Bubba Cunningham Hired As New North Carolina Athletic Director

The North Carolina Tar Heels have made official the successor of outgoing athletic director Dick Baddour, with the school's Board of Trustees voting to hire Tulsa's Bubba Cunningham. His contract will begin Nov. 14 at $525,000 per year plus bonuses and run through 2017.

Cunningham spent six years at Tulsa after leaving Ball State. Under his watch, the Golden Hurricanes transitioned from the WAC to Conference USA. He also probably never saw his football program run afoul of like the entire NCAA rule book all at once, which helped him win favor in Chapel Hill. I'm guessing on that last part.

He'll have a fine little mess to clean up on the football side, but he'll also oversee one of the country's biggest basketball programs and have a strong academic heritage to uphold. Don't be astounded to see Clemson Tigers offensive coordinator Chad Morris' name emerge as a potential UNC football coaching candidate ... Tulsa connections abound.

For more, visit UNC blog Carolina March.