Posters displaying affection for Williams and pleading for him to stick with the Jayhawks dotted stop signs and parking lots on the Kansas University campus and across town.

Speculation that Williams would take the head coaching job at the University of North Carolina cast a pall over KU fans Friday and Saturday. But die-hard devotees refused to relinquish hope.

“He’s not going anywhere,” Mary Jo Elston, a 66-year-old Lawrence woman, said.

Elston staked her claim into the ground west of Howard Pine’s Garden Center and Green Houses, 1320 N. Third, with a sign that read “Honk for Roy.” Passing motorists tooted their horns in support Saturday morning.

Elston, a lifelong Lawrence resident who works at the greenhouse, remembers watching Clyde Lovellette, former KU center, lead the Jayhawks to the NCAA championship title in 1952 under legendary coach Phog Allen.

But Williams wins Elston’s award for favorite coach.

“He’s been the best,” she said. “He has more class than the others.”

Beginning in 1958, Elston worked concession stands at KU Athletics Department events for about 15 years. She said she had always been a Jayhawk basketball fan.

“I watch it all on TV,” she said. “I even make the boss let me off early so I can go home and watch them.”

Elston said Williams should stay at Kansas to build a legacy.

“Why should he ride on Dean Smith’s coattails?” she asked. “Let him stay here and set up his own history.”

On the KU campus, signs decorated with hearts read “We love Roy” and “Home is where the hawk is.” Another sign made a simple request: “Coach please stay.”

Saturday afternoon, Elston replaced her first “Honk for Roy” sign wilted from humidity with a larger version that motorists could see better.

“It’s gonna be there all week,” she said.