CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (ESPN CLARKSVILLE) Austin Peay State University has announced the retirement of longtime head basketball coach Dave Loos.
“After consideration this week, Coach Loos met with Athletic Director Ryan Ivey on Tuesday morning and was given some time to reflect and made the decision to retire,” said ESPN Clarksville’s Brian Rives.
In his 27 years at Austin Peay, Loos won four conference tournament titles, and is the only coach to win OVC Coach of the Year honors five times. He is the fourth-longest tenured coach in Division I.
“The service that Coach Loos provided to Austin Peay State University is immeasurable,” Rives said. “The man’s name is on the basketball court. His legacy is firmly cemented with this program and he’ll ever be synonymous with Austin Peay State University.”
Loos recently returned to the court after taking a leave of absence during his ongoing chemotherapy treatment for a cancerous lymph node.
Last season was a career high for Loos. As the most successful coach in Austin Peay and OVC history, Loos capped his 26th season at Austin Peay and 30th as a head coach with his fourth OVC Tournament Championship as the Governors became the first No. 8 seed to not only play in the tourney championship game but win it as well.
Just two weeks ago, Loos racked up his 500th win when the Governors snared a victory against Eastern Illinois.
“I’m thankful. I told our players that there are a lot of people who contributed to the amount of wins—players, fans,” Loos said about the win. “I saw people tonight who have probably been here for all of the home wins. It’s rewarding, but it’s a team effort, because you’re only as good as your players, coaches and fans.”
‘The Dean of Ohio Valley Conference basketball coaches’, Loos walks away following a storied career which included a league-record 421 victories, five OVC Coach of the Year honors and nine total OVC titles, including four OVC Tournament wins.
A legendary figure on the college basketball scene, Loos coached 39 All-OVC players, two All-Americans and 30 future pros along the way. Under Loos’ stewardship as athletics director, Austin Peay raised 33 total OVC Championship banners.
Austin Peay State University will hold an 11 a.m., Monday, press conference to celebrate the career of Dave Loos. Monday’s event will be held in the Dunn Center on Dave Loos Court—christened in Loos’ name in 2007—and is a community-wide occasion to honor Coach Loos’ incredible body of work and thank him for three decades worth of contributions to Austin Peay.
*APSU Sports Information contributed to this report