West Virginia Coach Rich Rodriguez is set to redefine the meaning of post-coaching life—he’s just announced the purchase of a sprawling $39 million ranch in rural Georgia, transforming it into the ultimate outdoor playground: a place to wakesurf, hunt, and build a racetrack for his family. The property sprawls across 4,200 acres of gently rolling Georgia pine, a vivid emerald canvas flushed with golden morning light. At its heart lies a private, crystal-clear lake—perfectly calibrated for wakesurfing—ringed by towering pines and cypress, the kind of aquamarine sanctuary any thrill-seeker would dream of commandeering.
Rodriguez, ever the strategist, selected this land for its endless potential. He envisions cutting fresh wakesurf runs across the surface at dawn, the hush of the Georgian wilderness slipping into gear behind his son’s bright orange mastercraft boat. Stepping off the shoreline, family and friends can stretch out across the turf, pitch a tent, or bounce across tree-lined trails on ATVs that follow deer paths and bobcat sign. Deer and turkey roam freely, or so the coach says, and come hunting season, Rodriguez plans to test his aim in wooded areas stocked with carefully managed game. He wants “quiet moments in the blind, the soft whisper of wings and antlers brushing through leaves”—a deliberate retreat from the roar of stadiums where he spent years fighting for yards of field.
The ranch’s most talked-about feature? A half-mile clay racetrack, nestled between pines and lakeshore, illuminated at night by sodium lights and echoed by engine roars. “I want to build a legacy track for my kids,” Rodriguez explains, “a place where they can drive for the first time, learn safety, all in a safe, private setting.” His daughter’s go-kart stands beside his son’s Dune Buggy in gleaming readiness. The track curves around a grove of oaks, and every hairpin brings a different view—water, woods, sky.
But the ranch isn’t all adrenaline. Rodriguez has dotted the landscape with family gathering spots: a lodge with deep leather couches and stone fireplaces where crackling oak logs hold court, wide windows framing the lake like living paintings. A fire pit overlooks the water, where marshmallow goo and laughter melt in front of the summer setting sun. Up a winding path sits a separate cabin he previewed as a writer’s retreat—a place to jot thoughts in solitude while deer browse outside the window.
Practically speaking, the property is a maintenance marvel: a private airstrip for small planes, barns full of ATVs and boats, stables in case they add horses, a workshop for repairing the track and boats. Rodriguez has hired local forest managers to keep timber healthy, animal populations balanced, and hunting sustainable.
Some say $39 million seems steep—but Rodriguez explains it like a coach calls a bold fourth-down play: “You invest in the game you want to win,” he says. This ranch isn’t just land—it’s a blueprint of freedom, a proving ground for family bonds and personal passions. Wakesurfing, hunting, speed—all woven into a powerful tapestry of pure purpose. He’s not just buying acreage; he’s buying his version of retirement: active, family-rich, and unapologetically adventurous.
