.png&width=36&height=36&type=webp)
University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Maggie Hobson
Lucas: Mother Of The Family
February 4, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Linda Woods was an integral part of the Carolina Family.
By Adam Lucas
In the last days of her life, cancer had sapped the once-sparkling Linda Woods of much of her energy.
It was difficult to even sit up on her own in bed. She reluctantly agreed to a wheelchair to get around. She was tired, and she knew her time was limited.
But Woods, who worked in the Carolina basketball office from 1977-2015, had her priorities. And so, last Saturday, she rallied. Her beloved Tar Heels were hosting NC State that afternoon, and the 1982 championship team was gathering for a reunion at the game and a postgame dinner. Her boys—one team out of dozens that call her Mama Woods, as you might have read earlier this season about her relationship with Hubert Davis—were going to be in Chapel Hill. So she would be there, too.
"Even when Mom's health started to deteriorate, the one thing that would perk her up in her last few months was a Carolina event or a visit from a Carolina person," says her daughter, Amy Akins. "Saturday started off like it might be too much for her on that day. But mid-morning, she said she needed to be at that dinner. She went from not being able to sit up in the bed by herself to getting ready and having this happy determination."
On a day that included the presence of Michael Jordan, it was Linda Woods who was the most beloved guest. Michael would understand. After all, this was Mama Woods.
"She was such a humble, good-hearted person who cared for everybody," says Phil Ford. "She was the protector of Carolina Basketball, and she wanted good for everybody. I have never met anyone who has said anything bad about Linda Woods."
She loved the players and coaches, and they loved her right back. Both Pat Sullivan and Jeff Lebo grinned this week when recounting their daily stops in the basketball office on the way to practice. Individually, they both said the same exact thing: "The coaches all thought we were coming to see them, but we were really coming to see Mrs. Woods and the ladies in the office."
The Carolina Family is about running the Four Corners and thanking the passer and huddling at the foul line, of course. But the Carolina Family is also about those office visits. It's about parents sending their teenagers out of state and entrusting Carolina Basketball with them, and about Linda Woods being the offcourt den mother for hundreds of boys who were confident and athletic and…maybe a little bit scared and a tiny bit lonely.
Somehow, despite the dozens of office duties she was simultaneously and flawlessly balancing, she was never too busy when players—current or former—stopped by. Sure, maybe she had to take her typewriter home with her at the end of the day to catch up on the endless correspondence for Dean Smith. Or maybe the head coach would have to pick her up on the way into the office on what would otherwise be a snow day.
But she was going to make time for her boys, coming out of her office as soon as she heard one of them in the hallway.
"She had such a deep devotion to all of us, as though we were her children," says Eric Montross. "That extended at the very core of who she was. The first thing I think of with Linda Woods is the way she greeted us—her disposition, her sweetness, her hug. She was so genuine with her feelings towards us."
That kindness often meant she had unique insight into a particular player's struggles or an inexplicable shooting slump. If Carolina trailed at halftime, she would often worry as much about her boys as the outcome of the game.
"He's having girlfriend trouble," she might say in her seats in section 102 of the Smith Center if a player had performed poorly in the first half. "I hope they aren't too hard on him."
That nonstop energy didn't cease at home, either. She was the founder of the first girls' softball team in Chapel Hill/Carrboro Parks and Recreation history, because her daughter, Amy, wanted to play. And Linda Woods didn't just create it—she coached it, too. If it wasn't a game weekend, it wasn't unusual for her to change into her "farm clothes" on Friday after work and stay in them all weekend, so she could cultivate life on her beloved farm with her much-loved family and animals.
No one was quite certain how she could do it all. She was the most popular chaperone on school field trips. She was always there on Field Day. She never missed an awards ceremony for one of the grandkids. Linda's granddaughter, Kelsey Akins, once arrived at middle school basketball practice only to discover that her Nana had arranged a special visitor…Dean Smith.
This is why her boys from the 1982 team lined up on Saturday night to give her a hug and get a word with her. She had that impact on everyone she met.
