36, 38, 39, 49, 51, 53.' Ms. Hudson has not shared publicly when or how her romantic relationship with Mr. Belichick began in earnest. But by the summer of 2023, she was spending time in Foxborough, Mass., where the Patriots are headquartered. When she attended training camp practices, she often wore red pants at the request of Mr. Belichick, so that he might more easily spot her in the crowd, according to a person who knows Mr. Belichick and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because Mr. Belichick had not given him permission to speak to reporters. That fall, when the Patriots played at Gillette Stadium and stayed at a nearby hotel the night before home games — as mandated by team policy — Ms. Hudson frequently joined Mr. Belichick there, according to the person who knows Mr. Belichick. The team's record that season was a dismal four wins and 13 losses. Mr. Belichick left the team at the season's end. By last fall, Ms. Hudson and Mr. Belichick began to emerge as a public couple on social media. On CBS, Mr. Belichick said that though there is an official Instagram account in his name, he does not pay much attention to social media. But whoever does oversee his Instagram page added a comment to Ms. Hudson's mermaid-fisherman photo: 'My biggest catch!!!' A Fisherman's Daughter Since Mr. Belichick landed his job with U.N.C., Ms. Hudson has emerged as something of a first lady. She has attended a U.N.C. basketball game, posing courtside wearing a large sweatshirt and white go-go boots. As the football offseason's activities have geared up, she has walked the stadium sidelines in a long snakeskin-like coat and high heels, huddling at moments with Mr. Belichick. Ms. Hudson shared pictures and a video of Mr. Belichick lying on his back on a beach in Jupiter, Fla., propelling her into the air, her belly on his feet. The video went viral among sports fans. Ryan McFee, an artist in New Bedford, Mass., was so amused by it that he painted the scene, adding a sign on the beach that reads, 'The Patriot Way.' He shared an image of the painting on Instagram and tagged Ms. Hudson. She then contacted him and purchased the piece, Mr. McFee said. (He said she asked him to change the sign to 'The Belichick Way,' which he did.) He named the painting, made with acrylic and spray paint, 'Mona Lisa Vito,' a reference to the character from 'My Cousin Vinny,' which Ms. Hudson told him was the first movie she and Mr. Belichick watched together. On Instagram, she implies that their successes are entwined. On their four-year 'meetiversary,' Ms. Hudson posted an image of Mr. Belichick's hand on her bare skin, with some of his Super Bowl rings visible. Her hand is placed over his, and she is wearing two rings of her own. One commemorates the National Cheerleaders Association championship she won as part of the Bridgewater State University team in 2021. The other is a shiny bauble — what appears to be a pink diamond set next to a white diamond — on her ring finger. Ms. Hudson has been using her new position to lobby for the policies and politicians she favors — primarily issues related to the fishing industry. 'As the daughter of displaced fishermen, I care to use my voice to protect the fleeting tradition and heritage of Maine fishing families,' she wrote on Instagram. 'I speak for the fishermen for the fishermen have no voice,' she wrote in a post. As part of her efforts, Ms. Hudson met with Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, at her office in Washington, D.C., the senator's spokesman said. Ms. Hudson is also dabbling in global politics. When Zoran Milanović was re-elected president of Croatia, Ms. Hudson posted photos of her and Mr. Belichick meeting with him and his aides in Zagreb, Croatia. (Mr. Belichick is of Croatian descent and was given an award for representing Croatia in America.) 'The People of Croatia have given you their sacred vote,' Ms. Hudson wrote on Instagram. 'We are looking forward to connecting with you again in the quinquennium, Mr. President.' Mr. Milanović did not respond to a request for comment. Ms. Hudson celebrates those who celebrate her beau, and she disses those who dis him. When she attended Super Bowl festivities with Mr. Belichick, she was photographed ambling around New Orleans wearing an Atlanta Falcons Super Bowl LI shirt. That was the Super Bowl in which the Falcons — who last year declined to hire Mr. Belichick — lost to the Patriots in a come-from-behind thriller. As she no doubt anticipated, photographs of her in the shirt made their way around the internet. Ms. Hudson also has fans. 