St. Thomas coach Fritz calls it quits

Tommy Hannon was in the back of the room, watching and listening, as longtime St. Thomas men's basketball coach Steve Fritz announced his retirement from coaching.

He heard it, but didn't believe it.

"I can't imaging playing for somebody other than Coach Fritz," said Hannon, a junior center on the team that won the NCAA Division III title this spring. "I don't think it's going to sink in for all of us until the first day of practice, when Coach won't be there yelling at us."

It's hard to imagine a Tommies team without Fritz on the bench. Fritz, who will continue on as the school's athletic director, has been associated with St. Thomas basketball since 1967, when he came to the school to begin a playing career that included three all-conference selections. St. Thomas has 1,561 victories since starting basketball in the 1904-05 season. Fritz has been involved in 827 of them, either as a player (1967 to '71), assistant coach (1971 to '80) or head coach (1980 to 2011).

That only made the decision more difficult.

"Being the head coach at St. Thomas has been the most exhilarating and fun thing anyone could have done over three decades," Fritz said. "No one could have enjoyed coaching more than I have."

It was an emotional moment for Fritz, who made the announcement in front of friends, family and many players who stopped by to watch. With the announcement came word that the floor of the Tommies' home court will be named in Fritz's honor.

As head coach, Fritz had only one losing season and compiled a 594-246 record. His final team went 30-3 and won the Division III title. Along the way, UST beat four teams ranked in the top seven in the final nine days of the season, finishing the title run March 19 in Salem, Va., by crushing Wooster (Ohio) 78-54, a Division III playoff-record 24-point victory.

"Nobody could have been luckier in life than to have an institution like the University of St. Thomas support them through their career," said Fritz, a 14-time winner of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference coach of the year award. His teams won 16 MIAC regular-season titles, including the past six, and won 10 MIAC tournament titles.

Fritz said the move would allow him to spend more time with his family -- he is about to become a grandfather -- and more opportunity to support the other athletic programs.

"I think this is the perfect time to step down," he said. "This program is in great condition, and in a great position for the future. Obviously [winning the title] made this year very special. And it certainly caps off my coaching career."

Tauer appears set to continue the tradition. He coached the offense under Fritz and coordinates recruiting. Tauer said he didn't plan on changing much about the way Fritz ran the team, which features full-court pressure and team-oriented play.