There are now five different lawsuits snaking their way through the courts that will, one way or the other, determine the future of the ACC. And before one of those suits has the opportunity to possibly break the conference in half, North Carolina's legislature want to get some laws on the books determining the future of their state's major public institutions future football schedules.
As WRAL reports, prominent Republican members of North Carolina's House of Representatives have filed a bill that would require North Carolina and NC State to play each other every season, and also require both schools to play one of Appalachian State, Charlotte or East Carolina every season.
House Bill 965 would require the Tar Heels and Wolfpack to play App State, Charlotte and East Carolina every season, and to visit all three schools every six years.
If passed, those schools would become permanent fixtures on UNC and NC State's schedules -- a home-and-home with all three schools would need six years to fully cycle through.
"Sports tourism is vital to the economy of North Carolina, and intrastate collegiate athletics generates millions of dollars in economic impact to the State," the bill states. "It is the priority of the General Assembly to encourage intrastate collegiate athletic rivalries in order to promote economic development."
UNC just finished a 3-game series with App State. The Mountaineers won 34-31 in Chapel Hill in 2019; UNC escaped Boone with a 63-61 win in 2022, and the Tar Heels scraped by with a 40-34 double OT win in Chapel Hill last September.
After that game, UNC head coach Mack Brown said he never wanted his Heels to play App again.
"All the pressure's on our kids. There's no pressure on App State, because nobody thinks they're going to win the game. But the pressure's on us. And unless we win, we're awful. And it just kills you. So I've had enough.
I'll enjoy my house in Linville and congratulating all the App State players and coaches, but I'm glad we're through."
North Carolina lost its last three games against East Carolina, most recently in 2018. NC State escaped Greenville with a 21-20 squeaker in 2022, and hosted the Pirates in 2018-19. The Wolfpack have played App State six times previously, all in Raleigh, and only once since 1992.
NC State has a home-and-home in place with App State in 2025-26, a home-and-home with Charlotte in 2030-31, and a home-and-home with ECU set for 2025 and '28.
UNC has a home-and-home with Charlotte on the books for 2024-25, but nothing beyond that. The Heels' non-conference schedules are set through 2028 (which include games with North Carolina Central and North Carolina A&T).
One of the bill's authors said the goal is more to force the schools into compliance on their own rather than get an actual law on the books. The bill would also require annual games in men's and women's basketball.
"It's more messaging," Rep. Jason Saine told the site. "The chance of passage may be based on the reactions from the schools. If they kind of overreact, it may force the issue. As much as anything, it's to kind of put a marker out there that fans want to see this. We hear it a lot."
It'll be interesting to hear what sort of feedback the lawmakers get from the head coach of the state's flagship institution.
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