Butch Davis Fired At North Carolina: How Does This Affect Boston College?

Finally, after more than a year of investigations and allegations, the University of North Carolina fired Butch Davis this afternoon. This definitely is an odd time to finally swing the hammer which has to make you wonder if there were bigger infractions the NCAA was about to uncover. 

The University recently officially announced the dismissal:

University of North Carolina Chancellor Holden Thorp announced this evening that Butch Davis has been dismissed as head coach of the Carolina football program. Davis was informed by Thorp and Director of Athletics Dick Baddour of the decision.

"To restore confidence in the University of North Carolina and our football program, it's time to make a change," said Thorp. "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 might be wondering just how this affects Boston College?

North Carolina isn't on the BC schedule again until 2013-2014, which is plenty of time for the Tar Heels to right their ship. Luckily for BC, UNC probably will have a completely different look than the team that pounded BC 31-13 in 2009. Davis's defense and running games proved to be difficult for the Eagles, who went 0-13 in 3rd down conversions.

But what about the NCAA investigation? There is a strong possibility that UNC would lose scholarships, which could help BC in the recruiting realm (though we don't seem to have much success in the Carolinas). In terms of stability, Coach Spaziani continues to rise up the ranks as one of the longest tenured coach in the ACC, trailing only behind Paul Johnson, Jim Grobe, David Cutcliffe, Tom O'Brien and Dabo Swinney. Whatever the case, UNC is going to be a mess for the foreseeable future.