University of North Carolina Athletics
Bubba Cunningham
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Cunningham Relishes Olympic Leadership Role
February 4, 2026 | General
Note: This article originally appeared on UNC.edu.
He won't carry a hockey stick, squeeze into a bobsled, ski down a hill or jump a triple axel, but there will be a Tar Heel at the Winter Olympics.
Bubba Cunningham, Carolina's athletic director, is headed to Italy for the Games.
Since 2023, Cunningham has served on the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee Board of Directors.
"I've had the opportunity because I'm at the University of North Carolina, a place that has long believed in supporting broad-based sports programming, key to producing Olympians not only for Team USA but worldwide," said Cunningham, the only college AD on the board.
Carolina supports 28 varsity sports and has had 115 Tar Heels (including student-athletes, alumni, coaches and medical staff) represent 18 different countries in the Olympic Games.
How did you get this opportunity?
The USOPC saw a need for a relationship with the NCAA and created a Collegiate Advisory Council. They asked a group of ADs to think about how we ensure colleges, along with the NCAA, continue to support Olympic sports.
The CAC morphed into a more formal structure, which led to a relationship with the USOPC Board of Directors. It made sense to have an AD advise the USOPC and sit on the board. Kevin White from Duke was the first one, and I've been the second.
I feel fortunate to be in this position.
How important are college athletics to the U.S. Olympic model?
The USOPC is the only national governing body that doesn't get federal support. The U.S. has relied upon the collegiate model to support it. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, 75% of our athletes were current or former college athletes.
It's a great asset for our country, but there's worry about the changes in college athletics. With revenue share, NIL, things like that, the USOPC is very concerned schools will start dropping Olympic sports.
We're all advocates in Washington, D.C., to try to figure out a way for colleges to continue to offer broad-based programming, but financially it's becoming more difficult.
What are some of your earliest Olympic memories?
In the 1970s, McDonald's — they were an Olympics sponsor — used to run a promotion. You'd get a scratch-off card with an Olympian. If they won gold, you got a Big Mac. If they won silver, you got French fries. If they won bronze, you got a drink. I just remember scratching those off and thinking, "I'm hoping for Gerd Bonk, an East Germany weightlifter. If he wins a gold, I get a Big Mac."
I'm still mad about the 1972 Olympics when Russia beat us on three different tries in the basketball game. We got cheated out of that.
How was your experience at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris? What are you looking forward to in Italy?
I saw lots of events, including Tar Heel Aranza Vázquez Montaño at the diving area. It was a wonderful experience to actually see all the work of a governing board come together and the staff execute the plan in a foreign country.
We'll get the same experience in Italy. I'm going to stay in Milan and will get to see figure skating, speed skating and ice hockey. Los Angeles will host the next Summer Games in 2028, and the 2034 Winter Games are headed to Utah. Have you played a role in the preparations for those events? LA '28 is a part of every board meeting. The USOPC and LA '28 have partnered on the commercial activity and corporate partnerships related to the Games.
I'm looking forward to that, not to mention Utah '34. One of our recent board meetings was in Salt Lake City, and we had a chance to spend time with all the people from Utah '34.
What's surprised or stood out to you through this experience?
You watch the Olympics on TV and you enjoy the competition, but the complexity and professionalism behind the scenes to make it successful is something you don't realize until you see it first-hand.
Sarah Hirshland, the USOPC CEO, does a phenomenal job with a great staff. The athletes are special — including the current and former ones on the board. It has been an honor to be an adviser to something so special and memorable — while emphasizing how important broad-based programming in college athletics continues to be to the Olympics.
He won't carry a hockey stick, squeeze into a bobsled, ski down a hill or jump a triple axel, but there will be a Tar Heel at the Winter Olympics.
Bubba Cunningham, Carolina's athletic director, is headed to Italy for the Games.
Since 2023, Cunningham has served on the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee Board of Directors.
"I've had the opportunity because I'm at the University of North Carolina, a place that has long believed in supporting broad-based sports programming, key to producing Olympians not only for Team USA but worldwide," said Cunningham, the only college AD on the board.
Carolina supports 28 varsity sports and has had 115 Tar Heels (including student-athletes, alumni, coaches and medical staff) represent 18 different countries in the Olympic Games.
How did you get this opportunity?
The USOPC saw a need for a relationship with the NCAA and created a Collegiate Advisory Council. They asked a group of ADs to think about how we ensure colleges, along with the NCAA, continue to support Olympic sports.
The CAC morphed into a more formal structure, which led to a relationship with the USOPC Board of Directors. It made sense to have an AD advise the USOPC and sit on the board. Kevin White from Duke was the first one, and I've been the second.
I feel fortunate to be in this position.
How important are college athletics to the U.S. Olympic model?
The USOPC is the only national governing body that doesn't get federal support. The U.S. has relied upon the collegiate model to support it. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, 75% of our athletes were current or former college athletes.
It's a great asset for our country, but there's worry about the changes in college athletics. With revenue share, NIL, things like that, the USOPC is very concerned schools will start dropping Olympic sports.
We're all advocates in Washington, D.C., to try to figure out a way for colleges to continue to offer broad-based programming, but financially it's becoming more difficult.
What are some of your earliest Olympic memories?
In the 1970s, McDonald's — they were an Olympics sponsor — used to run a promotion. You'd get a scratch-off card with an Olympian. If they won gold, you got a Big Mac. If they won silver, you got French fries. If they won bronze, you got a drink. I just remember scratching those off and thinking, "I'm hoping for Gerd Bonk, an East Germany weightlifter. If he wins a gold, I get a Big Mac."
I'm still mad about the 1972 Olympics when Russia beat us on three different tries in the basketball game. We got cheated out of that.
How was your experience at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris? What are you looking forward to in Italy?
I saw lots of events, including Tar Heel Aranza Vázquez Montaño at the diving area. It was a wonderful experience to actually see all the work of a governing board come together and the staff execute the plan in a foreign country.
We'll get the same experience in Italy. I'm going to stay in Milan and will get to see figure skating, speed skating and ice hockey. Los Angeles will host the next Summer Games in 2028, and the 2034 Winter Games are headed to Utah. Have you played a role in the preparations for those events? LA '28 is a part of every board meeting. The USOPC and LA '28 have partnered on the commercial activity and corporate partnerships related to the Games.
I'm looking forward to that, not to mention Utah '34. One of our recent board meetings was in Salt Lake City, and we had a chance to spend time with all the people from Utah '34.
What's surprised or stood out to you through this experience?
You watch the Olympics on TV and you enjoy the competition, but the complexity and professionalism behind the scenes to make it successful is something you don't realize until you see it first-hand.
Sarah Hirshland, the USOPC CEO, does a phenomenal job with a great staff. The athletes are special — including the current and former ones on the board. It has been an honor to be an adviser to something so special and memorable — while emphasizing how important broad-based programming in college athletics continues to be to the Olympics.
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