Information broke on Monday that the College of North Carolina soccer crew’s common supervisor, Michael Lombardi, a longtime collaborator with head coach Invoice Belichick, has been positioned on administrative go away.
“The College of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has positioned Michael Lombardi, common supervisor for the Carolina soccer program, on paid administrative go away, efficient instantly,” UNC stated by way of assertion. “As is customary process with personnel issues, management, employees, and student-athletes are prohibited from addressing this subject additional, and has no reflection on the deserves.”
ESPN’s Pete Thamel adopted up with a report that the choice to position Lombardi, who’s within the second yr of a three-year deal that pays a base fee of $1.5 million per yr, on go away stemmed from a grievance filed by a former UNC entrance workplace worker.
Monday will get worse for North Carolina
Afterward Monday afternoon, investigative sports activities journalist Pablo Torre broke the information that your entire soccer program had been positioned underneath investigation by the Faculty Sports activities Fee.
“BREAKING: Along with the Mike Lombardi HR matter, the College of North Carolina soccer crew can be being investigated by the Faculty Sports activities Fee — the entity which handles compliance and enforcement of NCAA and NIL guidelines,” Torre posted on X.
BREAKING: Along with the Mike Lombardi HR matter, the College of North Carolina soccer crew can be being investigated by the Faculty Sports activities Fee — the entity which handles compliance and enforcement of NCAA and NIL guidelines. https://t.co/5G5YnzjNsd
— Pablo Torre 👀 (@PabloTorre) July 27, 2026
North Carolina went 4-8 final season, Belichick and Lombardi’s first with this system. With the distractions mounting and a scarcity of on-field success for the Tar Heels, it’s price questioning how for much longer the college will proceed the Belichick expertise if the wins don’t begin piling quickly.
