Six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick has agree to a five-year deal to become the next coach at North Carolina.

The school announced the hiring Wednesday night, roughly a week after the 72-year-old Belichick’s name surfaced as an unlikely candidate to replace the program’s winningest all-time coach in Mack Brown.

The deal requires approval by UNC trustees, though that board hadn’t announced a new meeting as of Wednesday night. An introductory news conference has yet to be scheduled.

“We know that college athletics is changing, and those changes require new and innovative thinking,” UNC athletics director Bubba Cunningham said in a statement. “Bill Belichick is a football legend, and hiring him to lead our program represents a new approach that will ensure Carolina football can evolve, compete and win — today and in the future.”

The school announced Nov. 26 that Brown wouldn’t return for a seventh season in his second stint in Chapel Hill, a firing that became effective after the program’s all-time wins leader coached his finale in the Nov. 30 loss to rival N.C. State.

Moving on from the 73-year-old Brown to hire the 72-year-old Belichick means UNC is turning to a coach who has never worked at the college level, yet had incredible success in the NFL alongside quarterback Tom Brady throughout most of his 24-year tenure with the Patriots, which ended last season.

“I am excited for the opportunity at UNC-Chapel Hill,” Belichick said in a statement. “I grew up around college football with my dad and treasured those times. I have always wanted to coach in college and now I look forward to building the football program in Chapel Hill.”

College athletics

WCC sues Grand Canyon for breach of contract >> The West Coast Conference is suing Grand Canyon University over breach of contract after the school changed course and decided to join the Mountain West Conference.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claims Grand Canyon has refused to pay entrance and exit fees after the school decided to switch conferences six months after agreeing to join the West Coast.

Soccer

Saudi Arabia to host 2034 World Cup >> Saudi Arabia was officially confirmed by FIFA as host of the 2034 World Cup in men’s soccer, giving the oil-rich kingdom its biggest prize yet for massive spending on global sports driven by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The Saudi bid was the only candidate and was acclaimed by the applause of more than 200 FIFA member federations.

MLB

All-Star Crochet acquired by Red Sox >> All-Star left-hander Garrett Crochet was acquired by the Boston Red Sox from the Chicago White Sox for four prospects: catcher Kyle Teel, infielder Chase Meidroth, right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez and outfielder Braden Montgomery, a former two-way star at Stanford.

Crochet was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA in 32 starts for a White Sox team that went 41-121, the most losses for any club since 1900.

Rangers get Burger from Marlins >> The Texas Rangers acquired slugging corner infielder Jake Burger from the Miami Marlins in a trade for three minor league players.

Burger hit .250 with 29 home runs and 76 RBIs in 137 games for the Marlins last season, with 150 strikeouts in 535 at-bats with 31 walks.

Miami got infielders Max Acosta and Echedry Vargas and left-handed pitcher Brayan Mendoza.

Colavito, 9-time All-Star, dies >> Rocky Colavito, a wildly popular outfielder in Cleveland, has died. He was 91.

A nine-time All-Star, Colavito died at his home Tuesday in Bernville, Pennsylvania. Team spokesman Bob DiBiasio said he was informed by the family and that there were family members by Colavito’s side.

In eight seasons with the Indians, Colavito hit 190 homers and drove in 574 runs. He is 12th on the club’s career homers list. Colavito was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2006.