By R.L. Bynum
Hubert Davis has made a point to hire a coaching staff of Carolina alums, figuring there are many advantages, particularly on the recruiting trail. Who better to convince an athlete to play and study at UNC than a coach who did just that?
With recent hirings, more head coaches on campus will have that advantage.
When veteran field hockey and softball coaches who graduated from other colleges retired, Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham replaced them with alums. That means one-third of the head coaches — seven of 21 — graduated from Carolina.
That total first increased when one legendary UNC player, Erin Matson (top photo), replaced a legendary coach, Westchester State alum Karen Shelton, in field hockey.
The number reached seven last week when former Carolina third baseman Megan Smith Lyon left Marshall to be the head coach of the UNC softball team. She replaced retiring longtime coach Donna Papa, who graduated from Connecticut.
The other five Carolina head coaches who are UNC graduates are Davis, women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance, men’s lacrosse coach Joe Breschi, fencing coach Matt Jednak and rowing coach Erin Neppel.
Next season will be Dorrance’s 47th season as women’s soccer head coach and he’s the only coach the program has ever had. An alum has led women’s soccer for far longer than any other program.
Men’s lacrosse is second at 32 years, under the direction of three Carolina alums. Dave Klarmann led the Tar Heels to a national championship in his first season as head coach in 1991, John Haus was head coach from 2001 to 2007, and Joe Breschi has been head coach since 2009, winning the NCAA title in 2016.
Right behind men’s lacrosse is men’s basketball, which a UNC alum has coached since Matt Doherty took over as head coach for the 2000–01 season. Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams succeeded Doherty in 2003 and Davis became head coach in 2021.
The 14 other UNC head coaches all graduated from different universities, including three who attended current ACC schools: football coach Mack Brown at Florida State, women’s lacrosse coach Jenny Levy at Virginia and women’s tennis coach Brian Kalbas at Notre Dame.
Six others also graduated from power-six schools (the sixth is the Big East): track and field/cross country coach Chris Miltenberg at Georgetown, women’s golf coach Aimee Neff at Michigan State, gymnastics coach Danna Durante at Arizona State, swimming and diving coach Mark Gangloff at Auburn, volleyball coach Mike Schall at Penn State and wrestling coach Coleman Scott at Oklahoma State.
The only Group of Five conference school graduate is men’s golf coach Andrew DiBitetto, a Charlotte graduate.
After an impressive playing career at Dartmouth, women’s basketball coach Courtney Banghart is the only Ivy League graduate.
The other three head coaches are baseball coach Scott Forbes (an N.C. Wesleyan graduate), men’s soccer coach Carlos Somoano (Eckerd) and men’s tennis coach Sam Paul (Presbyterian).
Carolina head coaches, alma maters
Baseball: Scott Forbes, N.C. Wesleyan
Men’s basketball: Hubert Davis, UNC; replaced Roy Williams, UNC; preceded by Matt Doherty, UNC, Bill Guthridge, Kansas State
Women’s basketball: Courtney Banghart, Dartmouth
Cross country/track and field: Chris Miltenberg, Georgetown
Fencing: Matt Jednak, UNC — replaced Ron Miller, Florida State
Field hockey: Erin Matson, UNC — replaced Karen Shelton, Westchester State
Football: Mack Brown, Florida State
Men’s golf: Andew DiBitetto, Charlotte
Women’s golf: Aimee Neff, Michigan State
Gymnastics: Danna Durante, Arizona State
Men’s lacrosse: Joe Breschi, UNC — replaced Jon Haus, UNC; preceded by Dave Klarmann, UNC and Willie Scoggs, Johns Hopkins
Women’s lacrosse: Jenny Levy, Virginia
Rowing: Erin Neppel, UNC — replaced Sarah Haney, UNC (after two interim coaches); preceded by Joel Furtek, Yale
Men’s soccer: Carlos Somoano, Eckerd
Women’s soccer: Anson Dorrance, UNC (only coach in program history)
Softball: Megan Smith Lyon, UNC — replaced Donna Papa, Connecticut
Swimming and diving: Mark Gangloff, Auburn
Men’s tennis: Sam Paul, Presbyterian
Women’s tennis: Brian Kalbas, Notre Dame
Volleyball: Mike Schall, Penn State
Wrestling: Coleman Scott, Oklahoma State
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
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