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H O K I E
G R E A T S
B I L L
FOSTER
V I R G I N I A T E C H H E A D C O A C H , 1 9 9 1 - 1 9 9 7
T H E B I L L F O S T E R
BASKETBAL L SU I TE
Bill Foster came to Blacksburg as a proven, successful
basketball coach. Everywhere he coached — Miami,
Clemson and UNC Charlotte — Foster won. But perhaps
more importantly, Foster won with grace and integrity.
During his time in Blacksburg, he proved that class shines
through.
Foster enjoyed many successes and milestones during his
time at Virginia Tech. On Dec. 31, 1995, in New Orleans,
the Hokies defeated Wright State to give Foster his 500th
coaching victory. During that season, Tech climbed to
eighth in the polls and lost in the second round of the NCAA
Tournament to eventual champion Kentucky. Tech finished
the season ranked 22nd nationally.
The previous season had seen perhaps Foster’s greatest
accomplishment at Tech, as he led the Hokies to the 1995
NIT Championship. Tech defeated Clemson, Providence,
New Mexico State, Canisius and Marquette to capture the
school’s second NIT title. During his six seasons at Virginia
Tech, Foster amassed a 101-78 record with the Hokies and
stands as the fourth-winningest coach in school history.
Sadly, Coach Foster passed away on May 27, 2015, in
Charlotte, North Carolina, following a long battle with
Parkinson’s Disease.
The native of Hemingway, South Carolina was the only
coach to serve as the head coach of three current Atlantic
Coast Conference institutions (Clemson, Miami and Virginia
Tech) and is among a handful of coaches in NCAA history
to have multiple 20-win seasons at four different schools
Foster was a 1958 graduate of Carson Newman. He earned
a Masters degree from the University of Tennessee in 1961.
He is survived by his wife Linda, daughters Leslie and Laura
and many grandchildren.
In addition to their space in the Hahn Hurst Basketball
Practice Center, on game days Virginia Tech players have
the use of one of the best game-day locker room facilities in
the country — The Bill Foster Basketball Suite — donated by
Pat and Sandy Cupp of Blacksburg, Va., in honor of Virginia
Tech coaching great Bill Foster. It includes a spacious
locker room, private restroom and showers, a players’
lounge, a meeting area and a foyer honoring former Hokie
greats throughout the years. The suite opens into the arena
and continues as the game-day home to the Hokies. During
the fall of 2005, the suite was completely renovated, which
included plasma screen televisions in the players’ lounge
and locker room, a surround-sound stereo, new lockers, a
computer station, hardwood flooring in the entrance and the
lounge, a scouting and film editing station, murals and Hokie
Stone throughout the complex.
The basketball locker room and lounge in Cassell Coliseum are named in honor of the late Bill Foster.
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