BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- Dennie Bridges of Illinois Wesleyan University, the winningest active coach in NCAA Division III men's basketball, has announced he is retiring as the Titans' coach after 36 seasons.

Bridges, whose career coaching record is 667-319, will remain at IWU as athletic director and he indicates the University hopes to have his successor as men's basketball coach named in the near future.

Bridges' team this season finished 24-7 and placed third in the national Division III tournament. His 1997 team won the Division III title, earning him Division III "Coach of the Year" honors, and his 1996 squad also played to a third-place national finish.

He is one of only 22 college coaches (regardless of division) with more than 650 victories and becomes the second winningest coach, by victories, in Division III history, behind only Dick Sauers, who amassed 702 wins at Albany (N.Y.) in 41 seasons from 1956 to 1997.

Bridges, who coached in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin longer and won more league championships than any other coach in CCIW history, has a league mark of 421-129 with 17 titles, a total twice as many as any other CCIW team in that period.

"I've been thinking about this decision for a number of years," said Bridges, who turned 62 on February 15. "Having both jobs as athletic director and basketball coach from mid-October to mid-March requires 12 to 16 hour days, six-and-a-half days a week, and each year the grind seems to get more physically and emotionally draining."

Bridges has served as basketball coach since 1965 and as athletic director since 1981, taking over both positions from Jack Horenberger.

"I was worried that it could reach the point where my teams might not be able to compete for the conference and NCAA championships without a coach whose total focus was basketball," said Bridges. "In fact, I was worried about that this season before we dramatically turned it around. And I also want to be certain I am a good athletic director and that my coaches are assured that I am helping them achieve championships with their teams."

Bridges said he came close to retiring as coach in the past two seasons, but wanted to ensure he would leave his successor a solid team, as he was when he started. "Back in 1965, Coach Horenberger left me with four starters from a conference championship team, so in my first year it would have been hard not to win," Bridges said. "Now, I am satisfied that our sophomore class, along with help from this year's freshmen and, hopefully, next year's freshmen, provide a basis of strength from which Illinois Wesleyan will continue to win championships."

"In 36 seasons as head coach of men's basketball, Dennie Bridges has touched the lives of generations of students," said IWU President Minor Myers jr. "While the search for a successor is already underway, we think it is nearly impossible to find a replacement for the winningest active coach in Division III."

"[Dennie Bridges] exemplifies the virtues of a champion," said Janet McNew, IWU provost and dean of the faculty. "He is courageous in loss, graceful in victory and always determined to give his very best. [He] knows that being a true champion depends as much on character as on winning."

Bridges' success in national competition has also been a benchmark of his coaching career. He coached teams into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national tourney seven times and compiled a record of 23-11 in NAIA postseason competition, with two teams reaching the quarterfinals.

One of Bridges' greatest recruiting classes came in 1973, when his freshman class included Jack Sikma of St. Anne (Ill.) High School. Sikma is IWU's all-time leading scorer and rebounder and played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association for the Seattle SuperSonics and Milwaukee Bucks.

Since 1983, Bridges' teams reached the Division III tournament 14 times in the 18 years of association with the NCAA and have posted a 30-14 record with the three top three finishes and five trips to the quarterfinals.

On the heels of the 1995-96 third place Division III tournament finish, the 1996-97 team won the national title and finished with a 29-2 record, the best at IWU since the 1935-36 team was 20-0.

In all divisions prior to this year, Bridges was No. 11 in wins all-time among coaches who have only coached at one school, and No. 2 on the all-time list for coaches who have only coached at their alma mater. No. 1 is Herb Magee, a 1963 Philadelphia U. grad who has coached there since 1967 and has compiled a 687-261 record in those 33 seasons.

High academic standards have also been a hallmark during Bridges' coaching tenure. Illinois Wesleyan has had 13 first team Academic All-Americans in men’s basketball since the program's inception in 1970, second only to UCLA with 17. Others with 13 first team men's basketball Academic All-Americans are Indiana and Kansas. In 1999 and 2000, IWU's Korey Coon was named the "Academic All-American of the Year" and won the 2000 Jostens Trophy, recognizing the outstanding student-athlete in Division III basketball. Illinois Wesleyan also has had six others in basketball who earned second- or third-team Academic All-America honors.

