New Proposed NC House Bill Would Require NC State & UNC to Play One Another Annually

A new bill was proposed today in the North Carolina House of Representatives that would require NC State and UNC to play one another annually in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball (a 3-game series), and softball (a 3-game series).

Bill 469, titled the ‘Restoring Rivalries Act,’ was sponsored by House Republican Majority Leader Brenden Jones.

“Essentially what we want to ensure is that UNC and NC State will continue to play in a world where they are not both in the ACC,” said Rep. Brenden Jones, the House’s Republican majority leader and a lead sponsor of the bill. (WRAL)

Currently, the annual football game between the Wolfpack and the Tar Heels is a ‘protected matchup,’ locked in through 2030.

Traditionally, NC State and UNC have played each other twice in the regular season, but this is no longer guaranteed.

This year in men’s basketball, NC State played UNC in Raleigh and Chapel Hill during the regular season, but the women’s teams only played once in Chapel Hill, and will only play once in Raleigh next year.

The two teams are scheduled to play a 3-game series against each other in baseball and softball this year.

While the settlement between FSU/Clemson and the ACC a few weeks ago brought a sense of stability for the present, it by no means guarantees that ACC teams won’t jump to other conferences in the future.

Regarding exit fees, if a school wants to leave the ACC starting in the 2025-26 fiscal year, they will have to pay $165 million. Each subsequent year, this fee decreases annually by $18 million until it reaches $75 million in 2030-31, where it will remain until the Grant of Rights deal with ESPN concludes in 2036. It’s also significant to note that if a school pays the fee and leaves, they will retain their own media rights.

Part of the purpose of the proposed bill is to maintain the historic rivalry series between NC State and UNC, preparing for the possibility of either school ending up in separate conferences one day. While Representative Jones desires to pass legislation to keep the two schools locked together, whether that be in the ACC or another conference, that is not a part of the current proposed bill.

Bill 469 is reminiscent of Bill 965, which was proposed but did not move forward last summer. That proposed bill would have been more expansive, requiring NC State, UNC, ECU, UNC-Charlotte, and App State to play each other.

You can read the proposed bill in full below.