Virginia Tech hired Memphis’ Justin Fuente as its next coach on Sunday, bringing a quick end to its search for a successor to Frank Beamer.
Beamer is retiring after 29 seasons and will now be followed by a 39-year-old coach who has spent the past four seasons at Memphis, turning a struggling program into a winner.
The Tigers, who compete in The American, were 10-3 last season, including a 55-48, double-overtime victory against BYU in the Miami Beach Bowl. They are 9-3 this season, including a 63-0 victory against SMU on Saturday in Fuente’s final game.
Virginia Tech said defensive coordinator Bud Foster, thought to be a candidate for the job, will remain in that position at Fuente’s request. Virginia Tech will introduce Fuente at a news conference on Monday.
Fuente took over at Memphis in 2012 after the Tigers had gone 5-31 in the three previous seasons. He quickly engineered a turnaround, guiding them to their first 10-win season since 1938 last year, and a No. 25 ranking in The Associated Press’ final top 25, a program first.
Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock said he identified Fuente as a top candidate early in his search to replace Beamer, who has the sixth-most wins in the Bowl Subdivision. The Hokies’ 23-20 victory at Virginia on Saturday was the 279th of his career.
The Tigers won their last seven games last season and their first eight to start this season, using a high-powered offense that outscored its opponents by an average of nearly 21 points. The streak included a 37-24 victory against No. 13 Ole Miss on Oct. 17.
Before taking over at Memphis, Fuente spent five years on Gary Patterson’s staff at TCU.
Babcock said after the Hokies’ victory at Virginia that Beamer and his staff will coach the bowl game.
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