Loos’ 27-year run at Peay comes to an end
Coach to make it official Monday
CLARKSVILLE — The man known as the “Dean of the Ohio Valley Conference” is calling it a career, leaving behind a 27-year legacy and a court that bears his name.
Austin Peay men’s basketball coach Dave Loos, who was on a oneyear contract after last season’s improbable run to the OVC tournament title and NCAA tournament berth, will officially announce his retirement at 11 a.m. Monday at a community event at Dunn Center, the university announced in a statement Thursday.
Loos’ drive and dedication were never more evident than in his final year when he was undergoing chemotherapy during the season and dealing with the weakness, sores and weight loss while continuing to oversee a Governors squad that was adapting to a perimeter-based offensive scheme.
Loos’ bi-weekly treatments were completed a few weeks into conference play, but they had greatly weakened the coach known for flinging his tie in frustration during games. Loos took a four-game leave of absence following the team’s loss to Belmont on Dec. 31 to tend to health matters.
He returned and went on to capture his 500th career win on Feb. 16 when Austin Peay defeated Eastern Illinois 85-80.
But the magic of last season couldn’t be replicated, and the Govs finished 11-19 and failed to earn a berth in the OVC tournament.
Loos, who will turn 70 on Sunday, finished with a 420-410 record at Austin Peay, making him the program’s all-time winningest coach.
No details of a coaching search were announced.
Fellow OVC coach Rick Byrd of Belmont had high praise for Loos.
“First and foremost, Dave Loos is a gentleman, and I think often times we need more civility in the coaching business, and he’s a great example of that,” Byrd said. “He’s an outstanding basketball coach and has been since the first time I saw his team play 25 or 30 years ago. But better than that, he’s a great example for the young men he’s coached. He’s a great representative of Austin Peay. His retirement is a significant loss to our profession.”
Over his tenure at Austin Peay, Loos managed to secure four conference tournament titles, tying the record for most tournament victories in OVC history, and became the only coach in history to be named the OVC coach of the year five times. In 2007, the court at Dunn Center was named after him.
Prior to taking over at Austin Peay in 1990, Loos spent four years as the top assistant at his alma mater, Memphis, and before that four years as the coach of Christian Brothers College, were he had a 8253 overall record, including three straight 20-win campaigns.
The Missouri native played both basketball and baseball for Memphis and was inducted in the athletic Hall of Fame in September 2002. He is also a member of the Saint Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame.
On top of his own health concerns, the Loos family had the added worry of granddaughter Rhyan’s continued fight against cancer. She was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in October 2015, went through her chemotherapy treatment and was considered to be on the mend until a tumor was discovered in her brain last November. The tumor was successfully removed, and Rhyan went through six weeks of chemotherapy at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
Contributing: Mike Organ. Reach Autumn Allison at aallison@theleafchronicle.com or 931-245-0248 and on Twitter @Aallison25.