Roy Williams, the head coach of the UNC men’s basketball team and a 2007 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, is retiring, the athletic department announced on Thursday.
Williams, who just finished his 18th season as the head coach of the Tar Heels, will be addressing the media regarding his retirement in a press conference later today at the Dean Smith Center at 4 p.m. The public will not be invited.
"Thank you Coach Roy Williams for leading @UNC_basketball with such passion, honor and integrity and for your support of scholarships for student-athletes, Carolina Covenant Scholars and #UNC Chancellor’s Science Scholars," UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz tweeted following the announcement. "You will inspire us and lead today and beyond."
The Marion, N.C. native retires as the third-winningest head coach in Division I men’s basketball history with a total of 903 wins in 33 seasons, behind only Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim. Williams is also the only coach in history to register 400 wins with two schools — 418 with the Kansas Jayhawks and 485 with the UNC.
During his time in Chapel Hill, Williams guided the Tar Heels to three NCAA National Championships in 2005, 2009 and 2017. He is only the third head coach in history to lead a team to the NCAA Tournament at least 30 times.
The Duke men's basketball program also tweeted to congratulate Williams on his career.