'We have a new it-girl on campus,' intoned the narrator of a breathless video created by Hellyeah UNC, an Instagram account that covers the school's sports culture. 'You may know her boyfriend as our new football coach. But Jordon Hudson is the real star moving to Chapel Hill.' While she is a source of buzz and fascination on the internet, most of those who know her do not want to talk about her — at least not publicly. Bridgewater State students partying at 'Senior Night' at Emma's Pub and Pizza near campus scurried away when approached by a reporter. 'We are not allowed to talk about her,' said one member of the cheer squad before walking swiftly to the other side of the bar. One person who had no problem invoking her was the Bridgewater State commencement speaker, the telecom billionaire Robert Hale Jr. At the university's graduation ceremony on Friday, held at Gillette Stadium where the Patriots play, he noted with self-deprecation that the students might have hoped for a more esteemed speaker — perhaps a member of the Kraft family, which owns the team, or the current head coach, Mike Vrabel. Or, Mr. Hale said, 'the old, old, old one, Belichick' who has 'very, very, very strong ties with very, very recent alumni.' This got a big laugh. Ms. Hudson attended college through May 2023, but did not earn a degree, according to the university's spokeswoman. Still, she remains a student of philosophy, the very topic that engrossed Mr. Belichick on that fateful JetBlue flight four years ago. ''What constitutes love?' or 'what makes someone worthy of loving?'' she pondered in a social media post on Valentine's Day. 'With such a limited character count, I cannot dissect nor comprehensively answer these questions, but I will exclaim a few basic concepts.' They included these: 'We do not need to justify 'why' we love a particular person,' 'Love does not discriminate against sex, skin-color, religion, age or ability,' and 'Love is not as deep as one's pockets.'
New York Times
14-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Mandel's mailbag: Will Bill Belichick's private life be forgotten once UNC-TCU kicks off?
I've seen a lot of indignant comments from readers asking why The Athletic is writing so much about Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson. It's a reasonable question. Though I'd point out these comments are being posted at the bottom of a Belichick-Hudson article they just read. So I think they answered their own question. Note: Submitted questions have been lightly edited for clarity and length. Advertisement Does Belichick coach a game for UNC? And if he does, will his private life be permanently forgotten the instant the game against TCU kicks off? — Melissa B. I got several questions to this effect. I'd recommend pumping the brakes. UNC has invested way too much in Belichick and his program — $20 million in staff salaries alone — to turn around and dismantle it six months later. I've seen references by various media outlets to his buyout dropping from $10 million to $1 million on June 1, but that's what Belichick would owe if he leaves. The school would owe him closer to $30 million if it were to part ways with him now. As for the possibility of firing him for cause, what is the cause, exactly? Hiring his meddling, much-younger girlfriend to be his manager? Unless he secretly put her on the UNC payroll, that's not exactly a fireable offense. Causing negative publicity for the university? I'd contend it's been far more negative toward Belichick and his girlfriend than it has for UNC. I assume all parties will proceed to kickoff and hope the Hudson story falls to the wayside, as most offseason controversies do. And it probably will — if the Tar Heels win. Any honeymoon Belichick might have been afforded if his first season goes like Deion Sanders' did at Colorado has been taken off the table. People are questioning whether Belichick's judgment might be a bit off now that he has reached the twilight of his career. I can only imagine the narrative if UNC starts 2-4. I've seen other comparisons to Deion, in that he brought a lot of attention to Colorado football that it had not previously enjoyed. But the situations aren't remotely similar. Love him or hate him, Deion created excitement for a previously irrelevant program, to the tune of sellout crowds and record TV ratings. I don't get the sense that even UNC fans