"Just being in the Smith Center that night, she lit up," says Amy Akins. "When she saw everyone, she was speaking more clearly than she had in a while. Her eyes sparkled, and she stood up and walked so she could pose for a picture. The Carolina Family really helped us, because it gave Mom a chance to shine at a time she wasn't able to do all she wanted to physically and mentally. To be in the presence of that family in her second home, the Smith Center, she just lit up."
Later that evening, Amy and Linda were sharing a quiet moment.
"You were amazing today," Amy told her mother. "I don't know how you did that."
Linda just looked at her. "Well, it's like Hubert says," she told her daughter. "Energy, effort and toughness."
Linda Woods died on Thursday morning, just over four days after she'd willed herself into the Smith Center to see the 1982 team. But about that energy: she left us very strict instructions. After all, we are talking about someone who could not watch the Carolina-Boston College game last week until her family had fetched her two Carolina blue pom-poms. "I always have my pom-poms," she told her family seriously, as she proudly wore her Carolina Family Weekend t-shirt from 2018. They put two pom-poms in her bed with her. Carolina won the game.
Linda Woods very firmly told her daughter that there would be no crying while remembering her. "I have had the most amazing life," she said, "with the most amazing people in it. I hope everybody has funny stories to tell and good times to talk about. The focus should be on celebrating."
And before she left the Smith Center one last time on Saturday night, that is what she did. She had hugged all her boys. They had told her they loved her. And then, Amy and Kelsey pushed her wheelchair out to the Smith Center court. The seats were empty, the lights were low. They wheeled her out onto the hardwood, and she looked proudly and lovingly at their cell phones as they recorded.
"I am Linda Woods," she said, "and I am a Tar Heel."
In the last days of her life, cancer had sapped the once-sparkling Linda Woods of much of her energy.
It was difficult to even sit up on her own in bed. She reluctantly agreed to a wheelchair to get around. She was tired, and she knew her time was limited.
But Woods, who worked in the Carolina basketball office from 1977-2015, had her priorities. And so, last Saturday, she rallied. Her beloved Tar Heels were hosting NC State that afternoon, and the 1982 championship team was gathering for a reunion at the game and a postgame dinner. Her boys—one team out of dozens that call her Mama Woods, as you might have read earlier this season about her relationship with Hubert Davis—were going to be in Chapel Hill. So she would be there, too.
"Even when Mom's health started to deteriorate, the one thing that would perk her up in her last few months was a Carolina event or a visit from a Carolina person," says her daughter, Amy Akins. "Saturday started off like it might be too much for her on that day. But mid-morning, she said she needed to be at that dinner. She went from not being able to sit up in the bed by herself to getting ready and having this happy determination."
On a day that included the presence of Michael Jordan, it was Linda Woods who was the most beloved guest. Michael would understand. After all, this was Mama Woods.
"She was such a humble, good-hearted person who cared for everybody," says Phil Ford. "She was the protector of Carolina Basketball, and she wanted good for everybody. I have never met anyone who has said anything bad about Linda Woods."
She loved the players and coaches, and they loved her right back. Both Pat Sullivan and Jeff Lebo grinned this week when recounting their daily stops in the basketball office on the way to practice. Individually, they both said the same exact thing: "The coaches all thought we were coming to see them, but we were really coming to see Mrs. Woods and the ladies in the office."
The Carolina Family is about running the Four Corners and thanking the passer and huddling at the foul line, of course. But the Carolina Family is also about those office visits. It's about parents sending their teenagers out of state and entrusting Carolina Basketball with them, and about Linda Woods being the offcourt den mother for hundreds of boys who were confident and athletic and…maybe a little bit scared and a tiny bit lonely.
Somehow, despite the dozens of office duties she was simultaneously and flawlessly balancing, she was never too busy when players—current or former—stopped by. Sure, maybe she had to take her typewriter home with her at the end of the day to catch up on the endless correspondence for Dean Smith. Or maybe the head coach would have to pick her up on the way into the office on what would otherwise be a snow day.
