The ACC on Friday announced kickoff times for UNC’s first three games of the season, beginning with a 6 pm kickoff in Charlotte for the season opener Thursday, September 3, against South Carolina. (Yes, folks, UNC football season is only three and a half months away.)

The full statement from UNC Athletics:

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Game times for North Carolina’s first three football games were announced Friday by the Atlantic Coast Conference.
 
The Tar Heels will face South Carolina in the first Belk College Kickoff in Charlotte on Thursday, Sept. 3, at 6 p.m. on an ESPN network still to be announced.
 
Carolina’s home opener on Saturday, Sept. 12, against North Carolina A&T will kick off at 6 p.m. and will be available on ESPN3.
 
UNC’s third game of the season on Saturday, Sept. 19 vs. Big Ten rival Illinois will begin at noon and will be televised by either ESPN or ESPN2.
 
Tickets for North Carolina’s 2015 season are available at GoHeels.com/footballtickets.

Related Stories
‹
UNC Football Under Microscope Again With Lombardi's Administrative Leave – Stroman On Sports (July 31, 2026)
The Hill's Deborah Stroman and Brighton McConnell chat on Friday, July 31, about UNC football general manager Michael Lombardi landing on administrative leave amid a university-led investigation.
The Morning News: UNC Degree Cuts, Vinfast, Michael Lombardi
In today's news: UNC prepares to cut four degree programs, and Bill Belichick and Lee Roberts weigh in on the Michael Lombardi situation.
Amid Cloud of Uncertainty, UNC Football Opens 2026 Fall Training Camp
UNC took the field in Chapel Hill Thursday morning to open its fall training camp. Despite prognostications of doom and a gamut of negative press, it appears the Tar Heels will, in fact, play football in 2026. The bizarre headlines trickling out of the Kenan Football Center had no doubt cast a pall over things: […]
Belichick Mum on Michael Lombardi Situation, While UNC Chancellor Vows Investigation Will 'Fix It'
UNC head coach Bill Belichick addressed the media at the Kenan Football Center as the Tar Heels opened their fall training camp Thursday morning. It was Belichick’s first public appearance since the university announced Monday that general manager Michael Lombardi was being put on paid administrative leave for what is being reported as an HR […]
Chansky's Notebook: Needs to Go...Now
With Michael Lombardi put onto administrative leave, UNC Athletics Director Steve Newmark has a tough, but clear, decision to make.
The Morning News: Expanding the Ackland, Envisioning Carolina North
In today's news: UNC officials tour the future Carolina North site - and move forward on a big expansion of the Ackland Art Museum.
The Morning News: Rani Dasi, UNC Football, and the Red Cross
In today's news: Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board member Rani Dasi is appointed to fill a seat on the Orange County Board of Commissioners.
Chansky's Notebook: Chicanery
News of Mike Lombardi being put on administrative leave is just another embarrassment for this current UNC football regime.
Inside Carolina's Tommy Ashley on Michael Lombardi and 2026 UNC Football – On Air Today (July 27, 2026)
Inside Carolina podcast host Tommy Ashley joins 97.9 The Hill's news director Brighton McConnell on Monday, July 27.
'Nobody Likes to Lose': UNC Football Motivated by Frustrations of 2025 Season
The 2025 football season saw UNC end on a three-game losing streak. That in itself is, unfortunately for the Tar Heels, not entirely unique: Carolina lost three straight to end the 2024 and 2023 seasons and closed out the 2022 season on an ugly four-game slide. But it was the way in which the Tar […]
›