Forget about the NCAA basketball title. Forget about the North Carolina-Duke rivalry. Forget about everything bad in college basketball and with the NCAA in general.
When something like this happens—when this kind of generosity is showcased—everybody wins.
Sect. 140, Row A, Seat 13 will be left open for tonight's game.
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) April 7, 2015
Roy Williams has donated that seat to the memory of the late Butch Ryan.
That’s right. Williams, the Tar Heels coach, honored the father of Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan with a heartwarming act just before the biggest game of Ryan’s career.
As ESPN explained, “Bo Ryan and his father, Butch, were inseparable. The man who had taught basketball to underprivileged kids outside of Philly had also taught his son the game and eventually that son became a coaching legend.”
The two were so close that after he became a college coach, Bo Ryan brought his father to the Final Four every year. Unfortunately, Butch Ryan died in 2013 and never would get the chance to see his son coach for a Division I national title.
Williams, though, made Ryan’s day with his poignant tribute.
Bo and Butch Ryan never missed a Final Four. Touching gesture from Coach Williams @UNC_Basketball pic.twitter.com/oEbdrJUEqa
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) April 7, 2015
Photo via @WisconsinMBB/Twitter