CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA — The University of North Carolina fired Hubert Davis as its men's basketball head coach Tuesday night. The university did not specify the nature of Davis's departure in its statement Tuesday night and described it as a change in leadership. The university said it would honor the terms of Davis's contract, which has nearly $5.3 million remaining in guaranteed money.

Athletics director Bubba Cunningham said in a statement, "We appreciate all that Hubert has done for Carolina as a player, assistant coach, head coach and community leader -- he has helped make special memories we will never forget. This was not an easy decision because of Hubert's tremendous character and all he has given to the program, but we must move forward in a way that allows our team to compete more consistently at an elite level."

Davis informed his team of his departure Tuesday night. A national search for his replacement is underway.

The firing came after North Carolina lost to 11-seed VCU 82-78 in overtime in the first round of the men's NCAA tournament. North Carolina led VCU by 19 points in the second half before VCU mounted a comeback. VCU's 19-point comeback was the largest comeback in the NCAA tournament since 2018. The loss marked the second consecutive season North Carolina failed to advance beyond the first round of the tournament.

North Carolina finished the season with a 24-9 record. The team beat Duke on February 7 to improve to 19-4, but went 5-5 in its final ten games.

Davis was promoted to head coach in 2021 after Roy Williams retired. He had spent nine seasons as an assistant coach on Williams's staff. In five seasons as head coach, Davis compiled a record of 125-54.

In 2022, Davis led North Carolina as an 8-seed to the national championship game, where Kansas came back from a 15-point halftime deficit to win 72-69. The following season in 2022-23, North Carolina entered as the preseason No. 1 team but became the first preseason top-ranked team to miss the NCAA tournament.

In the 2023-24 season, North Carolina won the ACC regular-season title and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, defeating Wagner and Michigan State before losing to Alabama in the Sweet 16. Davis won ACC Coach of the Year honors for that season.