Roy Williams Announces Retirement from UNC after 48 Years of Coaching

Roy Williams Announces Retirement

North Carolina men’s basketball coach Roy Williams has announced his retirement after 48 years of coaching, 33 coming as a collegiate head coach. And no, this is not an April Fool’s joke. The announcement was made via an official Tar Heels press release. Williams plans to hold a press conference today at 4 P.M, which will be streamed live on GoHeels.com.

Of his 48 seasons coaching, Roy Williams spent the final 18 at North Carolina. He led the Tar Heels to three national titles (2005, 2009, 2017), five Final Fours, and three ACC Tournament titles. His UNC teams won the ACC regular season nine times and compiled a 485-163 record.

Prior to North Carolina, Williams was the head coach at Kansas for 15 seasons. He led the Jayhawks to four Final Fours and two national title game appearances before returning to coach at his alma mater. Williams graduated from UNC in 1972. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007 and won the Consensus National Coach of the Decade for 2000-2009.

All-Time Records and Accomplishments

All-time, Roy Williams ranks third in Division I wins with 903. He was the fastest coach in history to reach the 900-win mark, doing so in 1,161 games. Williams is the only basketball coach to win 400 games at two different schools, and the third to reach the NCAA Tournament at least 30 times. He is also third all-time in ACC regular season victories with 212. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Williams’ total list of records and accomplishments is lengthy to say the least.

In his career, Williams coached 32 first-round NBA draft picks and four National Player of the Year honorees. He leaves UNC after a 2020-21 season where the Tar Heels finished with an 18-11 record and lost in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament to Wisconsin. As of now, a replacement at UNC has not been officially named.

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