A behind-the-scenes spat between North Carolina coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots turned public on Saturday night.

Belichick earned his first win as a college coach at Charlotte and then confirmed reports that he had banned Patriots scouts from accessing the Tar Heel program during his post-game press conference.

“It’s clear that I’m not welcome there around their facility, so they’re not welcome at ours,” Belichick said. “It’s very simple.”

The reports about the Patriots ban surfaced earlier in the week — first by 3 & Out's John Middlekauff and then ESPN’s Kalyn Kaher — after the Tar Heels’ season-opening loss to TCU on Monday.

Belichick was the head coach of the Patriots for 24 seasons (2000-2023) and won six Super Bowls during his time there. His tenure ended with an unceremonious fallout with owner Robert Kraft and Belichick’s departure was announced as a mutual parting of ways.

Despite the awkward separation, Kraft recently indicated he’s interested in mending fences with Belichick.

“When Bill’s coaching career ends, we look forward to sitting down with him and having a statue made to be right next to Tommy (Tom Brady),” Kraft told WBZ Sports in Boston. The Brady statue was unveiled in front of Gillette Stadium earlier in the summer.

Scouts from other NFL clubs told ESPN that UNC offered limited access to league personnel, citing that they were only permitted to watch three periods of practice. Also, scouts said "zero access" appears three times on a Tar Heel college relations website that is only accessible to NFL personnel.

Kaher reached UNC general manager Mike Lombardi by phone, but when questions about this topic were asked, Lombardi said, “Good luck,” before hanging up. Belichick was not asked to further comment on this subject Saturday night.

UNC’s next opponent is FCS Richmond. The game will be at Kenan Stadium next Saturday. Kickoff from Chapel Hill is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.