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One of the last things Coach Mike Young said after Wofford's loss to Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament two weeks ago can be particularly taken by the Young and the Terriers family.
"Do not be sad that it's over," said Young. "Be happy that it happened."
Young, who has raised the Terriers to unprecedented heights this season, has accepted the position of head coach at Virginia Tech. An introductory press conference will be held Monday in Blacksburg, Virginia.
"Difficult decision to leave Wofford? You'd better believe it, "said Young." But I'm not rejuvenating and these jobs are hard to come by – really hard to come by.When I was completely honest with myself, I could not say no to that. "
Young, 55, is the Wofford head coach for 17 years, including 30 total on the bench. This season, he has led Wofford to a fifth South Conference championship since 2010, set a school record of wins (30-5), ranked in the top 25 of the Associated Press for the first time (No. 19 after the regular season), won an NCAA game for the first time (vs. Seton Hall) and was honored National Coach of the Year by Sporting News magazine.
Virginia Tech will be a homecoming for Young, who lives in Radford, Virginia, just about 15 miles from the Cassell Coliseum.
"I can trace my love for the ball up to this building, be a kid with my dad," Young said. "There was a time when I thought training at Virginia Tech was a dream. And then one thing leads to another. … I am fortunate to be coaching the world's largest university basketball conference, the Atlantic Coast Conference. I do it in the back yard of my area and where I still have family. It was my team. And I will do it at a world class university. "
After the Terriers lost 62-56 against Kentucky in a second-round match on March 23 in Jacksonville, Florida, things quickly moved. Virginia Tech head coach Buzz Williams left for Texas A & M to create an opening that seemed perfectly suited to Young.
"It happened quickly," said Young, whose first conversation with Whit Babcock, director of sports at Virginia Tech, was held on the phone Thursday. Young was in Minneapolis, site of the Final Four and where Elders Fletcher Magee and Cameron Jackson competed in different events.
"We had a very honest conversation," Young said. "It was not very long. Forty minutes. I left very impressed by him. I had a good feeling about it. He called Friday and said he wanted to see me, but he did not want to come to Minneapolis. Saturday morning, he came to Spartanburg and came to my house. On leaving, he proposed the job. I let him know that I wanted to do it. They were incredibly nice with some things. Shortly thereafter, I informed him that I wanted to be Virginia Tech's next basketball coach. "
When the Terriers returned from Jacksonville, there was a meeting between Young, Sports Director Richard Johnson, and College President Nayef Samhat. Young's salary and that of the assistants would be considerably increased.
"Wofford could not have done anything more," Young said. "Everyone recognized that we had something special. They were very kind and generous. They have done their best to improve the program – and it has always been good for me – to improve the program and take better care of our assistant coaches. We also quickly recognized, long before the Virginia Tech situation, that something could happen and that Wofford simply could not do it. It's just happened to be one of those situations. "
It was not just the salary that Wofford could not match.
"A childhood dream has come true for him," said Johnson. "… It's hard to imagine leaving. However, we knew it was the only job that could attract him. "
"Mike Young has been an outstanding member of the Wofford community and a transformational coach for our athlete athletes over the past 30 years," said Samhat. "We will miss him a lot, but we wish Mike and his family good luck, and we look forward to continuing his legacy of success on and off the field."
Young said he would like to bring all Wofford staff to Virginia Tech. This includes assistant coaches Jay McAuley, Kevin Giltner and Will Murphy. David Land, who has just finished his first season with the team as a coach of sports performance, is already in the game.
"I want to take them all," said Young. "I know I'm taking David right now. Their strength coach went with Buzz to Texas A & M. So, I'll take David with me right away. I would definitely want to take Kevin, Jay and Will, maybe in different titles, earlier. I certainly hope that Jay will be the next basketball coach here in Wofford. I expressed it to Richard. Jay was great. Kevin would also be a great choice. It's not my call. I am the basketball coach of Virginia Tech. I am no longer able to influence anything here. "
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