Bridges has spent his entire career as an Illinois Wesleyan athlete, coach, and administrator. A native of Anchor, a rural community 25 miles east of Bloomington, Bridges was a four-year letterman and starter in basketball and baseball and a three-year football letterman (all-conference quarterback). In basketball, he was a two-year captain, most valuable player and all-conference once. He is currently 40^th in school scoring history with 926 career points.

After graduating in 1961, Bridges coached at Plainfield (Ill.) High School three years before returning to IWU in 1964 as Horenberger's basketball assistant and head tennis coach with the understanding that he would become head basketball coach for the 1965-66 season. Then, with four starters back from a championship team, the rookie coach led the Titans to a sixth CCIW championship in seven years.

Under Bridges' tenure as athletic director, the Shirk Center and Fort Natatorium have been constructed, varsity swimming has returned for men and was added for women, and men's and women's soccer, women's cross country, and women's golf have been added as varsity sports. He was extremely active in fundraising for the Jack Horenberger Baseball Field, opened in April 1999, which yielded new facilities in softball, the Neis Soccer Field, along with renovations of the football field and outdoor track.

Bridges, who has conducted basketball clinics in Brazil, New Zealand, and Australia, is a member of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, received the IBCA's Buzzy O'Connor award for meritorious service and has been the state's Division III Coach of the Year several times.

Bridges and his wife, Rita, have three grown children, all former IWU student-athletes. Angela Romani, a four-year regular in tennis, and her husband, Tim, live in Denver, Colo., with their two children - Alyssa and Carly. Steve, a four-year baseball and football letterman, was a second-team Academic All-American in football once and a third-team selection in baseball twice. With a law degree from the University of Illinois, he is the vice president of corporate development for Ignite Sports Media in Chicago. Eric, a four-year basketball regular and No. 12 in IWU career scoring, has an MBA degree from the University of Iowa, and is employed in Bloomington by State Farm Insurance. Eric and his wife, April, are the parents of one son, Keegan and a daughter, Summer.
 
 

I'm announcing today my decision to retire as Illinois Wesleyan University basketball coach. I will continue in my job as athletic director.

In January, I informed our provost, Janet McNew, of my wish to make this move, but wanted to wait until after the season to make the announcement so that my news would not overshadow my team's games. I regret having to be less than forthright with the media, but there was no other way.

Having both jobs as athletic director and basketball coach from mid-October to mid-March requires 12 to 16 hour days, six-and-a-half days a week, and each year the grind seems to get more physically and emotionally draining.

I was worried that it could reach the point where my Illinois Wesleyan teams might not be able to compete for the conference and NCAA championships without a coach whose total focus was basketball. In fact, I was worried about that this season before we dramatically turned it around. And I also want to be certain I am a good athletic director and that my coaches are assured that I am helping them achieve championships with their teams.

I've been thinking about this decision for a number of years. I came close to making this move two years ago, but I just didn’t feel good enough about the talent base I was leaving my successor. Back in 1965, Coach Horenberger left me with four starters from a conference championship team, so in my first year it would have been hard not to win. Now, I am satisfied that our sophomore class, along with help from this year's freshmen and, hopefully, next year's freshmen, provide a basis of strength from which Illinois Wesleyan will continue to win championships.

I have told the team that their talent and success is one of the big reasons that I am now able to make this move. I am now free of any recruiting promises, the last one being to Luke Kasten when I promised him I would be his coach for at least two years.

In many ways, this has been a difficult year, with Coach Horenberger's death in December, some difficult athletic director decisions I've had to make, and a young basketball team fighting to stay in the championship race. Our team's finish allows me to go, out on a high ? when we were rallying to win the third place game, little did the team know that they were winning my final game as a coach. That final win means a lot to me.

I'm certain the time is right. I will miss coaching and parts of that job I will miss a whole lot. However, it's not as if I will be leaving campus and won't be able to enjoy watching the Titans play. I won't be like Coach Horenberger ? I will be able to watch the games.

To all our loyal and dedicated fans who have been so kind and who have been urging me not to retire, I assure you that Titan basketball will not change and we expect all of you to continue to support us in our quest for future championships.

