Sylvia Hatchell - Coaching

Coaching

Hatchell realized that coaching was her calling when she was asked to coach a junior high girl's basketball team in 1974. She followed that with a brief stint as the junior varsity basketball coach at the University of Tennessee, then moved on to become the coach at Francis Marion College, where she would remain for the next eleven years, compiling a 272–80 record.

In 1986, Hatchell would take the head coaching position at the University of North Carolina. Under Hatchell's leadership the Tar Heels would become one of the nation's top basketball teams and becoming a mainstay in the NCAA Tournament. They have been to every tournament since 2001, and all but two since 1992.

The highlight of Hatchell's career was winning the national championship in 1994. The title game against Louisiana Tech was one of the more exciting finishes in Tournament history. Louisiana Tech had scored with 14 seconds to go in the game, giving them a two point lead 59–57. UNC's Tonya Sampson attempted a shot with four seconds to go in the game that would tie the game, but it did not go in. The Tar Heels rebounded the ball and called a time out, with only 0.7 seconds left in the game. Stephanie Lawrence passed the ball inbounds to Charlotte Smith, who hit a 20 foot jump shot for three points to win the game and the National Championship at the buzzer.

In 2009, Hatchell became only the fourth coach of a women's basketball team to reach the 800 win plateau. The win came against in-state rival North Carolina State, and wasn't easy, as the Tar Heels needed overtime to pull out the win. Interestingly, that is the same opponent as UNC faced for Hatchell's 700th victory, on January 16, 2006.

Hatchell's son, Van, graduated from UNC in 2011 and was a walk-on senior on the 2010–11 men's basketball team.