From First Game to Family: The Bonds of Carolina Women's Basketball
How an unexpected meeting, facilitated by the late Eric Montross, led to a true friendship between Courtney Banghart and Carol Grizzard, and a foundation of success for UNC Women's Basketball.
By Andrew Stilwell // January 9, 2025
Carol Grizzard is one of Carolina Women’s Basketball’s most ardent supporters. But, several years ago, she wasn’t yet familiar with the program.
When the idea for a Women’s Basketball Bench Seat program was introduced, Eric Montross thought Grizzard and her husband Vernon, longtime backers of both Tar Heel Men’s Soccer and Men’s Basketball, would be ideal candidates to help kick off the program. Grizzard was eager to support a women’s sport at Carolina, but she had never attended a Women’s Basketball game prior to that initial introduction. Despite their unfamiliarity with the program, the Grizzards agreed to dive in.
“We had participated in the Women’s Basketball Bench Seat program for about a year, when Eric called and suggested I get lunch with Coach Banghart,” Grizzard said. Eric had not steered us wrong to that point, so we agreed to lunch – two hours in, and I was hooked! We bought season tickets the next day.”
Montross was one of Banghart’s biggest advocates during her first season at UNC – a season that had its fair share of challenges between the pandemic and the building of her program at Carolina.
“The first year when we really struggled, Eric was the guy who would send me a nice text that would say to keep doing what I’m doing or that I was the right coach here. He just lifted you up,” Banghart said. “When Eric said I should have lunch with Carol, I didn’t question it.”
A STABLE FORCE
That initial lunch was the beginning of a relationship that feels a bit more than the traditional “donor-coach” connection. Sitting in a room with both Grizzard and Banghart, it’s clear that their friendship and appreciation for one another extends beyond the sidelines of Carmichael Arena. There are genuine smiles. There’s laughter. It’s the kind of natural connection that feels like it’s been there for decades.
“At the time, I didn’t fully know what I was getting in Carol,” Banghart said. “With that southern accent of hers, she gives off a mom or grandmother vibe. I’ve witnessed this firsthand – but she’s such a stable force and always has been with her family business and managing her family, and she’s been the same for me and our program.”
“She’s not just here for what we need. She’s an architect, almost a general contractor for the program,” the seventh-year coach continued. “She’s a builder, but most of all, she’s fiercely loyal. Our people truly matter to her. In this sport, it’s so often about wins and losses, but for Carol, it’s also about how we treat each other and how we treat our journey. I appreciate her brain, I appreciate her perspective, and her mentorship, and she truthfully has become one of my closest friends.”
For Grizzard, she was able to get onboard immediately after that first lunch conversation with Banghart.
“I could tell that Courtney was a good person who was here for all the right reasons,” Grizzard said. “She was going to build a program that the University and the community could be proud of and was going to do it in the right way. The players aren’t just players. She’s developing them wholistically, not only to make them better basketball players, but better humans.”
“She surrounds herself with the best staff, best coaches, best managers – everybody around her,” added Grizzard. “Because people were seeing that, she has drawn in an amazing number of donors and supporters, and she makes them feel like we’re all part of this journey together.”
A POSITIVE PRESENCE
While Grizzard isn’t always around Carmichael Arena, her presence is often felt throughout the program, from the coaching staff to the student-athletes.
“I’m not here all the time, because that’s their thing and I’m not going to come in there and bother them, but they know they always have my support,” Grizzard laughed. “I just love all of them. They’ve become my family.”
From cheering the Tar Heels on from coast to coast or dancing in the team huddle during pregame, she is viewed as “one of the team.”
“If we didn’t see her, they’d wonder where she was,” Banghart said with a laugh.
Even if she’s not physically present in the building, Grizzard’s mark is felt around Carmichael Arena with both the Carol and Vernon Grizzard Carolina Women’s Basketball Museum and the Carol Grizzard Jordan Room inside the coaching office, a bit to Grizzard’s chagrin.
“She doesn’t want her name on it, because it’s not about her,” Banghart said. “But at that moment, it needed to be about her. I told Carol that women helping women is a thing that I’m teaching my young people, and this was a strategic, supportive woman supporting other women. I don’t know if she loves her name on there, but I do.”
LEARNING TOGETHER
In recent years, the college athletics landscape has changed significantly, and while the wins and losses on the court are still a primary focus, the “business side” of college athletics is more important than ever and is still a learning process for so many. Rather than sit idly by and say, “Oh, let us know what we can do,” both Grizzards have jumped in with both feet to aid Carolina Women’s Basketball as it takes on the new frontier.
“Carol cares enough to know what our biggest challenges are, and she can be a thought leader and partner as we try to navigate those challenges,” said Banghart. “She doesn’t just ask ‘How can I help?’ but instead says ‘I’m coming in and we’re going to figure this out together.’ I needed that.”
“Something I’ve learned from Carol is that there’s always a way,” Banghart added. “She’s not just saying it, but she’s lived it and done it. She and Vernon have the acumen of running very successful businesses, and it is so helpful to have someone who’s not just supporting you, but in the trenches with you saying, ‘We’re going to figure this out.’”
As the sport continues to evolve, so too have the needs of the program, and those needs can’t be met without donor support.
“When Carol first came on board, our needs might have been weight room equipment or other updated space. It’s gone from brick and mortar to people. We’re in a people business,” Banghart said. “Carol and Vernon have been the marquee example of embracing and adapting to the changes – we can no longer just be transactional. When Carol shares the ways in which her family is supporting Women’s Basketball, others have followed her example.”
“Supporting this program has been one of the best things I’ve ever done,” Carol said. “You learn a lot from being this close to the team. They’re all trying so hard and they’re great young women. Why wouldn’t you try to do whatever you can to make their lives a little better, because it’ll make your own life even better. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”
