UNC basketball’s 2025-26 schedule is set, with the Tar Heels set to pay $650,000 to eight nonconference teams and receive at least $750,000 in two other games, according to documents obtained by the USA TODAY Network through a public records request.
Entering their fifth season under coach Hubert Davis, the 25th-ranked Tar Heels will pay between $85,000 and $95,000 to its seven out-of-conference opponents in the regular season. Winston-Salem State, a Division II program, will receive $25,000 for an exhibition game on Oct. 29 at the Smith Center. The Rams will also get 75 complimentary tickets.
UNC tips off the regular season on Nov. 3 against Central Arkansas, which will receive $90,000 in guaranteed compensation. Considered “buy games,” N.C. Central (Nov. 14), Navy (Nov. 18) and East Tennessee State (Dec. 16) will also get $90,000 for coming to Chapel Hill. Radford (Nov. 11) and ECU (Dec. 22) will receive $85,000. USC Upstate, which is scheduled to play at UNC on Dec. 13, will receive a season-high $95,000 in payment.
The Tar Heels also host No. 19 Kansas (Nov. 7) and Georgetown (Dec. 7), but neither contract includes a guaranteed payment for either program. Each of the regular-season opponents coming to Chapel Hill will receive 50 complimentary tickets.
UNC plays at No. 9 Kentucky (Dec. 2) as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge, but neither team receives compensation since that ESPN marquee event is included in each conference’s media rights payout.
UNC basketball getting paid big money by BYU for exhibition
Breaking down what UNC will receive in payment this season, the Tar Heels tip off their preseason schedule against No. 8 BYU in an exhibition game at the Delta Center, in Salt Lake City, Utah. UNC will receive $500,000 for playing the Cougars. UNC will also receive 50 complimentary tickets.
Additionally, UNC is set to receive at least $250,000 for its participation in the CBS Sports Classic. The Tar Heels play Ohio State (Dec. 20) in Atlanta in the event, which was created around those two programs, along with Kentucky and UCLA, in 2014. UNC will also receive at least $250,000 for playing Kentucky in the 2026 edition of the event.
The Tar Heels are also expected to receive compensation for participating in the Fort Myers Tip-Off event during Thanksgiving week in Florida. But the university had no record available for release under state law. UNC will play St. Bonaventure (Nov. 25) and No. 22 Michigan State (Nov. 27) in Fort Myers.
