| Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com |
Dick Peth, who won 401 games at Wartburg and 621 over a 39-season career, announced that he will retire from his position as the Knights’ head men’s basketball coach.
“I want to express my gratitude to Wartburg College, the athletic department, my fellow coaches and most importantly, our student-athletes for their unwavering support throughout my tenure,” said Peth in the College’s press release. “It has been an incredible journey, and I am proud of all that we have accomplished together.”
After a successful high school playing career in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Peth went to the University of Iowa to play two sports for the Hawkeyes. Peth played four years of basketball under Iowa head coach Lute Olson and was the team captain on the 1979 Hawkeye team that won the Big 10 championship. He also played baseball for four years at the University.
Peth started his head coaching career at then-Division II University of Denver in 1985-86 where he went 221-123 over 12 seasons with the Pioneers. He is the program’s all-time winningest coach and was inducted into the University’s Hall of Fame in 2020. His best season at the University of Denver came in 1992 when the Pioneers went 26-5 and reached the NCAA Division II Tournament North Central Regional Final , which was the equivalent of the Sweet 16.
Peth then returned to Iowa to take Wartburg’s head coaching job in 1997-98. Four years later, he led Wartburg to the NCAA Division III Tournament when the Knights went 24-4. Under Peth, Wartburg reached the Round of 16 in the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2016-17.
Over the course of 27 seasons at Wartburg, Peth went 401-302 with consecutive Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) conference titles in 2005 and 2006.
Wartburg announced that it will conduct a national search for his replacement.
Peth was one of four active NCAA Division III men’s basketball coaches with over 600 career wins last season, behind only Mass-Dartmouit’s Brian Baptiste (720) and ahead of Greensboro’s Jim Boone (616). Bob McVean, who was the fourth active 600-game winner, recently announced his retirement from Rochester Tech.