After Hubert Davis decision, North Carolina leaders still embrace tradition -- but aren't shackled by it

Facing an uncertain time in college athletics, the university couldn't afford to let its premier sport's standard slip any further

Chip Patterson

Mar 24, 2026

9:05 pm ET

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7 min read

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The Hubert Davis era has come to a close in Chapel Hill, and North Carolina basketball will not be the same. One of the sport's most successful programs finds itself at a crossroads after a stunning first-round exit in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. A five-year evaluation of Davis' tenure ultimately led to the difficult decision to prioritize results over tradition.

Davis is a beloved Tar Heel who played for Dean Smith, served as an assistant alongside Roy Williams and delivered a couple of the most unforgettable rivalry wins over Duke as a head coach.

The highs of the last half-decade include moments that will live forever, but the dizzying effect of the last four seasons brought North Carolina to a moment of clarity.

Ranked No. 1 in the preseason, UNC didn't make the NCAA tournament in 2023, was a No. 11 seed in 2025, and a No. 6 seed in 2026. Davis' teams didn't make it past the first round in the last two seasons.

It's easy to lose your gaze in the rafters in Chapel Hill, with the championship banners and the jerseys with names like Jordan, Jamison and Worthy. But Thursday's historic 19-point blown lead to VCU brought the focus out of the rafters and into the mirror, as the Carolina family had to ask itself some tough questions.

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The "Carolina family" is a real thing, and not just a branding opportunity to boost recruiting. The network of former players, coaches and managers remains strong for decades beyond their time in Chapel Hill, and Davis' status as a multiple-time member of that family got him to the front of the line after Roy Williams' retirement. Hubert Davis' uncle, Walter Davis, also played at UNC, earned First-Team All-ACC honors and his jersey hangs high above the court at the Smith Center. Carolina basketball courses through the veins of the Davis family.

In 1961, Dean Smith was promoted from assistant to head coach. Since then, the position has been held by a former North Carolina player or assistant. So of course, Davis, who qualifies as both, met the base level qualifications to continue the traditions of Carolina basketball.

The problem for Davis was that the results did not match the traditions of Carolina basketball.

He can wear the suits, quote Coach Smith and even bring back senior night speeches, but if the Tar Heels are bowing out earlier than expected in postseason tournaments and struggling to provide a consistent level of play, then Davis is not matching the standard set by his predecessors. Even more concerning, and perhaps the reason for this coaching change, is the worry that the standard for Carolina basketball is slipping in the modern era, and the program is being left behind.

That's where the Carolina family had to make some tough decisions about whether it was more important to have one of its own on the sideline or break ties with tradition in an effort to keep up. Given the current landscape, it's likely that Davis' replacement will be an outsider (or new addition) to the family.

The crossroads

The fact that we are here now speaks to the urgency of the moment for Carolina basketball. Because if the administration had decided there were too many other issues at hand to deal with a coaching transition, it would have been understandable.

First, the university community is in the midst of a Civil War over where home games will be played in the future. As buzz began to build about the potential for a new off-campus arena, those efforts were met with very public push-back from Roy Williams, Tyler Hansbrough and a collection of former players.

"Renovate Don't Relocate" was the campaign, and the school has included renovations to the Dean E. Smith Center as one of the options on the table for the future of the basketball program. As the school considers severing ties with a massive piece of Carolina basketball history, breaking yet another tradition seemed (at least until a couple of weeks ago) to be less likely given the timing.

Also, these conversations are being led not by one voice but by three, as chancellor Lee Roberts, exiting athletic director Bubba Cunningham and incoming athletic director Steve Newmark lead the department in a time of transition.

Newmark, who is currently in an executive associate athletic director role, takes over as AD on July 1, just as Cunningham slides into his new role as senior adviser to the chancellor and athletics director. Not an alum, Newmark is a Chapel Hill native.

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