By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network
(last updated Sept. 21, 2026)

Super Bowl-winning coach Mike Tomlin is coming to North Carolina for an open-to-the-public Sept. 30 speaking engagement.

Tomlin, who recently completed his 19-year tenure (2007-2025) as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach and now works as an NBC Sports football analyst, will serve as the keynote speaker at the North Carolina Central basketball program’s annual Tip-Off Banquet in Durham.

Individual tickets for the event, which will be held at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel near the Raleigh-Durham Airport, are $125 and can be purchased HERE. Corporate tables and sponsorship opportunities also are available (starting at $1,500) by emailing events@walkwest.com.

NC Central’s Tip-Off Banquet supports a basketball program that has consistently found ways to compete, develop players and reach the NCAA Tournament (four times under coach LeVelle Moton) without the resources enjoyed by many of its higher-profile neighbors.

Moton, 52, is a former NC Central star player and the winningest head coach in program history, with 300 career victories.

A product of the Lane Street public housing projects in southeast Raleigh, Moton has repeatedly invested himself in a wide array of Triangle-area charity events and community causes, such that in 2022 the city of Raleigh renamed Lane Street Park and officially dedicated it as LeVelle Moton Park.

Tomlin and Moton have developed a close friendship over the past 15-plus years, ever since Tomlin invited Moton to observe a Steelers practice at the encouragement of a mutual friend, then-Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari.

“I’m truly honored that someone so accomplished and a sure first-ballot Hall of Famer has blessed us with his presence for the night,” Moton said. “I’m grateful for our friendship and even more grateful that our university will benefit from his presence.”

Tomlin stepped down from his Pittsburgh job in January, following a 19-year run in which his teams never posted a losing season. He compiled 193 regular-season victories, made the playoffs 13 times, and led the Steelers to two Super Bowls. At 36, he became the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl, when his team captured Super Bowl XLIII. Tomlin now serves as a studio analyst for NBC’s popular “Football Night In America” program.

The NC Central Tip-Off Banquet serves as an annual fundraiser for the men’s basketball program, with proceeds routed through the NCCU Foundation to support equipment, travel, facilities and the academic and leadership development of the university’s student-athletes.