North Carolina Football Coach Crum Resigns After 5-6 Season

Football Coach Dick Crum of North Carolina resigned Monday, ending two weeks of speculation over his status.

School officials said that Crum will be paid an initial $400,000 and then $100,000 a year over the four years remaining on his contract.

A statement released jointly by Crum, UNC Chancellor Chris Fordham and UNC Athletic Director John Swofford said Crum was given the option to continue as coach.

“However, Coach Crum and the university have reluctantly determined that it is in Crum’s best interest, the best interest of the players that he recruited, and the best interest of the university for him to submit and for the university to accept his resignation effective Jan. 31, 1988,” the statement said.

Crum recently completed the sixth year of a 10-year contract. In his 10 seasons, he led the Tar Heels to a 72-41-3 record. He was the school’s winningest coach, surpassing the 69 victories Bill Dooley recorded from 1967-77.

Reports before a season-ending loss to Duke that left the Tar Heels with a 5-6 record indicated that Crum would resign at the end of the season and accept a buyout of the final four years of his contract. But Crum reportedly backed down when word of the buyout leaked.

Reports said he began holding out to negotiate a more lucrative deal for his nine assistants, whose contracts expire in June, 1988. School officials said Monday that the assistants’ contracts will be fully honored.