are excited about the program right now. I've seen quite a few comments in our Belichick/Hudson stories from UNC fans saying they're embarrassed about their coach. Advertisement That will change in a hurry if the Tar Heels win, of course. Winning cures everything. But if not, it may be apathy, much more so than Hudson, that could make for a brief tenure. With the news of a presidential commission in college sports led by Nick Saban and Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell, the question that jumps to mind is what, exactly, do these guys want at the end of all this? And how aligned are their interests? Saban's public comments imply he mostly regrets the loss of power that he and coaches like him had. Campbell claims, through his public editorials, that this state of college sports is unsustainable, but his actions through his collective have done as much as anyone to disrupt the system. So, what do these guys actually have in mind for all this? — Benjamin D. We have so few details about this developing presidential commission, so I wouldn't begin to guess what the mission is there. But as for the end game, I have that same question not just for Saban and Campbell but for every ex-coach, congressman, senator, state legislator and whoever else is out there promising to save college sports. It's one thing to hold endless hearings in which people take turns saying, 'I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!' It's another to devise actual, practical solutions. We know what the conferences and NCAA want: an antitrust exemption, like Major League Baseball has, so they can make their own rules without being sued every 10 seconds. The primary decree being that athletes are not employees. It's an audacious ask considering even the NFL does not have a blanket antitrust exemption. People sue that league all the time. If nothing else, we're witnessing an interesting pendulum swing politically. We got to this point in large part because legislators at the state level wanted more protection for the athletes and began enacting their own name, image and likeness laws that eventually forced the NCAA to cave. Even early interest in the issue from congressmen and senators came in the form of proposed bills that would afford athletes more access to certain benefits. But the current push is all about restoring protections for the schools, to limit their liabilities, to give coaches more control of their rosters, etc. The pro-athlete movement was 15 years in the making, required thousands of billable hours and was achieved through a long series of modest, incremental gains. Advertisement As best I can tell, the other side does not yet have a cohesive strategy. A recent MGoBlog post made an analogy that recruiting is the draft, and transfers are free agency. You can fill needs via free agency, but you can't build a winning team. You have to hit on draft picks. Does that analogy work when you can sort of build a team (a la 2023 FSU, 2024 Ole Miss) that can win via transfers only? — Kyle L. That's exactly right. Transfer rules were relaxed in April 2021. Look at the teams to win national championships since then. Georgia in 2021 and '22 was built almost entirely with homegrown players. Michigan in 2023 had a few key transfers, especially on the offensive line, but pretty much every household name on that team spent three to four years in the program. And then came Ohio State last year. Ryan Day certainly went big in free agency by getting Will Howard, Caleb Downs and Quinshon Judkins, but the core of that team was still a whole bunch of guys who came in as freshmen (Josh Sawyer, TreVeyon Henderson, Cody Simon and others). Now, there are plenty of examples of teams like Colorado that built their entire roster through free agency and had very good seasons — in the Buffs' case, a 9-4 season. But 9-4 at one school is not necessarily a success at another. Which is why I wouldn't use Ole Miss as a shining example. Lane Kiffin and the Grove Collective spent a lot of money in the 2023 and '24 portal cycles to try to build the Rebels into a CFP team and still fell short. And it wasn't for lack of talent. Kiffin went out and got a future first-round quarterback in Jaxson Dart (who was there for three years, so effectively a draft pick), star receiver Tre Harris and a bunch of stud D-linemen who helped build Ole Miss into an elite defensive team. Only to lose to Kentucky at home and finish 10-3. Now, Ole Miss has to start over. Whereas Ohio