ROME, Ga. – The Shorter University athletic family has a void in their hearts as they have lost member of the university's Hall of Fame.

Bill Foster, who established the modern-day foundation of men's basketball program at Shorter and went on to national prominence at Clemson and Virginia Tech, died Wednesday in in Charlotte, N.C., after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 79.

"The Shorter family is saddened to hear of the passing of Bill Foster," said Shorter Senior Associate Athletic Director and Head Women's Basketball Coach Vic Mitchell, who got to know Foster when the former coach returned to Rome in 2002 to be inducted into Shorter's inaugural Hall of Fame class. "Bill is a Hall of Famer in every sense and his contributions to the basketball program and Shorter community at large are truly incredible.

"We are privileged to call Bill a Hawk," he said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends."

A native of Palatka, Fla., who played collegiately at Wingate, Foster arrived on "The Hill" at Shorter in 1962 to become the head coach – his first – of the Hawks and immediately put the program in the national NAIA spotlight.

After posting a 16-8 record in his initial season, Foster went on to guide the Hawks to four straight 20-plus win campaigns – his best came in 1964-65 when Shorter went 26-5 – and closed out his stint in Rome with a 110-31 record.

Foster left Shorter after the 1966-67 season to serve as an assistant coach at The Citadel for three years, then was hired as the head coach at North Carolina-Charlotte where he led the 49ers to an 88-38 record in five seasons.

In 1974, Foster took over the helm at Clemson and over the next decade saw the Tigers break into the national spotlight, earning three trips to the NIT and advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1980, and in 1985 was named as Miami's head coach where he spent the next five seasons and tasked with reviving the Hurricanes' program that was disbanded in 1971.

Foster's final stint as a head coach came in 1991 when he assumed the top spot at Virginia Tech for six years, directing the Hokies to the 1995 NIT championship and to the NCAA Tournament in 1996.

Foster closed out his 30-year coaching career in 1997, amassing an impressive 533-324 record.

Foster is survived by his wife Linda, daughters Leslie and Laura and numerous grandchildren.