UNC Fires Longtime Wrestling Coach Mock

Posted on June 19, 2015

The University has fired C.D. Mock ’82 after 12 years as head coach of its wrestling team.

“I made the decision that a coaching change was in the best interest of our wrestling program moving forward,” said Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham. “I appreciate C.D.’s service to the program over the last 15 years and wish him luck in his future endeavors. I believe a new head coach will re-energize the program and return it to the level of success I expect from all of our teams.”

Coleman Scott, who has been at UNC as an assistant since May 2014, has been named interim head coach.

Mock led UNC to a 108-105-3 record over 12 seasons, including a 33-38 mark over the past four years. The Tar Heels won back-to-back ACC titles in 2005 and 2006 but have not finished higher than fourth at the conference championships since 2008. As a student, Mock won UNC’s first-ever NCAA individual wrestling title as a senior. He was an assistant coach at UNC for three years prior to becoming head coach.

Mock’s son, Corey, has been embroiled in a sexual assault case at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, where he transferred from Carolina in 2013. According to media reports, a female student at UTC filed accusations against the younger Mock in spring 2014. Corey Mock, who was a nationally ranked wrestler, was not charged with a crime.

His attorney told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that Mock was accused “of having sex with another UTC student ‘without her consent.’ ” The newspaper said that Mock initially was found “not responsible” but that school officials later reversed that decision.

C.D. Mock went public with his anger over the way his son was treated, using a personal blog to chronicle the case, often railing against what he termed a feminist-driven approach to dealing with sexual assault cases on college campuses.

Newspapers and websites began following Mock’s comments in early 2015. In January, a UNC spokesperson issued a statement saying that while UNC respected the free speech rights of its employees, Mock’s views did not represent those of UNC.

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