UPDATE: Quotes from the official university release.
Chancellor Holden Thorp
"To restore confidence in the University of North Carolina and our football program, it's time to make a change," said Thorp. "What started as a purely athletic issue has begun to chip away at this University's reputation. I have been deliberate in my approach to understanding this situation fully, and I have worked to be fair to everyone involved. However, I have lost confidence in our ability to come through this without harming the way people think of this institution. Our academic integrity is paramount and we must work diligently to protect it. The only way to move forward and put this behind us is to make a change."
Thorp said the decision was not related to any change in the NCAA investigation, but that it was the result of the cumulative damage to the University's reputation over the past year.
"Athletics and football are an important part of this University, and a successful football program is essential to the overall health of our athletic program," Thorp continued. "That's why we have to put this behind us and move forward."
Athletic Director Dick Baddour
"I want to thank Butch Davis and his family for their four-plus years of service and dedication to the University and the Chapel Hill community," said Baddour. "My staff and I will work with Chancellor Thorp to transition to an interim head coach as soon as possible. It is critical that we do all we can to help our students and other staff members on the football team since preseason training camp begins in just eight days."
The timing of the dismissal comes after a change in leadership and the induction of new members to the school's Board of Trustees. Below are some details of the new BOT members, via InsideCarolina.com
According to a source, Davis, athletic director Dick Baddour and chancellor Holden Thorp held a closed door meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
The Board of Trustees had a regularly scheduled 1 p.m. meeting on Wednesday at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, including a session that was closed.
The Board of Trustees, a 13-member board that governs the University welcomed new leadership and new members on Wednesday. Wade H. Hargrove, a Raleigh a corporate and national media lawyer and partner with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP, was elected chairman. W. Lowry Caudill of Durham, co-founder of Magellan Laboratories and retired president of Pharmaceutical Development for Cardinal Health, and Steven J. Lerner of Chapel Hill, founder and chairman of the Board of Directors of both Capstrat and FGI and managing partner of the Blue Hill Group, were also sworn into office.
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Butch Davis has been fired as head coach of the North Carolina football team, according to CBSSports.com sources.
The termination comes after the new Board of Trustees met in a closed session today to discuss the future of the football program. Davis remained employed for over a year as North Carolina has undergone NCAA investigation for both impermissible benefits and academic improprieties. Earlier this summer, North Carolina received their Notice of Allegations from the NCAA - which detailed 9 different violations being alleged against the football program.
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