Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Georgia State football coach Bill Curry will
retire at the end of the 2012 season, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported
Wednesday.
A news conference was called for Wednesday afternoon.
Georgia State will move from the FCS to the FBS next year and play in the Sun
Belt Conference.
Curry told his team he was retiring at a meeting Tuesday morning before the
Panthers' practice.
He has a career record of 92-118-4 and will turn 70 in October.
Georgia State offensive tackle Ramell Davis reacted to the news on Twitter on
Wednesday: "The general leaving the soldiers at the end of the season Bout to
give him one of the best seasons of his career #StateofShock movement."
Curry began his coaching career at his alma mater, Georgia Tech, where he
captained the team in 1964, before playing for a decade in the NFL. He then
moved onto Alabama, where he won the SEC Coach of the Year award in 1989, and
Kentucky from 1990-96.
In 2008, he was hired to lead Georgia State's start-up program after working at
ESPN as an analyst for many years. In the Panthers' inaugural season as an FCS
independent in 2010, Curry led them to a 6-5 record. Last year, the Panthers
struggled to a 3-8 mark.
They are playing in CAA Football for one season this year.
Curry's contract ends next year. He had said several factors would help him
decide to stop coaching, including his health and the possibility of spending
more time with his family.
Georgia State opens Curry's final season against South Carolina State on Aug.
30 at the Georgia Dome.
The Sports Network