Bubba Cunningham reveals where Steve Newmark 'adds value' as next North Carolina AD

The same day college sports officially entered the revenue-sharing area, North Carolina made a major announcement. Bubba Cunningham will be leaving his post as athletics director in 2026, and RFK Racing president Steve Newmark will succeed him after joining the school this year.

The transition is set to take place over the next year. As for what it will look like, Cunningham said it will come down to integrating Newmark into the new world of college athletics while also strengthening the areas in which he adds value.

Before heading to NASCAR, Newmark worked for Charlotte-based law firm Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson. While there, he worked closely with the SEC, Conference USA and the NCAA. But he also has experience in generating revenue, which will be paramount in the post-House v. NCAA settlement era.

“We have a guy coming in who has connections to the college space, connections to Carolina, but isn’t deeply involved in it,” Cunningham said of Newmark on the Carolina Insider podcast. “For the next year, I can mentor him on, what does intercollegiate athletics looks like today? Where do I think it’s headed? What does Carolina look like? Where does the Rams Club fit? Where do all the other entities fit? And then, have him share with us where he thinks he can add the most value. Specifically, he’s going to add value in our revenue areas.

“Rick Barakat has come in as our Deputy AD for revenue generation – he’s our chief revenue officer. So he’s been in the trenches already … figuring out what is the best way for us to pay for the investment we made in our football program and continue to drive revenue for expansion of all of the opportunities for our student-athletes? So Steve will work directly with him and get his mind around that.”

Bubba Cunningham plans to mentor Steve Newmark ‘on the college side’

UNC has been making preparations for the rev-share era by notably hiring general managers in multiple sports. Liz Roberts became the women’s basketball program’s GM in 2023, and Michael Lombardi arrived with new head football coach Bill Belichick in January. Jim Tanner then became the Tar Heels men’s basketball team’s first-ever GM this offseason, as well.

Bubba Cunningham said working with general managers will be part of the transition for Steve Newmark, as well making him a part of the campus community. As the school prepares for the hand-off, things will otherwise stay status quo.

“We have general managers in football, basketball, baseball, women’s basketball. So how are we going to continue to evaluate talent, value talent and then, evaluate our own performance in that area?” Cunningham said. “In addition to that, how do we take this commercial space – that he’s very familiar with – and integrate him with the campus community and the educational values that we feel are so important here.

“It’s a lot of mentoring for me with Steve on the college side and a lot of Steve putting his touches on the professionalism, the commercialization of what we do, so that we make sure we fund the sports going forward. All of the coaches – the reporting relationships, everything – will remain the same. I’ll work very closely with football, basketball, women’s basketball. The other 25 sports have primary sport responsibilities with our other administrators. That will all remain the same.”