Hatchell supporters push UNC administration

In the weeks since UNC announced it had extended the contracts of three coaches, several people have sent letters to the University’s administration accusing the program of not supporting UNC women’s basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell.

On June 19, the University and UNC men’s basketball Coach Roy Williams agreed to extend his contract through 2020. UNC also extended the contracts of women’s tennis coach Brian Kalbas and women’s lacrosse coach Jenny Levy.

Letters from supporters Jacqueline Koss, Dianne Glover, Christine Kepley and Brenda Paul call for the Department of Athletics to extend Hatchell’s contract as a vote of confidence in the aftermath of the release of the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations.

“Without a contract extension you are inhibiting and impeding an award winning coach, and moreover, you are demanding that a coach put together a successful team under negative circumstances that YOU have created,” Koss said in her letter.

In an interview with The Daily Tar Heel, Koss said that while Williams’ extension was deserved, Hatchell needs the University’s support while the program has come under fire.

Glover said Hatchell has become a symbol of resilience for the University after Hatchell’s battle with cancer.

“You have no idea the fight this woman has,” Glover said in her letter. “... And now Bubba Cunnigham (sic) and the University is making her and women’s basketball the sacrificial lamb for something that has been proven she had absolutely nothing to do with.”

On June 4, the University released the Notice of Allegations that it had received from the NCAA a little more than two weeks before.

In the NCAA’s findings, Jan Boxill, an academic adviser for the women’s basketball program, was cited for unethical conduct after enrolling players into fake independent study courses and paper classes.

Boxill was mentioned in 100 of 325 pieces of evidence in the report, including several emails between her and other faculty members.

But despite the support, some people believe that UNC and Hatchell will ultimately part ways.

Sports blogger Brian Barbour said he believes Hatchell will retire after this year.

“Roy Williams — he had pretty good reasonings why he didn’t know, and he took an active stance to get his players away from those classes,” Barbour said. “Sylvia Hatchell doesn’t have anything like that. She’s got the primary academic adviser in her program that was neck deep in it, and I just don’t see how she survives. What I discussed with one of my writers is that basically I think she gets a farewell tour this year, and I think that’s it.”

sports@dailytarheel.com