STATEMENT

Note: See the URL below for a link to statements by Dick Baddour and Matt Doherty.

Following is University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser’s statement from a news conference tonight (April 2) with Director of Athletics Dick Baddour regarding the resignation of Head Basketball Coach Matt Doherty:

"I want to start by echoing the sentiments of Dick Baddour. This is not a happy day for any of us. This is very difficult, particularly because it involves someone we care about.

Matt Doherty has made a tough decision – one that took courage and one that puts the players, the program and the university first.

Carolina basketball has always had a higher standard than perhaps any other program in the country – not just for winning, but also for the quality and character of the program and the people in it.

The issue here is not basketball, wins and losses, or players running the program. It’s leadership. At Carolina, we talk about student-athletes and teacher-coaches. We want good athletes, and yes, we want to win. But on this campus, coaches also are responsible for creating an environment for learning, for character development and for building a team of good leaders and good citizens. That’s the Carolina standard.

I want to offer some perspective and background. Some observers have characterized this as a player revolt. Others have implied that we only started looking into this when the season ended last week. Nothing could be further from the truth. Dick Baddour and I have been monitoring the program for some time. When I began to hear a number of concerns, I felt the need to separate fact from fiction. The only way to do that was to talk to the students in the program. We would do this in any program – academic or athletic. It’s my job as chancellor to listen to students and to take their problems seriously.

The Board of Trustees and President Molly Broad have been fully briefed and support this direction.

This has been very difficult for all of us – most of all our players. I’m proud of them. They played hard. They played well. They played for each other. These are kids who love Carolina, love the program and love the uniform. That’s what this is about."

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Link to other statements: http://tarheelblue.ocsn.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/040103aab.html
Contact: Nancy Davis, 919-962-2011