The chairwoman of the UNC system's Board of Governors refuted message-board rumors that the board had instructed UNC-CH Chancellor Holden Thorp this week to fire Tar Heels football coach Butch Davis.
"None of that happened. None, none, none," said Hannah Gage, the board's chairwoman. "I can assure that none of that happened. That hasn't been part of any discussion we've had."
The system board rarely, if ever, gets involved athletics oversight, a function delegated to individual campuses, Gage said.
"The only reason we'd get involved is if we lacked the confidence in a campus's ability to sort through something," Gage said. "That simply isn't the case here."
Speaking to a faculty group this afternoon, Thorp reiterated concerns about Davis' handling of the situation regarding former UNC associate head coach John Blake and Blake's relationship with a sports agent. An NCAA investigation into the situation, as well as into potential cases of academic misconduct involving UNC football players, is continuing.
As he did earlier in the week, Thorp said Davis should have had a better grasp of what Blake was doing.
"We've had a lot of long talks about that," Thorp told UNC's Faculty Council. "We have a lot of work to do to understand why the head coach didn't know about that contact [with agent Gary Wichard]."
Comments
BOT
Sat, 10/09/2010 - 00:11 — roypaysplayersIf you're referring to the "original" message board post that stated Butch would be let go later this season then,no,the original stated BOT and continues to state BOT. Check it out for yourself. NOWHERE does it mention the BOG.
ol-roy!
Sun, 10/10/2010 - 20:03 — bluecat69bluecat69every body knows 0l-roy pays players, that is why kansas was put on 3 years probation. go duke-- champs.
Erskine IS Angry, Disgusted....etc.
Sat, 10/09/2010 - 00:05 — ViperRetWRAL asked Erskine Bowles about Butch Davis' job and the investigation. They showed a short clip on the late night news.....Erskine was ANGRY, DISGUSTED, and generally UPSET. He said that we needed FACTS and that the Investigation needed to be completed. He did NOT make the "100% behind Coach Davis" statement. This, as one who reads too much into people's emotions does NOT bode well....
Haven't seen Erskine this upset since he "accepted" Dr. Oblinger's resignation over the Mary Easley hiring....
Background noise
Fri, 10/08/2010 - 23:15 — JPDOhioThat's all this is at this point.
Butch's job is safe, until it is not.
where their is smoke!
Sun, 10/10/2010 - 19:59 — bluecat69bluecat69ol- cheating butch is as well as gone- write it down .
Internet Rumors
Fri, 10/08/2010 - 21:08 — AgentPierceWhen organizations such as the UNC-BOG have to issue official replies to Internet "rumors" we have truly fallen down the rabbit-hole to UpsideDownVille.
Yes but
Fri, 10/08/2010 - 21:42 — gvillegatrMore people read this kind of stuff than will ever admit. It probably did not take long to get to the BOG's.
Anything ....
Fri, 10/08/2010 - 22:20 — AgentPierceAnything repeated three times on anonymous comment boards becomes "fact". I have twelve different Internet rumors concerning Mack Brown coming back ..... and another six about Bill Cowher. Take your pick. ........ I repeat - "down the rabbit-hole" ..... YeeeeeHA!
..one pill makes you larger
Fri, 10/08/2010 - 22:34 — unc098..one pill makes you larger and another makes you small and the one that the N&O gives you doesn't do anything at all....Go ask Butch... when hes ten feet small...
kudos to Jefferson Airplane
STOP THE PRESSES....UNC RUMOR
Fri, 10/08/2010 - 20:46 — ViperRetVery interesting. Seems like the Board of Governors IS paying attention to the Rumor Board Monkeys. Now THAT is really spooky....if the BOG is reading all the stuff at PP and IC and the other "illigetimage" news sites, then they obviously have too much free time.....next thing they will address is Karen Owen's Senior Thesis....and YES, I know that she graduated in Social Sciences (a very appropriate choice) from Duke.
WHY, and I am serious, did the BOG feel the need to offer a Press Release on this.
