UNC honors Tez Walker on pregame warmup shirts after ineligibility ruling

Mack Brown and the North Carolina Tar Heels are continuing to honor wide receiver Tez Walker, who’s waiver to play this season was denied.

Prior to Saturday’s game against Minnesota, the Tar Heels repped shirts pregame with Walker’s last name and jersey number. This comes after North Carolina decked their helmets out with a decal to honor Walker last week, as well.

Check out the shirts below, as it’s evident North Carolina isn’t forgetting about their teammate throughout the season.

UNC players and Mack Brown wore a jersey in tribute to transfer WR Tez Walker, who was ruled ineligible for the 2023 season. They wore them on pregame walk into stadium for Minnesota game. pic.twitter.com/bkn9i2C4b5

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 16, 2023

Moreover, Walker’s saga is well-known by UNC fans. He transferred to Kent State a couple years ago, then tried to transfer again after last season and landed at North Carolina. However, since this is his second transfer and he has not yet graduated from school, the NCAA requires him to sit out a year. 

He appealed that decision, but the NCAA denied that appeal, setting in stone the fact that he will not play this season.

Nevertheless, his presence is being felt in every sense of the word, as North Carolina won’t let Tez Walker forget he’s with them, even if he won’t be on the field.

More on UNC WR Tez Walker, NCAA Decision

After another appeal, the NCAA made the decision last week to not give Tez Walker eligibility. Head coach Mack Brown thought he had added a star wide receiver via the transfer portal. Unfortunately, the NCAA had different ideas.

Following the decision, the NCAA released a statement on the decision to rule Walker ineligible. They are not allowed to comment on specific cases but did put an emphasis on there being unanimous support for the current rule.

Here is the full NCAA statement, via ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

“The membership committee who reviews appeals understands every student-athlete weante very opportunity to compete with their teammates and the committee considers all information provided on behalf of the student-athlete and evaluates each request consistent with the rules set by members,” the statement began.

“In January, at the direction of the Division I Board of Directors, the Division I Council — which includes voting members from all 32 conferences and voting student-athletes — unanimously supported the current guidelines for student-athletes who are transferring for a second time as undergraduate students and seeking eligibility for the 2023-2024 academic year.

“The NCAA takes student-athlete mental health and well-being seriously, as demonstrated by the DI Board vote in April that will now require all member schools to provide for the first time increased mental health resources and medical support for college athletes, among other benefits. For student-athletes who transfer for a second time and do not receive a waiver to compete immediately, those resources and support systems are still available as they acclimate to their news schools prior to competing the next year.”

On3’s Alex Weber contributed to this article.