State's championship run began with all those juniors from the 2023 team opting to return for another year, Kiffin will rely heavily on another crop of transfers and hope he has as good of a hit rate or better than he did with the last ones. That's a tough formula to maintain year after year. The more common strategy might be for a coach taking over a new program to rely heavily on free agents to be impactful immediately while waiting on his draft picks to develop. What level of football do I have to watch to find something roughly equivalent to CFB in the 20th century, where the focus is on regional conference rivalries and the postseason is a bonus exhibition rather than the dominant focal point of the entire year? Is that the FCS? Division II? Does it even exist? — Dan M., Washington, D.C. You'll find plenty of regional conferences at the lower levels. Start following the Big Sky, where everyone is in the Pacific or Mountain time zones, and you get great rivalries like Montana-Montana State and Idaho-Idaho State. Advertisement But a form of football that treats the postseason like a bonus exhibition? I'm not sure that's ever existed in any American sport outside of major college football in the old bowl system. You could, however, get into more European football, where they generally have no postseasons at all, just endless tournaments between countries and clubs that have little connection to their actual seasons. Just like bowl games. Ralph Russo brought up a good point on 'The Audible' podcast about the 'slow drip' of college football moving to a super league, with the top teams (like Clemson-Notre Dame) scheduling each other. Who needs whom more: blue blood programs (Ohio State, Georgia, Texas, etc.) or conferences? — Rob W., Columbia, SC The concessions the ACC made to appease Florida State and Clemson would indicate the conference needed those schools more than the other way around, even with those schools supposedly locked into the league's Grant of Rights for another decade. But that doesn't mean the same is true for the Big Ten and SEC. Suppose Alabama and Georgia decided they want out of the SEC and found a way to do it tomorrow. Obviously, it would hurt the SEC. But by how much, really? ESPN would still pay that league a lot of money for the rights to show games between Texas, Oklahoma, LSU, Florida, Tennessee and several other big brands. The football product itself might be hurt in the short term, but the SEC was pretty good when Nick Saban got to Alabama or Kirby Smart got to Georgia. The Big Ten would be in a tougher position if Ohio State and Michigan left, both because they are cash cows and because so much of that conference's identity is tied to its 'Big Two.' Even then, though, the conference would not fall to pieces. It would still have 16 schools, including Penn State, USC, Oregon and Nebraska. (Yes, Nebraska is still a decent TV draw.) It would no longer be in the same ballpark as the SEC competitively or financially, but it would remain plenty attractive to TV partners. But I'm skeptical even Ohio State and Michigan have the leverage to strike out on their own and pull a Notre Dame. I'm sure they could put together an attractive independent schedule full of home-and-homes with P4 programs. But would they really make more money than they do from the Big Ten? Notre Dame gets some financial advantage from being an independent. They do it because it's such an important part of the school's identity. Also, where would Ohio State, for one, park its other 35 sports? The Big Ten would not be rushing to lend a hand if it were to defect. Advertisement A more realistic possibility that falls short of a full-on super league is more stratification within conferences, like we're seeing in the ACC. Would anyone be surprised if, come 2030, when the Big Ten's TV deal expires, Ohio State, Michigan and a few other schools negotiate a bigger share of revenue for themselves, at the expense of Northwestern and Purdue? They get the concession that they bring more value to the conference without the risks that come with going independent or some other radical option. What would be considered a successful season for Florida State after last year's disaster? What would put Mike Norvell's seat in jeopardy? — Esteban G., Jacksonville, Fla. Get to a bowl game. This isn't the old days, when it might take you three or four years of new recruiting classes to turn a 2-10 program into a 7-5 program. Everyone now is always one great portal