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UNC Basketball: Roy Williams headed back to Allen Fieldhouse

By Blake Cockrum

Nov 21, 2021; Uncasville, CT, USA; Former North Carolina Tarheels coach Roy Williams watches the game with his wife during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2021; Uncasville, CT, USA; Former North Carolina Tarheels coach Roy Williams watches the game with his wife during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Former UNC basketball head coach Roy Williams is headed back to Allen Fieldhouse to watch a game for the first time in nearly two decades.

Former University of North Carolina head coach Roy Williams and his wife, Wanda, will be back in Lawrence, Kansas on Tuesday night to watch his former team, the Kansas Jayhawks, take on the Iowa State Cyclones in a matchup of top-15 Big 12 programs.

It’ll be the first time since 2003 that Williams, winner of three national titles during his legendary 18-year run at North Carolina, has seen a game at the historic venue. Kansas head coach Bill Self made the announcement of Williams’ upcoming visit in his Monday press conference with the media.

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"“There is a special guest we will have from Chapel Hill, North Carolina,” Self said. “Coach Roy Williams and his wife, Wanda, will be coming back. Roy contacted a couple guys within our department and said he really wanted to come back to Allen Fieldhouse and see a game. This happened a couple, three weeks ago. Certainly, he’s more than welcome.”"

Williams spent 15 years as the head coach of the Jayhawks prior to his return to Chapel Hill in 2003. It was there that Williams built a name for himself after being hired as a virtual unknown to lead the storied blue blood program.

He led Kansas to four Final Fours, nine regular season conference titles and four conference tournament championships. He took the Jayhawks to the 2003 National Championship game but lost to Jim Boeheim and the Syracuse Orange, led by Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara.

Although Williams has not attended a game at Allen Fieldhouse since he left the program in 2003, he was there for the “60th anniversary of Jayhawk basketball in Allen Fieldhouse” held in October of 2014. Williams was joined by Self, Larry Brown and Ted Owens as guest speakers at the celebration. Williams received a warm welcome at the event seven years ago, and his return to Lawrence on Tuesday should be no different.

Self said that he expects Jayhawk fans in attendance on Tuesday night to “pay homage and tribute to him when he’s announced” prior to the start of the game.

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