☀️ In Today’s Edition

1. The NCAA’s Discontents
2. Give Him Some Leeway
3. Around Our Network
4. What We’re Reading
5. Our Recent Stories

To say Kevin Trapani was disappointed when he read the news alert on June 11 would be an understatement: “Chris Pollard named Virginia’s baseball coach after 13 seasons at Duke.”

Trapani and thousands of other Duke fans had just come out to cheer the team on in their first-ever home NCAA super regional. The alum and longtime fan took to Facebook to air his grievances, touching on everything from his anger at the disloyalty to the fact that seven of the team’s best players were following Pollard to UVa.

“I really don’t like college sports right now,” Trapani wrote.

He’s not alone. Many fans across the country have become increasingly disillusioned as college sports have become more professionalized and less regulated, Andrew Long reports.

A College Sports Fan’s Lament

Players change schools every year and old conference rivalries are diminished. As college programs become more professional, a loyal Duke fan is among those mourning what’s been lost.

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Lee Roberts has a vision for sweeping change at the state’s flagship university, and despite heaps of criticism and skepticism, he’s confident he’ll be proven right. It might just take some time.

“This is not a short-term kind of place,” he said. “It’s the kind of institution where change happens relatively slowly, and that’s OK. But it means you need to have a long-term vision.”

Erin Gretzinger looks at the questions ahead.

Lee Roberts’ Long Game

The UNC-Chapel Hill chancellor has his sights set on the big picture—despite federal-level uncertainties and campus clashes over his business-driven vision.

Carma Locklear Henson was elected president of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice this summer, becoming the first Lumbee to lead the nonprofit. Border Belt Independent has more.

CityView‘s Bill Kirby looks at the next steps for a family-owned oil company.

When Tift Merritt was asked to look through her archives for a 20th anniversary reissue of “Tambourine,” she revisited a past version of herself, INDY writes.

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What We’re Reading

Digging in the Cushions: State Treasurer Brad Briner says his team has found $170 million that “has been sitting idle in the state’s accounts for years,” according to WITN.

Cancel Culture: Netflix is canceling The Waterfront, which was filmed in N.C., despite a popular first season, per WBTV.

Doggone: The town of Dellview was founded 100 years ago for a very specific reason: shooting dogs. N.C. Rabbit Hole looks at how it survived for so years as one of the smallest towns in the United States.

Have a news tip for our team? You can reach us at scoops@theassemblync.com.

Our Recent Stories

A New Way to Pay to Play

A company circumvented a ban on corporate donations to give legislative Republicans $220,000. Those lawmakers then passed legislation that could make the company millions.

Looking Up in Chimney Rock

Eleven months after Hurricane Helene devastated the mountain town, tourists are trickling back.

Supreme Politics

State Supreme Court campaigns used to be removed from the political debates of the day. Not any more.

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