"It's the Deion Sanders effect": Colin Cowherd gives Bill Belichick his flowers after UNC season tickets sell out in record time

Over the last two seasons, the Colorado Buffaloes have gone from being the least interesting to one of the most popular programs because of Deion Sanders. Heading into the 2025 season, North Carolina is being looked at as a program that could take the same path due to the presence of eight-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick.

On Tuesday, on The Herd, Colin Cowherd spoke at length about how Sanders transformed Colorado football from a forgotten program into a nationally relevant one.

“Colorado was a sputtering program. There wasn’t any interest,” Cowherd said (0:10 onwards). “Even with Deion, they weren’t super successful, but they got on TV a lot. They were interesting.”

That "interest factor" is now carrying over to another college football story: the University of North Carolina. The Tar Heels made headlines after selling out their 2024 season tickets in record time.

"This is interesting — Carolina has sold out their season tickets before," Cowherd added. "They’ve played a game under Bill Belichick. So it’s the Deion effect. And I think what’s fascinating about Belichick. … I think if you put Belichick in the SEC or the Big Ten, you get rolled.

"Because I’ve always had this theory: the key to NFL coaching is just raw intelligence. Mostly, smarter coaches win—because you pick the players, you can practice much longer. College football is different. You need to be able to recruit. You’ve got to have great energy. Intelligence, to some degree, can be muted."

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Bill Belichick's presence could drive UNC's revenue up: Report

The decision to hire Bill Belichick as coach is paying dividends for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham shared an update that the school has sold 20,000 season tickets for 2025.

This feat was achieved despite the fact that the prices were hiked by 25% on average. It suggests that fans were more than willing to see Belichick's team in action despite the high ticket prices.

According to Zachery Eanes of AXIOS RALEIGH, over time, UNC's revenue share with the ACC will likely go up due to incoming sponsorship deals. Belichick has signed a five-year, $50 million contract with UNC, but only $30 million of that deal is guaranteed.