March Madness: Virginia Tech HC Buzz Williams leaving for Texas A&M

April 3 (UPI) -- Virginia Tech men's head basketball coach Buzz Williams is leaving the Hokies to become Texas A&M's next coach.

Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock confirmed the move Wednesday. Texas A&M also announced the news on social media.

"Coach Williams made a very positive impact on the culture of our basketball program at Virginia Tech," Babcock said in a statement. "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. 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."

The Hokies had a 9-22 overall record, including a 2-16 mark in conference games, before Williams' arrival in 2013-14. Williams guided Virginia Tech to four straight 20-win seasons and three consecutive NCAA tournament berths.

The Hokies won a school-record 26 games in 2018-19 and reached the Sweet 16 before falling to the Duke Blue Devils. In his time at Virginia Tech, Williams had a 100-69 record and four postseason berths.

In 12 seasons as an NCAA head coach, Williams has compiled a 253-155 record, including five NCAA tournament berths in six seasons while coaching at Marquette.

Williams was a former assistant coach with the Aggies. Texas A&M fired Billy Kennedy, who led the team to a 14-19 record, after the season concluded.