Raising money for cancer research, playing golf and being a grandparent: Roy Williams dons retirement hat in style

By Gerald Owens, WRAL anchor/reporter

Roy Williams has found a new comfort zone in retirement.

Williams, known as a natty dresser during his time as head coach of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill men’s basketball team, traded his coach has donned the UNC Ramses mascot headgear and garb to raise money for cancer research. During Super Bowl 57, Williams made a surprise appearance in a WRAL-TV ad to advocate for cancer research and to raise awareness about the disease.

“It sounded silly and sort of crazy, and I said, ‘That’s right down my alley. I’m retired now. I don’t care,’” Williams said. “I’m 72 years old.

“When you get to be 72, you don’t really care what you say or what people think. When you get to 72 and you’re completely retired, and you don’t really care.

“I thought it would be something my grandchildren could laugh at me, and that was really the bottomline. I thought, ‘When they see this, if it works and if it ever comes out,’ I said, ‘the grandchildren they’ll laugh themselves silly.’”

Williams, like many Americans, has been personally touched by cancer.

“Cancer touches everybody,” Williams said. “It’s touched me. I lost my mom many years ago to it. My dad also passed from cancer.

“My best friend I had here in Chapel Hill had pancreatic cancer. So, to me, anything I can do to help provide funds to the [North Carolina Basnight Cancer Hospital] here in Chapel Hill is something I want to do.”

Williams said for the last 10 years, he’s dedicated five days per year to making appearances to help raise money for cancer research.

“In the past year, I’ve gotten it up to 10,” Williams said. “It’s going to touch everybody.

“It’s a hard battle. You’ve got to keep fighting it, but hopefully, one of these days, we’ll get a cure.”

In retirement and has cancer research advocacy, Williams is free to show a different side of himself to those that don’t know him.

Williams retired at the end of the 2020-21 basketball season after 18 years as the North Carolina head coach and 48 years of coaching.

“I retired for what I thought were the right reasons,” Williams said. “I wasn’t doing it as well.

“It wasn’t my health. I wasn’t sick or anything. That’s all it was, and I miss it tremendously. I mean, it’s hard, particularly to sit there and watch our games. I’m squirming in my seat. I want to yell at the referee or yell at a player or something like that.”

Williams on Davis: ‘He’s the perfect coach’

In the 2022-23 season under second-year head coach Hubert Davis, North Carolina (16-9, 8-6 ACC) is unranked after starting as the preseason No. 1 team in the country. At the same point last season, the Tar Heels had an 18-7 record (10-4 ACC). Williams spoke of his relationship with Davis.

“It was probably a little more difficult last year … because Hubert was not a known quantity to people except me, and people don’t realize the last player I helped recruit as coach [Dean] Smith’s assistant was Hubert Davis,” Williams said. “And, I feel like, when you cut Roy Williams, I’m going to bleed Carolina blue more than anybody, and Hubert is right there with me.

“He’s the nicest person I’ve ever known in my life who is also fiercely competitive. And so, last year … last year in the middle of the season, we were about where we [are] right now. And, I told a bunch of my buddies, ‘You wait and see at the end of the year. We’re going to be right there. We’ll make a run.’ And, I believed it in my heart and my soul.

“And, I believe it even stronger this year, but it’s college basketball. It’s a long season. There are other good teams. And, regardless of what North Carolina fans think, it’s not our divine right to win every game.”

Williams had high praise for Davis.

“I just think he’s the perfect coach [and] the perfect human-being to be the coach at North Carolina,” Williams said of Davis.

On his relationship with Coach K

During Williams’ tenure at North Carolina, the Tar Heels went 18-22 against Duke and its former head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Although the two men did not socialize while they coached at the Tobacco Road rivals, Williams said they shared an outlook on what was best for college basketball.

“There’s nobody in coaching that I competed with in the ACC anywhere – other than Coach (Dean) Smith – there’s nobody that I respect more than I respect Michael, and I mean that sincerely,” Williams said.

