The highly anticipated Bill Belichick era for North Carolina football is set to commence on Sept 1 against TCU. The Tar Heels are looking not only to come storming out of the gates but also to do so with style. 

On Wednesday, the Tar Heels and Belichick put out an order for throwback uniforms from the 1980 season, per On3Sports.

The motive for going old school has much to do with finding inspiration.

In 1980, the Tar Heels started the year at 7-0 and ended up finishing at 11-1. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels football team in 2025 is facing mixed expectations. Some experts anticipate they will play a modest 7 or 8 games all year. 

Last season, the Tar Heels finished the season at 6-7 and 3-5 in the ACC. In December 2024, they made it to the Fenway Bowl before losing to UConn 27-14. That same month, the Tar Heels hired Belichick as the head coach. 

He is taking over for longtime coach Mack Brown after Brown was fired following 10 seasons as head coach. Also, QB Max Johnson is on the rebound following a serious leg injury sustained during Week 1 of the 2024 season. 

While most aren't expecting much from the Tar Heels, their paying homage to the 1980 team is a high bar. 

The 1980 North Carolina football team

There's a tendency to automatically label North Carolina as a basketball school, which is obvious. However, 1980 was a memorable year that proved the school was much more than what was done on the hardwood. 

That year, the Tar Heels were led by future Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor and running backs Amos Lawrence and Kelvin Bryant. Led by Taylor, the defense held opponents to 14 points or lower. He finished the season with 16 sacks. 

Lawrence and Bryant both finished with 1,000 rushing yards. Other future NFL players included Darrell Nicholson and Donnell Thompson. 

In the end, North Carolina went on to win the ACC championship and defeated Texas 16-7 in the Bluebonnet Bowl. 

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