Earlier this season, UNC quietly extended coach Hubert Davis’ contract. Here are details
Hubert Davis’ first three seasons as head basketball coach at North Carolina ended with a trip to the NCAA Final Four, the Tar Heels missing the NCAA tournament and then a regular-season ACC title that earned them a No. 1 seed in the tournament.
It also has earned Davis two contract extensions, the second signed in December 2024 that extends the coach’s contract through June 30, 2030 and gives him a significant bump in pay.
The Tar Heels have been considered an NCAA bubble team much of Davis’ fourth season – bringing criticism for Davis and his handling of the team – but have won the past four games, improving to 18-11 overall and 11-6 in the ACC. UNC is No. 44 in the NET ranking used by the NCAA to set the tournament field and has a 1-10 record against Quad-1 opponents.
Davis was promoted from assistant coach to head coach and given a five-year contract in April 2001 when Roy Williams retired, and had a memorable first season. The Tar Heels beat Duke to end the 2021-22 regular season, handing retiring Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski a loss in his last game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Heels then beat Duke again in the NCAA semifinals at the Final Four — Coach K’s final game as coach — before losing to Kansas in the championship game.
Davis’ contact was amended in August 2022, his contract then extending through the 2027-28 season.
UNC was the preseason No. 1 pick for the 2022-23 season, only to go 20-13 overall and be left out of the NCAA field. UNC also declined an invitation to the NIT postseason event.
The Heels’ bounce-back season in 2023-24 earned them their first ACC regular-season championship since 2017 and a No. 1 NCAA seed. UNC reached the NCAA Sweet 16 before losing, 89-87, to No. 4 seed Alabama.
Davis, named the 2024 ACC coach of the year, again had his contract amended and extended through 2029-2030, signing it Dec. 4, 2024. It pays Davis a base salary of $1.25 million a year, plus supplemental compensation of $1.7 million, increasing to $2.2 million in the final year of the contract.
Before the contract was amended, Davis had a base salary of $400,000 and $1.6 million in compensation. Davis receives $250,000 a year from Nike as part of Nike’s deal with UNC.
The Tar Heels faced one of the nation’s tougest nonconference schedules this season and then have absorbed blowout losses to Duke and Clemson in ACC competition.
North Carolina announced Tuesday that longtime NBA agent and UNC graduate Jim Tanner had been hired to be the general manager of the men’s basketball program. Davis had cited the need for a GM to help him concentrate more on coaching his team and less in dealing with agents and roster management duties now necessary in the NIL era.
This story was originally published February 25, 2025 at 1:35 PM.
