Exclusive: UNC Pays Anti-Affirmative Action Group $4.8 Million After US Supreme Court Loss

By Nate Raymond

The University of North Carolina will pay $4.8 million to cover the legal fees and expenses incurred by a group led by affirmative action critic Edward Blum, which successfully challenged the school’s policy of considering race in student admissions before the U.S. Supreme Court.

This information was disclosed by UNC in response to a public records request regarding the settlement with Students for Fair Admissions, a nonprofit organization based in Virginia. Under the Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Award Act of 1976, courts can award reasonable attorneys’ fees to plaintiffs who win certain civil rights cases.

According to the university’s records, it agreed to pay Blum’s group $3.9 million in legal fees and an additional $900,000 for expenses.

UNC did not provide an immediate comment when approached for further details.

The group sought to recover some of its legal costs from UNC after the Supreme Court’s pivotal ruling in June, which declared that considering race in college admissions contravenes the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. The conservative-majority court ruled against both UNC and Harvard University.

Historically, many U.S. colleges have included race as one of several factors in their admissions processes to increase the representation of Black, Hispanic, and other underrepresented minority students on campuses. A diverse student body is often seen as a way to enrich the educational experience.

Blum has been involved in numerous lawsuits targeting universities over race-conscious admissions practices. Students for Fair Admissions claimed that UNC unlawfully discriminated against white and Asian American applicants in favor of underrepresented Black and Hispanic applicants.

The cases against UNC and Harvard emerged after years of legal battles. Blum’s organization first filed lawsuits against both institutions in 2014. Initial rulings from judges were unfavorable for the group, leading to appeals.

Tax filings reveal that Students for Fair Admissions has spent approximately $8 million on legal expenses since 2015, with nearly $6.9 million directed to its main law firm.

In a recent comment, Blum highlighted that both UNC and Harvard have spent significantly more—tens of millions of dollars—defending against his lawsuits.

Earlier this month, Harvard addressed a similar fees request from the group, though the financial details of that agreement remain private.

Following its Supreme Court victory, Students for Fair Admissions has initiated lawsuits against U.S. military academies, seeking to challenge a previously exempted aspect of admissions practices outlined in last year’s ruling.

In a recent motion, the group has requested that the Supreme Court prevent the U.S. Military Academy at West Point from considering race in admissions decisions while the issue is still being contested in a lower court.

Affirmative action policies have survived scrutiny by the Supreme Court for decades, most recently in a 2016 ruling concerning a white student supported by Blum who sued the University of Texas after being denied admission.