North Carolina has officially split with coach Hubert Davis, the school announced on Tuesday night, officially opening one of the sport’s premier jobs.
Over the past 36 hours, there was a late influx of financial support from longtime UNC backers — including multiple prominent former players — whose preference was for Davis to remain head coach, multiple program and industry sources said, but he was still not retained. Outgoing athletic director Bubba Cunningham and incoming AD Steve Newmark made the recommendation to Chancellor Lee Roberts. Davis, according to the sources, who were granted anonymity so they could speak candidly, delivered the news to the team Tuesday night at his home.
North Carolina announced in a statement that it will honor the terms of Davis’ contract, meaning paying his roughly $5.3 million buyout.
The move comes days after UNC’s stunning NCAA Tournament collapse against VCU, in which the Tar Heels blew the largest lead (19 points) in a first-round game in men’s tournament history. It opens a job that many consider the best in the sport, and with no obvious candidates with UNC connections, the school is set to conduct a national search for its next coach.
Cunningham and Newmark are leading the search, and Carolina has hired executive search firm Turnkey ZRG to assist. Cunningham and Newmark also will consult with an advisory group comprised of a key stakeholders including former players, former coaches and supporters of UNC Athletics, the school said.
Davis released a statement Tuesday night on social media, saying he had wanted to continue to coach at UNC and that his goal is to coach again in the “very near future.”
Hubert Davis has posted a statement on Instagram: pic.twitter.com/K4ZYuo8Y4N
— Brendan Marks (@BrendanRMarks) March 25, 2026
Davis, 55, had mostly quieted questions about his job security by leading the Tar Heels to a 19-4 start this season, but doubts resurfaced after Thursday’s loss. A source close to the program told The Athletic there was a call Friday with major program stakeholders to discuss North Carolina’s financial situation, and whether the school will be able to raise the requisite funds not just for next season’s roster, but to buy out potential candidates. Multiple sources close to the program said there was apprehension by donors about the level of support if Davis were retained, especially as it relates to constructing a roster capable of making a deep postseason run.
The loss to VCU marked the third time in four seasons UNC did not advance to the round of 32. Two of North Carolina’s four all-time first-round NCAA Tournament exits came during Davis’ five seasons. And in 2022-23, UNC became the first preseason No. 1 team in the modern era (since tournament expansion in 1985) to miss March Madness altogether.
This UNC season took a turn when leading scorer and rebounder Caleb Wilson suffered a broken left hand in early February, then a season-ending broken right thumb in early March. North Carolina lost its final three games in a season for the first time since 1970.
Davis ends his five-season tenure with a 125-54 record, a national championship game appearance in 2022, one ACC regular-season title, and two of the most celebrated wins in program history, both over rival Duke in 2022. First, Davis beat Mike Krzyzewski in his final home game inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. One month later, he ended Krzyzewski’s Hall of Fame career in the Final Four, in the only NCAA Tournament meeting between the rival schools.
The defining hallmark of Davis’ tenure, though, will be its inconsistency. While Davis was Roy Williams’ hand-picked successor upon the Hall of Famer’s abrupt retirement in April 2021, a portion of North Carolina’s fan base never got behind the former Tar Heel guard and nephew of program legend Walter Davis. As a four-year star for the late Dean Smith who played 12 seasons in the NBA, Davis’ basketball intellect was unquestionable, even if segments of the fan base became frustrated by his offense and substitution patterns. But more troubling was that, in a time of vast change in college athletics, UNC’s program has been slow to modernize.
Thank you for everything Coach Davis, one of the best men and coaches in my life.
— Caleb Wilson (@CalebWilson2025) March 25, 2026
Davis insisted that every member of his coaching staff had previously played at North Carolina, which some believed cost the Tar Heels diversity of thought — especially in an era where stylistic variety abounds as much as it ever has. He was also reluctant to embrace the modern-era general manager position to help oversee player payroll as team budgets swelled to eight-figure totals. (North Carolina’s roster, according to a source familiar with negotiations, cost roughly $16 million this season, which makes it one of the 10 most expensive in the sport.) When Davis did eventually hire longtime NBA agent and UNC alumnus Jim Tanner as general manager last spring, he declined to engage publicly about their relationship or the specific duties that Tanner — who is making $900,000, the most by any college basketball GM — would fulfill.
Further hurting Davis was the success rival Duke has had since 2022 after replacing its own Hall of Fame coach in Krzyzewski. Jon Scheyer, a former program star, like Davis, has led Duke to five of eight ACC regular-season and tournament titles and has the most wins of any coach in his first four seasons in the sport’s history.
The overwhelming success at UNC’s biggest Tobacco Road rival only exacerbated Davis’ struggles to build a consistent winner.
Now, North Carolina is expected to go outside the Tar Heels family for its next coach for the first time in more than 70 years.
Each of UNC’s four head coaches since Smith retired in 1997 either played for or coached with the legendary coach. But UNC, by far the best opening in this cycle, could swing big, with Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd and Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan among the potential candidates.
The Tar Heels, whose six national championships are tied for third-most all time, must find their new steward, and someone who can elevate them back to the sport’s perch.
