BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) β Justin Fuente says he had numerous opportunities to leave Memphis, but it wasn’t until Virginia Tech offered him the chance to replace the retiring Frank Beamer as coach that he couldn’t turn them down.
The 39-year-old Fuente was introduced as the Hokies’ next coach on Monday.
Fuente says, “We all know you don’t replace a legend in coaching. You hope to build on what he’s done.”
Fuente spent the past four seasons at Memphis, where he inherited a program that had gone 5-31 over three years. By his third season, the Tigers were 10-3, won a bowl game and finished No. 25 in the Top 25, the first end-of-season ranking in program history.
Fuente signed a 6-year contract that will start at $3.2 million his first season.
