The North Carolina Tar Heels football program has been going through a difficult period with student-coach and former wide receiver Tylee Craft passing away after a battle with lung cancer.
With the news of Craft’s passing, head coach Mack Brown announced that North Carolina is looking to honor him. That includes naming the school’s new nutrition center after Craft.
“There will be some things that we will do for Tylee’s family that we had already told him,” Mack Brown said. “The athletics department and the university is going to name the nutrition room outside of the locker room that’s brand new within a year, the Tylee Craft Nutrition Center. So, that’s really cool and he had a big smile on his face when we told him we were going to do that. So, it was good that we were able to tell him at the same time.”
Tylee Craft first went to North Carolina in 2020. He would play in 11 games over his first two seasons with the program. However, he hasn’t been able to play since 2022, when he was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer, he hasn’t been able to play and transitioned into a student-coach role with the program. During that time, he won the Disney Spirit Award winner and was named to the Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Team.
Tragically, Craft’s condition recently took a turn for the worse. He was hospitalized in early October and the school announced he passed away on Saturday.
“It is with love and fond memories that we announce Tylee Craft has begun his journey on the other side,” the North Carolina football account on Twitter said. “Tylee meant so much to so many and affected us in ways we’ll always be thankful for. He was 1-of-1 and, while he won’t be with us in body, he’ll be watching over us with his endearing smile and endless positivity. On behalf of his family and our program, we sincerely thank everyone who supported Tylee during his battle with cancer. It means more than you know.”
The game on Saturday against Georgia Tech was North Carolina’s cancer awareness game. It was a game that Mack Brown previously announced the team was dedicating to Tylee Craft. For the game, personnel around the program wore shirts that read “Tylee Strong” on them.
“Let me start by saying this is the cancer awareness week for our game. We are dedicating the game to Tylee Craft,” Brown said at the time. “We’re not sure that he’ll be able to come. We’re hoping he’ll feel better by then.”
The game wasn’t the only way in which North Carolina worked to honor Craft. Players also wore his number 13 on the back of their helmets. That’s something they’ll wear all season. The team’s receivers have also made the decision that they want to wear his jersey on a rotational basis.