Don Stallings’ UNC tenure happened far from the media attention and big-money contract as it does now. But he found his calling late, ditched football, and built one of the most recognizable businesses in North Carolina. And through it all, he remained a Tar Heel. That’s why the news of his death yesterday hit many people in the program hard, including GM Michael Lombardi. He was 87.

“The Carolina Football Family and University lost a great man, a former player, student on June 9,” Lombardi wrote on X today. “Don Stallings loved UNC Football, he loved playing, he loved helping build the program, and everyone here is extremely grateful for his incredible support. Our condolences extend to his wife, Billie, and his entire family. RIP Don.”

Stallings grew up in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, where football became an important part of his life from an early age. His size and strength helped him earn a place at North Carolina in the 1950s, after he was recruited by legendary UNC head coach Jim Tatum.

His post-football success may have overshadowed Stallings’ college career. At UNC, his play earned him Tar Heel All-American honors and even a spot on the 1960 College All-Star squad.

Stallings was drafted by the Redskins in the 5th round. However, he appeared in only nine games. But his father’s illness put a stop to his career in the pros. Stallings returned home to North Carolina to look after his family business. 

The businessman found further success when he started Eagle Transportation Corporation in 1968 with just four trucks. Over the years, Stallings built a massive business empire. Currently, his company is the largest privately owned petroleum carrier in the nation and serves states such as Louisiana, Texas, and the Southeast. But just as Stallings built that business, he never forgot UNC.

He was an active community philanthropist, making regular contributions in the health field. The Stallings-Evans Sports Medicine Center at UNC is just one example of that generosity. The Stallings gifted UNC a 30,000-square-foot addition to Fetzer Hall, a multipurpose academic research and sports facility in the heart of UNC.

Stallings’ life was full of generous acts

Stallings’ life after quitting football has been like the physical and aggressive 6’4″ lineman he was at UNC. When it came to supporting UNC, he did so aggressively through donations and gifts, as well as through direct involvement in the program. The 87-year-old had served two years on the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, and his wife was the chair of the UNC School of Medicine’s cardiovascular advisory board.

And it was not just one Medicine Center, either. In reality, Stallings has funded the school’s adult congenital cardiovascular disease clinic and professorships in UNC’s School of Dentistry and has also donated generously to UNC’s 2017 campaign ‘For All Kind: the Campaign for Carolina,’ which aimed to raise a whopping $4.7 billion by 2022.

Because of that generosity and work for the community, UNC presented Stallings with the William Richardson Davie Award in 2014, the highest honor awarded by UNC’s Board of Trustees.