class from a quick turnaround, and Norvell's class of 23 transfers is ranked No. 6 on 247Sports. (Fair warning: Last year's was ranked No. 7, and you saw how that turned out.) At the same time, no one should expect to go from 3-9 to 11-2 overnight, as Indiana did last year. It was an extreme outlier. (The Hoosiers also had a new coach.) Even at a brand-name school like Florida State, you'd hope the fan base can accept a more realistic year-over-year goal of just getting back to .500. The Noles made some clear upgrades on the offensive line with Ole Miss' Micah Pettus and Wake Forest's Luke Pettibon. Former USC receiver Duce Robinson was a big-time recruit in 2023 but got somewhat lost in the shuffle there. He'll likely get more opportunities at FSU. Nebraska edge James Williams was a big get on the D-line. One of the biggest additions may be Houston cornerback Jeremiah Wilson, who came in after spring camp. My biggest concern for FSU is at quarterback. A year after Norvell's baffling decision to go all in on the underachieving DJ Uiagalelei, he chose another guy he's seen up close in the ACC: ex-Boston College starter Tommy Castellanos. He's a talented dual-threat guy who had his moments over the past two years. Bill O'Brien benched him before BC's stretch run last season, at which point he immediately left the team. I'm not convinced he'll be FSU's savior. And then there's the guy who will be calling plays for him: Gus Malzahn. Interesting OC choice by Norvell, who will be giving up play calling this year. I'm not for or against the hire, but I wonder if Malzahn's reputation as an offensive genius has stretched a bit beyond its peak. His past two UCF units were ranked in the top 20 nationally in yards per play, thanks in large part to stud running back R.J. Harvey. Quarterback play, on the other hand, was not anything special. But again, if this crew can string together six or seven wins, great. It's a nice bridge to 2026. If, on the other hand, it's something like 4-8, FSU boosters might be passing the hat to afford Norvell's $60 million-plus buyout. Advertisement What is stopping the NCAA — or the SEC, with its even more restrictive numbers — from dropping the roster limits from the House settlement? Why is it not going back to scholarship and roster limits being two distinct and separate discussions? — Brian H., Oakton, Va. The NCAA argument is that roster limits are necessary for competitive balance. In the past, scholarship limits essentially served that purpose. Yes, teams have walk-ons that allow them to have bigger rosters than 85, but those are generally guys who can't get a scholarship elsewhere. If you say schools can give out as many scholarships as they want and put as many guys on their roster as they want, theoretically, Alabama could have 150 scholarship players while its opponents have 85. I think we can agree that would be silly. The more confusing part is how the settlement of a multibillion-dollar antitrust case that was specifically focused on the issue of NIL backpay is being used to determine how many athletes can play for college water polo teams. But that's for smarter legal minds than me to address. Oasis reunion tour or Rilo Kiley reunion tour? — Dan G., Los Angeles Hard to say. There are few bands I detest more than Oasis, but I'm also not that familiar with Rilo Kiley. And by 'not that familiar,' I mean 'hadn't heard of them until reading this question.' If I go to an NFL game and a receiver on 'my' team drops an easy TD, I'm going to vocally express my displeasure with him. What if I go to a Penn State vs. Ohio State game and a Penn State receiver drops an easy TD? We've mostly lived by the 'no booing student-athletes' mantra in the past, but given the money in the game nowadays, are the cuffs off? Or should I feel bad if I do this to a student-athlete? — John H., State College, Pa. I'm not here to tell you who you should or shouldn't boo. You spent the money on the ticket. It's your right to choose how you behave. Just don't embarrass yourself with nasty DMs to college athletes on social media. Zero tolerance for that stuff. @John H. If a Penn State receiver can get open enough to drop an easy touchdown, I'm calling that a win. — Jason K. That's a good point, too. Programming note: This will be my last mailbag for a few weeks due to The Athletic college football staff's offsite meetings next week, followed by some vacation time. Let's see how many more Belichick-Hudson stories emerge while I'm out.
