What is Roy Williams’ Net Worth and Salary?
Roy Williams is a retired American college basketball coach who has a net worth of $12 million. Roy Williams served as the men’s head coach for the Kansas Jayhawks and the North Carolina Tar Heels. Among his many accomplishments, he took the former team to 14 consecutive NCAA tournaments, and won three NCAA national championships with the latter team. He was also instrumental in getting a young recruit named Michael Jordan to join the Tar Heels. Williams finished his 48-year coaching career with 903 wins and nine Final Four appearances.
Early Life and Education
Roy Williams was born on August 1, 1950 in Marion, North Carolina. He grew up in nearby Asheville, where he went to T.C. Roberson High School as a teenager. There, Williams lettered in both basketball and baseball. He especially excelled in the former sport, being named all-county and all-conference in both 1967 and 1968. For college, Williams attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he continued his basketball career.
Career Beginnings
Williams began his coaching career in 1973 as a coach of basketball, golf, and football at Charles D. Owen High School in Black Mountain. Additionally, he served as an athletic director for two years. In 1978, Williams returned to UNC to serve as an assistant coach to Dean Smith. During his decade-long tenure in this position, Williams saw UNC going 275-61 and winning the NCAA national championship in 1982.
Kansas Coaching
Williams left UNC in 1988 to become the head coach of the University of Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball team. Across his 15 seasons at Kansas through 2003, he posted a record of 418-101, placing him second behind Phog Allen on the school’s all-time wins list. Moreover, Williams led the Jayhawks to 14 consecutive NCAA tournaments, four Final Four appearances, two national championship appearances, and nine regular-season conference championship titles. In the 2001-02 season, Kansas became the first-ever team to go undefeated in the Big 12. The school compiled numerous other winning stats during Williams’ tenure. Among them, Kansas led the nation in winning percentage in 1997 and 2002; in field goal percentage in 1990 and 2002; and in assists in 2001 and 2002. For the 90s, the Jayhawks had the most wins and the best winning percentage of any team that decade.
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North Carolina Coaching, Part 1
In 2003, Williams returned to his alma mater of North Carolina to take over as head coach of the Tar Heels. In his first season, he took the floundering team to a solid 19-11 record and an NCAA tournament appearance. It was during his second year as coach, however, when the Tar Heels made their return to greatness. Helped by the arrival of freshman Marvin Williams, the team claimed the 2005 NCAA national championship title.
Following the championship victory, the top seven scorers on the Tar Heels either graduated or entered the NBA draft. Despite this exodus, the team still had a successful season, and Williams was named Coach of the Year. For the 2006-07 season, Williams recruited a raft of top talent including Ty Lawson, Deon Thompson, and Brandan Wright. As a result, the Tar Heels claimed the #1 seed and proceeded to win the ACC tournament; the team ended its postseason run in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. The following season was another success as the Tar Heels made it to the Final Four. In the 2008-09 season, the team clinched its third consecutive ACC regular season en route to the NCAA national championship title, the second for Williams.
North Carolina Coaching, Part 2
In 2010, UNC was involved in a scandal related to fraud and academic dishonesty. This affected the Tar Heels, as they finished the regular season 16-15 and fell in the first round of the ACC tournament. Although the team had a slow start the following season, it bounced back to claim another ACC regular-season title. In 2011-12, the Tar Heels did one better by winning the ACC championship, and then making it to the Elite Eight. The subsequent three seasons were less impressive, with the team’s highest advancement being the Sweet Sixteen in 2014-15. Williams and the Tar Heels fared better in 2015-16, winning the regular-season and ACC tournament titles en route to a national championship appearance against Villanova. Ultimately, Villanova claimed the title.
In the 2016-17 season, Williams led the Tar Heels to another NCAA national championship title, his third as head coach. In the process, he became one of only a handful of NCAA Men’s Division I college basketball coaches to have won three or more national championship titles. Williams had another career highlight in early 2021 when he recorded his 900th win, making him the fastest men’s coach to ever reach that number. A couple months later, he announced his retirement from coaching.
Personal Life
With his wife, fellow UNC alum Wanda, Williams has a son named Scott and a daughter named Kimberly. Both children attended UNC. Williams and his wife have a record of donating to their alma mater in support of student scholarships.
Williams is the co-author of an autobiography entitled “Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court,” which was co-written by Tim Crothers. Released in 2009, the book covers Williams’ early life, his coaching career, and his difficult choice to leave his coaching position at Kansas for North Carolina.