Hall of Fame Coach Crum Retires

L O U I S V I L L E, Ky., March 2 -- Denny Crum retired today on his 64thbirthday, ending a 30-year career at Louisville in which he coachedthe Cardinals to six Final Fours and two national championships.

His retirement confirms speculation that began at midseason thatthis season would be his last year. His team is 11-18 heading intoSaturday's regular-season finale against Memphis.

The Hall of Fame coach had two years left on his contract.

Crum has won 674 games, 14th on the career list. The only activeDivision I basketball coach with more time at one school is JimPhelan, with 47 years at Mount St. Mary's.

Strained Relations

Crum's teams have gone a mere 61-61 the past four seasons, withan 0-2 mark in the NCAA tournament. The program was also hit withsanctions twice in the 1990s, although none of the violations wasdirectly linked to Crum.

"I'm going because I want to," Crum said at a news conference.

Crum had promised to return next season, touting the incomingclass as one of his best in years. But he met with athleticdirector Tom Jurich on Jan. 25 after Jurich was quoted as saying hecould not guarantee Crum would be back.

Crum's strained relationship with Jurich escalated last weekwith the release of confidential memos between the two. Universitypresident Shumaker called the release of the memos "notappropriate."

Shumaker denied then that university officials have held secretmeetings, talked with boosters about buyouts or contacted othercoaches.

"It should've never happened like this," said JuniorBridgeman, a member of the school's board of trustees who playedfor Crum from 1972-75. "So many people outside the program havegotten involved and it was disappointing to see this handled thisway.

"It's also amazing to me how things turn. Here's a guy who'sbuilt this program from the ground up and the speculation just keptgetting worse. I didn't like to see it."

Passed John Wooden on All-Time Victory List

Louisville remained a perennial Top 25 team into the mid-1990s,posting seven 20-win seasons from 1987-97. The Cardinals went 26-9and reached the national quarterfinals in 1997.