Fisher retiring as San Diego State basketball coach after 18 seasons
SAN DIEGO — Steve Fisher is retiring from a basketball coaching career that includes a national championship at Michigan, directing the Fab Five and then turning San Diego State from a laughingstock into a West Coast power.
Two people with knowledge of the situation said Monday that Fisher, 72, is retiring after 18 seasons at SDSU.
SDSU has been prepared for Fisher’s retirement for several years. It designated his long-time assistant, Brian Dutcher, as the head coach in waiting in 2011.
Fisher is stepping down after a disappointing season. The Aztecs finished 19-14 and failed to make a postseason tournament or win 20 games for the first time in 12 seasons. SDSU made a school-record six straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament from 2010-15, including reaching its first two Sweet 16s.
While his revival of SDSU’s program was remarkable, Fisher will probably be best remembered as the “Michigan Man” who led the Wolverines to the 1989 national title and later coached the Fab Five.
Fisher had two more appearances in the national title game before being fired in October 1997 because of the program’s involvement with booster Ed Martin. Michigan vacated its participation in the 1992 and 1993 Final Fours.
The Aztecs hired Fisher in March 1999. SDSU was a hoops backwater that had just one winning season more than a decade. He eventually built the program to the point that the Aztecs’ loud arena provided a terrific home-court advantage.