Sources reported in the early evening that Bubba Cunningham, Tulsa’s athletic director, had interviewed and was a serious and likely candidate for the UNC athletic director position, being vacated by Dick Baddour. By late night tonight, Inside Carolina was reporting that Cunningham will indeed be the new AD at Carolina.

“Multiple sources confirmed that three candidates, with Cunningham tabbed as the top choice, were recommended to Thorp at that meeting,” Greg Barnes of Inside Carolina is reporting.

Cunningham, who became athletics director at Tulsa in 2005, has led Tulsa to success since Conference USA’s realignment in 2005. Tulsa has 34 league championships, more than any other school.

One of Cunningham’s jobs will be to hire a football coach, something he did at Tulsa. Cunningham hired former Tulsa football coach Todd Graham, who led the program to three 10-win seasons over four years, the first time it had been accomplished in school history.

Cunningham, a Notre Dame grad, has no obvious connections to North Carolina. He played intercollegiate golf for the Irish.