I also read the DTH's article about the Faculty Athletic Committee (or maybe Council) meeting last Tuesday. They were 100% and Four Square behind Coach Davis. It was so syrupy that I felt the urge to go to IHOP and let my laptop ooze over a stack of Hot Cakes.... One professor said, "this situation is both Macrocosmic and Microcosmic..." and Ch. Thorp replied...."and sometimes it is just plain Cosmic". What PROFOUND analysis!
Next, I read WRAL's Thursday article about Ch. Thorp, et. al. discussing with the Faculty Council the need to "get through this....". He did say that there were "issues with Coach Davis NOT knowing about Coach Blake and what was/is going on...." Now there's a glowing recommendation for all the "100% behind Coach...."
What is almost for certain, IMHO, is that the NCAA has found a lot of suspicious rocks and wants to turn each one over...I am NOT saying that every rock has a boogey man or a MA tweeting, but so far, if there was a gold nugget under each rock that they have turned over, then the NCAA would hold most of the world's gold supply.
Therefore, the saga (er, DRAMA?) will continue. I will definitely go to Ira David Woods' Christmas Carol this year so see how he handles this.....he will pull no punches and use it to liven up his production.
I also think that Bob Lee will have material for quite some time....much like Mark Russell thanked NC for re-electing Senator Helms and making his life easy....
From a fans perspective
Fri, 10/08/2010 - 20:36 — gvillegatrYou can kiss UNC football and any chance of filling the new stadium goodbye if you get rid of Coach Davis.
From a schooling stand point; who gives a ship!
From a "schooling
Fri, 10/08/2010 - 22:13 — unc098From a "schooling standpoint" apparently a lot of folks. As I said in a different post this could be the Armageddon between academics and athletics at UNC.
Seems that there is already a rather large monetary commitment to the big hole at the end of the stadium. Might be a bit late for a reversal. What a pickle.
It just seems that Thorp has upped the ante with his rhetoric in a way I haven't read before.
I feel really sorry for the kids who are taking the field tomorrow and only hope they can control their own destiny. I hope they can take out their frustration on Clemson. Having Williams back is huge. Seems like every returning defensive player has played lights out and had game changing performances. Lets hope that Duenta will follow that lead.
Didn't make myself clear enough
Sat, 10/09/2010 - 08:43 — gvillegatrWhen I said I the school didn't give a ship, I was referring to the school not caring about Coach Davis sticking around. Meaning they'd soon fire him.
Got it Gatr So who is going
Sat, 10/09/2010 - 10:17 — unc098Got it Gatr
So who is going to win today? UNC cannot start out slow and spot Clemson big points. If they do they will lose.
Unc
Sun, 10/10/2010 - 00:00 — gvillegatr:)
the whole armageddon bit,
Fri, 10/08/2010 - 23:00 — izzykareemthe whole armageddon bit, exact same thing that happened at State and the faculty won out
Sounds like Thorp is gearing
Fri, 10/08/2010 - 19:15 — unc098Sounds like Thorp is gearing up to drop the hammer to me. With this type of rhetoric coming out of Thorps mouth I am now revising my position to the possibility of Davis being outa here before the end of the season.
Board of Trustees, Not Board of Governors
Fri, 10/08/2010 - 19:04 — keihinCurious about this, I double-checked the text of the "message board rumor" that I believe set this in motion. I now see that the statement posted there was that the directive to fire Butch Davis had come from members of the Board of Trustees, not the Board of Governors. Given this, it's possible that Gage's statement is the literal truth, but still designed to deceive.
Perhaps Mr. Ferreri will seek a statement from the BOT chair.
Nope
Fri, 10/08/2010 - 22:09 — HeelsforeverThe original post stated BOG and continues to state BOG.
Truthful?
Fri, 10/08/2010 - 18:23 — keihinIs Gage being truthful in these comments, or covering up for the fact that the BOG wants it to look like the decisions are being made by the Chancellor?
Who knows
Fri, 10/08/2010 - 18:55 — HeelsforeverAt this point I don't believe anything anyone says if they are saying something DIDN'T happen.
Lol
Sat, 10/09/2010 - 01:48 — mad_maxThat's probably the way to go at this point!
BOG is a joke...who cares what they have to say?
Fri, 10/08/2010 - 18:21 — mad_max