Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock confirmed in a press release on Wednesday morning that Buzz Williams is leaving to take the head coaching job at Texas A&M.
"Coach Williams made a very positive impact on the culture of our basketball program at Virginia Tech," Babcock said. "We appreciate all that Buzz and his staff did for our students and our program. We wish Buzz, Corey and their family the very best as they return to their home state of Texas.
"Thanks to our talented student-athletes, Coach Williams and his staff, Virginia Tech is now one of the most attractive jobs in the nation's top basketball conference, the ACC," Babcock continued. "I'm extremely confident that we'll be able to identify and hire a new head coach who can further build on the success our men's basketball program has achieved in recent years. Until we have our new head coach in place, we will have no further comment on our search process."
Williams inherited a program that had finished last in the ACC four straight seasons. He turned things around quickly, taking the program to the NCAA Tournament three years in a row for the first time in school history. His tenure culminated with this year’s Sweet 16 appearance, which was also a first for the program in the modern era of the NCAA Tournament.
Overall, Williams went 100-69 in his five seasons at Virginia Tech, with a 44-46 record in the ACC. If you throw out his first and only rebuilding season, his record was 89-47, with a 42-30 mark in conference play. He made the program competitive with the top programs in the ACC, accumulating a record of 6-8 his last three seasons against Duke, Virginia, and North Carolina.
Besides developing a winning program, Williams and his wife Corey also endowed two scholarships at Virginia Tech.
The Buzz's Bunch Scholarship Endowment will continue to be awarded annually to an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech in any field of study who is registered with Services for Students with Disabilities. Buzz's Bunch is a non-profit organization that the Williams family created at Marquette and continued at Virginia Tech as a way to bring children with disabilities and special needs together and allow them to fall in love with the game of basketball. This endowed scholarship further strengthens the longstanding pledge the Williams family has made to help those with disabilities and special needs reach their full potential.
The Buzz and Corey Williams Family Student-Athlete Scholarship – In Memory of T. Marshall Hahn - will be continue to awarded annually to an undergraduate student-athlete participating on any women's intercollegiate teams at Virginia Tech. First preference shall be given to students who are the first generation of their family to pursue a post-secondary (college) education. Preference shall also be given to students who are members of an underrepresented population at Virginia Tech. This scholarship recognizes Coach Williams' deep appreciation for his friendship with the late Dr. Hahn and the many initiatives he championed during his tenure at Tech to develop a culture of diversity and inclusion for all Hokies.