But she was going to make time for her boys, coming out of her office as soon as she heard one of them in the hallway.
"She had such a deep devotion to all of us, as though we were her children," says Eric Montross. "That extended at the very core of who she was. The first thing I think of with Linda Woods is the way she greeted us—her disposition, her sweetness, her hug. She was so genuine with her feelings towards us."
That kindness often meant she had unique insight into a particular player's struggles or an inexplicable shooting slump. If Carolina trailed at halftime, she would often worry as much about her boys as the outcome of the game.
"He's having girlfriend trouble," she might say in her seats in section 102 of the Smith Center if a player had performed poorly in the first half. "I hope they aren't too hard on him."
That nonstop energy didn't cease at home, either. She was the founder of the first girls' softball team in Chapel Hill/Carrboro Parks and Recreation history, because her daughter, Amy, wanted to play. And Linda Woods didn't just create it—she coached it, too. If it wasn't a game weekend, it wasn't unusual for her to change into her "farm clothes" on Friday after work and stay in them all weekend, so she could cultivate life on her beloved farm with her much-loved family and animals.
No one was quite certain how she could do it all. She was the most popular chaperone on school field trips. She was always there on Field Day. She never missed an awards ceremony for one of the grandkids. Linda's granddaughter, Kelsey Akins, once arrived at middle school basketball practice only to discover that her Nana had arranged a special visitor…Dean Smith.
This is why her boys from the 1982 team lined up on Saturday night to give her a hug and get a word with her. She had that impact on everyone she met.
"Just being in the Smith Center that night, she lit up," says Amy Akins. "When she saw everyone, she was speaking more clearly than she had in a while. Her eyes sparkled, and she stood up and walked so she could pose for a picture. The Carolina Family really helped us, because it gave Mom a chance to shine at a time she wasn't able to do all she wanted to physically and mentally. To be in the presence of that family in her second home, the Smith Center, she just lit up."
Later that evening, Amy and Linda were sharing a quiet moment.
"You were amazing today," Amy told her mother. "I don't know how you did that."
Linda just looked at her. "Well, it's like Hubert says," she told her daughter. "Energy, effort and toughness."
Linda Woods died on Thursday morning, just over four days after she'd willed herself into the Smith Center to see the 1982 team. But about that energy: she left us very strict instructions. After all, we are talking about someone who could not watch the Carolina-Boston College game last week until her family had fetched her two Carolina blue pom-poms. "I always have my pom-poms," she told her family seriously, as she proudly wore her Carolina Family Weekend t-shirt from 2018. They put two pom-poms in her bed with her. Carolina won the game.
Linda Woods very firmly told her daughter that there would be no crying while remembering her. "I have had the most amazing life," she said, "with the most amazing people in it. I hope everybody has funny stories to tell and good times to talk about. The focus should be on celebrating."
And before she left the Smith Center one last time on Saturday night, that is what she did. She had hugged all her boys. They had told her they loved her. And then, Amy and Kelsey pushed her wheelchair out to the Smith Center court. The seats were empty, the lights were low. They wheeled her out onto the hardwood, and she looked proudly and lovingly at their cell phones as they recorded.
"I am Linda Woods," she said, "and I am a Tar Heel."
Linda Woods' wish is that her Happy Place Farm can continue to flourish and provide educational and inspirational opportunities to friends, family, and her community. For further details on how to contribute to Happy Place Farm LLC, please contact the family at happyplacefarm2022@gmail.com.
Or, if interested:
Please direct contributions the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll
Shores in honor of Linda Woods-
1 Roosevelt Blvd
Pine Knoll Shores, NC 28512
FB: Head Coach Bill Belichick Pre-Wake Forest Press Conference
Tuesday, November 11
Aranza Vázquez Montaño - 2025 Patterson Medal Honoree On-Field Recognition - November 8, 2025
Monday, November 10
Carolina Insider - Interview with Luka Bogavac (Full Segment) - November 10, 2025
Monday, November 10
UNC Volleyball: Tar Heels Sweep Cal on Road
Sunday, November 09