Tournament Officials announced this week that college coaches John “Doc” Holliday and Dan D’Antoni from Marshall University, Tony Gibson and Ron Everhart from West Virginia University, and Frank Beamer and Buzz Williams from Virginia Tech will participate in the Wednesday Pro-Am at The Greenbrier Classic.
The Wednesday Pro-Am at The Greenbrier Classic will take place on July 2, 2014 at The Greenbrier, the classic American resort in White Sulphur Springs, WV.
Holliday is entering his fifth season as the Head Coach for the Marshall Thundering Herd football team. Holliday, a Hurricane W.Va. native, is widely regarded as one of the top recruiters in the nation and he brings with him more than 30 years of collegiate coaching experience to Marshall that includes stops at Florida, NC State and West Virginia.
Marshall Alum, D’Antoni was introduced as the new men’s basketball coach for his alma mater in April of 2014. The former point guard at Marshall brings nearly forty years of experience in the high school, college and professional ranks to the Herd Basketball program.
Gibson is a defensive coordinator at West Virginia University. His coaching career began in 1995 and he has since coached in nine bowl games, including victories in two BCS games. The West Virginia native was the Mountaineers defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator from 2001-2007. He then spent time over the next five years at Michigan, Pitt and Arizona before returning to WVU in 2013.
West Virginia native Everhart, who has 29 years experience as a basketball coach including 18 as a head coach, enters his third season this year as assistant basketball coach at West Virginia University. Everhart compiled a 273-261 record in 18 seasons as a head coach at Duquesne, Northeastern and McNeese State. The Fairmont, W.Va., native came to West Virginia from Duquesne, where he spent six seasons as head coach and led the Dukes to consecutive postseason appearances in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Beamer, now in his 28th campaign as the head football coach for Virginia Tech, is one of the most respected and successful coaches in college football today. He is currently the winningest active coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) with 266 career wins.
Williams was named the head men’s head basketball coach at Virginia Tech in March of this year. He comes to the Hokies following six seasons as the head coach for Marquette where he lead the Golden Eagles to five NCAA Tournament appearances.
Also from the college ranks, the Wednesday Pro-Am will feature former (1996 – 2004) Marshall Head football coach Bob Pruett, hall of famer and former (1980 – 2000) West Virginia Head football coach Don Nehlen, and West Virginia University basketball legend Rod “Hot Rod” Hundley.
Note: West Virginia University’s Head Men’s Basketball Coach Bob Huggins and Head Football Coach Dana Holderson were invited to participate in the pro-am but were unable to attend.
Additional celebrities joining the Pro-Am are NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Denny Hamlin, comedian and actor George Lopez, Duck Dynasty stars Jase and Willie Robertson and country music singer-songwriter and founding member of Lady Antebellum Charles Kelley.
In related news, Greenbrier Classic Alumni Club badges remain available for purchase. The badge will provide tournament admittance to the Alumni Club for the entire week. The Alumni Club is located on the 17th tee / 12th green and includes indoor and outdoor seating, televisions, complimentary snacks and non-alcoholic beverages (Monday through Wednesday), and catered tailgate style food and non-alcoholic beverages (Thursday through Sunday). Alcoholic beverages are available for purchase all week. Additionally, the Alumni Club will feature special appearances by coaches and alumni athletes from Marshall University on Thursday, Virginia Tech on Saturday and West Virginia University on Sunday. Alumni Badges are available for purchase online at http://www.greenbrierclassic.com/Tickets/Alumni.aspx.