The UNC athletic department and the football program have officially announced an expanded pregame experience for Tar Heel fans this fall, dubbed “Chapel Thrill Game Day.”

The event will include the debut of the “Chapel Thrill Concert Series,” sponsored by the Rams Club. The series will see recording artists from around the country perform onstage in front of Wilson Library in the heart of the UNC campus. The concert will be free and will begin about two hours before kickoff of each home football game. A list of performers will be announced soon, the athletic department said. One hour before kickoff, the concert stage will host a performance from the Marching Tar Heels, UNC’s marching band.

For the opening game against TCU the night of September 1, the football team will participate in the Old Well Walk, walking from the Old Well through Polk Place, then around the Bell Tower and into Kenan Stadium. The walk begins approximately two-and-a-half hours before kickoff.

“With the landmark hiring of Bill Belichick and the excitement surrounding Carolina football at an all-time high, we want to provide an exceptional pre-game experience that will help create lasting memories for our fans inside and outside of Kenan Stadium,” said Rick Barakat, UNC’s deputy athletic director and chief revenue officer. Barakat was hired in March after building a successful career in multiple athletic fields, including Minor League Baseball.

The existing Modelo Kickoff Club will expand and move to in front of the performance stage at Polk Place. The club opens four hours prior to kickoff. Entry is free and alcoholic drinks will be available to purchase. Food trucks will also be available to patrons in and around Polk Place, as will a new student tailgate area.

The Coca-Cola Fan Zone, which also opens four hours prior to kickoff, is aimed at fans of all ages and will be located in the Pit in front of the UNC Student Stores. Activities include golf simulators, bounce houses and autograph sessions with UNC athletes. The Modelo Kickoff Club, student tailgate area and the Coca-Cola Fan Zone will all close 30 minutes prior to kickoff each weekend.

UNC previewed expanded football gameday programming earlier in the summer, with Barakat telling the school’s Board of Trustees in May, “We’re trying to turn over every rock and find new ways to drive revenue.”

“That could hopefully bring some three-plus thousand students into Polk Place every gameday,” Barakat said of the activities in the middle of campus. “Very populated, boisterous… hopefully we can pull that off.”

 

Featured image via Chapel Hill Media Group/Dakota Moyer

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.

Related Stories
‹
'I Can Do This For a Long Time': Bobby Petrino Excited for New Challenge With UNC Football
Let’s get one thing out of the way first: UNC’s new offensive coordinator is known for more than just being a football coach. Ask Atlanta Falcons fans about Bobby Petrino’s antics. Or the folks in Louisville. Or Arkansas. The paper trail that follows Petrino everywhere he goes is long, and it bends toward absurdity. Egregiously […]
Chansky's Notebook: Dead Man Walking?
With Hubert Davis dismissed, no seat will be hotter in Chapel Hill than UNC head football coach Bill Belichick’s this fall.
Chansky's Notebook: 'We Have Our Team Now'
Bill Belichick spoke to the media at the Kenan Football Center Tuesday as UNC opened its spring practice season.
Chansky's Notebook: Mack is Back (Again)
Mack Brown's midcourt ceremony at the Smith Center Monday night was a satisfying end to what had been an awkward UNC football saga.
Here's a List of Which Transfers Have Committed to UNC Football in 2026
The college football transfer portal opened Friday, Jan. 2 and closed Friday, Jan. 16. Here’s a list of players who have committed to head coach Bill Belichick and UNC out of the portal so far, with their classes for the 2026 season: QB Billy Edwards, Jr. (Most recent school: Wisconsin, redshirt senior) Ranked 3rd in […]
Tributes Pour In After James Spurling, Director of Kenan Stadium, Dies at 68
James Spurling, who served as the Director of Kenan Stadium and the Kenan Football Center in the heart of the UNC campus since 2006 and had been a Chapel Hill staple for many years prior, died Thursday. He was 68 years old. Tributes flooded in from across the Chapel Hill and UNC sports communities following […]
Financial Report Shows UNC Athletics Operated at $15 Million Deficit in 2024-25 Year
The newest financial report from the UNC athletic department to the NCAA shows the department operated at a deficit of more than $15 million during the 2024-25 fiscal year. The department reported revenues of $172,951,034 and reported expenses of $187,967,260. The UNC athletic department had operated at a profit in each of the past three […]
'Hard to Imagine': Newmark, Lombardi, Others Share Disbelief at Bill Belichick Hall of Fame Vote
UNC football general manager Michael Lombardi and athletic-director-in-waiting Steve Newmark were among many sports figures to share their disappointment and surprise at reports that head coach Bill Belichick was not voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first ballot. An ESPN report published Tuesday night indicated Belichick, currently between his first and […]
Chansky's Notebook: Sophomore Slippage
UNC's schedule for the 2026 football season is out, and Art Chansky says it is very, very bad news for Bill Belichick's second year.
Schedule Set for UNC Football's 2026 Season
The UNC football program now has its complete schedule for the 2026 season. The ACC revealed all of the league members’ schedules Monday night. Your 2026 North Carolina Football Schedule. 🐏 🔗: https://t.co/VQdkI47r8n🎟️: https://t.co/XERIbvZEH8 pic.twitter.com/6Zb5uSn1y3 — Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) January 26, 2026 UNC will open the season in Dublin, Ireland against TCU as part of […]
›