CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina has announced Courtney Banghart will become the Tar Heels' next women's basketball coach.
UNC's board of trustees approved the deal for Banghart to replace Sylvia Hatchell, who resigned April 18, on Tuesday. Banghart will sign a five-year contract with UNC, according to a release on the university's athletics website.
"I'm so grateful to everyone who has made Carolina what it is: the women who have worn the Carolina blue, Coach Hatchell who hung a banner, the men's program that brought us the Jumpman, the outstanding coaches who have been a model of consistent excellence, and the alumni who have loved this place with all their hearts,'' Banghart said. "I'm honored to be your coach, and you will get my very best."
Banghart, 40, is the winningest coach in Princeton history and won Naismith National Coach of the Year in 2015. The Tigers have reached eight of the last 10 NCAA Tournaments under Banghart, winning seven Ivy League championships.
"Courtney Banghart has proven she knows how to lead students to wins both on and off the court,'' Carolina Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham said. "She believes in developing strong character and a championship mentality, in recruiting and graduating players who want to serve their community, and in building relationships in and outside of her program. She is an outstanding addition to our department and University, and I am pleased to welcome Courtney and her family to our Carolina family."
Hatchell resigned after UNC hired an outside firm, Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, to review the culture of the women's basketball team on April 1. Hatchell and her staff were placed on leave pending the completion of the review.
It found "widespread support for three overreaching themes." Those themes included that Hatchell made racially insensitive comments and a "breakdown of connectivity between the players and Hatchell," according to the news release.