Rich Rodriguez officially announced his resignation as head football coach at Jacksonville State on Thursday, leaving the program to become the next head football coach at West Virginia.

The news of Rodriguez’s departure from the program was widely reported on Wednesday night, with ESPN’s Pete Thamel the first to report West Virginia was targeting Rodriguez.

“Coach Rodriguez has been an outstanding leader for Jacksonville State Football, playing a pivotal role in our successful transition to the FBS and making a lasting impact on our program, our student-athletes, and our university as a whole,” Jax State athletics director Greg Seitz said in a release. “We understand this is an incredible opportunity for him and his family, and we wish him all the best at West Virginia.”

Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Rod Smith will serve as the program’s interim head coach, according to the release.

Smith has been the offensive coordinator at Jax State since June 2022 and has been on Rodriguez’s staff at West Virginia, Michigan, and Arizona. This will be his second time serving as interim head coach, with his first being in 2020 at Illinois when Lovie Smith was fired.

Rodriguez departs Jax State after three seasons and a 27-10 overall record. He led the program to its first bowl victory with a 34-31 overtime win over Louisiana in the 2023 New Orleans Bowl and clinched its first FBS conference title this season in the Conference USA title game.

The 61-year-old Rodriguez previously coached the Mountaineers from 2001-07, posting a 60-26 record and winning two conference championships. He will replace Neal Brown, who was fired on Dec. 1 after seven seasons with the program.

Seitz said in the release that a national search for a new head football coach is underway.

“Jax State is coming off an incredible season, capped by a Conference USA Championship, which has firmly established us as a national brand,” Seitz said. “This program’s success, tradition, and upward trajectory make it one of the most attractive opportunities in college football. We are excited to find the next leader who will continue to build on this momentum and help us achieve even greater heights.”