“Nobody has got more respect than Roy Williams has for Mike Krzyzewski,” Williams said. “But when you say friends, that’s somebody you go play golf with, and we didn’t do that because, hey, I’m totally devoted to basketball and my family, and so is he.”

On his love of golf

Williams said while he was coaching, the golf course was the only place he could truly let himself go other than playing with his kids or grandkids.

Knee surgeries have limited Williams’ ability to play, but he said he plans to hit the links this spring.

His favorite foursome? “Three of my buddies,” Williams said.

“I’ve been very fortunate,” Williams said. “Jack Nicklaus one time said, ‘Coach, come here and watch my golf swing and tell me what you think.’

“And I’m just like, ‘What is the matter with you, boy?’”

Williams said he once played 27 holes with President Barack Obama in September 2019.

“It’s one of the greatest days I’ve ever had on a golf course,” Williams said.

“But if I’m going to out and play golf, I’d rather be with my buddies than anything because when I play golf now, one of the guys I play with, I played Little League baseball against. And so, for me, playing with my buddies is the best thing.”

Williams shares his thoughts on NIL, transfer portal

Williams said he’s on the fence about changes to the NCAA’s name, image and likeness rules.

“We did need to make it better for kids,” Williams said.

Williams said the University of Tennessee sold thousands Peyton Manning jerseys for $56 each during his time as the Volunteers quarterback from 1994-1997.

“At $56 a clip, and he didn’t get a cent, that’s not right,” Williams said. “Ok, come on. We can make it better.”

Still, Williams sees challenges to the increasing professionalism of college athletes.

“In the last 10 years, it has gotten better, but we’re going a little bit overboard now,” Williams said. “Every kid [that’s] a junior in high school has got an agent, and you have to talk about how much money he can make …

“I’m old school, and, that’s not what I think college athletics should be, but I still think we can make it better and we have made it better … but it’s gotten a little wild west attitude of [things] going on now.”

When discussing the transfer portal, Williams said he doesn’t mind when a player transfers. However, he believes players should still have to sit out a year if they transfer. In April 2021, the NCAA began allowing players to transfer once without having to sit out a year at their new school.

“I do believe that you make a commitment, you ought to be tough enough to handle a little adversity though,” Williams said. “Instead of coach yelling on Saturday at game day in the middle of a football game, you transfer on Monday. I think that’s sort of stupid.”

Responding to critics who say coaches who change schools don’t have to sit, Williams said coaches can get fired.

“I’ve never fired a player,” Williams said laughing. “I’ve thought about it.”

Williams said NIL and the transfer portal didn’t influence his decision to retire. He said he didn’t think either was detrimental to college basketball.

Williams in retirement

Williams said he no longer thinks about coaching when he wakes up in the morning or goes to bed at night.

“It’s not involved in any decision I make, whereas for 48 years, coaching was involved in every decision I made,” Williams said.

Williams also said he’s enjoyed the last 18 months spending time with his family, specifically his children and grandchildren.

WRAL News asked Williams if he would have dressed as a mascot five years ago to raise money for cancer.

“It would have been harder then,” Williams said. “Three years ago, five years ago, I was afraid to give away two hours because I thought someone else was going to be working during that time.”

Williams said he’s done coaching after a total of 48 years coaching at Charles D. Owens High School, North Carolina and Kansas.

“I sat on the bench with my son, watching my grandson play the other night,” Williams said. “I was keeping stats for him.

“I’ve had one or two other people … two people reach out to see if I’m done, and I told both of them I am.”

As a head coach, Williams won three national titles (2005, 2009 and 2017) and compiled a 903-264 record.

In retirement, a friend gave Williams golfballs with the numbers 9, 3 and 00 inscribed on them. Williams didn’t understand the significance. The friend said it was for the nine Final Fours, three national championships and double zero regrets.

“That’s pretty good,” Williams said.