CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference’s five straight days of football over Labor Day Weekend culminates with six-time Super Bowl Champion Bill Belichick making his highly anticipated collegiate coaching debut when North Carolina hosts TCU on Monday, September 1, at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
ESPN will host a special one-hour
College Football Countdown studio show live from Kenan Stadium on Monday, September 1. The Labor Day special will air live from 7-8 p.m. ET on ESPN from the sidelines before the Tar Heels take on the TCU Horned Frogs for their season opener.
The Monday night Labor Day contest marks the 16th consecutive Labor Day game for the ACC (excluding the 2020 COVID season), and the 19th time since the tradition began with Florida State versus Miami in 2005.
This year, the ACC was the only conference to play across all five days of Week 1—Thursday through Monday—which included a pair of top-10 wins. Florida State beat No. 8 Alabama on Saturday, August 30, and No. 10 Miami defeated No. 6 Notre Dame on Sunday, August 31.
Monday, September 1 | 8 p.m. ET
TCU at North Carolina
Series: North Carolina leads, 3-0
Last Meeting: North Carolina, 31-10 (1997)
TV: ESPN
SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 84 / SiriusXM 106 / SiriusXM 198
SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 84 /
SiriusXM 952
One of the biggest games in North Carolina football history kicks off Monday night in Chapel Hill, as NFL legend Bill Belichick makes his collegiate coaching debut against TCU.
North Carolina enters 2025 with a completely reshaped roster, featuring 23 FBS transfers—the most in the ACC and tied for sixth nationally—and more than 70 new players overall. South Alabama transfer Gio Lopez, who passed for 2,559 yards and added 465 rushing yards last season, is projected to start at quarterback for the Tar Heels.
On defense, the Heels reloaded with several high-impact additions, including Pryce Yates (UConn), Thaddeus Dixon (Washington), Khmori House (Washington) and Andrew Simpson (Boise State), after losing much of their core to the NFL and transfer portal.
TCU counters with star quarterback Josh Hoover, who returns after throwing for nearly 4,000 yards in 2024. Ranked No. 9 among all FBS quarterbacks in
The Athletic’s preseason list, Hoover is considered one of the Big 12’s top signal-callers. The Horned Frogs are no strangers to marquee openers—just two years ago, they hosted Colorado in Deion Sanders’ debut, a stunning 45-42 loss despite entering as a 20.5-point favorite.