Maryland Actually Made Money on Buzz Williams Hire

The Buzz Williams era has officially come to an end in College Station, as the veteran coach is leaving the Texas A&M Aggies to join the Maryland Terrapins.

Williams, 52, has bounced around quite a lot over his career, previously coaching at Marquette and Virginia Tech before landing at A&M. He enjoyed some decent success with the Aggies, leading them to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons. Unfortunately, he never made it to the second weekend of the tournament, with this year's second-round exit feeling especially disappointing after a great regular season.

Alas, he's now back on the East Coast to begin a new chapter of his career, and the Aggies' loss is the Terrapins' gain in more ways than one.

Texas A&M Head Coach Buzz Williams talks to his team during their second round game of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament. | Nicole Hester / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Maryland will pay just $1 million to A&M for Williams' buyout, as it dropped significantly on Tuesday. Maryland received $2 million when Kevin Willard left for Villanova last week, so the Terrapins walk away with a new head coach and a net gain of $1 million.

The Aggies have a ton of support from boosters, so they should have no problem finding a coach even without receiving a big buyout from Williams. However, it does hurt to have another team take their coach and walk away in the green.

Williams leaves College Station with somewhat of a complicated legacy. He did help the Aggies to one of their better stretches in program history, and his two SEC Coach of the Year awards show he's a strong leader. However, his struggles in the NCAA Tournament, and now his potentially controversial exit, will impact how fans look back on him.

At the very least, he left it all on the floor.

"I'm incredibly proud of everyone, not just the players, the staff," Williams said after the second-round loss to Michigan on March 22. "I'm proud of our accomplishments throughout their tenure, including this year. I know you're familiar with all of the numbers. That would be egotistical for me to talk about it. But just as proud as I am of the accomplishments, I'm proud of the life change.

"I think the development that these long-tenured guys have had has been life changing. And I do think they're better players, and our teams have continued to improve. But someday they're going to be old and can't play, and someday I'm going to be old and can't coach."