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Men’s basketball coach Steve Fritz announced his retirement from coaching Thursday after 41 years as coach. Fritz has been athletic director for 20 years and will remain full-time athletic director while assistant coach John Tauer will be interim head coach.

Fritz was the head basketball coach for 31 years. He has coached 16 MIAC regular-season championship teams and has led St. Thomas to the conference playoffs 23 of the last 24 seasons. Fritz’s teams posted the best win-loss record, 83-8, in all of college basketball during the past three years.

Fritz, 61, also became the oldest coach to win a Division III men’s basketball championship when he coached the 2010-11 Tommies to a national championship. Fritz won the three D-III National Coach of the Year awards last season. He’s been selected MIAC Coach of the Year 14 times during his career.

Fritz replaced his former coach, Tom Feely, in 1980 after coaching as an assistant for nine years.

Fritz is also completing his 20th year as athletic director. In 2009-10, he was named one of the nation’s four Regional ADs of the Year by the National Association of College Athletics Directors.

As a player from 1967-71, Fritz was named to the All-MIAC team three times, helping lead his team to back-to-back National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics titles in 1970 and 1971. He finished his career with 1,944 points, a school record at the time, and he is still ranked second on St. Thomas’ all-time scoring list.

Fritz also is in the St. Thomas Hall of Fame.

Eleven-year assistant coach John Tauer will step in as interim head coach for next season. After joining Fritz’s staff as a volunteer assistant, he became defensive coordinator in 2001 and has been offensive coordinator for the past eight years.

Tauer played basketball for St. Thomas from 1991 to 1995, including the 1994 team that played in the NCAA Division III Final Four. Tauer earned a career 1,219 points, 482 rebounds and three MIAC titles.