Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock announced Friday that associate head coach Brian Sharp will take over as the next head coach of the Virginia Tech men's golf program. Sharp will take over for Jay Hardwick, the Hokies' longtime head coach who is retiring at the conclusion of the spring season.
A two-time Virginia Tech graduate, Sharp was a four-year starter for the men's golf team during his playing days and a 2009 inductee into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame. He has been an assistant under Hardwick for the past 16 seasons.
"This is a hire that just makes sense," Babcock said. "Brian Sharp has established himself as one of the best coaches in collegiate golf and is a Hokie, through and through. Having been able to observe Brian's skill set firsthand during the last several years, it became clear to me that the best candidate for this job was right here all along.
"Brian was a 2009 inductee into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame. He and his family are entrenched in the Blacksburg and Virginia Tech community and his values match those of this university. The student-athletes trust and respect him, and they value his input into their golf games. It is not often you find this combination of talent, values and communication skills already on your staff, and I know that Brian is the perfect person to carry on the growth of this program that Jay Hardwick and Brian have built over the years."
One of the top assistant coaches in collegiate golf, Sharp was promoted to associate head coach 11 seasons ago. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 1995 with a degree in finance and received his MBA from the Pamplin College of Business in 2006. During his career with the Hokies, he was a four-year letterwinner on the golf team.
"Virginia Tech and our golf team have been a big part of my life for more than 25 years now and have given me opportunities that I would have never had otherwise," Sharp said. "I look forward to sharing that same experience with our current and future players and helping them to achieve their academic and athletic goals going forward."
Sharp was named the recipient of the 2009 Jan Strickland Award presented by TaylorMade-Adidas to the Assistant Coach of the Year, as selected by the Golf Coaches Association of America. The Strickland Award is given to the NCAA Division I, II, III or NAIA assistant coach that, among other things, has excelled in working with their student-athletes both on the course and in the classroom. He received the award at the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship banquet at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, where Jack Nicklaus was the keynote speaker.
The Strickland Award recipient is invited to serve as the assistant coach on the following year's Palmer Cup team, and Sharp traveled to Portrush, Ireland and historic Royal Portrush Golf Club for the event in 2010. The United States team defeated Europe 13-11, the nation's first victory on foreign soil since 2002.
During Sharp's playing career at Virginia Tech, he won four collegiate events, including the 1995 Metro Conference Golf Championship as a senior. He left Virginia Tech as the all-time leader in career scoring for the Hokies, with a four-year average of 74.14. He finished his Tech career with the most rounds played and started in the No. 1 position in every tournament during that time. Sharp is the only Tech golfer to be both a four-time all-conference and first-team all-state selection.
In addition, Sharp was named to the NCAA All-District III-North team twice. He is one of only three players in the history of the league to be a four-time All-Metro Conference selection. He also was selected as the 1995 Metro Conference student-athlete of the year and won the Medallion Award for the most outstanding male student-athlete at Virginia Tech in 1995.
"I first want to thank Coach Hardwick for allowing me the opportunity to not only compete for Virginia Tech, but also to return to Blacksburg and coach alongside him. I will always be grateful for the chances he has taken on me and the experiences that being a part of this team has provided," Sharp said. "I also want to thank Whit and Tom Gabbard [a senior associate AD] for their trust in me to lead the team following Coach Hardwick's retirement. I understand and appreciate the responsibility that I am being given."
Sharp returned to Virginia Tech from the Buy.com Tour (currently the Web.com Tour), where he played in 2002. He turned professional in 1995 and played on various developmental tours before joining the Buy.com Tour. He won his first ever professional event in 1995 on the Powerbilt Tour at the Neuse Golf Club in Raleigh, North Carolina.
During Sharp's time on the men's golf staff, the Hokies have established themselves as an elite program, not only on the course, but also in the class room and the community. He replaces Hardwick, who announced in October his intention to retire at the end of the 2018-19 season after a stellar 36-year career leading the men's golf program at his alma mater.
A native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Sharp was captain of the 1994 and 1995 Hokie golf teams. He is married to the former Margaret Blackburn of Midlothian, Virginia. The couple resides in Blacksburg with daughter Meredith and son Cameron.