UNC's Incoming AD Newmark Recaps Timeline Leading to Hubert Davis Firing

Five days after No. 11 seed VCU erased a 19-point second-half lead and knocked UNC out of the NCAA Tournament in overtime, North Carolina fired men's basketball coach Hubert Davis, ending a tenure that began with unforgettable highs but concluded with the program falling short of its lofty historical standards.

Incoming athletic director Steve Newmark, set to formally take over the AD role on July 1, recapped the deliberate process that preceded the decision. The decision came from a recommendation by current athletic director Bubba Cunningham and Newmark, which was accepted by Chancellor Lee Roberts on Tuesday. Publicly, the mood in Chapel Hill had already turned sharp. As Newmark described it, "plenty were up in arms on Thursday and into Friday morning over the VCU result." But rather than act on that immediate pressure, Newmark held meetings with Davis and Cunningham before moving forward. Once UNC's women's basketball team played its NCAA Tournament game on Sunday, "the ball really began to roll."

Cunningham met with Davis throughout the days following the loss to discuss Davis' plan for changes to help make the program more successful. After evaluating that plan, Cunningham and Newmark decided to recommend his removal to Roberts. Davis was then called to an emergency meeting with Cunningham and Newmark, where he was informed he was being terminated.

The financial reality in Chapel Hill sharpened the decision. Weakening donor support for roster management, at a time when a competitive roster costs more than $12 million each year, factored into the move, as did the absence of sustained high-level success at a university accustomed to national titles, ACC crowns and No. 1 seeds. A primary group of boosters had met late Friday afternoon with UNC stakeholders to gain clarity on whether keeping Davis was feasible; the verdict was that if Davis were to stay, the money for roster-building next season would be in lesser supply.

The season's trajectory was also shaped by injury. Carolina was trending in the right direction, with star true freshman Caleb Wilson playing up to his Five-Star Plus+ potential, highlighted by a win over Duke at the Dean Dome. But Wilson's season unraveled when he hurt himself, and right before he was supposed to return, a broken thumb ended his lone campaign at UNC entirely. The Tar Heels were without Wilson for the final nine games due to separate hand and thumb injuries.

Davis, 55, went 125-54 in five seasons as head coach in Chapel Hill, had four years remaining on his contract and is owed a buyout of more than $5 million; UNC said it would honor the terms of his contract. He was a Tar Heel through and through: a player under Dean Smith, a 12-year NBA veteran, seven years as a college basketball analyst for ESPN, and then an assistant under Roy Williams before being named Williams' handpicked successor when Williams retired in 2021.

In a statement, Newmark said: "Hubert cares deeply for our University, and it has been inspiring to watch him instill that love and Tar Heel tradition into the players he has coached. Chancellor Roberts, Bubba and I join all of the Carolina community in thanking Hubert and his family for all they have done for UNC."

The search to replace him is already underway. Cunningham and Newmark are leading the process, with executive search firm Turnkey ZRG hired to assist. They will also consult an advisory group comprising former players, former coaches and supporters of UNC Athletics. The scope of that search breaks sharply from Carolina tradition: with no obvious internal candidate available, the UNC head coaching position could open to someone outside the "Carolina Family" for the first time since the 1950s.

North Carolina's wish list reportedly features Billy Donovan and Tommy Lloyd as top priorities. Dusty May, 49, has been the head coach at Michigan for the past two seasons, leading the Wolverines to consecutive Sweet 16 appearances, and is also considered among the leading targets. T.J. Otzelberger, 48, has led Iowa State to five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and the Cyclones were still playing in the Sweet 16. Brad Stevens, the 49-year-old president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics, rounds out the most-discussed names. Stevens went 354-282 in eight seasons coaching the Celtics, made three Eastern Conference Finals, and built his reputation at Butler by leading the program to back-to-back NCAA title game appearances before transitioning to Boston's front office in 2021. Known for analytical, detail-oriented leadership, Stevens has remained out of coaching, but his track record makes him a perennial name in searches of this magnitude.