The Latest Breaking News from Bubba Cunningham

Less than three months after winning a national title as a star player, Erin Matson made the short walk—and quantum leap—from the Tar Heels’ locker room to the coaches’ office.

The text message conversation began on the afternoon of June 30 the way countless others around the country did, with two people with an interest in college athletics commiserating about the news of the day. They were not merely fans, though, but two of the most powerful figures in the…