University of North Carolina Athletics
Williams Named Rupp National Coach Of The Year
March 23, 2006 | Men's Basketball
March 23, 2006
The Commonwealth Athletic Club of Kentucky announced today that North Carolina's Roy Williams has won this year's Adolph Rupp Award as national coach-of-the-year. The award will be presented to Williams in Indianapolis on March 30th at the start of the NCAA Final Four. The selection was made by a national selection committee consisting of over 40 present and retired sports writers, coaches, TV-radio broadcasters, and sports administrators.
Williams led North Carolina to a 23-8 record despite losing all five starters from the 2005 national championship team (including the top seven scorers from that squad). Using two walk-ons and two freshmen in the starting line-up, Williams' Tar heels achieved success this year that none thought possible, success that ended in a loss to George Mason in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Carolina coach is no stranger to success, however, maintaining the highest winning percentage in the nation among active coaches with 10 years experience and the fourth-highest in history.
From its inception in 1972, the Rupp Award has been considered one of the nation's most prestigious player-of-theyear awards. Former winners include: Bill Walton, Larry Bird, Ralph Sampson, Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan, and Jameer Nelson. St. Joseph's Phil Martelli won the inaugural Rupp Cup in 2004, and Illinois Coach Bruce Weber won the award last year. The awards are named after the legendary University of Kentucky coach, who retired in 1972 with 876 victories and four NCAA championships to his credit. Among men's NCAA coaches with over 500 career wins, Adolph Rupp still maintains the highest winning percentage of all time at 82.2%. Rupp's 876 victories stood as the best in college basketball for over 30 years until surpassed by Dean Smith who retired with 879.
