Roy Williams will no longer coach the North Carolina Tar Heels basketball team. On Thursday, the legendary coach announced his retirement from college basketball after a 33-year career. He leaves North Carolina after leading the team to three national titles.
“Roy Williams, who led the University of North Carolina to three NCAA championships, is retiring after 33 seasons and 903 wins as a college basketball head coach,” the school said in a statement. “The 2007 Naismith Hall of Fame inductee will address the media at a press conference on Roy Williams Court at the Dean E. Smith Center today (Thursday, April 1) at 4 p.m. The press conference is closed to the public. Fans may watch at GoHeels.com.”
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“Williams, a 1972 UNC graduate, just concluded his 18th season as the head coach at his alma mater,” the statement continued. “In addition to NCAA titles in 2005, 2009 and 2017, he led the Tar Heels to a 485-163 record, two other Final Fours, nine ACC regular-season championships and three ACC Tournament crowns.”
Williams, 70, began his college coaching career at North Carolina as an assistant in 1978. He was there for 10 years and then was hired as the head coach at Kansas. During his time with the Jayhawks, Williams led the team to the Final Four four times but never won the National Championship. He was named Big Eight Coach of the year four times and Big 12 Coach of the Year three times. Williams also won one Big Eight Tournament title and three Big 12 Tournament titles. He led the Jayhawks to NCAA Tournament every season except his first; then they were on probation.
His success at Kansas led to him being hired at North Carolina in 2003. It didn’t take long for the Tar Heel players to buy into Williams’ system as the team won the national title in 2005. The Tar Heels went on to win another national title in 2009 and again in 2017. Williams led North Carolina to five Final Four appearances, nine ACC regular-season championships and three ACC Tournament Championships. He’s a member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
“I started the season when I was 70 years old and I feel like I am 103,” Williams said after North Carolina lost to Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in March. “It has been a trying year… 2020 and the first part of 2021, I haven’t enjoyed that much. It’s been a lot of stresses… but each year, you get to be a better coach.”
