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San Diego State Basketball: Steve Fisher retires, Brian Dutcher set to be new head coach

By Carmine Carcieri

Mar 1, 2017; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego State Aztecs head coach Steve Fisher reacts during the second half against the Air Force Falcons at Viejas Arena at Aztec Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 1, 2017; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego State Aztecs head coach Steve Fisher reacts during the second half against the Air Force Falcons at Viejas Arena at Aztec Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /
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San Diego State basketball will have a changing of guard heading into the 2017-18 season.

After nine seasons with Michigan and 18 seasons at San Diego State, Steve Fisher is retiring as head coach of the Aztecs, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN, who was first to report the news.

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San Diego State will have a press conference on Wednesday to officially announce the breaking news.

So what does this mean for the SDSU program? It means that this is the end of a terrific era.

Yes, Fisher is more known for his success at Michigan when he helped lead the ‘Fab Five’ to the National Title game in two consecutive seasons, but the more everlasting impact happened in San Diego. Before Fisher joined the program back in 1999, the Aztecs were the laughing stock of the West Coast. They were an irrelevant program that had been to three NCAA tournaments and had yet to garner a victory in the postseason tournament.

But Fisher changed the complexion and the reputation of SDSU.

He did so rather quickly.

He led the Aztecs to the NCAA Tournament in 2002 and 2006, reached the NIT five times, and guided the team to six straight Big Dance appearances from 2010 to 2015. SDSU still hasn’t made it past the Sweet 16 in school history, but the Fisher era was surely a success as the Aztecs are one of the best organizations on the West Coast and have developed national name recognition.

While San Diego State is keeping continuity with the elevation of Brian Dutcher — he has been an assistant under Fisher dating back to Michigan and played a part in the recruitment of the ‘Fab Five’ — it still won’t nearly be the same. Fisher was the face of this team for a near two decades and the passionate fan base had a unique connection with the 72-year-old head coach.

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This isn’t to say that the Aztecs are ready to drop off or that they aren’t going to add any high-quality recruits anymore, but this is a bittersweet day for the University, the fan base and even more particularity, the Mountain West.