****UPDATE: This article has been updated following the university’s release about the Koman family’s donation.****

After standing on UNC’s campus for nearly a year, the football program’s practice facility has been given a new name.

The university announced on Thursday a $15 million gift had been made by Jim Koman, who is former UNC football player Bill Koman’s son, and his wife Jennifer. The gift will help establish the Bill Koman Game Plan for Success within the football program, a comprehensive development program to prepare players for life following their time at Carolina. The gift will also name the practice facility the Bill Koman Practice Complex.

According to the university, the Koman’s donation is the largest single gift in the history of The Rams Club and UNC Athletics.

“My father was always a competitor on and off the field,” said Jim Koman in a statement the athletics department released. “He believed that hard work, discipline and never being satisfied with second best not only prepared you for competition, but it also prepared you most importantly for life after sports. Carolina gave my father an education second to none, and without that education he would never have been so successful in the business world after pro football ended.”

Programming and training of the Bill Koman Game Plan will focus on preparing UNC football players for their college career through academic assessment and studying. The initiative will also help teach skills preparation, leadership development, community involvement and how to earn career opportunities.

A photo from InsideCarolina shared on Wednesday revealed the new signage on the facility’s front.

Bill Koman, who played linebacker for the Tar Heels in the early 1950s, passed away at the age of 85 in late 2019. He played in the NFL for 12 years, making the Pro Bowl twice in his career. Jim Koman also played football while attending UNC in the mid-1980s.

Bill and his wife Joan have another part of the UNC campus named after them in addition to the football facility. A $1 million gift from the pair led to the brick path between Fetzer Hall and the Stallings-Evans Sports Medicine Center that connects South Road and Stadium Drive being completed in 2011. A stone with a dedication plaque sits beside the walkway, calling it ‘Koman Way.’

Photo via GoHeels.

Related Stories
‹
Report: UNC QB Bryce Baker Plans to Enter Transfer Portal
According to numerous sources, UNC true freshman quarterback Bryce Baker is planning to enter the transfer portal once it opens Jan. 2. Hayes Fawcett of On3 Sports first reported the news. BREAKING: North Carolina true freshman QB Bryce Baker is entering the @TransferPortal, @On3Sports has learned He was ranked as a Top 65 Recruit (No. […]
Report: UNC Football Hiring Bobby Petrino as Offensive Coordinator
According to reports from Inside Carolina and On3 Sports, UNC is hiring Arkansas’ Bobby Petrino as its next offensive coordinator. Petrino will replace Freddie Kitchens, who was fired after his lone season calling plays in 2025. The UNC offense fizzled more than it popped under Kitchens’ leadership. The Tar Heels were one of just two […]
College Football's Transfer Portal Opens Jan. 2. Which Tar Heels Are Planning to Enter?
The college football transfer portal will open Friday, Jan. 2 and close at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 16. It will be the only transfer portal window of the year for college football, as the NCAA moved to eliminate the spring transfer window earlier this year. Players do not have to have committed to and […]
Chansky's Notebook: Coaching Cuts
Bill Belichick has fired two of his assistant coaches, but it's unclear where UNC will go for its upcoming hires.
UNC Football: Belichick Fires Assistants Freddie Kitchens, Mike Priefer
UNC football head coach Bill Belichick has begun shaking up his coaching staff, as he announced the firings of both offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens and special teams coordinator Mike Priefer Friday morning. “We want to thank Coach Kitchens and Coach Priefer for their commitment and many contributions to our program and student-athletes,” Belichick said in […]
Chansky's Notebook: Year One Done
The Bill Belichick Era at UNC is officially one year old. Right now, at least, infamy is the softest way to describe it.
Chansky's Notebook: Pro Football School
Drake Maye is getting most of the publicity, but several of his former teammates at UNC are also in the league this season.
UNC Linebacker Khmori House to Enter Transfer Portal
UNC starting linebacker Khmori House plans to enter the transfer portal with two years of eligibility remaining. The portal will officially open January 2. View this post on Instagram House arrived in Chapel Hill via the transfer portal from the University of Washington last offseason. A sophomore, House led UNC in tackles with 78. He […]
Chansky's Notebook: A Full Cycle
Bill Belichick and Michael Lombardi's "first" national signing day class at UNC comes with some good news and some bad news.
'They Will Be a Foundation': Belichick, Lombardi Speak at UNC Football's National Signing Day Event
UNC officially announced the signings of 39 high school and junior college prospects Wednesday at the Kenan Football Center. The Tar Heels’ class is ranked No. 17 nationally and No. 3 in the ACC by 247 Sports. Of schools with classes ranked inside the Top 50, only West Virginia signed more players Wednesday. Of the […]
›