RALEIGH, N.C. — It seems like everyone is trying to follow the money when it comes to the fallout from the canceled college football game between N.C. State and Virginia in Brazil, but nobody knows where the cash is.
N.C. State was due $1.5 million for the game’s cancellation, according to its contract with promoter Athlete Advantage.
The contract stipulates payment was due no later than 30 days after the decision to cancel. The participating universities announced on June 3 the game would not take place in Brazil as expected.
It’s unclear if Virginia is awaiting a cancellation fee. The News & Observer contacted UVA communications with questions regarding its partnership with Athlete Advantage, including whether the university signed a contract with the promoter and, if so, whether the cancellation clause matched that of the N.C. State agreement.
“We respectfully decline your request,” a spokesperson said.
The Augusta Free Press reported on June 16 that the University of Virginia did not have a signed contract with Athlete Advantage. The Free Press is an independent news organization located in Waynesboro, Va., roughly 26 miles from UVA’s campus in Charlottesville.
Its report states that the organization requested a copy of the contract on Nov. 24, 2025, prior to the official announcement of the game in Brazil. The organization reportedly filed multiple Freedom of Information Act requests and was told in June, “the University of Virginia has no records responsive to your request.”
NC State football fans are waiting for refunds
Fans are also awaiting refunds, as first reported by WRAL. Some are out thousands of dollars. They expected to receive refunds in six to eight weeks after the cancellation, according to the College Football de Brasil website. The university does not have information about the number of fans who purchased travel packages, for which it was originally set to receive revenue.
“The university will continue to press Athlete Advantage to resolve these refund issues,” NC State told The N&O this week. “Athlete Advantage has not provided that information.”
N.C. State encouraged fans to contact the North Carolina Department of Justice Consumer Protection Agency, led by Attorney General Jeff Jackson, to file claims for their missing refunds.
The N&O contacted Athlete Advantage twice requesting additional information but did not receive a response.
Why the NC State-Virginia game didn’t happen in Brazil
Athlete Advantage was tasked with all game-related organization and production for the planned game in Brazil, in addition to additional duties and responsibilities associated with hosting a college football game. This included procuring an appropriate venue and playing service, obtaining NCAA-sanctioned referees, ensuring the equipment was safe and met NCAA standards, organizing fan travel packages and assisting with any other applicable logistics.
N.C. State said “the event could not be constructed” when it announced the move.
“Things seemed to be going along well over the course of the last seven or eight months,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said at ACC Kickoff in July. “But very truthfully, I think it was in May, there was some serious doubt about whether the city and the area involved, the managing area involved, would be able to pull this game off.”
The universities decided that hosting the game at UVA, where the facilities and equipment meet ACC and NCAA standards, was the best option. The College Football de Brasil website, however, states the decision was the result of “a number of evolving global factors.”
Athlete Advantage said stakeholder feedback, including international travel concerns by “certain ticket purchasers,” played a role in the “extensive evaluation.”
Virginia won the Week 0 contest, 34-8, on Aug. 29 at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville.
Does the ACC have a role in the game, fallout?
The ACC is aware of the situation, N.C. State told The N&O. This, however, was not originally a conference-sponsored event.
The Wolfpack and Cavaliers agreed in 2024 to a nonconference home-and-home series, an effort to boost their resumes for the College Football Playoff, bowl eligibility and to meet conference scheduling requirements. The contract did not include a guaranteed payment.
N.C. State hosted Virginia on Sept. 6, 2025, in a 35-31 comeback win. The Wolfpack handed the Cavaliers one of their only losses, en route to UVA’s program-best 11-win season and ACC championship appearance.
Virginia was set to host N.C. State in Charlottesville this season, under the original contract. The teams agreed to play on a date between Aug. 24 and Aug. 30, 2026, in what would have been the first college football game in South America.
N.C. State Athletic Director Boo Corrigan electronically signed a letter of intent with Athlete Advantage on Oct. 22, 2025, just over a month after the Wolfpack played the Cavaliers at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. Corrigan signed the official contract on Nov. 15, 2025, according to copies obtained by The N&O through a public records request.
The teams announced the international nonconference game on Dec. 1, 2025.
It turned into an ACC contest after the league announced on Dec. 16, 2025, just over one month after the contract was executed and two months after Corrigan expressed N.C. State’s intent to participate in the game.
The ACC worked with ESPN to set the schedule and TV designation when the game was set for Brazil and again when it was moved stateside.
“Both of those institutions and the conference office put together the entire ACC schedule based on some of the teams that were playing in Week 0,” Phillips said in July, also referencing North Carolina’s game in Ireland. “That would have been a real disadvantage to those student-athletes. I’m very pleased at how the NCAA took that information and then decided that it could stay at Week 0.”
What is Athlete Advantage?
Athlete Advantage is an agency designed to “build innovative revenue solutions” for universities across the country through events, content and experiences, its website states. The goal is to generate funding and community engagement through corporate partnerships and athlete NIL opportunities.
A press release from June 6, 2025, states the company is based in Delaware and has offices in Lexington, Ky., and Chicago. However, the State of Delaware lists June 16, 2025, as the company’s legal incorporation date. It is listed in “good standing” and has an annual tax assessment of $93,665, according to information obtained through the Delaware Division of Corporations.
The company’s Kentucky address was listed on the letter of intent and signed contract.
Athlete Advantage Scouting Services was originally registered with the Kentucky Secretary of State on Nov. 11, 2024. The company was in bad standing and listed as inactive, according to the state’s business entity search. Its last annual report is listed on June 18, 2025, two days after the Kentucky limited liability company was dissolved.
“Our legal council had determined that we did not require the two separate entities of our business; therefore, we allowed it to close out under inactive. Athlete’s Advantage LLC, which is a Delaware entity, (is) in good standing and, as well, in good standing in the state of Kentucky,” a company spokesperson told WRAL.