Posted on 01/28/2004 10:57:08 AM PST by Land_of_Lincoln_John
SALT LAKE CITY - Utah basketball coach Rick Majerus was hospitalized with heart problems and will resign after the season, the school announced Wednesday.
Majerus, 55, felt chest pains Tuesday night and contacted a cardiologist in Santa Barbara, Calif., where he went for treatment.
"He's stepping down, definitely, at the end of the season," Utah spokesman Mike Lageschulte told The Associated Press. "If he's doing better and can come back he will, but right now he definitely won't coach beyond this year."
Assistant coach Kerry Rupp will take over coaching duties in the interim for Utah (15-5), which lost its last two games.
Majerus led the team to the 1998 NCAA championship game, where it lost to Kentucky.
Majerus, 323-95 since being hired by Utah in 1989, has taken extended leaves twice before for health reasons.
He coached just six games in his first season before having heart bypass surgery in December 1989. He coached one game in the 2000-01 season before leaving to deal with health issues and care for his ailing mother.
In the 1990s, Utah ranked eighth in Division I in victories (250) and winning percentage (.767). The team has made 10 trips to the NCAA tournament under Majerus.
His career at Utah also has had off-court distractions.
In September 2001, Utah uncovered minor NCAA violations and cited a lack of departmental oversight over Majerus. The infractions ranged from a free meal for players at a tailgate party to milk and cookies for players at film sessions.
The investigation began after former ski coach Pat Miller threatened a lawsuit, saying he was fired for an NCAA violation far less serious than others committed by other athletic department personnel. After a two-year investigation, Utah's athletic program was placed on three years' probation in July.
And just this month, university officials announced that Majerus was cleared in an investigation into a complaint by a former player who claimed the coach berated him about his partial hearing loss.
Before Utah, Majerus coached at Marquette from 1983-86, and at Ball State from 1987-89. He was an assistant coach with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks in the 1986-87 season.
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