My thanks, also, to Illinois Wesleyan University board of trustees president Craig Hart, president Minor Myers, and my boss, Janet McNew, for supporting me in this decision.

Finally, I want you all to know that I am working as athletic director on naming the next Illinois Wesleyan basketball coach and hope to announce his name very soon to make certain we secure those players in this year's recruiting class and continue with the excellence of Titan basketball.

In 36 seasons as head coach of men's basketball, Dennie Bridges has touched the lives of generations of students. In moving from the coaching bench to the director of athletics office only, Dennie follows the pattern set by his mentor, Jack Horenberger.

While the search for a successor is already underway, we think it is nearly impossible to find a replacement for the winningest active coach in Division III.

At Illinois Wesleyan, just as athletes are also serious students, coaches are also valued faculty members. Coach Bridges is first and foremost a great teacher and, like his beloved mentor Jack Horenberger, he teaches primarily by example.

Coach Bridges exemplifies the virtues of a champion. He plays all sports with fierce emotion, out of love for the game and loyalty to his school. He is courageous in loss, graceful in victory, and always determined to give his very best. Dennie Bridges knows that being a true champion depends as much on character as on winning. And he does know how to win, in every sense of the word.

Following Coach Horenberger, he has instilled this championship tradition in all IWU athletic programs. Every IWU athlete joins this tradition of champions as soon as he or she puts on a Titan jersey.

Fortunately, Coach Bridges will continue to nurture and deepen the Titan championship tradition as he focuses the last part of his career on his work as athletic director.
 
 

YEAR          RECORD    CCIW RECORD (PLACE)          CAPTAIN(S)

1965-66 *    21-10      10-2       1             Jim Gresham
1966-67 *    15-11      10-2       1             Steve Laub
1967-68      11-14      10-6       T4            Dennis Kagel
1968-69      11-15       8-8       T4            Dennis Kagel
1969-70 *    21-4       16-0       1             Tom Gramkow
1970-71 *    19-8       12-4       T1            Sheldon Thompson
1971-72      18-7       12-4       T2            Stan Broers
1972-73      15-9       10-6       T2            Don Wright
1973-74      12-12      10-6       3             Dan Hiser, Curt Nord
1974-75 *    23-7       14-2       1             Bruce Foote
1975-76 *    23-7       15-1       1             Bruce Foote. Jack Sikma
1976-77 *    25-6       15-1       1             Jack Sikma
1977-78      13-11      11-5       3             Chris Eldredge
1978-79      14-11       9-7       5             Dave Pavlik
1979-80      17-11      11-5       T3            Greg Yess
1980-81      15-11      11-5       T2            Greg Yess
1981-82 *    20-8       13-3       T1            Greg Yess
1982-83      17-11      11-5       T2            Brad Gregurich
1983-84 *    17-11      14-2       1             Blaise Bugajski
1984-85      10-17       8-8       5             Tom Baffes
1985-86 *    19-10      14-2       1             Dwight Zivo
1986-87      17-10      12-4       T2            Eric Bridges, Keith Luechtefeld
1987-88 *    24-5       15-1       1             Brian Coderre
1988-89      12-14       7-9       T4            Matt Chadesh
1989-90      22-9       14-2       2             Jeff Kuehl, Mark Edmundson
1990-91 *    18-9       15-1       1             Dave Kunka, Jason Jones
1991-92 *    22-6       14-2       1             Dave Kunka
1992-93      16-9        9-5       2             S. Kuehl, B. Martin, D. Kunka, S. Czirjak
1993-94 *    19-8       11-3       1             John Lipic, Mike Groenenboom
1994-95 *    24-4       13-1       1             Mark Aubry, Chad Hutson
1995-96      28-3       12-2       2             Chris Simich, Brady Knight
1996-97 *    29-2       13-1       1             Bryan Crabtree
1997-98 *    22-5       13-1       1             Andrew Boyden
1998-99      17-9       10-4       2             Andrew Boyden, Nathan Hubbard
1999-00      17-8        9-5       3             Korey Coon
2000-01      24-7       10-4       3             Adam Osborn
totals      667-319    421-129
*?Conference championship teams.