By Steven Schlink, WRAL Sports contributor

The voice on the Olympic and Paralympic committee for collegiate athletes is a Tar Heel, and he was in Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games.

Bubba Cunningham is not only the director of athletics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he also has a seat on the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee Board of Directors.

“We’re here to support the Olympians and work with our staff,” he said.

“My role as a college athletic director is to ensure that we have a pipeline of athletes to the Olympics. You know, 70% of the Olympians are either current or former student athletes.”

He said the goal is simple: support the bridge between the USOC and athletes.

“As the landscape of college athletics change, we want to make sure the connectivity between the Olympic movement and college sports remains really strong,” Cunningham said.

That is true not just for major sports – the Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils have been well represented on the men’s basketball team – it’s also about providing opportunity for athletes in sports like field hockey, lacrosse and, of course, swimming.

The number of North Carolina connections to Team USA prove how important Carolina Athletics is.

“To see those student athletes here competing in the Olympics on the national stage is really a lot of fun. And it reinforces the importance of the Olympic sports at Carolina and across the country,“ Cunningham said.

“We have 28 intercollegiate programs. We have 850 student athletes. So having these opportunities, that’s what we’re all about. We’re trying to provide opportunities, opportunities for students to come and be a part of this.”

It is Cunningham’s first Olympic Games as a member of the committee, and he said it’s been a great experience so far.

“To be in Paris is just such a unique place. And obviously the Opening Ceremony along the Seine was absolutely the same, absolutely fantastic. So we’re delighted to be a part of that,” he said.

He’s hearing from athletes, family and friends back home after the elaborate Opening Ceremony.

“Every single person had a different experience because as you went along the river, everyone saw a different phase of the Opening Ceremony all the way until they got to the final spot where all the speeches were taken right in front of the Eiffel Tower,” he said.

It is an opportunity Cunningham never dreamed he’d have.

“I’m delighted to be a part of it and hope that I can bring something to the Olympic movement as well as to the University of North Carolina,” he said.

Cunningham said he’s really looking forward to seeing Team USA win more gold medals and also witness the excitement among fans and athletes.

Source: wralsportsfan.com