Roy and Wanda Williams Donate to Scholarship Fund

When sports came to a halt in March, it seemed as though many senior student-athletes missed their final shot at competing at the collegiate level.

The NCAA is allowing another year of eligibility for all spring-sport athletes. However, there are financial considerations, for both colleges and individuals.

Can programs handle the financial burden of an additional set of scholarships? Could that adversely affect recruiting or enrollment?

For the student-athlete, did it make financial sense to compete without the possibility of a scholarship? Maybe it was for the best to graduate and move into the next phase of their life.

These questions, at least for UNC's spring athletes, will be easier to answer with a scholarship gift from the Williams family.

North Carolina Tar Heels men’s basketball coach Roy Williams and his wife Wanda sought to ease the strain for both students and UNC’s spring sport programs. The university and Rams Club announced the Williams' $600,000 gift this week.

From Carolina Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham via UNC Athletics:

Student-athletes have begun to come back to campus for voluntary and now team workouts, so it’s an appropriate time for us to announce that our spring sport seniors will also be able to return for another year thanks to Roy’s and Wanda’s generosity. Only a handful of people at the University knew what Roy and Wanda had done to support our students. He called me in March the day the NCAA canceled all spring championships. He didn’t want those students to miss that experience and wanted to fund those scholarships for next year. I still get chills when I think about his phone call and the impact it would have for dozens of our students.

This generous contribution will help student-athletes regain a valuable part of their college experience next spring.