Credit Roy Williams for desire to stay at UNC during NCAA case

North Carolina coach Roy Williams says he doesn’t want to retire until an ongoing NCAA infractions case possibly involving hundreds of athletes at the school in multiple sports over nearly two decades is resolved and the future is a little more certain for the storied program he leads.

Speculation from CBS sports analyst Doug Gottlieb about the possibility that Williams could retire at the end of this season fired up Williams after the Tar Heels’ victory Saturday. He came back to the topic when talking with reporters on Tuesday.

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“I don’t ever want to leave when things – when I leave I want it to be in good shape,” Williams was quoted by the Raleigh News&Observer. “And for me, this would have been a very hard time to leave.”

Williams, 65, has a team most believe is capable of winning the national title this season. He also has been dealing with health issues, including suffering from vertigo, which caused him to lose his balance and leave the court during a game earlier this month. For those reasons as well as the ongoing NCAA case, some, such as Gottlieb, have speculated that it might be the right time for Williams to hang it up at the end of this season.

When the NCAA sent its original Notice of Allegations to the school last spring, Williams and his assistant coaches were not named in the document, which is an indication, initially at least, that the organization has not uncovered any wrongdoing by Williams and his staff. The university sent additional information to the NCAA in August and is awaiting an amended Notice of Allegations.

With that in mind, it’s admirable that Williams wants to see the case through and get the program and his successor to a place where it can compete and build for the future rather than to still be dealing with the sins of the past. The case deals with 18 years of alleged academic fraud and the initial NOA listed five violations, including lack of institutional control.

“I wish there was some way that there could be a speedier (conclusion) but our people are trying to do the best they can do,” Williams told the Associated Press earlier this month. “The NCAA’s probably doing things the way they do them. And it’s been very frustrating for me.”

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Williams could have bolted for another premier program at any time in recent years leaving some other coach to deal with any penalties that might be coming. He could have opted for ending his career elsewhere with no such headaches, but he’s loyal to the program and Chapel Hill is where he wants to be.

None of this makes Williams a saint. There are surely plenty of other coaches who would choose to do the right thing and see the case through as well, but there also are plenty who wouldn’t. No doubt there are some of Williams’ peers who, even though it’s North Carolina, a blue blood program, would have taken the easy way out and moved on to another locale where they wouldn’t have to answer questions about academic fraud and possible sanctions in every livingroom of every recruit.

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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo