UNC Basketball: Roy Williams named keynote speaker for ceremony
Former UNC basketball head coach Roy Williams has been named a keynote speaker for the University of North Carolina’s fall commencement ceremony.
Legendary North Carolina coach Roy Williams will be the keynote speaker for the long-awaited class of 2020 commencement ceremony set for October 10 at Kenan Menorial Stadium.
That the three-time national title-winner and two-time UNC graduate will speak at the ceremony — part of a three-day celebration at the school’s Chapel Hill campus — is a welcomed surprise for a group of former college students that had to wait a year-and-a-half for one of the proudest days of their lives.
"“Members of the Class of 2020 have had to wait a year and a half to celebrate their graduation together, and we want to make sure their ceremony is extra special. Coach Williams is an inspiration on and off the court, and his love for Carolina is unmatched,” Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz said. “I know he will provide sound wisdom and share his passion for Carolina with our graduates.”"
Williams, 71, has spent a great deal of time on the golf course since his surprise retirement on April 1. He has been seen a number of times, though, at various UNC sporting events including football practice and women’s soccer.
He walked away from the game of basketball after a storied 48-year career, 33 of which he spent as a head coach at Kansas and North Carolina. Winner of 903 career games and 485 as the Tar Heels’ lead man, Williams went to nine Final Fours, and won the NCAA Tournament in 2005, 2009 and 2017. He was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
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