Forbes
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Bill Belichick's Girlfriend Jordon Hudson Not Banned From UNC Football Facilities, School Says
The University of North Carolina said Friday that Jordon Hudson, the girlfriend of UNC football head coach Bill Belichick, is welcome to the school's football facilities, shooting down a report claiming she was banned from the facilities over concerns her presence could be 'detrimental' to UNC and Belichick's legacy. UNC denied the report concerning Hudson on Friday. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) Podcast host and sports journalist Pablo Torre said in a Friday episode of his podcast, 'Pablo Torre Finds Out,' that Hudson was banned from UNC's football facilities, citing two unnamed sources at the university. One of the university sources reportedly told Torre, 'Don't think you'll be hearing much from Jordon moving forward.' Torre also cited an unnamed Belichick family source who said there is concern over 'how detrimental Jordon can be for not just North Carolina but Bill's legacy, reputation.' UNC Athletics told Forbes in an email Hudson 'is welcome to the Carolina Football facilities' despite not being an employee with the school's athletic department. UNC Athletics noted Hudson, who is Belichick's de facto publicist, according to ESPN, 'will continue to manage all activities related to Coach Belichick's personal brand outside of his responsibilities for Carolina Football and the University.' Torre stood by his reporting following UNC's statement, saying in a post the university 'can now choose to describe or change its position on Jordon Hudson's involvement however it wishes,' and added that his reporting came from the top levels of UNC's football program. Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We're launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day's headlines. Text 'Alerts' to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here. Hudson, 24, is the CEO and founder of her own holdings company, Trouble Cub Enterprises, which has assets in real estate, media and cosmetics. She is also a licensed cosmetologist and a former National Cheerleaders Association champion with Bridgewater State University, according to posts from her Instagram profile. Hudson also recently announced she will compete in the 2025 Miss Maine USA pageant. However, it is her role as Belichick's de facto publicist and girlfriend that has garnered her the most attention, alongside the 49 year age gap between the two partners. Belichick, 73, recently had an interview with CBS where reporter Tony Dokoupil asked where he and Hudson met. Hudson, who was sitting off to the side of the interview, was captured by CBS interjecting, saying, 'we're not talking about this.' The interview was conducted ahead of the release of Belichick's new book, 'The Art of Winning,' where he addresses his experience as a six-time Super Bowl-winning coach and describes Hudson as his 'creative muse.' Belichick criticized CBS in a statement following the interview, saying he was under the expectation the segment would be solely focused on his book. The football coach noted he was 'surprised when unrelated topics were introduced,' saying 'Jordon, with whom I share both a personal and professional relationship, stepped in to reiterate that point to help refocus the discussion." Former Patriots players such as Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski poked fun at the age gap between Belichick and Hudson during 'The Roast of Tom Brady' in 2024. However, Gronkowski, alongside former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, recently defended Hudson's actions during the CBS interview, with Edelman arguing she was acting as Belichick's 'representative' as opposed to crashing the interview. Bill Belichick's girlfriend crashing interview among notable moments from 'CBS News Sunday Morning' appearance (CBS Sports) UNC says Bill Belichick's girlfriend still welcome at school (ESPN)
Associated Press
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
UNC: Belichick's girlfriend 'welcome' at football facilities after report she had been banned
North Carolina says the girlfriend of football coach Bill Belichick is 'welcome' at Tar Heels football facilities amid a report that 24-year-old Jordon Hudson had been banned from them. 'While Jordon Hudson is not an employee at the University or Carolina Athletics, she is welcome to the Carolina Football facilities,' the athletics department said in a statement Friday. 'Jordon will continue to manage all activities related to Coach Belichick's personal brand outside of his responsibilities for Carolina Football and the University.' That statement followed a report by the video podcast from sportswriter and broadcaster Pablo Torre, focusing on the relationship between Hudson and the 73-year-old Belichick — a six-time Super Bowl winner in the NFL as head coach of the New England Patriots but now a first-time college coach at UNC. The 'Pablo Torre Finds Out' podcast cited two unnamed sources at UNC that Hudson was no longer allowed on the Tar Heels' field or football facility in an episode focused on the couple's relationship. Friday's exchange came more than a week after Belichick defended Hudson for interjecting during a CBS interviewer's questions about their relationship and said she was 'simply doing her job.' That awkward interview had only added to attention and curiosity following a couple with a nearly five-decade age gap, with Hudson frequently posting glimpses into their relationship with social-media photos. That has included her role in Belichick's transition to college coaching, such as a March public records report by The Assembly about Belichick's request for an athletic official at UNC to copy in Hudson on emails early in his college transition after his December hiring. In response to Torre's podcast Friday, UNC said there had been 'false reports' about Hudson's role and released its statement to 'correct the record.' Torre posted his own response on social media, standing by the report. 'UNC can now choose to describe or change its position on Jordon Hudson's involvement however it wishes, following the publication of our episode,' Torre said in the post. 'We requested comment and filed dozens of FOIA requests that were not satisfied. And we stand by the specific reporting in our episode, which came from the highest levels of the football program.' ___ AP college football: and
