It didn't go as hoped for the Tar Heel faithful as their team was thrashed 48-14 by TCU.
With much fanfare, Belichick, who won six Super Bowl titles as coach of the New England Patriots and two more as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, led North Carolina against visiting TCU in a college edition of "Monday Night Football."
North Carolina to play TCU on Labor Day, 1st game under coach Bill Belichick
Tens of thousands descended on Chapel Hill for the event, and by the third quarter, the stands at Kenan Stadium were emptying.
But there still seemed to be a lot of excitement on campus for the season ahead.
"Oh yeah, I'm still feeling good, I'm feeling great about the season, too," said UNC sophomore Cooper Phillips.
Despite the loss, Phillips said the energy around the program this year compared to last year is very different.
"It's definitely way more hype than it was my freshman year. I mean, it's Bill Belichick, six-time Super Bowl champion," Phillips said.
Mike Tarrant, who graduated from UNC in 2008, said the national focus on his university's football program was a different beast.
"It's been huge. We were talking before the game, it's probably the most hype we've seen in more than 10 years," Tarrant said. "Very different. Very different from what I remember. The night game, the environment here, it's awesome."
Store owners on Franklin Street were excited, too. They were seeing an uptick in business on Monday, hours before kickoff. They hope this becomes the norm during the next four months, with hotels booked and home games already sold out.
Anticipation builds for start of Belichick era in Chapel Hill
"It's history-making in that it's sold out, the whole season. You know, there's the Belichick effect," said Laurie Paolicelli, executive director of the Chapel Hill Visitors Bureau. "There's Labor Day, there's a new, fairly new school year, where a lot of parents use this as a reason to come back and see their kids. We've had people from all over the country here today.
"Yeah, there's just some certain energy in the air," she added.
Logan McMahon, a Class of 2019 grad, came from Charlotte for the game and tailgate beforehand.
"I think you have more people that are brought in, more people that are actually excited for the football itself," McMahon said. "Before it's the tailgate, and you're more involved in the tailgate, and then you have to go to the game. Now, we're excited for the game."
ESPN contributed.