UNC Fires Football Coach Butch Davis

North Carolina football coach Butch Davis was fired Wednesday evening. The decision was made after Chancellor Holden Thorpe met with the school's Board of Trustees. Last month, the NCAA formally accused the football program of nine major rules violations. Still, the timing is a surprise with training camp about to begin. The NCAA has been investigating the program for about a year for impermissible benefits and academic violations. It was widely assumed that Davis would have been fired by now if it was going to happen. "To restore confidence in the University of North Carolina and our football program, it's time to make a change," Thorp said in this statement. "What started as a purely athletic issue has begun to chip away at this University's reputation. I have been deliberate in my approach to understanding this situation fully, and I have worked to be fair to everyone involved. However, I have lost confidence in our ability to come through this without harming the way people think of this institution. Our academic integrity is paramount and we must work diligently to protect it. The only way to move forward and put this behind us is to make a change." You can click here to read the rest of the statement. A press conference is schedule for the morning.